tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89132390278563057952024-03-28T06:13:14.523+11:00InaGuddleAbout books of all kinds - random musings by Elizabeth RobinsonIna Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comBlogger543125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-5138165653655159752024-03-28T06:11:00.004+11:002024-03-28T06:12:41.948+11:00Women's Prize for Non Fiction Shortlist 2024<p>The shortlist of the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction shortlist has been announced, whittling the sixteen titles on the <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2024/02/womens-prize-for-non-fiction-longlist.html" target="_blank">longlist</a> down to a shortlist of six. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0aAmJjAZ7irzrytEJEN3uXaa19Tpm9OwOMCVOJbmhaxhMO1Zf16nR2EZ0ANZAH-YYjMqyaDe1lFZj0hq-QGvlfmCPepTdXEh6cpeDBpE5wk6p8SKnAZ5qOHGkXM8tjBbntRQl8oJZviXluRTGea1xbEDwzw6uB4DBfF6IFlBSWgd4wvMxxzW8pa5Sc-c/s1102/WPNF2024Shortlist.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1002" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0aAmJjAZ7irzrytEJEN3uXaa19Tpm9OwOMCVOJbmhaxhMO1Zf16nR2EZ0ANZAH-YYjMqyaDe1lFZj0hq-QGvlfmCPepTdXEh6cpeDBpE5wk6p8SKnAZ5qOHGkXM8tjBbntRQl8oJZviXluRTGea1xbEDwzw6uB4DBfF6IFlBSWgd4wvMxxzW8pa5Sc-c/w365-h400/WPNF2024Shortlist.png" width="365" /></a></div>The 2024 shortlist is as follows:<p></p><div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Laura Cumming - <i>Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death</i></li><li>Naomi Klein - <i>Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World</i></li><li>Noreen Masud - <i>A Flat Place</i></li><li>Tiya Miles -<i>All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake</i></li><li>Madhumita Murgia - <i>Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI</i></li><li>Safiya Sinclair - <i>How to Say Babylon</i></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div>Meh! I was really hoping that Anna Funder's awesome <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">Wifedom</a> </i>would be shortlisted and am saddened it is not. However, I am really interested in the books particularly by Laura Cumming, and Madhumita Murgia. I have also heard good things about the works by Noreen Masud and Safiya Sinclair by readers I admire.</div><div><br /></div><div>The winner will be revealed on 13 June 2024. Happy reading!</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Want more? Here is the video of the shortlist announcement.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mFDO-OwsdUQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="mFDO-OwsdUQ"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-57657668417693996952024-03-23T08:34:00.001+11:002024-03-24T17:53:52.983+11:00Stella Prize Longlist 2024<p>The 2024 Stella Prize longlist has been released! The annual literary award celebrating women and non-binary writers of both fiction and non-fiction is named after Australian author Stella Miles Franklin. </p><p>Past winners include some of my favourite books on recent years:</p><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Sarah Holland-Batt for <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/08/vital-signs.html" target="_blank">The Jaguar</a></i> (2023)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Evelyn Araleun for <i>Drop Bear</i> (2022)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Evie Wyld for <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/05/three-women.html" target="_blank"><b>The Bass Rock</b></a></i> (2021)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Jess Hill for <b><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2020/06/safe-house.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">See What You Made Me Do</span></a></i></b> (2020)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Vicki Laveau-Harvie for <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2019/05/homecoming.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: black;">The Erratics</span></b></a></i> (2019)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Alexis Wright for <i>Tracker</i> (2018)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Heather Rose for <i><b><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/the-artist-is-present.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">The Museum of Modern Love</span></a> </b></i>(2017)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Charlotte Wood for <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/girls-like-you.html" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: black;"><b>The Natural Way</b></span><span style="color: black;"><b> of Things</b></span></i></a><i><span style="color: purple;"><b> </b></span></i>(2016)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Emily Bitto for<b> </b><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="color: purple;"><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2015/10/bohemian-rhapsody.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><b>The </b></span><span style="color: black;"><b>Strays</b></span></a></span></i><span style="color: purple;"><b> </b></span>(2015)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Claire Wright for <i>The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka</i> (2014)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Carrie Tiffany for <i>Mateship with Birds</i> (2013)</li><br />On 4 March 2024, the longlist was revealed with 12 nominees. I have not read any of the titles, and many of the authors are unknown to me, so I look forward to exploring these books further.<br /><br />The 2024 longlist is as follows:<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhydTOxgHOT5bBCWVyoj28pyreFGptOdtrI04dmGoKE6ixJBWYBLkYJYHUjD9Lrrr1K3ZX6cpexAONPxxVnLFWLkMg2u7MrPvS0Ah4aT2IfchyphenhyphenNQsEQ7J1El-ZNBu9hDobWZoyrFbT6rF6af16Jgj9_6iid45Ck0v7qMNwNP_1OO7mY16nE7dotF0Vi62fI/s1306/ArielBishop.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1306" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhydTOxgHOT5bBCWVyoj28pyreFGptOdtrI04dmGoKE6ixJBWYBLkYJYHUjD9Lrrr1K3ZX6cpexAONPxxVnLFWLkMg2u7MrPvS0Ah4aT2IfchyphenhyphenNQsEQ7J1El-ZNBu9hDobWZoyrFbT6rF6af16Jgj9_6iid45Ck0v7qMNwNP_1OO7mY16nE7dotF0Vi62fI/w320-h256/ArielBishop.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><b>Katia Ariel - <i>The Swift Dark Tide </i></b></span></div><div>Ariel's memoir explores a period in her life when she unexpectedly falls in love with a woman, despite having a husband and children. The judges write 'It is no mid-life crisis. Rather, it is a mid-life realising of desire and possibility; of queer becoming. Ariel's memoir reads as an unabashed re-telling of meticulous diary entries, kept to provide a constant during her love affair with a woman, a period of welcome change.'</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Stephanie Bishop - <i>The Anniversary</i></b></div><div>A novelist is on a cruise with her husband to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Patrick, once her professor, is much older than her. His success is waning and hers is on the rise and now she is about to eclipse his fame. When a storm hits, Patrick falls overboard and the truth of her marriage begins to unravel. The judges write that this 'is a book as clever as it is delicious'. Bishop is the author of <i>The Singing</i> (2005), <i>The Other Side of the World</i> (2015) and <i>Man Out of Time</i> (2018).</div></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmaU27g2GM8PxA56vNH8kxJpiB-GKLu_hJtYc4Yo0P7N0jGWGuUunv5yPcSrEReU-Y1sUCa7wP7yymYE2jyMiucJXjI08DGw0koAiYjU4ESwXyC07S1GF6TxuTlfQXLnibzibPVVvAfkGPUr57vA6mrQgY5_Gr9FqZ4KyvQc0Vb-6IvbW9BBtym7B3Alse/s673/Bishop_Anniversary.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7zJW8QEkYb9Eue7eIK72Jn0PQo8bDKZ4jGfz_PMRbZbEaLN48yfk-2-rlEO-8EbMHVGt12L0rkEuISf4g4q2uWEoGT0wbTzOOsu1dPt-BCBXhPvEvhkHPiP-hWRpzpCYNP5H3cyqpp0rBoLaSNBXEQcTWYgeQ05vnNG0B6XFNsNpWVwFntiDaaS0T3Ob/s1297/BrabonEckermann.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="1297" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7zJW8QEkYb9Eue7eIK72Jn0PQo8bDKZ4jGfz_PMRbZbEaLN48yfk-2-rlEO-8EbMHVGt12L0rkEuISf4g4q2uWEoGT0wbTzOOsu1dPt-BCBXhPvEvhkHPiP-hWRpzpCYNP5H3cyqpp0rBoLaSNBXEQcTWYgeQ05vnNG0B6XFNsNpWVwFntiDaaS0T3Ob/s320/BrabonEckermann.png" width="320" /></a></div><b>Katherine Brabon - <i>Body Friend</i></b></div><div>Three women meet while recuperating from operations. Frida swims daily to rebuild her strength. Sylvia prefers to rest to allow her body to heal. The unnamed protagonist attempts each of their forms of convalescence in an attempt to recover from her chronic illness. The judges write that 'this novel of experimental heft and eloquence, which gives shape to the complexities of chronic pain'. Brabon is known for her previous works <i>The Memory Artist </i>and <i>The Shut Ins.</i> </div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><b>Ali Cobby Eckermann - <i>She Is the Earth</i></b></div><div><div>In this verse novel, Eckermann uses 90 short lyric poems to tell her story of her journey and her connection to the Earth. Flora, fauna and the elements feature, grounding the verse. The judges say Eckermann is 'a writer at the height of her powers'. Eckermann is a Yankunytjatjara poet and artist. She won the NSW Premier's Literary Award for her novel <i>Ruby Moonlight </i>in 2013. I love poetry and have seen enough extracts of <i>she is the earth</i> to make me want to read more. Will have to check it out. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Melissa Lucashenko - <i>Edenglassie</i></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nM9ROIeGmPlnbD2CTOLbkWb2igwtM_qQIS2ao7MZ9bnisdVlmWIsIvO_VSkMZ68RtyeATCvQKWKJoRZdcUdPkWl0mRiF8PgwjobdBII5W4uc3eNM1VWYOcrVVO2Rux3YVTBP3ullAZwmrR7cbM5x6rMRj-z7e6qRqppmi5wE5GHyE_TZO7pvtaAgTXBq/s1301/LucashenkoMackellar.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1301" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nM9ROIeGmPlnbD2CTOLbkWb2igwtM_qQIS2ao7MZ9bnisdVlmWIsIvO_VSkMZ68RtyeATCvQKWKJoRZdcUdPkWl0mRiF8PgwjobdBII5W4uc3eNM1VWYOcrVVO2Rux3YVTBP3ullAZwmrR7cbM5x6rMRj-z7e6qRqppmi5wE5GHyE_TZO7pvtaAgTXBq/w320-h258/LucashenkoMackellar.png" width="320" /></a></div>Goorie author Lucashenko is best known for her novel <i>Too Much Lip</i>, which <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2019/08/miles-franklin-award-winner-2019.html" target="_blank">won the Miles</a><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2019/08/miles-franklin-award-winner-2019.html" target="_blank"> Franklin Award</a> in 2019. Her novel <i>Steam Pigs </i>(1997) was one of the first novels I read when I moved to Australia. Her latest novel <i>Edenglassie</i> jumps between present day Brisbane where activist Winona and Dr Johnny care for Granny Eddie, and 1855 where Nita, a Ngugi woman, falls for Mulanyin, as colonisation changes their homeland. The judges said 'these are characters who need to exist in the world. Lucashenko's testament to them and their stories makes us all bear witness'. I am currently reading this novel. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Maggie MacKellar - <i>Graft: Motherhood, Family and a Year on the Land</i></b></div><div>Set on a Merino farm in Tasmania, McKellar writes of her life through the lambing seasons. Spanning a year in which her youngest son is in his last year of high school, ready to leave home, and Maggie prepares herself for a new identity as an empty-nester. The judges write 'it is hard to think of a finer example of writing the cataclysm of drought particular to Australia than this.' <i>Graft</i> is MacKellar's fifth book.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8s_5bGLIW25DhrUcn7XS9iCsD4Ek6tLtil_GEnT2IK3-UVhwD1J158wyEDyQeVyb52_X9RcMeoqDNFH4LPT4s0aUonE3swS8Ua-smfH0TtA3qTqQHPkKLcIOBLyLnm-8zgigNfGRP0zJ_RVaRphbjxxFRE6ja4WDsQVizLYzVZITATgbkRAflROdzUx4/s1297/MildenhallOG.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1297" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8s_5bGLIW25DhrUcn7XS9iCsD4Ek6tLtil_GEnT2IK3-UVhwD1J158wyEDyQeVyb52_X9RcMeoqDNFH4LPT4s0aUonE3swS8Ua-smfH0TtA3qTqQHPkKLcIOBLyLnm-8zgigNfGRP0zJ_RVaRphbjxxFRE6ja4WDsQVizLYzVZITATgbkRAflROdzUx4/w320-h261/MildenhallOG.png" width="320" /></a></div>Kate Mildenhall - <i>The Hummingbird Effect</i></b></div><div>In Melbourne 1933 during the Depression, Lil Martin invites Peggy to board in her home. In 2020 at an aged care home, Hilda is isolated by the pandemic. In 2031 singer La works in a warehouse, and in 2181 Maz is diving or remnants of the past. This novel explores questions of life and death. The judges write '<i>The Hummingbird Effect is speculative fiction at its finest: inventive, mind-expanding and wond</i>erfully ambitious'. I am a fan of speculative fiction so will add this to my list.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Emily O'Grady - <i>Feast</i></b></div><div>Alison and Patrick are an eccentric creative couple living an isolated life in Scotland. Neve, Patrick's teenage daughter arrives from Australia to spend a year with her father and stepmother. On her eighteenth birthday, Neve's mother Shannon arrives in Scotland to join in the celebration with a hidden agenda. The judges write 'told from the perspectives of three connected women, <i>Feast</i> reminds us not so much to be wary of unreliable narrators, but of the subjectivity of moral value.' This is O'Grady's debut novel. This book sounds intriguing and brings together some of my favourite things: Scotland, unreliable narrators, and tales of strong women. Add it to the list!</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilkShV3NtxC_2WVKfS6LEX2lxo3cCGhz5OsCpr3OddY6hzvZPKuj2l_LuvtXExaZ3aOpCVjoPIXaFap4IKhvJ-wcsms56ce8ABGCmZuRfLZCxAmpiJ1H4sNZYdhcmZ4Lmvrk0KfKvHaQyrYwE56hF0JFZ2KO2pfnFiSvnQHGGiTHNaZd7BNhvXrnQDR9N/s1297/RushdiSinger.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1297" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilkShV3NtxC_2WVKfS6LEX2lxo3cCGhz5OsCpr3OddY6hzvZPKuj2l_LuvtXExaZ3aOpCVjoPIXaFap4IKhvJ-wcsms56ce8ABGCmZuRfLZCxAmpiJ1H4sNZYdhcmZ4Lmvrk0KfKvHaQyrYwE56hF0JFZ2KO2pfnFiSvnQHGGiTHNaZd7BNhvXrnQDR9N/w320-h261/RushdiSinger.png" width="320" /></a></div><b>Sanya Rushdi - <i>Hospital</i></b></div><div>In Melbourne Sanya is diagnosed with her third episode of psychosis. She is taken to a pyschiatric ward where she ponders mental health and institutional treatments. The judges call Hospital 'an unflinching, insightful and delicately wrought work of auto fiction that brings devastating lucidity to the often-opaque realm of mental health.' This is Rushdi's debut novel, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Hayley Singer - <i>Abandon Every Hope: Essays for the Dead</i></b></div><div>In Singer's first book, she explore how we write the life of the dead. In particular she is drawn to the ethical issue of killing animals for meat, challenging readers to think about what we consume. The judges write 'experimental and jostling in its use of poetic, lyric, academic and reflective writing styles, this book grapples with the industrial meat complex.' As a lifelong vegetarian I am glad someone has written about this, but I don't think this book is for me. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwU3WisE4b7n5vVnsuvCydX5PWIArYd_1TYaKefs4ouOGb4Kwv23oSmmyS_udxaNDc10gFZs6L-BqLCcg7Fg8iUrWGbUDAaFR8ho_rHW5o-hdgKzNUpsfWortg-8i7oKI63kAheermfix3cwEiEYxS6AaHcfYYzMYjZe6I0JwSnlB0JyGmg9DsoNwpekP/s1297/WoollettWright.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1297" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwU3WisE4b7n5vVnsuvCydX5PWIArYd_1TYaKefs4ouOGb4Kwv23oSmmyS_udxaNDc10gFZs6L-BqLCcg7Fg8iUrWGbUDAaFR8ho_rHW5o-hdgKzNUpsfWortg-8i7oKI63kAheermfix3cwEiEYxS6AaHcfYYzMYjZe6I0JwSnlB0JyGmg9DsoNwpekP/w320-h261/WoollettWright.png" width="320" /></a></div>Laura Elizabeth Woollett - <i>West Girls</i></b></div><div>This novel of interconnected short stories explores obsession with beauty. Luna seeks a modelling career, presenting herself as part Asian in an effort to differentiate herself from the other white girls vying for the spotlight. The judges write 'moving from suburban malls to modelling catwalks, empty highways to crowded Instagram feeds, <i>West Girls</i> is as real as it is painful.' Woollett is known for her previous novels <i>Beautiful Revolutionary</i> (2018) and <i>The Newcomer </i>(2021). </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Alexis Wright - <i>Praiseworthy</i></b></div><div>Set in the north of Australia in a small town surrounded by a mysterious haze. The locals try to combat the haze in various ill-fated schemes. A crazed visionary named Chaos Steel steps in with a vision to use 5 million feral donkeys to solve the climate crisis and create a carbon-neutral Aboriginal transport company. His wife and sons have their own plans. The judges write 'a canon-crushing Australian novel for the ages. Fierce and gloriously funny, <i>Praiseworthy</i> is a genre-defiant epic of climate catastrophe proportions'. One of Australia's most lauded authors, Wright is a previous winner of the Stella Prize for her work <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-stella-prize-2018.html" target="_blank">Tracker</a> </i>(2018). </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>For more information and the complete judges comments, see the <a href="https://stella.org.au" target="_blank">Stella Prize website</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was disappointed that Charlotte Wood was not longlisted for <i>Stone Yard Devotional </i>and I thought that we might see Madeleine Gray's <i>Green Dot</i>, Sally Colin-James' <i>One Illuminated Thread</i>, Nadine Cohen's <i>Everyone and Everything</i> and Susie Miller's <i>Prima Facie</i> on the longlist. As I have said previously, I wish the Stella Prize would stick with fiction. I am glad that the Women's Prize has recently split into fiction and non-fiction categories, and perhaps in future Stella can do the same. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am currently reading <i>Edenglassie</i>. I am also intrigued by the works by O'Grady, Mildenhall, Wright and Eckermann. The short time period between announcements of long and shortlists makes it hard to read all these titles before the nominees are whittled down. </div><div><br /><div>The Shortlist will be announced on 4 April 2024 with the winner of the $60,000 prize will be announced on 2 May 2024. </div></div></div></div></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-34313804776876506602024-03-17T08:27:00.002+11:002024-03-17T08:27:27.487+11:00All About Women 2024<p>I have not attended the All About Women festival since before the pandemic, but thought I would go this year as the line up looked great. I booked three sessions, leaving myself time to explore the scene down at the Sydney Opera House. </p><p>Here's how I spent my day, Sunday 10 March 2024, at All About Women.</p><p></p><b>Mary Beard</b><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53efuHTpi8BoeiiQm0BwZvYUDe8DJszCyQUdz_6AHt1adc24dZqeOqZCYlxWE9jr7pwkvv1v1Eaia38GkEB9snPC_kXR91MCok3SpYycsECVbVJ2itFGAy4HpKMoY2WmNCZI-643kRAhR7zumQxhF3kMvHzMEcX5gE8E1vRcqV5SRfLylZjOTC6KY9Jfi/s2508/Beard.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2508" data-original-width="2348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53efuHTpi8BoeiiQm0BwZvYUDe8DJszCyQUdz_6AHt1adc24dZqeOqZCYlxWE9jr7pwkvv1v1Eaia38GkEB9snPC_kXR91MCok3SpYycsECVbVJ2itFGAy4HpKMoY2WmNCZI-643kRAhR7zumQxhF3kMvHzMEcX5gE8E1vRcqV5SRfLylZjOTC6KY9Jfi/w301-h320/Beard.JPG" width="301" /></a></div><p></p><p></p>As a lover of the history of the Roman Empire, I was thrilled to hear from classics scholar Mary Beard. In a session moderated by Bri Lee, Beard had the entire Concert Hall enthralled as she spoke about her latest work <i>Emperor of Rome</i> (2024), which Lee described as a villainous origin story of the patriarchy. They spoke about how Ancient Rome was actually quite diverse and about how she responded to critics who thought she should not appear on television because of her looks. <div>Having mostly read Mary Beard, one thing that I did not anticipate was how funny she was. She is so quick witted, and delightfully engaging. In one exchange she was talking about Marcus Aurelius and his meditations. She calls them Aurelius' <i>Jottings to Himself, </i>as it was never intended to be published. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHiZmhv8Y9fckUAa9208tkExbL8SVp9lb3F1MFxh_tT1JXPdqzbFB3VgNmxRxQrtrEWLj3L_odKZhX_9CGwbMq7bDLwiwMjqAjqGUUNut4UVQx7R0hkVAICGs0LXFcEsD4CTACBLvO9MhZfI2sfK-Shsvw9AaJkuf30w1jn4noZTdLwkfM_kbFctBP-Krb/s4032/MaryBeard.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHiZmhv8Y9fckUAa9208tkExbL8SVp9lb3F1MFxh_tT1JXPdqzbFB3VgNmxRxQrtrEWLj3L_odKZhX_9CGwbMq7bDLwiwMjqAjqGUUNut4UVQx7R0hkVAICGs0LXFcEsD4CTACBLvO9MhZfI2sfK-Shsvw9AaJkuf30w1jn4noZTdLwkfM_kbFctBP-Krb/w200-h150/MaryBeard.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>After the session, I joined the queue of admirers to have a book signed. The festival has instituted a rule of one book per person, so I had to make a quick decision as to which of my many Beard books I would request signing. I opted for <i>Twelve Caesars</i> (2021) in which Mary Beard explores Roman history and its influence on art and culture, with its parallels to Suetonius. She was lovely to speak with.<p></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b></b></div><b><br />Anne Enright</b><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrllFVtZcgqIFlvmiPv8vDPqsdcoDjQZ03tDA9ihJS_teAe_GtluYbZW3xq11lXUUGv0UVciptu8-ZtPn0QFcPdrzgSgAP46MHSJ2hDy7LdjlTMpgkiOBLkeThVC4hkMSceOI8_5CgKE7WpTcldeZZJ3yJpyfSIoV8UdergQipcebvtyO5sgsYc4JaKkw/s2009/AnneEnright.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2009" data-original-width="1865" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrllFVtZcgqIFlvmiPv8vDPqsdcoDjQZ03tDA9ihJS_teAe_GtluYbZW3xq11lXUUGv0UVciptu8-ZtPn0QFcPdrzgSgAP46MHSJ2hDy7LdjlTMpgkiOBLkeThVC4hkMSceOI8_5CgKE7WpTcldeZZJ3yJpyfSIoV8UdergQipcebvtyO5sgsYc4JaKkw/s320/AnneEnright.JPG" width="297" /></a>Irish author Anne Enright's latest novel, <i>The Wren, The Wren</i>, follows a mother and daughter impacted by brutality of family violence. It has just been longlisted for the <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2024/03/womens-prize-for-fiction-longlist-2024.html" target="_blank">Women's Prize for Fiction</a> and I have been enjoying reading it.</p><p>This session, moderated by author Madeline Gray, began with Enright reading two passages. She chose one of Nell, the daughter, and another of Carmel, the mother, which perfectly captured their essence. Enright spoke about writing and how she finds her characters. She talked about how she likes her readers to make up their own minds about characters. </p><p>After this session I met Anne Enright and asked her to sign a copy of <i>The Gathering</i> for me, winner of the 2007 Booker Prize*. I told her it was a shame we could only get one signed, as I had <i>The Wren, The Wren</i> with me too. She did a quick shuffle of my books so I could get them both signed! </p><p><b>Anna Funder </b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4ZqO1QgTh0ORU5cYepXTabutZLi3SF8-31jrkrvJgtfjxq46OqWKOWQpmLdW6bTrh4Cmv_tEBP2CFWE0kLLTLu05RwOvu-MSaMusMfsBdY0-qVPvjkoPQmF4K-e10lzmdR2Muj9fpbPVx7VMzWQbwWkWMldqGF3aBBwb3vgGMfaCQ3BOxtgnubT8mJIE/s2124/Funder.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1918" data-original-width="2124" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4ZqO1QgTh0ORU5cYepXTabutZLi3SF8-31jrkrvJgtfjxq46OqWKOWQpmLdW6bTrh4Cmv_tEBP2CFWE0kLLTLu05RwOvu-MSaMusMfsBdY0-qVPvjkoPQmF4K-e10lzmdR2Muj9fpbPVx7VMzWQbwWkWMldqGF3aBBwb3vgGMfaCQ3BOxtgnubT8mJIE/w320-h290/Funder.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Readers of this blog will know that I adore Anna Funder and love all of her work. Her latest book, <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">Wifedom</a></i>, is an intriguing look at George Orwell's wife Eileen O'Shaughnessy. Funder sat down with Jemma Birrell to discuss the book and how it came to be. </div><div><br /></div><div>Funder spoke about how much she admires Orwell and had read many biographies which diminished or erased the role his wife played in his success. She then found Eileen's voice in her letters to her friend Nora, and found a fearless wit and intellect. Funder spoke about how she conducted her research and the way in which she used various techniques to craft her book. </div><div><br /></div><div>After the session Funder signed a copy of <i>Wifedom</i> for me. The book has been longlisted for the<a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2024/02/womens-prize-for-non-fiction-longlist.html" target="_blank"> Women's Prize for Non-Fiction</a> and we will find out if it has been shortlisted at the end of the month. <br /><p></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p>All About Women has a wonderful lineup with some of my favourite thinkers speaking - Tara Moss, Jane Caro, Jan Fran, Jamila Rizvi, Grace Tame, Clementine Ford, Chanel Contos, Nakkiah Luis, Jess Hill, Brooke Boney, Bridie Jabour, and Sisonke Msimang. There were plenty of other sessions that I would have liked to have attended at the <a href="https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/all-about-women" target="_blank">All About Women</a> festival - including Yellowface with Rebecca F Kuang - but I found the festival schedule really tricky with the staggered session times that overlapped or had short breaks between. The Opera House is a lovely venue, but it is hard to navigate between the various rooms. I also found the Kinokuniya pop-up bookshop disappointing as there was no space to wander around and the queues were terrible.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierhMgZJzMJgrLubnSMwigqS3if3dRoyc5737IdKZl6oHsBguXlAPAMo1gYPza4q6OEGpkAmMkEA-bedqW8M6bE97Fo6fcn0NcavCet-v96SJdTpCsWbA8Ru7X0MPry3nFn20LoNxeWWH19O7oMrimjBiRBgY5MzUO1Ic4OoUkd6MToAOACgP5YPKdo5a7/s4032/VanDer.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b></b></div><b>Bonus Event - Bessel van der Kolk</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierhMgZJzMJgrLubnSMwigqS3if3dRoyc5737IdKZl6oHsBguXlAPAMo1gYPza4q6OEGpkAmMkEA-bedqW8M6bE97Fo6fcn0NcavCet-v96SJdTpCsWbA8Ru7X0MPry3nFn20LoNxeWWH19O7oMrimjBiRBgY5MzUO1Ic4OoUkd6MToAOACgP5YPKdo5a7/s4032/VanDer.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierhMgZJzMJgrLubnSMwigqS3if3dRoyc5737IdKZl6oHsBguXlAPAMo1gYPza4q6OEGpkAmMkEA-bedqW8M6bE97Fo6fcn0NcavCet-v96SJdTpCsWbA8Ru7X0MPry3nFn20LoNxeWWH19O7oMrimjBiRBgY5MzUO1Ic4OoUkd6MToAOACgP5YPKdo5a7/w242-h320/VanDer.JPG" width="242" /></a></div>The night before the<i> All About Women</i> festival I attended another event at the Sydney Opera House. A friend had a spare ticket to hear Bessel van der Kolk, author of <i>The Body Keeps the Score</i>. What a fascinating discussion about his research and practice. He described trauma as being different from memory, but more of a re-living the experience. </div><div><br /></div><div>He talked about his more recent work in which he has been researching the use of psychedelics on trauma - specifically MDMA - and how this has been assisting patients. It was all very interesting, with a sold out crowd in the Concert Hall to hear him speak - no wonder his book has been on bestseller lists for over a decade! It was a really interesting session and I am so glad I was able to attend.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>*Booker Books</b> - I have a growing collection of signed Booker winners - including Damon Galgut's <i>The Promise</i> (2021), Bernardine Evaristo's<i> Girl, Woman, Other </i>(2019), Marlon James' <i>A Brief History of Seven Killings</i> (2015), Richard Flanagan's <i>The Narrow Road to the Deep North </i>(2014), Eleanor Catton's <i>The Luminaries </i>(2013), and Thomas Keneally's<i> Schindler's Ark</i> (1982). Delighted to add Anne Enright's <i>The Gathering </i>(2007) to this collection.</div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-46180782021792936922024-03-16T17:19:00.003+11:002024-03-17T08:37:12.765+11:00Great American Novels<p><i>The Atlantic </i>has just published <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2024/03/best-books-american-fiction/677479/" target="_blank">a list of 'Great American Novels'</a> naming 100 titles published in the past 100 years. I love a book list and was intrigued by this list which <i>The Atlantic</i> claims 'represent the best of what novels can do: challenge us, delight is, pull us in and then release us, a little smarter and more alive than we were before.' Let's check out this exciting list )novels in bold I have read, linked where there is a review on this blog):</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKN2MugjqC3h8m-JVqljUes7ZYoFcYG4mZon_1ABgdlvi0T4YM264Cq-Htm20yFZLeXTG-DKEWKmdxoPWPIpMYfBdJe78JaxRJ2JyO2NvLSnTwgIjg_4o9wPilGUu5gMGAYyMvaI4-RppcXXw6z1ejVnk57TitbtyDeIlTOwmXYpIsdM0aqpjdYPPsM0Q7/s475/Cather.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKN2MugjqC3h8m-JVqljUes7ZYoFcYG4mZon_1ABgdlvi0T4YM264Cq-Htm20yFZLeXTG-DKEWKmdxoPWPIpMYfBdJe78JaxRJ2JyO2NvLSnTwgIjg_4o9wPilGUu5gMGAYyMvaI4-RppcXXw6z1ejVnk57TitbtyDeIlTOwmXYpIsdM0aqpjdYPPsM0Q7/w130-h200/Cather.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><b>F Scott Fitzgerald - <i>The Great Gatsby</i> (1925)</b></li><li>Theodore Dreiser - <i>An American Tragedy</i> (1925) <br /></li><li>Gertrude Stein - <i>The Making of Americans </i>(1925)</li><li>Willa Cather - <i>Death Comes for the Archbishop</i> (1927)</li><li>Ernset Hemingway - <i>A Farewell to Arms</i> (1929)</li><li>Nella Larsen - <i>Passing</i> (1929)</li><li><b>William Faulkner - <i>The Sound and the Fury</i> (1929)</b></li><li>William Faulkner - <i>Absalom, Absalom</i>! (1936) </li><li>Djuna Barnes - <i>Nightwood</i> (1936)</li><li>Younghill Kang - <i>East Goes West </i>(1937)</li><li><b>Zora Neale Hurston - <i>Their Eyes Were Watching God </i>(1937)</b></li><li>John Dos Passon - <i>U.S.A.</i> (1937)</li><li>John Fante - <i>Ask the Dust</i> (1939)</li><li>Raymond Chandler - <i>The Big Sleep </i>(1939)</li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsCu1E6ZoL6KFE-wGgWkpuLH-QJFVUJaAcoiqrmh4wmJSGioiiLGMQNtlPFh6y0iZEPwGJ_GIaqKwkTT0NxvU-8V9cPC-lg1X_atmT7M6tCJJ27Lb_kj_Bdl91_s_mDkTfrymKhKhSKpU6zMISueio_OoglxWToBWgmSnn14l3lS8B0o7hRRUjvJeDz8Y/s475/catchernew.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="291" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsCu1E6ZoL6KFE-wGgWkpuLH-QJFVUJaAcoiqrmh4wmJSGioiiLGMQNtlPFh6y0iZEPwGJ_GIaqKwkTT0NxvU-8V9cPC-lg1X_atmT7M6tCJJ27Lb_kj_Bdl91_s_mDkTfrymKhKhSKpU6zMISueio_OoglxWToBWgmSnn14l3lS8B0o7hRRUjvJeDz8Y/w123-h200/catchernew.jpg" width="123" /></a></div><b>Nathanael West - <i>The Day of the Locust</i> (1939)</b></li><li><b>John Steinbeck - <i>The Grapes of Wrath</i> (1939)</b></li><li>Richard Wright -<i> Native Son</i> (1940)</li><li>Carson McCullers - <i>The Heart is a Lonely Hunter </i>(1940)</li><li>Dawn Powell - <i>A Time to Be Born</i> (1942)</li><li>Robert Penn Warren - <i>All the King's Men</i> (1946)</li><li>Ann Petry - <i>The Street </i>(1946)</li><li>Dorothy B Hughes - <i>In A Lonely Place</i> (1947)</li><li>Jean Stafford - <i>The Mountain Lion</i> (1947)<br /></li><li><b>JD Salinger - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2011/09/at-edge-of-cliff.html" target="_blank">The Catcher in the Rye</a></i> (1951)</b></li><li><b>EB White -<i> Charlotte's Web</i> (1952)</b></li><li>Ralph Ellison - <i>Invisible Man</i> (1952)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpqhjYbtZv1IEZ2q0Y1RPZvEFKgT6qj_wvFgbqlXvDbvHsasHqIq-CmKTLK05EBg6QLEBhQx-dCZYx2TvwyEqbsMpsIHE9BMY6Wd7i6nqNpKWreaZ5H0X78yvbSqwRk7BMBB6nnJJ6qVZtgKHQy13PEHwd_t-PYPj5Ob-JEEWUhz7uj_BLshbG-OrSbDq/s500/Giovanni.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpqhjYbtZv1IEZ2q0Y1RPZvEFKgT6qj_wvFgbqlXvDbvHsasHqIq-CmKTLK05EBg6QLEBhQx-dCZYx2TvwyEqbsMpsIHE9BMY6Wd7i6nqNpKWreaZ5H0X78yvbSqwRk7BMBB6nnJJ6qVZtgKHQy13PEHwd_t-PYPj5Ob-JEEWUhz7uj_BLshbG-OrSbDq/w133-h200/Giovanni.jpg" width="133" /></a></div></li><li><b>Ray Bradbury - <i>Fahrenheit 451</i> (1953)</b></li><li>Gwendolyn Brooks - <i>Maud Martha</i> (1953)</li><li>Saul Bellow - <i>The Adventures of Augie March </i>(1953)</li><li>Vladimir Nabokov - <i>Lolita</i> (1955)</li><li><b>James Baldwin -<i> <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2011/08/forbidden-love.html" target="_blank">Giovanni's Room</a></i> (1956)</b></li><li><b>Grace Metalious - <i>Peyton Place</i> (1956)</b></li><li><b>Patricia Highsmith - <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2019/01/under-surface.html" target="_blank">Deep Water</a></i> (1957)</b></li><li>John Okada - <i>No-No Boy </i>(1957)</li><li><b>Jack Kerouac -<i> On the Road </i>(1957)</b></li><li>Shirley Jackson - <i>The Haunting of Hill House </i>(1959)</li><li>Joseph Heller -<i> Catch-22</i> (1961)</li><li><b>Madeline L'Engle - <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i> (1962)</b></li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvkBWcMI7ODJWiwSoKejwomYmD81YWieEXq3rbzdIDFX_yTaltLX-cSoRaOG0ENEJOL5ICPohyphenhyphen8QW6fMCae4KS5A8ZCRcnStWgmUrfUuytW0dpEnMnEh-ueajDBgDufDNVAN37HIYADK4dSdmV4QnMP0hsfWcjai69FFGKGal98HTtJrmkqLvSESEffrI/s400/HighsmithDeepWater.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="255" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvkBWcMI7ODJWiwSoKejwomYmD81YWieEXq3rbzdIDFX_yTaltLX-cSoRaOG0ENEJOL5ICPohyphenhyphen8QW6fMCae4KS5A8ZCRcnStWgmUrfUuytW0dpEnMnEh-ueajDBgDufDNVAN37HIYADK4dSdmV4QnMP0hsfWcjai69FFGKGal98HTtJrmkqLvSESEffrI/w127-h200/HighsmithDeepWater.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>James Baldwin -<i> Another Country</i> (1962)</li><li>Ken Kesey - <i>One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest</i> (1962)</li><li>Vladimir Nabokov - <i>Pale Fire</i> (1962)</li><li>Ross MacDonald - <i>The Zebra-Striped House</i> (1962)</li><li><b>Sylvia Plath - <i>The Bell Jar</i> (1963)</b></li><li><b>Mary McCarthy - <i>The Group</i> 1963)</b></li><li>Thomas Pynchon - <i>The Crying of Lot 49</i> (1966)</li><li>James Salter -<i> A Sport and a Pastime</i> (1967)</li><li>John Updike - <i>Couples</i> (1968)</li><li>Philip K Dick - <i>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</i> (1968)</li><li>Susan Taubes - <i>Divorcing</i> (1969)</li><li><b>Philip Roth - <i>Portnoy's Complaint</i> (1969)</b></li><li><b>Kurt Vonnegut -<i> Slaughterhouse-Five </i>(1969)</b></li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vn0yIQlK8DAzc-t7UavLrjdbdgymZkpW6juGXNV9tUc8ags_N3eRw5R7vEXI7eXN4abpC85ESw6HlwRidTWkswzbpx3k_rhyp_Z42p1QRjZ3O8orE7AGApKwoNoIpSiw_TAaOtcCxsOjxykkHp7G9LGLFVU0AEHeTjcABjgvVB0_pCspLzBMmfr2F8LX/s300/AreYouThereGod.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="219" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vn0yIQlK8DAzc-t7UavLrjdbdgymZkpW6juGXNV9tUc8ags_N3eRw5R7vEXI7eXN4abpC85ESw6HlwRidTWkswzbpx3k_rhyp_Z42p1QRjZ3O8orE7AGApKwoNoIpSiw_TAaOtcCxsOjxykkHp7G9LGLFVU0AEHeTjcABjgvVB0_pCspLzBMmfr2F8LX/w147-h200/AreYouThereGod.jpg" width="147" /></a></div><b>Judy Blume - <i>Are you there God? It's Me, Margaret </i>(1970)</b></li><li>Paula Fox - <i>Desperate Characters</i> (1970)</li><li><b>Joan Didion -<i> Play it as it Lays</i> (1970)</b></li><li>Stanley Crawford -<i> Log of the SS The Mrs Unguentine</i> (1972)</li><li>Ishmael Reed - <i>Mumbo Jumbo </i>(1972)</li><li><b>Toni Morrison - <i>Sula</i> (1973)</b></li><li>Oscar Zeta Acosta - <i>The Revolt of the Cockroach People</i> (1973)</li><li>Fran Ross - <i>Oreo</i> (1974)</li><li>Urula K Le Guin -<i> The Dispossessed</i> (1974)</li><li>James Welch - <i>Winter in the Blood</i> (1974)</li><li>Gail Jones - <i>Corregidora</i> (1975)</li><li>Renata Adler - <i>Speedboat</i> (1976)</li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSxr5lv8xWAAptAVbzEevmINk4ahFWPgN738dEdrA0c3vSc9j3Dd3mPk4FU9QiJQui1BS39O3zziaKdNExVc2m1DQ1t5hn5aI6Q5FXL4ODoHmOZweSda0U2fZsRtn8ai6GoTQpTk5McxjTlVmWX614bgBdCFcHM8Rj_xhwcLS9m3HFpXRVsND6SYZ0y72/s500/McCarthy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSxr5lv8xWAAptAVbzEevmINk4ahFWPgN738dEdrA0c3vSc9j3Dd3mPk4FU9QiJQui1BS39O3zziaKdNExVc2m1DQ1t5hn5aI6Q5FXL4ODoHmOZweSda0U2fZsRtn8ai6GoTQpTk5McxjTlVmWX614bgBdCFcHM8Rj_xhwcLS9m3HFpXRVsND6SYZ0y72/w130-h200/McCarthy.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>Leslie Marion Silko - <i>Ceremony</i> (1977)</li><li><b>Toni Morrison - <i>Song of Solomon</i> (1977)</b></li><li>Will Eisner -<i> A Contract with God</i> (1979)</li><li>Andrew Holleran - <i>Dancer from the Dance</i> (1978) <br /></li><li>Stephen King - <i>The Stand</i> (1978)</li><li>Octavia E Butler - <i>Kindred</i> (1979)</li><li>Charles Portis - <i>The Dog of the South</i> (1979)</li><li>Marilynne Robinson - <i>Housekeeping</i> (1980)</li><li>Toni Cade Bambara - <i>The Salt Eaters</i> (1980)</li><li>John Crowley - <i>Little, Big: Or, the Fairies' Parliament</i> (1981)</li><li>Charles Johnson - <i>Oxherding Tale</i> (1982)</li><li>Jayne Anne Phillips - <i>Machine Dreams</i> (1984)</li><li>Cormac McCarthy - <i>Blood Meridian</i> (1985)</li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkigVawu-WpDGt_jm3Rs0Gaqm5jHF07GIIFYaLzvGyJoV9arVu5fTDSdBLVIKCkgm2nLg_EZQZyVPfvITYcayT5z1WcxT7lcz93pksJZOY80QbsZ8ORsfkM05pnHHqks5DOKgMdPJtAJGegAMdLw_CW9pypD6aCPgA1mu4jcmj3JOEvwmT3bbO6cA74-L/s288/Beloved.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="190" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkigVawu-WpDGt_jm3Rs0Gaqm5jHF07GIIFYaLzvGyJoV9arVu5fTDSdBLVIKCkgm2nLg_EZQZyVPfvITYcayT5z1WcxT7lcz93pksJZOY80QbsZ8ORsfkM05pnHHqks5DOKgMdPJtAJGegAMdLw_CW9pypD6aCPgA1mu4jcmj3JOEvwmT3bbO6cA74-L/w133-h200/Beloved.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Peter Taylor -<i> A Summons to Memphis </i>(1986)</li><li>Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons - <i>Watchmen</i> (1986)</li><li><b>Toni Morrison - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2011/06/beliked.html" target="_blank">Beloved</a></i> (1987)</b></li><li>Octavia E Butler - <i>Dawn</i> (1987)</li><li>Katherine Dunn - <i>Geek Love </i>(1989)</li><li>Maxine Hong Kingston - <i>Tripmaster Monkey</i> (1989)</li><li>Jessica Hagedorn - <i>Dogeaters</i> (1990)</li><li><b>Bret Easton Ellis - <i>American Psycho</i> (1991)</b></li><li>Julia Alvarez - <i>How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents</i> (1991)</li><li>Norman Rush - <i>Mating</i> (1991)</li><li><b>Dorothy Allison - <i>Bastard Out of Carolina</i> (1992)</b></li><li><b>Donna Tartt - <i>The Secret History</i> (1992)</b></li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8Wzj14ZYJujxPEueC41xoDT4JmRZl2pS8mIK3mV5ET0STAKWQv9xlSoNAedo2eKS9yhaQdeqfPj9_W8ASez85w6g2yI1GKg13R-4atHBnD2D5CjEr4N-zdNOPECFE4JBBV43VIsV1vEdw9gfMdFBlGhtXGBhl9K_gkxTdpvh5tBYhGvn2BzOrCzrmoaN/s500/Shipping.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8Wzj14ZYJujxPEueC41xoDT4JmRZl2pS8mIK3mV5ET0STAKWQv9xlSoNAedo2eKS9yhaQdeqfPj9_W8ASez85w6g2yI1GKg13R-4atHBnD2D5CjEr4N-zdNOPECFE4JBBV43VIsV1vEdw9gfMdFBlGhtXGBhl9K_gkxTdpvh5tBYhGvn2BzOrCzrmoaN/w133-h200/Shipping.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Ana Castillo - <i>So Far From God</i> (1993)</li><li>Leslie Feinberg - <i>Stone Butch Blues</i> (1993)</li><li><b>Annie Proulx - <i>The Shipping News</i> (1993)</b></li><li>Chang-Rae Lee -<i> Native Speaker </i>(1995) <br /></li><li>Philip Roth - <i>Sabbath's Theatre</i> (1995)</li><li>Helen Maria Viramontes - <i>Under the Feet of Jesus </i>(1995)</li><li>David Foster Wallace - <i>Infinite Jest</i> (1996)</li><li>Chris Kraus -<i> I Love Dick</i> (1997)</li><li>Don Delillo - <i>Underworld</i> (1997)</li><li>Colson Whitehead - <i>The Intuitionist</i> (1999)</li><li>Joyce Carol Oates - <i>Blonde</i> (2000)</li><li>Mrak Z Danielewski - <i>House of Leaves </i>(2000)</li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlgrexqee7w-tY0Xsg0Hfmpn880dHlPwgGa5knOrnnWVU_reaUMCZc9tLrW99kXuyFkd_0LD3J30-yQHS5WfJWOvuzijf3DOFURY7tDaN-YkcNQ2qaEo6-F4ScgOfF-DSSJakJpF45H7HGsH0dTgPPzjtbzfH3X4ljnCXAty9DDmMj7FPXOs-LAx20PyQ/s500/Goon.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="321" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlgrexqee7w-tY0Xsg0Hfmpn880dHlPwgGa5knOrnnWVU_reaUMCZc9tLrW99kXuyFkd_0LD3J30-yQHS5WfJWOvuzijf3DOFURY7tDaN-YkcNQ2qaEo6-F4ScgOfF-DSSJakJpF45H7HGsH0dTgPPzjtbzfH3X4ljnCXAty9DDmMj7FPXOs-LAx20PyQ/w128-h200/Goon.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>Michael Chabon - <i>The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay</i> (2000)</li><li>Helen Dewitt - <i>The Last Samurai </i>(2000)</li><li>Joy Williams - <i>The Quick and the Dead</i> (2000)</li><li>Percival Everett - <i>Erasure</i> (2001)</li><li>Rabih Alameddine - <i>I, the Divine</i> (2001)</li><li>Jonathan Franzen - <i>The Corrections</i> (2001)</li><li>Sandra Cisneros - <i>Caramelo</i> (2002)</li><li>Debra Magpie Earling - <i>Perma Red</i> (2002)</li><li>Gary Shteyngart - <i>The Russian Debutante's Handbook</i> (2002)</li><li>Jhumpa Lahiri - <i>The Namesake </i>(2003)</li><li>Mary Gaitskill - <i>Veronica</i> (2005)</li><li>Junot Diaz - <i>The Wonderous Life of Oscar Woo</i> (2007)</li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsUuCPO1OGkBhyphenhyphenIxTn_OBLRclmZhgM_mqCipaQclSt5B228GXn2GAL8QOzYkhvJzq00WdUJKs8Np9wROxz2hflEwD6H1sLkrgvSzFB0g3zirqjaJWUNYJwWJcWot0g08Xd_Vgxgk6PMZCV6L-_GmfRxmpuzc8aQpxXBxLYiO0CYc7XFCVs_AizBrdGv2i/s279/JamesKillings.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="181" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsUuCPO1OGkBhyphenhyphenIxTn_OBLRclmZhgM_mqCipaQclSt5B228GXn2GAL8QOzYkhvJzq00WdUJKs8Np9wROxz2hflEwD6H1sLkrgvSzFB0g3zirqjaJWUNYJwWJcWot0g08Xd_Vgxgk6PMZCV6L-_GmfRxmpuzc8aQpxXBxLYiO0CYc7XFCVs_AizBrdGv2i/w129-h200/JamesKillings.jpeg" width="129" /></a></div><b>Jennifer Egan - <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2013/03/time-bandits.html" target="_blank"><i>A Visit from the Goon Squad</i> </a>(2010)</b></li><li>Karen Tei Yamashita - <i>I Hotel</i> (2010)</li><li>Teju Cole - <i>Open City</i> (2011)</li><li>Jesmyn Ward -<i> Salvage the Bones </i>(2011)</li><li>Louise Erdrich - <i>The Round House</i> (2012)</li><li>Chimamanda Negozi Adichie - <i>Americanah</i> (2013)</li><li>Imogen Binnie - <i>Nevada</i> (2013)</li><li>Marlon James - <i>A Brief History of Seven Killings</i> (2014)</li><li>Awhile Sharma -<i> Family Life</i> (2014)</li><li>Lauren Groff - <i>Fates and Furies</i> (2015)</li><li>NK Jemison - <i>The Fifth Season</i> (2015)</li><li>Paul Beatty - <i>The Sellout </i>(2015)</li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRfcVOfW3zry2BERl0XsqqZ48iH2N05P9XM02NtpDLQfXXBUfikx-hjLbTT7rdQ3inyX7bMsOx2hW-u5quvsAwvQh92Eg-YvNSq7nEGoexVJzHHa7x_ohZCUmM2YGpxto6EsodsGauUPPfSbEjAK74BiqwJB5aAEZQVlZEnewyHH6JnnPepTq-P5u6i-F/s278/Groff.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRfcVOfW3zry2BERl0XsqqZ48iH2N05P9XM02NtpDLQfXXBUfikx-hjLbTT7rdQ3inyX7bMsOx2hW-u5quvsAwvQh92Eg-YvNSq7nEGoexVJzHHa7x_ohZCUmM2YGpxto6EsodsGauUPPfSbEjAK74BiqwJB5aAEZQVlZEnewyHH6JnnPepTq-P5u6i-F/w130-h200/Groff.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>Việt Thanh Nguyễn - <i>The Sympathizer</i> (2015)</li><li>Claude McKay - <i>Amiable with Big Teeth </i>(2017)</li><li><b>George Saunders -<a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2018/11/matterlightblooming-phenomenon.html" target="_blank"> <i>Lincoln in the Bardo</i></a> (2017)</b></li><li><b>Nick Drnaso - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2018/09/on-loss-and-loneliness.html" target="_blank">Sabrina</a></i> (2018)</b></li><li>Ling Ma - Severance (2018)</li><li>Tommy Orange - <i>There There</i> (2018)</li><li>Valeria Luiselli - <i>Lost Children Archive</i> (2019)</li><li>Kebin Wilson - <i>Nothing to See Here</i> (2019)</li><li>Namwali Serpell - <i>The Old Drift</i> (2019)</li><li>Patricia Lockwood - <i>No One Is Talking About This</i> (2021)</li><li>Honoree Fanonne Jeffers - <i>The Love Songs of W E B Du Bois</i> (2021)</li><li>Catherine Lacey - <i>Biography of X</i> (2023) </li></ul><p></p><p>What an exciting list. Many of the novels here are among my favourites - G<i>rapes of Wrath, The Bell Jar, The Group, Fahrenheit 451, The Shipping News, Visit from the Goon Squad</i> - and I am glad they included many of the beloved books of my childhood like <i>Charlotte's Web </i>and<i> Are you there God, it's me Margaret. </i></p><p>The list reminds me that I have started and not finished many of these titles, some of which I meant to return to (<i>A Brief History of Seven Killings</i>) and some which I did not enjoy and gave up on (<i>Housekeeping, A Sports and a Pastime</i>). </p><p>The list contains many of the books on my <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/p/fiftyfive.html" target="_blank">Fifty/five list</a> and some which are recent acquisitions like Ann Petry's <i>The Street. </i>But I also love that there are novels and authors I have never heard of, which gives me the opportunity to explore and add more titles to my wish list! </p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-34527300958421484892024-03-12T06:35:00.004+11:002024-03-12T06:36:29.104+11:00International Booker Longlist 2024<p>The International Booker Prize 2024 Longlist has been announced with thirteen titles of fiction translated into English.</p><p>The longlist is as follows:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ8t4DF0DFyoP2A9zntT35i61BJe-ghmM7DPz1DwAMMLpdPZ1IXIBg6NUitRfAdOMIGrHfJfFj_LDbEzB29BjkMu2PdzLAyxTekE7M2Gz3ZXC0og25Npg3QzZeClyDJ_KamZ33oSqU4aoql8_T2aj-ZRIDsCh6MYLP1OhDU2ukqU6CithVPfs2Xg0HzjTI/s772/InternationalBooker.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="559" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ8t4DF0DFyoP2A9zntT35i61BJe-ghmM7DPz1DwAMMLpdPZ1IXIBg6NUitRfAdOMIGrHfJfFj_LDbEzB29BjkMu2PdzLAyxTekE7M2Gz3ZXC0og25Npg3QzZeClyDJ_KamZ33oSqU4aoql8_T2aj-ZRIDsCh6MYLP1OhDU2ukqU6CithVPfs2Xg0HzjTI/w291-h400/InternationalBooker.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Not a River </i>by Selva Almada (translated by Annie McDermott)</li><li><i>Simpatico</i> by Rodrigo Blanco Calderon (translated by Noel Hernandez Gonzalez and Daniel Hahn)</li><li><i>Kairos</i> by Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Michael Hofmann)</li><li><i>The Details</i> by Ia Genberg (translated by Kira Josefsson)</li><li><i>White Nights</i> by Urszula Honek (translated by Kate Webster)</li><li><i>Mater 2-10</i> by Hwang Sok-yong (translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae)</li><li><i>A Dictator Calls</i> by Ismail Kadare (translated by John Hodgson)</li><li><i>The Silver Bone</i> by Andrey Kurkov (translated by Boris Dralyuk)</li><li><i>What I’d Rather Not Think About</i> by Jente Posthuma (translated by Sarah Timmer Harvey)</li><li><i>Lost on Me</i> by Veronica Raimo (translated by Leah Janeczko)</li><li><i>The House on Via Gemito </i>by Domenico Starnone (translated by Oonagh Stransky)</li><li><i>Crooked Plow</i> by Itamar Vieira Junior (translated by Johnny Lorenz)</li><li><i>Undiscovered </i>by Gabriela Wiener (translated by Julia Sanches)</li></ul>Eleanor Wachtel, Chair of the judges writes of this longlist: <br /></span><blockquote><span>From a protest on the top of a factory chimney in South Korea to a transformative fishing trip in remote Argentina,</span> from the violent streets of Kyiv in 1919 to a devastating sexual relationship in 1980s East Berlin, our longlisted books offer stunning evocations of place and time. Here are voices that reflect original angles of observation. In compelling, at times lyrical modes of expression, they tell stories that give us insight into – among other things – the ways political power drives our lives. <br /></span><br />I’ve always looked to fiction as a way to inhabit other places, other sensibilities. And through my experience of interviewing international authors I have come to marvel at the ability of translators to expand those worlds, to deepen our understanding of different cultures, and to build a global community of readers not constricted by borders. That same excitement informed the discussions with my fellow panellists since last summer. It’s stimulating to hear about a book that’s been read from a different perspective and presented in a most articulate way. As William Kentridge put it, we are looking to be “complicit in the making of the meaning of a book”. <br /><br />What my fellow jurors and I hoped to find are books that, together, we could recommend to English-speaking readers. After narrowing down 149 submitted titles to these 13, we are delighted to say, “Here, we’ve scoured the world and brought back these gifts.”</blockquote><p></p><p>The prize awards £25,000 to the author and £25,000 to the translator, in recognition of the essential work of translators in bringing fiction to a wider audience. I need to read more translated fiction, so will be keen to investigate these titles further.</p><p>The shortlist of 6 titles will be announced on 9 April and the winner on 21 My 2024.</p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-40870949215829085902024-03-10T06:00:00.001+11:002024-03-10T06:00:00.146+11:00On the House<p>Australia is obsessed with property. Whenever people gather, conversations inevitably turn to the cost of housing and the rental crisis. The great Australian dream is a quarter acre block, and given our low population density, one might expect there is plenty of room for everyone to have a roof over their head. Unfortunately, this has not occurred and there is a great divide between those who have a home, and those who do not.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtecuR_YB-UQ-Rc8El4-czG8QUxPXp2AR8frXUPNtm0HqrRsRPawdph7MNyblaIBO3lnB292O9l5w2q4JEBZk9N74hz3rcz7dfUaWwRKAXG0mToaeWOvajM5zdlGUOwyCA2eNd_QnnZLnN-YZvM1xCQEvtMdJRawDU3mZUZf26f8UUnlWsIguC8_OwLKMK/s1308/Kohler.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="928" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtecuR_YB-UQ-Rc8El4-czG8QUxPXp2AR8frXUPNtm0HqrRsRPawdph7MNyblaIBO3lnB292O9l5w2q4JEBZk9N74hz3rcz7dfUaWwRKAXG0mToaeWOvajM5zdlGUOwyCA2eNd_QnnZLnN-YZvM1xCQEvtMdJRawDU3mZUZf26f8UUnlWsIguC8_OwLKMK/s320/Kohler.png" width="227" /></a></div>In his <i>Quarterly Essay (QE92) The Great Divide - Australia's Housing Mess and How to Fix It</i>, economist Alan Kohler explores how we ended up here and possible pathways out. Once upon a time, the cost of housing kept up with wage growth. In the 1950s people would have paid about 3.5x the average household income for a home, whereas now it is more like 7-8x. <p></p><p>Kohler argues that the problem is that housing has 'been turned into speculative investment assets by the fifty years of government policy failure, financialisation and greed that resulted in exploding house prices' (p5). Kohler identifies a supply problem, with insufficient public housing from the 1960s, the lack of medium density housing within close proximity to the urban centres, and the federal/state/local divide on who controls development. While supply has dwindled, demand has grown with Howard government policies giving first home owners grants and cutting capital gains tax.</p><p>It is essential that we fix this problem. Homelessness is on the rise and the lack of public housing is horrific. Mortgage stress is significant, and many families who purchased during the pandemic with a low fixed rate, will find themselves in trouble when the fixed rate ends in coming months.</p><p>Kohler proposes several solutions to fix this crisis. He looks at addressing negative gearing, link immigration policy to infrastructure development, decentralising housing, building high speed rail to allow for commuters, and more. But he acknowledges that political leadership is needed to make unpopular but necessary decisions. </p><p>I'm a mortgage holder in Sydney, the second most expensive place to buy property on earth where the median price house is well over $1M. If I were to sell my apartment, what I would be able to purchase next would likely be smaller, and farther away from the city. Reading Kohler's essay, I realised that I am a YIMBY - Yes in my back yard! I believe that diverse communities are essential and that our cities need to be more European with more medium density dwellings catering for a cross section of society, with access to public transport and services. In NSW I can see the Minns' government making steps in this direction, reclaiming and rezoning land for parks and housing, a step in the right direction.</p><p></p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-91459524023717728252024-03-09T09:11:00.009+11:002024-03-09T09:43:38.388+11:00Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist 2024<p>On 5 March 2024, the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist was revealed! The annual literary award celebrating women writers has <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/p/prize-winners.html#anchorWomen" target="_blank">previously recognised the talents of so many gifted writers</a>, including these past winners:</p><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Barbara Kingsolver - <i>Demon Copperhead</i> (2023)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Ruth Ozeki - <i>The Book of Form and Emptiness</i> (2022)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Susanna Clarke - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-labyrinth.html" target="_blank">Piranesi</a></i> (2021)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Maggie O'Farrell -<a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2020/05/shakespeares-sorrow.html"> <i>Hamnet</i> </a>(2020)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Tayari Jones - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2019/06/modern-love.html" target="_blank">An American Marriage</a></i> (2019)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Lionel Shriver - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2011/08/nature-nurture-or-something-other.html" target="_blank">We Need to Talk About Kevin </a></i>(2005)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Andrea Levy - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2011/10/pride-and-prejudice.html" target="_blank">Small Island</a></i> (2004)</li> <div>The 2024 longlist is as follows:</div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqywFTIikjRB_fH2Gb2gCc7iWymumc2-X5O4vH8HN-BxX2KgM92phS4jMfoG2wdCtIAQTsHi2k4ryBLT0CwHrwQdKxcgm3SPV9wPFY7oCEfFVRrv8ocFZ_nvRtkRXEBiT-6fWwLSo9R7-TFQ1CGf9KPthHm6ILMpYXqZIL8FmmqR_fsDCPJUFrE_ENwpud/s1608/Binyam_Hangman.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1608" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqywFTIikjRB_fH2Gb2gCc7iWymumc2-X5O4vH8HN-BxX2KgM92phS4jMfoG2wdCtIAQTsHi2k4ryBLT0CwHrwQdKxcgm3SPV9wPFY7oCEfFVRrv8ocFZ_nvRtkRXEBiT-6fWwLSo9R7-TFQ1CGf9KPthHm6ILMpYXqZIL8FmmqR_fsDCPJUFrE_ENwpud/w125-h200/Binyam_Hangman.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>Maya Binyam - <i>Hangman</i></b><div><div>A man returns to sub-Saharan Africa after twenty six years of exile in America. His homecoming is a journey to find his ill brother, and he meets many strangers along the way who tell him their stories. Taxi drivers, bureaucrats, relatives and others all share tales that fill in the gaps of his absence and the strangeness of being a foreigner in his homeland. The judges write 'Banyam reinvents the novel of return and does so with a mordant wit and a sense of playfulness that keeps you hooked until the very end.'</div></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYbCBPJu9gLAbjLJgvf22bCo34gICblUdOOBTNXzzfSnSCVoFrI76mJFL0oC7xCqGBlEgYM79FZLZDMR3jEqnqOmmmbvRYwhGYRcPTWT0cs1DXLhQlE7EF-b98Q2_RwRdezs5cXz8KfRLsOPuL2aqao3SDsGj0P7MyLODYHn_ABzUoSyl9y5SVpxf-eDo/s792/Black_Defence.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="516" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYbCBPJu9gLAbjLJgvf22bCo34gICblUdOOBTNXzzfSnSCVoFrI76mJFL0oC7xCqGBlEgYM79FZLZDMR3jEqnqOmmmbvRYwhGYRcPTWT0cs1DXLhQlE7EF-b98Q2_RwRdezs5cXz8KfRLsOPuL2aqao3SDsGj0P7MyLODYHn_ABzUoSyl9y5SVpxf-eDo/w130-h200/Black_Defence.png" width="130" /></a></div><b>Effie Black - <i>In Defence of the Act</i></b><div>Jessica Miller is a suicide researcher who secretly thinks it might be a good thing. She questions whether someone has the right to stop another from taking their own life, while her colleagues are focussed on suicide prevention. But as Jessica comes to terms with her own relationships, a single event throws her beliefs into doubt. The judges describe this as a 'hilarious, poignant and uplifting' debut novel. Intriguing perhaps, but not for me.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuQ5OButGRHbhuWIvLXMa5zw3R4bjPY4TsmkbraejTMvHWDIl1bGmhz9hYjd5OC8Ja2_BNLCKusk9pDPLA4-YYHM1jne9BVFMrTA1J0Sa7uD8aMdB9dCM6l7pKyd8R_VtGhPk84e08rbP38nVRiBLqqBg18wanwYCw20v0tkS4x4FyUrQKsey8-5LZNFv/s450/Elliott_Fell.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="298" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuQ5OButGRHbhuWIvLXMa5zw3R4bjPY4TsmkbraejTMvHWDIl1bGmhz9hYjd5OC8Ja2_BNLCKusk9pDPLA4-YYHM1jne9BVFMrTA1J0Sa7uD8aMdB9dCM6l7pKyd8R_VtGhPk84e08rbP38nVRiBLqqBg18wanwYCw20v0tkS4x4FyUrQKsey8-5LZNFv/w133-h200/Elliott_Fell.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div><b>Alicia Elliott - <i>And Then She Fell</i></b></div><div>From the outside, Alice has a perfect life. She has a beautiful newborn daughter Dawn, a charming husband Steve, and has just moved into a new home in an affluent part of Toronto. But inside, Alice is struggling. Her mother has just died, she isn't bonding with Dawn, and she is not confiding in Steve. Plus, it doesn't help that she is the only First Nations person in her neighbourhood. The judges call this 'a deep dive into the shattered mind of a postpartum woman.' Elliot is a Mohawk writer based in Brantford Ontario.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZxlRgTO8eSgaORVQ0LtXHm9AfOMLzwqcw6Cc1Lpos_F8AE2W3U-3Zc1WqSjY0yGK75H5CfSn0d1Lq-15F7pYrW9uWrrc3MgBsIAbhrv5v3LuqaE1fRpT2y_OfP92-SONl9hV4LZR3e-wI7Q-sedzHcKf8HU3H771ostSvLg3baQYpodcUFGwb-qv1wHJ/s400/Enright_Wren.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="254" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZxlRgTO8eSgaORVQ0LtXHm9AfOMLzwqcw6Cc1Lpos_F8AE2W3U-3Zc1WqSjY0yGK75H5CfSn0d1Lq-15F7pYrW9uWrrc3MgBsIAbhrv5v3LuqaE1fRpT2y_OfP92-SONl9hV4LZR3e-wI7Q-sedzHcKf8HU3H771ostSvLg3baQYpodcUFGwb-qv1wHJ/w127-h200/Enright_Wren.jpeg" width="127" /></a></div><b>Anne Enright - <i>The Wren, The Wren</i></b><div>Nell McDaragh is the grand-daughter of a famous Irish poet, Phil McDaragh, whom she never knew. At age 22 she leaves home to become a writer and starts a relationship with the controlling Felim. Her relationship with her mother, Carmel, is complex and layered with intergenerational trauma. Carmel is unable to connect with people, having been abandoned by her father Phil, who left his terminally ill wife and young family. She also struggles to reconcile a man who write such beautiful verse with his personal behaviour. The judges write 'a psychologically astute examination of family dynamics and the nature of memory. Enright's prose is gorgeous and evocative and scalpel sharp.' Irish author Enright is the author of seven novels including the Booker Prize winning <i>The Gathering </i>(2007) and <i>The Green Road </i>(2016) which was previously shortlisted for the Women's Prize.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbhax1cHaU4cmZYJhl7rjxi8bqgd3J335Ug6T2aMMPj_nt8fxcpD02fKPx6lHPfiA-TSPNKVGzS3q3x9Xs7-LUNTWdObExV3U32kolz175ZvahYhSmRwtXATsjfTMdp7sPRkcMHTu3dDj19OOeEKPAYoZJOrOZplSeUzLpU0ixo-57tMlUxj_e6cFdr5-m/s1608/Foster_Maiden.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1608" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbhax1cHaU4cmZYJhl7rjxi8bqgd3J335Ug6T2aMMPj_nt8fxcpD02fKPx6lHPfiA-TSPNKVGzS3q3x9Xs7-LUNTWdObExV3U32kolz175ZvahYhSmRwtXATsjfTMdp7sPRkcMHTu3dDj19OOeEKPAYoZJOrOZplSeUzLpU0ixo-57tMlUxj_e6cFdr5-m/w125-h200/Foster_Maiden.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><b>Kate Foster - <i>The Maiden</i></b><div>In Edinburgh 1670, Lady Christian is arrested for the murder of her lover, Lord Forrester. The trial is sensational, painting this once respectable woman as an adulteress and killer. Told in alternating narratives of Christian and Violet, a prostitute who also kept company with Lord Forrester. Based on a real case, the judges said 'a confident historical thriller with deep-dive, hot-blooded characters who you are cheerleading on. Cinematic. Gripping. Tense; A total page-turner.' This is Scottish author Foster's first novel. Sounds fascinating. </div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbZ4tbVpIbc_d3ZdNncohCa5uSWEN8BjQC9h46_KgbhbQT-PHtIYpjn862-TTtYNGbTUgE9XTW3_omqe-fNwSNLv628H8ktRYxCIiFCtEFowb1Rx2aCcf5H9UKiX8EsFSfH7lHXX9eCy1djpEKjs_CvumJOUCG-b7k04gHDMrH1j4vc85kOzQO4LCYbdd/s285/Ganeshanathan_Brotherless.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="177" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbZ4tbVpIbc_d3ZdNncohCa5uSWEN8BjQC9h46_KgbhbQT-PHtIYpjn862-TTtYNGbTUgE9XTW3_omqe-fNwSNLv628H8ktRYxCIiFCtEFowb1Rx2aCcf5H9UKiX8EsFSfH7lHXX9eCy1djpEKjs_CvumJOUCG-b7k04gHDMrH1j4vc85kOzQO4LCYbdd/w124-h200/Ganeshanathan_Brotherless.jpeg" width="124" /></a></div><b>VV Ganeshananthan - <i>Brotherless Night</i></b><div>In Jafna, 1981, teenage Sashi wants to become a doctor but the Sri Lankan civil war steers her dream on another path as her brothers and friend get caught up in the political crisis. She takes up a role working as a medic at a field hospital for the Tamil Tigers, but as the fighting continues Sashi questions where she stands. The judges said 'visceral, historical, emotional. It is 300 pages of must-read prose.' Author Ganeshananthan is best known for <i>Love Marriage</i> which was longlisted for the Women's Prize in 2009. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRlLfRgmXP9hfCZbqcMAHgQFTp2n2bKrtVqR9XbkCSfJ7Yoqrv7YErb9UXnxb3NQJ2e7w62fUCx-cMRPThpTRBmEfeZ7Thp4Dp9TnbJoAp3o1mA6zwY6fd9dekJHAgw16ar5PGlDpIwuM_kNxkNfWG-MyJTRQ6GzJSJZ7T69_V6i4GfdfW3R0zWp3D2nX/s276/Grenville_Restless.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="183" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRlLfRgmXP9hfCZbqcMAHgQFTp2n2bKrtVqR9XbkCSfJ7Yoqrv7YErb9UXnxb3NQJ2e7w62fUCx-cMRPThpTRBmEfeZ7Thp4Dp9TnbJoAp3o1mA6zwY6fd9dekJHAgw16ar5PGlDpIwuM_kNxkNfWG-MyJTRQ6GzJSJZ7T69_V6i4GfdfW3R0zWp3D2nX/w133-h200/Grenville_Restless.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div><b>Kate Grenville - <i>Restless Dolly Maunder</i></b></div><div>Born at the end of the 19th Century, Dolly grows up in a poor farming family in rural New South Wales. She searches for independence, at a time when women are overcoming obstacles and forging new paths for themselves. Grenville uses family memories to piece together a life of her grandmother. The judges write that the novel 'follows the life of Dolly, who really is restless. It begins in 1880s in rural Australia, and it follows Dolly's ambitions to live a bigger life than the one she's been given.' I am a big fan of Kate Grenville's work and admire the way she takes snippets of a real life to craft a compelling story, as she did in <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2020/08/mon-petit-coin.html" target="_blank">A Room Made of Leaves</a></i> (2020). I am keen to read this novel as her book about her mother, <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2015/10/dear-life.html" target="_blank">One Life</a></i> (2015), shows that she hails from a line of formidable women. Grenville previously won this prize in 2001 for her novel <i>The Idea of Perfection</i>. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEila5ic1wI9lxA_zVGMkb78mh83wpUzcRn14vuEbaLADrN590NYG_PvV96nRbGTn-bX1xwDAhgylfCDaxncS2i4FCXkyK4YxRZD6pw7kBRifdeSGFXV5dxEXdpw2gX64Ugl2nYh-AMh0HWdsS2aT6IZ7oO6vYS-BRNDnTbdQ5yEGR9Gt-jQ0w0UeFVV23gG/s2822/Hammad_Enter%20Ghost.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2822" data-original-width="1845" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEila5ic1wI9lxA_zVGMkb78mh83wpUzcRn14vuEbaLADrN590NYG_PvV96nRbGTn-bX1xwDAhgylfCDaxncS2i4FCXkyK4YxRZD6pw7kBRifdeSGFXV5dxEXdpw2gX64Ugl2nYh-AMh0HWdsS2aT6IZ7oO6vYS-BRNDnTbdQ5yEGR9Gt-jQ0w0UeFVV23gG/w131-h200/Hammad_Enter%20Ghost.jpg" width="131" /></a></div></div><div><b>Isabella Hammad - <i>Enter Ghost</i></b><div>Actress Sonia Nasir travels to Haifa to visit her sister Haneen. Sonia has made a life for herself in London, while her sister remained in their homeland commuting to Tel Aviv where she teaches at University. Sonia joins a production of <i>Hamlet</i> in the West Bank, but the production is threatened to be disrupted by war. Can Sonia find a new life for herself in her homeland? The judges write 'How can a production of <i>Hamlet</i> in the West Bank resonate with the residents' existential issues. <i>Enter Ghost</i> is a beautiful, profound meditation on the role of art in our society and our lives.' British-Palestinian author Hammad is known for her previous novel <i>The Parisian </i>(2019),</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirY9XBP9cN3Vka68WeDGXsfIy8BMevwinUsMLsFOKiu68PGHJmvBJVI1s9flr0BRu9KgjXsb1p5LgJundHEHm02YQz4U5AXuVkdV3CfH4qts7xKrLOJv5CqnyNnvo58WpYBuMglJO7ZoV-TfdBSUPhXYGfRC5kqUnv_q-0ovF8V5-wihEJuWJZY-lCTzvc/s1842/Kilroy_Soldier.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1842" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirY9XBP9cN3Vka68WeDGXsfIy8BMevwinUsMLsFOKiu68PGHJmvBJVI1s9flr0BRu9KgjXsb1p5LgJundHEHm02YQz4U5AXuVkdV3CfH4qts7xKrLOJv5CqnyNnvo58WpYBuMglJO7ZoV-TfdBSUPhXYGfRC5kqUnv_q-0ovF8V5-wihEJuWJZY-lCTzvc/w130-h200/Kilroy_Soldier.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><b>Claire Kilroy - <i>Soldier Sailor</i></b><div>A woman struggles with the change of her identity that motherhood brings. She is consumed by the cycle of day-to-day parenting and no longer has time for herself. Her marriage is strained, the couple arguing. She has an all-consuming love for her child but doubts her abilities. The judges describe this as 'a beautiful and harrowing novel about what it can feel like to be a first time mother.' Irish author Kilroy is known for her previous novels including <i>Tenderwire</i> and<i> The Devil I Know.</i></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KhMXdSgGIyh0w8Bmfv8v16dYgQ-RCiIs06xFNlpAMCIhW3OPsldrTrFqLwHToCVqBrohVphvBz_kYOnTHWKQ2SO0FuEu9VgWCse40jAC96IAxzcLgztQcT0-TipYf2hyphenhyphenh-bXUb63V1NaIO4Vg3kR-fQD5fUHFj9GfNUY0evPz1H1XtCGZvZErBJlkWFE/s692/Lee_Lives.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="440" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KhMXdSgGIyh0w8Bmfv8v16dYgQ-RCiIs06xFNlpAMCIhW3OPsldrTrFqLwHToCVqBrohVphvBz_kYOnTHWKQ2SO0FuEu9VgWCse40jAC96IAxzcLgztQcT0-TipYf2hyphenhyphenh-bXUb63V1NaIO4Vg3kR-fQD5fUHFj9GfNUY0evPz1H1XtCGZvZErBJlkWFE/w127-h200/Lee_Lives.jpg" width="127" /></a></div></div><div><b>Mirinae Lee - <i>8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster</i></b><div>Ms Mook, a resident at the Golden Sunset retirement home, shares her memories and reveals stories spanning decades and nations. She claims to have been a slave, spy, murderer, lover, mother. Could they all be true? Can these roles all belong to the same person? The judges write that this is 'an expansive novel that spans a century, obscuring and illuminating the trickster at its heart.' This is South Korean author Mirinae Lee's debut novel. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcXUjSfhjx_utKvrmF4SLWKz78aSwTiNRfaKTDHKf4MsbwqoSMyfm9KipRllFRUUnmuHKXlL23CiQJy9IL8bswRy5ufJ9cTZefF0dZh3RMcB11WIrrmyIm7PGdwoK4NC45QDYGKBXGBdlrekyiPO-FYI4uQj5WN9n1JQOFofm0EL3QJEy3Z26GQ48iiwe/s2765/Lord_World.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2765" data-original-width="1783" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcXUjSfhjx_utKvrmF4SLWKz78aSwTiNRfaKTDHKf4MsbwqoSMyfm9KipRllFRUUnmuHKXlL23CiQJy9IL8bswRy5ufJ9cTZefF0dZh3RMcB11WIrrmyIm7PGdwoK4NC45QDYGKBXGBdlrekyiPO-FYI4uQj5WN9n1JQOFofm0EL3QJEy3Z26GQ48iiwe/w129-h200/Lord_World.jpg" width="129" /></a></div></div></div><div><b>Karen Lord - <i>The Blue, Beautiful World</i></b><div>Climate change has transformed the Earth. Watching from afar are other civilisations ready to make contact with humanity. A group of change makers are preparing for first contact, including an inventor, a celebrity and a popstar. The judges said 'quite literally takes a knife to climate change and opens up what humanity if going to look like in the future.' Barbadian author Karen Lord has written other works of science fiction including <i>The Best of All Possible Worlds </i>and <i>The Galaxy Game.</i> </div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XCSc9N3jN5izIOHmibzv4HlzYemisTElpGP2BUDnBSdrIFojzUdKtM9rwHf2NFx5VZClpNjEpdsYS0WodKR2-2hMYRihEUrleXDNQzQKdL8IQSFS5LSgPe-29KmV68NbPSsbWfIau_pGP32zeONy7w3Zx-qnfSOLMLy7BoiSdGpuFIUEM1bg6oppDP_x/s425/Maroo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="264" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XCSc9N3jN5izIOHmibzv4HlzYemisTElpGP2BUDnBSdrIFojzUdKtM9rwHf2NFx5VZClpNjEpdsYS0WodKR2-2hMYRihEUrleXDNQzQKdL8IQSFS5LSgPe-29KmV68NbPSsbWfIau_pGP32zeONy7w3Zx-qnfSOLMLy7BoiSdGpuFIUEM1bg6oppDP_x/w125-h200/Maroo.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><b>Chetna Maroo - <i>Western Lane</i></b><div>Gopi is a keen squash player who has become obsessed with the sport since her mother died, distracting her from her grief. Trained by her father, she grows distant from her sisters. Maroo's debut novel, <i>Western Lane </i>was shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. The judges said 'One of those exquisite books in which not one word is wasted. It is beautifully written.'</div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOCFYl1sAhXWTq5VQpKFzbmeAOylP9TgEUs52QkNDtqqvsG9MZwmFlLWf-YC4QbojhDoCP2-cZQe-eTrH_azkAchVzEYWR_5gO-yoFbe0jh6u7YZ4INKJselNTnhgRog1Aq2UVCKrPwe_MWeyTGjy6LxuWS2rFejUu3-QSelDVm9-jYvulpfh8nTA332u/s551/Medie_Nightbloom.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="360" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOCFYl1sAhXWTq5VQpKFzbmeAOylP9TgEUs52QkNDtqqvsG9MZwmFlLWf-YC4QbojhDoCP2-cZQe-eTrH_azkAchVzEYWR_5gO-yoFbe0jh6u7YZ4INKJselNTnhgRog1Aq2UVCKrPwe_MWeyTGjy6LxuWS2rFejUu3-QSelDVm9-jYvulpfh8nTA332u/w131-h200/Medie_Nightbloom.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><b>Peace Adzo Medie - <i>Nightbloom</i></b><div>Cousins Selasi and Akorfa share a birthdate and pretty much everything else. But when they become teenagers, one withdraws and changes. Later, as adults, they cross paths again and secrets from long ago surface. This novel explores family, class and discrimination, and the central importance of female friendship. The judges write ' moves like a love story between childhood, female friendship and buried truth; painful, intimate and beautifully written with characters you care for. A jewel of a book'. Medie's previous novel His Only Wife (2020) was well regarded. She holds a PhD in International Affairs and has written non-fiction on the subject.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKAZm96VjgGgxFJBDU2yWccsgC0Y5aq4nd0eVLYSt6vnRJh1cRYhGjp75slBwhxHglmUxO-GKpZsa2K17yVGJ6VXtsuyGPgTsbXlhZyUnnD30FxsQUBwgfR2-xh5SYD2OL99ISrrzosmNLkt1MulL1bqZs8hDtQb1FWP5ktGmp54V-t18bYankCekCkEp/s400/Nolan_Ordinary.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKAZm96VjgGgxFJBDU2yWccsgC0Y5aq4nd0eVLYSt6vnRJh1cRYhGjp75slBwhxHglmUxO-GKpZsa2K17yVGJ6VXtsuyGPgTsbXlhZyUnnD30FxsQUBwgfR2-xh5SYD2OL99ISrrzosmNLkt1MulL1bqZs8hDtQb1FWP5ktGmp54V-t18bYankCekCkEp/w133-h200/Nolan_Ordinary.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><b>Megan Nolan - <i>Ordinary Human Failings</i></b><div>London 1990. Tom Hargreaves is working as a reporter when he stumbles on a scoop involving a dead child. Carmel is grieving and lacks a support system. Her family of Irish immigrants face prejudice and are an easy target for the police investigation. The judges describe this as 'the insightful story of a family and the journalist who is trying to force a grisly murder tale out of them.' Megan Nolan is also known for her previous novel <i>Acts of Desperation</i> (2021).</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KZ_yonrrWEduJrpy9sfgR5nxnW1hSpLKfshsqzZybSpfLWwumGBfx2KS7BTl7nSya0_1FZqrEV9AjXTR5pwBvK-7s97n-eMgeNfK_GZb26EdO-VFZPW1tXIgh8C4JIcqhzdBioEmTcUP-gCb5RYzNPsPI5oisxSv7mNPDgQVpRjadsdx7SNRHddxSo_T/s1592/Lescure_River.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1592" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KZ_yonrrWEduJrpy9sfgR5nxnW1hSpLKfshsqzZybSpfLWwumGBfx2KS7BTl7nSya0_1FZqrEV9AjXTR5pwBvK-7s97n-eMgeNfK_GZb26EdO-VFZPW1tXIgh8C4JIcqhzdBioEmTcUP-gCb5RYzNPsPI5oisxSv7mNPDgQVpRjadsdx7SNRHddxSo_T/w126-h200/Lescure_River.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><b>Aube Rey Lescure - <i>River East, River West</i></b><div>Fourteen year old Alva is living in Shanghai in 2007. Her mother is a Caucasian American, but she never knew her Chinese father. Alva struggles when her mother marries Lu Fang, a rich landlord. Lescure is a French-Chinese writer. She has written for many publications, but River East, River West is her debut novel. The judges said 'It's original, it's funny, and it's sometimes heartbreaking as well.'</div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonafpFCIEbs9llG1rjax9tC-UaVvnZbSwGePUW09unS4PDB2a_sSjqA0MgXHVNzGMPnCvKAYgSuySAuCracGHX8PBbKhtLZJ_9xnMtC79GKpV4iX7zVEHmAE5DIZguiKlMCclNY4qSNCq-tV87WI9gosQYXT4sD-AgRdmJxsZF0HrjCjWC5h67qyXfQcF/s1534/Williams_Sun.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1534" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonafpFCIEbs9llG1rjax9tC-UaVvnZbSwGePUW09unS4PDB2a_sSjqA0MgXHVNzGMPnCvKAYgSuySAuCracGHX8PBbKhtLZJ_9xnMtC79GKpV4iX7zVEHmAE5DIZguiKlMCclNY4qSNCq-tV87WI9gosQYXT4sD-AgRdmJxsZF0HrjCjWC5h67qyXfQcF/w131-h200/Williams_Sun.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><b>Pam Williams - <i>A Trace of Sun</i></b><div>Cilla leaves Grenada for the UK, leaving behind her son Raef. Seven years later they are reunited, but still estranged by the years and distance between them. Exploring the long-term emotional impact of family separation, <i>A Trace of Sun </i>is Williams' debut novel, drawing on her own experiences as part of the Windrush generation. The judges called this 'a beautiful and heartbreaking story told over the passage of time, exploring what it means to be a woman and mother'.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b>My thoughts on the Longlist</b></div><div>This was an exciting list given there was so many surprises. I had expected to see Ann Patchett (<i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/12/our-town.html" target="_blank">Tom Lake</a></i>), Zadie Smith (<i>The Fraud</i>), Sandra Newman (<i>Julia</i>) on the list, and had really hoped that Charlotte Wood's <i>Stone Yard Devotional </i>would be longlisted. Many of these authors I have not heard of, so I am delighted to be exposed to new writers. I also love that this is a global list with writers from the Caribbean, Palestine, Australia, Ireland, Canada, South Korea and beyond. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/womens-prize-longlist-2023.html" target="_blank">Last year's longlist</a> gave me many hours of reading pleasure, so I am hopeful that this year's list will do the same. I have not finished any of these books, but I have just started <i>The Wren, The Wren </i>and I am seeing author Anne Enright at the All About Women festival on 10 March, so will start my exploration there. I am also keen to track down the works by Foster, Grenville, Hammad, Kilroy and Maroo.</div><div><br />If I had to pick a shortlist, I would choose Grenville, Hammad, Enright, Kilroy and Maroo to be among those listed. </div><div><br /></div><div>The shortlist will be announced on 24 April 2024 and the winner will be revealed on 13 June 2024. Happy reading!</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Want more Longlist fun? Here are the judges announcing the longlist.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OUcG2Ok_kKU" width="320" youtube-src-id="OUcG2Ok_kKU"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-47625921607093860082024-02-24T09:37:00.006+11:002024-02-25T21:15:44.245+11:00Big Shoes <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnqhLxZAi3DGOFdLOtow66moMgx1pm-mTxaQ-TkZKdiZW9Jj9HBheABQ97gF6kn92nvcdbviwsE1KNu1m_QYo5E1T0_3wCIV6KS4LxMRaFi8iYxvtiGcIR9zfGRaAALKzLFFL7LZ6snT0uNL0aPVKeXJsDQuTfdd83whyktfmwsNHQDJbmM-_gV9q_N8dg/s278/ManningSuccessor.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnqhLxZAi3DGOFdLOtow66moMgx1pm-mTxaQ-TkZKdiZW9Jj9HBheABQ97gF6kn92nvcdbviwsE1KNu1m_QYo5E1T0_3wCIV6KS4LxMRaFi8iYxvtiGcIR9zfGRaAALKzLFFL7LZ6snT0uNL0aPVKeXJsDQuTfdd83whyktfmwsNHQDJbmM-_gV9q_N8dg/s1600/ManningSuccessor.jpeg" width="181" /></a></div><p>In September 2023, Rupert Murdoch, the 92 year old patriarch of the influential media family, announced he was retiring from Fox and News Corporation and handing the reigns to his eldest son Lachlan. While the news of his departure was not unexpected, it remains to be seen what influence he will continue to hold as 'chairman emeritus' or whether he will truly let go of the reins.</p><p>The Murdoch family are synonymous with a form of tabloid journalism that I find odious. In Australia, NewsCorp has a tremendous influence, with a near-monopoly on newspapers. In recent years the Murdoch family have become the news, with their involvement in the phone hacking scandal, the Roger Ailes sexual harassment scandal, the Dominion Voting Machine defamation, and their promotion of misinformation which underpinned Trumpian politics. The HBO TV show <i>Succession</i>, which featured a media patriarch and his adult children competing to be in charge, also fueled interest into the Murdoch family. </p><p>At the <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/06/sydney-writers-festival-2023-day-five.html" target="_blank">2023 Sydney Writers' Festival</a> I attended a session where journalist Paddy Manning spoke about the challenges of writing an unauthorised biography and his latest book <i>The Successor - the High Stakes Life of Lachlan Murdoch</i> (2023). I didn't know much about Lachlan and wanted to see whether he would bring about a kinder, gentler NewsCorp, or continue his father's legacy of hate-filled misinformation.</p><i>The Successor</i> is the first biography of Lachlan Murdoch. The younger Murdoch was sent to Australia as an 18 year old to get his hands dirty in the family business. After a three month stint at the <i>Daily Mirror,</i> he quickly took on executive roles and became publisher of <i>The Australian</i> national newspaper. We learn about his early days in business in the 1990s, which was fraught with questionable decisions. The 'Superleague war' in which NewsCorp backed a professional rugby league competition, against Kerry Parker's Australian Rugby League, ending in a truce a year later. He then joined James Packer in investing in One.Tel - a start-up telecommunications company which was a costly exercise for investors, ending in administration. He also lost $150M when he ran Channel 10. Despite this, Lachlan managed to get in early on the move to online media. He recognised the potential of digital advertising and invested $10M in REA Group, the online real estate company, which is worth billions today. <div><br /></div><div>Outside of his Newscorp interests, Lachlan founded a private investment company Illyria, which backed all sorts of eclectic programs from an Indian cricket team to Nova radio stations. The amount of money he spent on companies, yachts, homes and holidays is staggering. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Lachlan returns to the US in 2019, and takes up the CEO position at Fox, <i>The Successor</i> gets particularly interesting. Here we learn how Lachlan would give interviews and speeches promoting journalistic freedom and balanced reporting, but behind the scenes he was pushing the conservative commentary by Laura Ingram, Lou Dobbs, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. As Lachlan and his father promoted the rise of Trump, divisions within the family grew. His younger brother James fell out of step with the family, angered with Fox's disinformation campaigns regarding climate change. </div><div><br /></div><div>We learn little about Lachlan as a person in <i>The Successor. </i>We know that he loves adventure and sports, that he has been married for over two decades to Sarah O'Hare with whom he shares three children, and that he has expensive tastes in property and luxury yachts. He is close friends with former Australian Prime Minster Tony Abbott, whom he has appointed to the board of Fox Corporation. </div><div><br /></div><div>But through the choices Lachlan has made at Fox, we are left with an understanding that he is far more conservative than his father. He seems intent to put profits over people and a willingness to promote racism, anti-semitism and sexism if it improves ratings. Murdoch allowed the promotion of racist commentary (such as Tucker Carlson's espousing of the white nationalist great replacement theory), the defamatory comments about Dominion voting machines, and failed to denounce Trump's January 6th riots. Fox 'News' has been instrumental in sowing the seeds of disinformation which has furthered the deep divisions in America. With Lachlan now at the helm, I reckon these divisions will get a lot worse.</div><div><br /></div><div>Manning's biography of Lachlan Murdoch is a fascinating peek inside this influential family. The glimmer of hope left behind is that Murdoch's three eldest siblings have enough shares to roll him as Executive Chair and CEO, and bring about a more centrist news organisation. While this is unlikely to occur during their father's lifetime, it will be interesting to see what happens once he passes.</div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-42708885901434428002024-02-18T07:39:00.002+11:002024-02-18T07:39:44.030+11:00Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Longlist<p>The inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist has been revealed! This is a new annual prize to celebrate non-fiction written by women. The Winner will receive £30,000. </p><p>As this is the first year of the prize, there has been much speculation about who would appear on the Longlist. (I had my fingers crossed for Anna Funder's <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">Wifedom</a> </i>and am so pleased it made the list!). Sixteen works of non-fiction were longlisted.</p><div>The 2024 longlist is as follows:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKI0nAAR-y4AZQd4t1-SvQTiZk1zNS419-bEPjCRYUykaqV1TpCT5uASYWm3JEgPOGM0nt83IcIpHo38Ux03E46uOlQtSB_bnDc0FZmKEE4hI5wZFWGFJ8FC722h4AnVW2JHu8WOvZ4Z_P4JtFj8gJ23evrpflfIUocQwnztntc3B26VrmwacKdRK_ntbU/s2713/AliceGrace.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2122" data-original-width="2713" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKI0nAAR-y4AZQd4t1-SvQTiZk1zNS419-bEPjCRYUykaqV1TpCT5uASYWm3JEgPOGM0nt83IcIpHo38Ux03E46uOlQtSB_bnDc0FZmKEE4hI5wZFWGFJ8FC722h4AnVW2JHu8WOvZ4Z_P4JtFj8gJ23evrpflfIUocQwnztntc3B26VrmwacKdRK_ntbU/w320-h251/AliceGrace.png" width="320" /></a></div>Alice Albinia - <i>The Britannias: An Island Quest</i></b></div><div>Albinia explores Britain's islands - from Shetland to Thanet to St Kilda to Iona. Along the way she discovers matriarchies and mythology and how these islands impacted the mainland. Albinia is an award winning author best known for <i>Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River </i>and<i> Cwen</i> which was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Grace Blakeley - <i>Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom</i></b></div><div><div>Exposing the falsehoods of the free market, journalist Blakeley explores the rise of vulture capitalism - in which economies have benefited corporations and the wealthy, creating a widening gap between rich and poor. Well researched, Blakely provides examples from Boeing, Exxon, Amazon and other corporations to show how capitalism has gone wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJFNzzUsfa_CxymSR2uzn3K1Qknnp_UQHMhfSkWFRqAlQBlWKetWbW8dtxirjc5au1cS2MlkdamZEqv_6Bg1tysJnJy6-YA25HclX7VP-y3fipzznw-W8yibrl_KfPeOpPJEk42IbuOfT2GPWyAfjTr38m_JwGaaPWMexmE4OaxnY2YGvmRU6_k40Thwd/s3235/CatMarianne.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="3235" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJFNzzUsfa_CxymSR2uzn3K1Qknnp_UQHMhfSkWFRqAlQBlWKetWbW8dtxirjc5au1cS2MlkdamZEqv_6Bg1tysJnJy6-YA25HclX7VP-y3fipzznw-W8yibrl_KfPeOpPJEk42IbuOfT2GPWyAfjTr38m_JwGaaPWMexmE4OaxnY2YGvmRU6_k40Thwd/s320/CatMarianne.png" width="320" /></a></div>Cat Bohannon - <i>Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution</i></b></div><div><div>Society is geared towards the male body. Women have long struggled for adequate health treatment as the medical establishment uses men as the template. In <i>Eve</i>, Bohannon explores how women's bodies differ from men and why women are in no way the weaker sex. Hailed as a 'sweeping revision of human history', <i>Eve</i> will force you to rethink evolution. Sounds intriguing!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Marianne Brookner - <i>Intervals</i></b></div></div><div><div>Covering the period from her mother's diagnoses with multiple sclerosis until her death a decade later, Brookner explores illness, death, bereavement and patient independence. <i>Intervals</i> has been called a 'harrowing book that is moving and thought-provoking on the issue of assisted dying', It won the 2022 Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFh4dSILAWYc22dN2UbqDvSP8CHlwlP-ZzhTMY1TmNTdFmbgl5rw_gZC9rrKhi2VXzCm5y4u24iM5kj_xc-JzdgZBdN5xq9Ot74XF3HoTnUwc3vQcCuwgNBYcUgdIKvl-gc_CrGjn7fICZgEHgAF79mSDeLuDBz3PYQ8PZsfRfwo4D10gAz3MKqXc5IEKs/s3231/leahjoya.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="3231" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFh4dSILAWYc22dN2UbqDvSP8CHlwlP-ZzhTMY1TmNTdFmbgl5rw_gZC9rrKhi2VXzCm5y4u24iM5kj_xc-JzdgZBdN5xq9Ot74XF3HoTnUwc3vQcCuwgNBYcUgdIKvl-gc_CrGjn7fICZgEHgAF79mSDeLuDBz3PYQ8PZsfRfwo4D10gAz3MKqXc5IEKs/s320/leahjoya.png" width="320" /></a></div>Leah Redmond Chang -<i> Young Queens: The Intertwined Loves of Catherine de' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots.</i></b></div><div>In sixteenth-century Europe, three young women come of age. The Reformation brings about societal changes and the women end up ruling, their lives intertwined. Historian Leah Redmond Chang has used primary sources, such as letters written by the woman, to craft this account. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div><b>Joya Chatterji - <i>Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century </i></b></div></b></div><div>This book explores the subcontinent's history from the time of the British Raj, through independence and partition. Learn the histories of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh through food, culture, social structures and politics - how they are alike and how the differ. Author Chatterji is a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, specialising in South Asian History.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEija8dJQXZf-Ysb5tuB1hXJlEYSJHjXPSVWZZtLstIiWMUs0MS91r4IG-uI9YD3hXibzYkTsbXHtXFbAk0p1fastWn96aiIYOqCLe98ScNexZ5zcfffzG239wbT7G-cefBltpmnCTrh8SQIlluEyBB7cVCvW7DWH6OfhcKcaVuFBoRT-zfrXN1he53hz_Ob/s3400/LauraPatricia.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="3400" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEija8dJQXZf-Ysb5tuB1hXJlEYSJHjXPSVWZZtLstIiWMUs0MS91r4IG-uI9YD3hXibzYkTsbXHtXFbAk0p1fastWn96aiIYOqCLe98ScNexZ5zcfffzG239wbT7G-cefBltpmnCTrh8SQIlluEyBB7cVCvW7DWH6OfhcKcaVuFBoRT-zfrXN1he53hz_Ob/s320/LauraPatricia.png" width="320" /></a></div>Laura Cumming - <i>Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death</i></b></div><div>Dutch artist Carel Fabritius is best known for his famous painting <i>The Goldfinch</i> (1654). The same year the painting was released, the Delft Thunderclap occurred in which 40 tonnes of gunpowder was detonated in the city of Delft, killing Fabritius. Cumming is passionate about art and shares this love with her father, Scottish artist James Cumming. In this memoir, she writes about Fabritius, her father and Dutch painting. I am intrigued by this book </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Patricia Evangelista - <i>Some People Need Killing: A Memoir or Murder in the Philippines </i></b></div><div>Journalist Evangelista grew up in the Philippines and spent six years reporting on Duarte's war on drugs. She covered the killings by police and vigilantes, and the terror felt by civilians caught in the cross fire. Evangelista bears witness to these crimes and sounds the alarm against complacency.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwhCaINhdkhYvne2WVEISyURpgDNM7CZUtPqMUYqQXbejN7ed5sy4MnTfU3U3sbjylzjJ-QKVofbxypALHC3gWvCp0N3rPeNwoTE_fG_kCzDCVeih_y3Q1Uw86cg8VtsZWqcVThnhf6qTItVXAKOz0-1KsEjuiA_LT1DyJOA0G7OvQgoW2nrfgXiHk650/s3217/AnnaLucy.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2479" data-original-width="3217" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwhCaINhdkhYvne2WVEISyURpgDNM7CZUtPqMUYqQXbejN7ed5sy4MnTfU3U3sbjylzjJ-QKVofbxypALHC3gWvCp0N3rPeNwoTE_fG_kCzDCVeih_y3Q1Uw86cg8VtsZWqcVThnhf6qTItVXAKOz0-1KsEjuiA_LT1DyJOA0G7OvQgoW2nrfgXiHk650/s320/AnnaLucy.png" width="320" /></a></div>Anna Funder - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life</a></i></b></div><div><div>This book was my top non-fiction read of 2023. I am a self-proclaimed Funderaholic, so admit my bias when it comes to her work. That said, I am so pleased <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank"><i>Wifedom</i></a> is getting the recognition it deserves, and that Eileen O'Shaughnessy Blair is also being seen after so long in the shadows as George Orwell's wife. Funder is a gifted writer and a captivating storyteller. My review of <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">Wifedom</a> </i>is <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">available on this blog</a>.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Lucy Jones - <i>Matrescence: on the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood</i></b></div><div>Science writer Jones explores motherhood and the transformation that takes place in mind and body when a child is born. Drawing on neuroscience, evolutionary biology, psychoanalysis, socialogy, ecology and economics, Jones shows how patriarchal and capitalist systems neglect the maternal experience. </div></div><div><div><br /><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZmsmpAOMIo4PWTHdX2YKAvjpLrTf9Vs3dcv4B0Nm5tamJ0NQ1E_epRUCjokvUBXtVVF9wC_l3_VZmLKccuShEROeY_opFsDAlkBz5vla4PNK2E7jjJljaBGmXZ_VJcWbemvSSj37y7PlLqY74kiDCm4RJPXlyYhgXWEV_DxAqwCsp6UOgnLOfH34yY2C/s3249/NaomiNoreen.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2470" data-original-width="3249" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZmsmpAOMIo4PWTHdX2YKAvjpLrTf9Vs3dcv4B0Nm5tamJ0NQ1E_epRUCjokvUBXtVVF9wC_l3_VZmLKccuShEROeY_opFsDAlkBz5vla4PNK2E7jjJljaBGmXZ_VJcWbemvSSj37y7PlLqY74kiDCm4RJPXlyYhgXWEV_DxAqwCsp6UOgnLOfH34yY2C/s320/NaomiNoreen.png" width="320" /></a></div>Naomi Klein - <i>Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World</i></b></div><div>I am a big fan of my compatriot Naomi Klein, having followed her work since our days at the University of Toronto. I have read many of her previous books and had the pleasure of hearing her speak at several events in Sydney. Her latest work, Doppelgänger, is about how she was continually getting mistaken for Naomi Wolf, which lead her down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and online hate. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Noreen Masud - <i>A Flat Place</i></b></div><div>Scottish-Pakistani author Masud loves flat landscapes and travels across the UK in search of them. She seeks solace in these serene places, after a childhood trauma of being abandoned by her father as a young teen, and relocating to Scotland from Lahore.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85idEd2vCdYRJh7DDuv95zopIM5VM0GNn69VNHNhFmOKfeIaQ_kN-G3Mmh_GhTICb1-A81-GCdTicYdZOREDExg-KPDBPW62Svj3K8seg2PhfKN2P-sA0ws_po7pozEKsJm75lzhQijwOt1Tblpvb871mGRhLO_DF3D6cioSXEJqL9qSlu5ffHwH_Q7J7/s3226/TiyaMadhumita.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2479" data-original-width="3226" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85idEd2vCdYRJh7DDuv95zopIM5VM0GNn69VNHNhFmOKfeIaQ_kN-G3Mmh_GhTICb1-A81-GCdTicYdZOREDExg-KPDBPW62Svj3K8seg2PhfKN2P-sA0ws_po7pozEKsJm75lzhQijwOt1Tblpvb871mGRhLO_DF3D6cioSXEJqL9qSlu5ffHwH_Q7J7/s320/TiyaMadhumita.png" width="320" /></a></div>Tiya Miles -All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake</b></div><div>Rose, an enslaved woman in South Carolina, was separated from her nine-year-old daughter Ashley who was sold to another slave holder. Ashley took with her a small cotton bag with a few belongings. Decades later, Ashley's granddaughter embroidered the sack with the family history. Historian Tina Miles explores women's history through treasures like these to document their experience of slavery.</div></div><div><div><br /><b>Madhumita Murgia - <i>Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI</i></b></div><div>London-based award-winning journalist and editor Madhumita Murgia is an expert in technology, science and health. She is AI editor for the <i>Financial Times</i> and <i>Code Dependent</i> is her first book. Murgia explores what it means to be human in a world impacted by artificial intelligence. Do we have agency? How does AI influence our behaviour. I have been exploring AI recently and am itrigued by the sound of this book.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAlERxmns1pAxXhukTcJ2f_ElOVAUDyR9b0Ha-jYmQmBed_empb-PO2pc5Mj9ftoq0BOxtASfhEh6cWKm3lzIQjIQCRSOHeSjW1j0dKpHlJrGU5p_frtH2vfEl-RkdOHEtgeI25j2mXHnHpKO5Ubm52W_xzNuMwsYodAbGKavhfVywPsKgM9DaO5_wcZy/s3240/SarahSafiya.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="3240" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAlERxmns1pAxXhukTcJ2f_ElOVAUDyR9b0Ha-jYmQmBed_empb-PO2pc5Mj9ftoq0BOxtASfhEh6cWKm3lzIQjIQCRSOHeSjW1j0dKpHlJrGU5p_frtH2vfEl-RkdOHEtgeI25j2mXHnHpKO5Ubm52W_xzNuMwsYodAbGKavhfVywPsKgM9DaO5_wcZy/s320/SarahSafiya.png" width="320" /></a></div>Sarah Ogilvie - <i>The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes who Created the Oxford English Dictionary</i></b></div><div>This book tells the story of the crowdsourcing that built the Oxford English Dictionary. Contributions from the public were used to compile the OED, and lexicographer Ogilvie digs into the archives to explore who they were. (This reminds me that I must finish Pip Williams'<i> The Dictionary of Lost Words</i>!)</div></div><div><div><b><br />Safiya Sinclair - <i>How to Say Babylon</i></b></div><div>Born in Jamaica, author Sinclair, was raised by a Rastafarian reggae singer who forbade her to do anything that might corrupt her. Her mother tried to engage her with books and poetry but Sinclair knew she needed to leave home in order to truly live. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div>While I have only read one book on this list (Funder's brilliant <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank"><i>Wifedom</i></a><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-tigress.html" target="_blank">)</a>, I am keen to track down the works by Bohannon, Cumming, Murgia and Blakeley. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is wonderful to see such a diverse range of authors and subject matters on this list. As it is the first year of this prize, it will be interesting to see how the judges approach their task. But I will continue rooting for Anna Funder and look forward to seeing how this unfolds. </div><div><br /></div><div>The shortlist will be announced on 27 March 2024 and the winner will be revealed on 13 June 2024. Happy reading!</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Want more? Here is the video of the Longlist announcement.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lBxQHwY0R2E" width="320" youtube-src-id="lBxQHwY0R2E"></iframe></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-1776915507497917492024-01-26T08:01:00.004+11:002024-01-26T08:04:27.298+11:00On the Beach<p>In the mood for a good crime thriller, I turned to one of my favourite writers in this genre, Garry Disher. I have previously read three of the Australian author's novels in the Hirschhausen series - <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/06/hell-to-pay.html" target="_blank">Bitter Wash Road</a> </i>(2013), <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/mallee-scrub.html" target="_blank">Peace</a></i> (2019) and <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/on-run.html" target="_blank">Consolation</a></i> (2021), and absolutely loved them for their character development, intriguing story lines, and depiction of small town Australia. I was going to read the last in the series, <i>Day's End</i> (2022), but decided to try one of Disher's standalone novels, <i>The Way it is Now</i> (2021), instead.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzbkCh44ibM3aBEaGOYx3D31AcOMayBrK1k4GI55ZkFcndQX9_1Rrf6Y-Q7hsraD4spqN5FVy1JRlHt7HOaWDtCZ6CYmppIXQHQDz8Xcr3QVeLsusj_XdH3pJf6D3kKkJJR_RknUSfpAJjMqfwqhDAs1GhCz_Gg8O-JRvsG1yPtvb8zwM8BlFn9PL1L5z2/s840/Disher_Now.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="543" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzbkCh44ibM3aBEaGOYx3D31AcOMayBrK1k4GI55ZkFcndQX9_1Rrf6Y-Q7hsraD4spqN5FVy1JRlHt7HOaWDtCZ6CYmppIXQHQDz8Xcr3QVeLsusj_XdH3pJf6D3kKkJJR_RknUSfpAJjMqfwqhDAs1GhCz_Gg8O-JRvsG1yPtvb8zwM8BlFn9PL1L5z2/s320/Disher_Now.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>Set in the Mornington Peninsula, a picturesque coastal area of beaches, wineries, and markets about an hour's drive from Melbourne, Charlie Deravin has been suspended from his job as a police officer for a disciplinary matter. He has retreated to his childhood home on Menlo Beach where, after a morning surf, he spends his days investigating a disappearance that occurred twenty years earlier. <p></p><p>He remembers the day Billy went missing from a school camp. Charlie was a rookie detective then, part of the search team. But that isn't the disappearance on Charlie's mind. That same day, Charlie's mother went missing, her car found abandoned on a roadside. For the past twenty years many people in the community, including Charlie's brother Liam, have presumed that Charlie's father was to blame. </p><p>Charlie wants to find out what happened to his mother and, if possible, to clear his father from suspicion. But twenty years is a long time for a cold case. </p><p>Disher weaves the past into the present, and there are plenty of subplots - a failed jury trial, podcasters, and (as the novel is set in early 2020) news of the COVID pandemic is hitting home. Like any good crime novel, there are a handful of possible suspects lurking around. While the ending felt a bit forced, I really loved the way Disher crafted this story and the realistic way he creates his main character. </p><p>While I definitely preferred the Hirschhausen series, I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone seeking a page turning crime novel. I look forward to reading more by this talented writer. Fortunately, fans of Disher don't need to wait too long. His next book, <a href="https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/sanctuary" target="_blank"><i>Sanctuary</i>, is being published by Text on 2 April 2024</a>.</p><p></p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-64915346279438260572024-01-12T06:48:00.002+11:002024-01-12T06:59:01.211+11:00Sure Shot<p>In 2021 I discovered the Simon Serrailler crime novel series by Dame Susan Hill. I quickly read the first three novels - <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-missing.html" target="_blank"><i>The Various Haunts of Men</i></a> (2004), <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-child-in-time.html" target="_blank">The Pure in Heart </a></i>(2005), and <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-rising-tide.html" target="_blank"><i>The Risk of Darkness </i></a>(2006) in rapid succession. I then thought I would take a short break before reading more, but did not expect that my break would take two years!</p><p>Looking for a juicy crime thriller, I picked up the fourth novel in the Serrailler series - <i>The Vows of Silence</i> (2008) and quickly inhaled this story. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5OyAmbb4pf7UVBz7P3ZDlVUdyRKwSae4XZl2a-esHtIlJcE4nn6a94I8vfeCTMeJWOY0IGHIs4xlm6o1cGYR_pnajw2-J5N-8sjqjSwzPihDKu3iVeHaRPDFoPieNR7HXwsH7EMygt_cJ-HQLCE03BE77KnlYdxB8whDg3RfRehhpZr37g5dgTxLt82jy/s1000/Hill_Vows.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="651" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5OyAmbb4pf7UVBz7P3ZDlVUdyRKwSae4XZl2a-esHtIlJcE4nn6a94I8vfeCTMeJWOY0IGHIs4xlm6o1cGYR_pnajw2-J5N-8sjqjSwzPihDKu3iVeHaRPDFoPieNR7HXwsH7EMygt_cJ-HQLCE03BE77KnlYdxB8whDg3RfRehhpZr37g5dgTxLt82jy/s320/Hill_Vows.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>The fictional English town of Lafferton is rocked by a crime wave with a series of shootings that would seem unrelated and random. The only commonality of the victims is that they are all engaged or newlywed women. Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler is leading the Serious Incident Flying Taskforce to track down this killer before he strikes again. With the locals on high alert and the media pressing for answers, Serrailler is also under pressure to keep the community safe at an upcoming society wedding and a community fair.<p></p><p>Serrailler is facing added stress outside of work. His beloved brother-in-law has taken ill, his father is dating again, and an old flame is back in town. His sister Cat is trying to hold the family together, while at the same time grieving the loss of a friend. I have grown fond of the Serrailler family over the course of these novels and enjoy the sibling bonds depicted in this family.</p><p>Aside from the main tale, Susan Hill infuses the novel with realistic side stories about people in the local community. Middle-aged widow Helen is a single parent to two teenagers, one of whom has been swept up in evangelism and is now behaving erratically. She has just met Phil through an online dating service and is trying to balance the exciting prospect of a new life with someone and the needs of her children.</p><p>Hill has a fascinating way of blending a police procedural with observances of domestic life. Through the vignettes of the Serrailler family and other members of the community, we see people grappling with illness, death, love, isolation and aging. Indeed I probably engage more with these tales than the crime activity as I noticed my rapid page turning was less about finding the killer and more about finding out what was happening with these characters.</p><p>Overall I enjoyed this novel and will undoubtedly continue to work my way through this collection. I hope that in future novels we see different types of crimes and potentially another location, lest Lafferton develop a Midsomeresque body count.</p><p>My reviews of other novels in the Simon Serrailler series are available on this blog:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-missing.html" target="_blank"><i>The Various Haunts of Men</i></a> (2004) - Serrailler #1</li><li> <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-child-in-time.html" target="_blank">The Pure in Heart </a></i>(2005) - Serrailler #2</li><li><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-rising-tide.html" target="_blank"><i>The Risk of Darkness </i></a>(2006) - Serrailler #3</li></ul><p></p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-4393602792722422142024-01-06T14:46:00.008+11:002024-01-11T07:36:26.383+11:00A Room of One's Own<p>My first book read in 2024 is the delicious novel <i>Forbidden Notebook</i> (2023) by Alba de Cespedes. The <i>Forbidden Notebook</i> was originally published in serial form in 1951 and as a book, <i>Quaderno probito</i>, in 1952. Recently rediscovered, it has been newly translated by Ann Goldstein and published by Pushkin Press with an introduction by Jhumpa Lahiri.</p><p>Valeria Cossati buys a black notebook on a whim. Upon bringing it home she searches for a place to hide it: the linen closet; under a pile of mending; where she stores her cleaning supplies; a disused suitcase. She moves it every few days as she does not want it to be found by her husband of 20+ years, Michele, or by her young adult children Riccardo and Mirella. At night, after the family is asleep, Valeria snatches moments to write - recording her observations and thoughts, anxious that this rebellious act of writing will be discovered and she will be ashamed for having her own thoughts.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2R0_CBOOm83nK5vSG0uOzUAn7u363LayYXt9xfw2gO8H7m4-YcYg4N_iPHPEVGOQnOFnyq7EOR-jadTeSMqgG8R1SEC2z48kdqLU9bpGILeEwGKGyT-c2tBWNgvpeHvMkKDYSx55C7_N9ZS0zs7QN0vEGTQXGevwQqXT2b1Tzp0VKV2T83zSkb2c4OOyY/s1056/Forbidden%20Notebook.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2R0_CBOOm83nK5vSG0uOzUAn7u363LayYXt9xfw2gO8H7m4-YcYg4N_iPHPEVGOQnOFnyq7EOR-jadTeSMqgG8R1SEC2z48kdqLU9bpGILeEwGKGyT-c2tBWNgvpeHvMkKDYSx55C7_N9ZS0zs7QN0vEGTQXGevwQqXT2b1Tzp0VKV2T83zSkb2c4OOyY/s320/Forbidden%20Notebook.png" width="200" /></a></div>Through her diary entries we learn that Valeria married Michele at age 21, moved into a small apartment in Rome and had two children. Now at forty-three years old, she questions the life she has been living, obeying conservative gender norms, and worries that she is getting old before her time. She reflects on the early days with Michele, their courtship, their correspondence while he was off at war, and contrasts this with the present day where they coexist but have lost that spark of early love. Since the children were born, Michele has called her 'Mamma', but she longs to be called by her name and be seen as a woman not just a mother. <div><p>The diary is written from December 1950 to May 1951 when Italy is recovering from World War II and the oppression of the Mussolini years. It is a period of change, and through her daughter Mirella she tries to reconcile her conservative upbringing and the new social mores that her daughter subscribes to - going out at night with an older man, taking up a job in his law firm. She also sees the scorn of their poverty, when her daughter longs for beautiful things her parents cannot afford. She records in the diary her feelings toward her son - once the apple of her eye, now determined to run off to Buenos Aires with a girl Valeria feels is not worthy of him. Through her children's actions, she questions the choices she has made.</p><p>Valeria links the disquiet in her mind to when she began writing in the notebook. She writes:</p><p></p><blockquote><p><i>'I am increasingly convinced that this anxiety took possession of me starting the day I bought the notebook: an evil spirit, the devil seems hidden in it. So I try to neglect it, leave it in the suitcase of the closet, but that is not enough. And in fact the more tightly bound I am to my duties, the more limited my time, the more urgent the desire to write become</i>s.' (p 124) </p><p></p></blockquote><p>But the notebook is a necessary vehicle for Valeria to process her thoughts. Even in her own house, she has no place of her own. While the children can each escape to their rooms, and Michele can withdraw to the chair where he reads the papers and listens to the radio, Valeria has nothing of her own. Gradually she begins to understand that she needs the notebook as she has no other confidante. She writes:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>'It's strange: our inner life is what counts most for each of us and yet we have to pretend to live as if we paid no attention to it, with inhuman security.' </i>(p 199)</blockquote><p>Through her notebook, readers are transported to a different time and place, where women's place in domestic life is narrowly defined. The transgressive act of writing this diary, doing something for herself, opens Valeria's world to new possibilities and different choices, the potential to free herself from the role she has been given.</p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaOTOJnN7ZzZBobSonuK9fzDogIBTgyaBK8sJhUhrBRHCTgzCGzPmkjJ1M7o_uA1gCFh4iahznGLexoGF3VX8l1ZeZCfSOFol6CN8ZuvGwbIJF5bFRV1PExJNn2D1PxOlYkm197tY6s-Ag6UeiD0TrMjA4I_30uY5wYK9FqTAoxKQ_LJ2G_YD36grHwWk/s1344/AlbaDeCespedes.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="1344" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaOTOJnN7ZzZBobSonuK9fzDogIBTgyaBK8sJhUhrBRHCTgzCGzPmkjJ1M7o_uA1gCFh4iahznGLexoGF3VX8l1ZeZCfSOFol6CN8ZuvGwbIJF5bFRV1PExJNn2D1PxOlYkm197tY6s-Ag6UeiD0TrMjA4I_30uY5wYK9FqTAoxKQ_LJ2G_YD36grHwWk/w200-h200/AlbaDeCespedes.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I am so pleased to have read this book, finding it in the City of Sydney Library. I became interested in this book in December 2023 when I read an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/books/review/forbidden-notebook-alba-de-cespedes.html" target="_blank">article in the<i> New York Times</i></a> about it and was intrigued by this photo of the author, Cuban-Italian writer <a href="Alba de Céspedes " target="_blank">Alba de Cespedes</a>. She worked as a journalist and was jailed in 1935 for anti-fascist activities. Two of her novels were banned and moved to Paris after World War II. I hope that more of her writing is translated and reaches a wider audience, as de Cespedes deserves to be read. <p></p><br /><br /><p></p></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-59650884865664003782024-01-01T06:00:00.017+11:002024-01-11T07:38:13.439+11:00Planning for 2024<p> I start the year with a stack of books on my 'To Be Read' Pile including:</p><ul><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOvTTB9gK1-X1f-YYvspDnUEiZiv7QZ75iXp91nNmhi91Gt4Ex2ZE4S3m3pkcnHsxo2LSXExu3UDmQQSr-zRFo2AR3jMCHAtNUg6lz6XUzt8RQuibPdDHYN4QW-F24bVJ556lW7M4v2L4m-LZ7Wb0A9fNDYJFJCFnG9iEyA9eSocXA7zISUx934luapzY/s648/Baird.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="475" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOvTTB9gK1-X1f-YYvspDnUEiZiv7QZ75iXp91nNmhi91Gt4Ex2ZE4S3m3pkcnHsxo2LSXExu3UDmQQSr-zRFo2AR3jMCHAtNUg6lz6XUzt8RQuibPdDHYN4QW-F24bVJ556lW7M4v2L4m-LZ7Wb0A9fNDYJFJCFnG9iEyA9eSocXA7zISUx934luapzY/w147-h200/Baird.jpg" width="147" /></a></div>Alba De Cespedes - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-room-of-ones-own.html" target="_blank">The Forbidden Notebook</a></i><br /></li><li>Paddy Manning -<i> The Successor </i></li><li>George Saunders - <i>A Swim in a Pond in the Rain</i></li><li>Richard Flanagan - <i>Question 7</i></li><li>Sandra Newman - <i>Julia</i> </li><li>Zadie Smith - <i>The Fraud</i></li><li>Patrick Stewart - <i>Making it So</i></li><li>Julia Baird -<i> Bright Shining</i></li></ul><p>I always promise I won't buy any more books until I have read the ones I already have... but that promise never lasts long! I am hoping to make a dent in this pile though, as I am looking forward to each one, and I want to get a start on my reading before award longlists are announced from March.</p>I am looking forward to a number of new books due to be published in 2024, including:<div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Michael Cunningham - <i>Day</i> (January)</li><li>Percival Everett - <i>James</i> (March)</li><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZIPxc0ZBMuKomXNVs3mKZDNsSCaB26iYb5dybPYM3XHY0OUOoxlPBCIOElsm_46AULgKXhq8HYQZH1U6jquZbFJ-IAucO1FVlFQJ28SKui_HogOf7a53h0kjm7oHJUr2yUGknW0H82tg5m0sN0WS1OaKasi6ARVY695s4AncH6-Hl4g3yr4qxTlRZ2bU/s2752/Milligan.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="1814" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZIPxc0ZBMuKomXNVs3mKZDNsSCaB26iYb5dybPYM3XHY0OUOoxlPBCIOElsm_46AULgKXhq8HYQZH1U6jquZbFJ-IAucO1FVlFQJ28SKui_HogOf7a53h0kjm7oHJUr2yUGknW0H82tg5m0sN0WS1OaKasi6ARVY695s4AncH6-Hl4g3yr4qxTlRZ2bU/w133-h200/Milligan.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Tana French - <i>The Hunter </i>(March)</li><li>Michael Ondaatje -<i> A Year of Last Things (Poems)</i> (March)<br /></li><li>Judith Butler - <i>Who's Afraid of Gender? </i>(March)</li><li>Ru Paul Charles - <i>The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir</i> (March)</li><li>Bri Lee - <i>The Work </i>(March)</li><li>Louise Milligan - <i>Pheasants Nest </i>(March)</li><li>Salman Rushdie - <i>Knife: Meditations after an attempted murder </i>(April)</li><li>Colm Tobin - <i>Long Island</i> (a sequel to Brooklyn!) (May)</li><li>Evie Wyld - <i>The Echoes</i> (August)</li><li>Tara Moss - Next Billie Walker book</li><li>Clare Wright - third instalment of her democracy trilogy</li><li>Helen Garner - new non-fiction</li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While I won't get to all of them this year, I have preordered many from my library.<p></p><p>For the past few years I have consistently been able to read at least 30 books a year. While I could push myself by setting a higher goal, I like my 30 book plan. However I will continue to explore new authors, genres and subject matters. To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more broadly, I have updated my annual checklist to add some fun to my reading.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Fo5nxAMzg_-svcDJgUo2MbPg3m4gj55Q3qRGJEbn7HX_SzM22pLEfpg92DClFMvtlnEe4MWROdd3xma9LPloE0W0gayOMUyc0hESDbK63Ce_jxojn_CMEMowlnkWC5eY_ole3UiWZhoeA8AriqUM73C91jCr3xiFJcaX3JhBLlBrTw5LtuGe02lVtc96/s1836/2024%20Plan%20b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="1816" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Fo5nxAMzg_-svcDJgUo2MbPg3m4gj55Q3qRGJEbn7HX_SzM22pLEfpg92DClFMvtlnEe4MWROdd3xma9LPloE0W0gayOMUyc0hESDbK63Ce_jxojn_CMEMowlnkWC5eY_ole3UiWZhoeA8AriqUM73C91jCr3xiFJcaX3JhBLlBrTw5LtuGe02lVtc96/w398-h400/2024%20Plan%20b.png" width="398" /></a></div>Last year I focussed mainly on fiction. This year I want to add more non-fiction to my list, but also get back to the classics and tick off some of the books on <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/p/fiftyfive.html" target="_blank">my Fifty/Five list</a>. I created that list to read some long desired classics over the next five years. Will 2024 be the year I tackle Proust? </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Happy reading everyone!</div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-33218328456946092262023-12-31T08:20:00.005+11:002023-12-31T08:20:35.261+11:00My Reading Year 2023<p>I managed to get my reading mojo back in 2023 and have enjoyed a wonderful year of books. I also spent a week at the <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/sydney-writers-festival-2023.html" target="_blank">Sydney Writers' Festival</a> which introduced me to many new books and authors. </p><span>My<a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/01/planning-for-2023.html" target="_blank"> reading goal for 2023</a> was 30 books, which I achieved, reading 33 titles this year. When </span><span><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/01/planning-for-2023.html" target="_blank">planning for 2023</a> at the start of the year, I had a stack of books on my to-be-read pile, and managed to read most of them. I also updated my reading bingo card to help me diversify my reading. While I didn't read all categories, I succeeded in most of them (highlighted below). </span><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgY2J2p7aK1AV5MEPbyTMPojEMae72MuNZ5duTO3HwHSYp0FNaPzv9GWtk9xQtacif97dI8mkmG73pkEwPv04yjwixjJZQYwJpChQnTw30pgUJwa8bt9N7L1GzxPwJe7FhGbNdDU3hUvfVuyM_Ma0p8WEY4QSGJVdkZes0KRR79BxQho1vbsFmzRZn64o/s1690/Achievements.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1628" data-original-width="1690" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgY2J2p7aK1AV5MEPbyTMPojEMae72MuNZ5duTO3HwHSYp0FNaPzv9GWtk9xQtacif97dI8mkmG73pkEwPv04yjwixjJZQYwJpChQnTw30pgUJwa8bt9N7L1GzxPwJe7FhGbNdDU3hUvfVuyM_Ma0p8WEY4QSGJVdkZes0KRR79BxQho1vbsFmzRZn64o/w400-h385/Achievements.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">So here's what I read in 2023:</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Fiction</span></b></div><div><span><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNTcN3hvug0lbSBvS6k-rF7g1oDyMtNI5O_a_Q_cmcGYgCuZ592YjFgFBK1mPuDNSDD4kSuqnkSigX9GG63Br3xoSHuAP5tUk0SHOefsTRrzktYMCnzvhczEKv9FP00ohySyEMuF81LJdYjQI8MeZtnSiwtY9O3tEFxUgKPT-d5Mf7kgBqpZM5CnxfolaV/s976/Bronte.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="704" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNTcN3hvug0lbSBvS6k-rF7g1oDyMtNI5O_a_Q_cmcGYgCuZ592YjFgFBK1mPuDNSDD4kSuqnkSigX9GG63Br3xoSHuAP5tUk0SHOefsTRrzktYMCnzvhczEKv9FP00ohySyEMuF81LJdYjQI8MeZtnSiwtY9O3tEFxUgKPT-d5Mf7kgBqpZM5CnxfolaV/w145-h200/Bronte.png" width="145" /></a></div>I wanted to read some classics this year. In January I discovered the #BigBronteReadalong on Instagram and so joined that group online. I have read all the Bronte novels before, but many decades ago (indeed, last century!). I managed to read four Bronte novels - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/02/revisiting-jane-eyre.html" target="_blank">Jane Eyre</a>, <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/revisiting-shirley.html" target="_blank">Shirley</a>, <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/07/revisiting-professor.html" target="_blank">The Professor</a> and <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/revisiting-agnes-grey.html" target="_blank">Agnes Grey</a></i>. I tried to read <i>Wuthering Heights</i> again, but still did not like it, and lost my Bronte momentum, after slogging my way through <i>Shirley</i> and <i>The Professor</i>. So I never did re-read <i>The Tenant of Wildfell Hall </i>or<i> Villette</i>. While my readalong was a bit of a fail, I quite enjoyed the idea of it and may see if I can join one next year for a #DollopofTrollope or similar.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Regardless I will continue my reading of classics as I work my way through my <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/p/fiftyfive.html" target="_blank">Fifty/Five</a> list.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ2U-qJtdSPOW29_6E2WLInDHIk776JxCrIY3Z0zaZQ9bzMzB5VN0v7iQtqRlC7ErjW9PgbigfvBAeoSHJ5M5snYEnmw2H8uQuIQIUa44QSOlrOs8e7jqg2g0JAsH1CVm_jOsq78RiuPB47_DGhthbMtwPtnoI2K0YHemqUhiDDEdEo7MTARrp7nIzFxte/s804/Orwell%20Williams%20Watson%20Arnim.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ2U-qJtdSPOW29_6E2WLInDHIk776JxCrIY3Z0zaZQ9bzMzB5VN0v7iQtqRlC7ErjW9PgbigfvBAeoSHJ5M5snYEnmw2H8uQuIQIUa44QSOlrOs8e7jqg2g0JAsH1CVm_jOsq78RiuPB47_DGhthbMtwPtnoI2K0YHemqUhiDDEdEo7MTARrp7nIzFxte/w149-h200/Orwell%20Williams%20Watson%20Arnim.png" width="149" /></a></div>Some of the more modern classics I read this year include <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/07/revisiting-nineteen-eighty-four.html" target="_blank">George Orwell's </a><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/07/revisiting-nineteen-eighty-four.html" target="_blank">Nineteen Eighty-Four</a>, </i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-willows.html" target="_blank">Elizabeth Von Armin's <i>Vera</i></a>, <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/10/big-day-out.html" target="_blank">Winifred Watson's <i>Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day</i></a>, and <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/01/quiet-achiever.html" target="_blank">John William's <i>Stoner</i></a>. I enjoyed all of these novels and am so glad I pulled them off the shelf. Orwell was a re-read but all the others were new to me but had been on my wishlist for many years. The delightful Winifred Watson novel was so hard to come by, but has made me want to search out other neglected books by women writers published by <a href="https://persephonebooks.co.uk" target="_blank">Persephone</a>.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzAmZvVWaa4MdFEDBvPBvkiYZwato4JCIV9Nac-uC2Fbvs6N0lXbbm_0VHbVLmZE09b7xLGSu1AO4wA6mdxyM0ifTNTniFn7RNZM3EWFTWrVvauvLcoUqhso86FUCrWOO4rc2TMiMiM0FETUM3NAyFPDYaFh3HMWFWGXVHt-82252_n4tX0M_oDqO5ScZ/s1068/Retelling.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1068" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzAmZvVWaa4MdFEDBvPBvkiYZwato4JCIV9Nac-uC2Fbvs6N0lXbbm_0VHbVLmZE09b7xLGSu1AO4wA6mdxyM0ifTNTniFn7RNZM3EWFTWrVvauvLcoUqhso86FUCrWOO4rc2TMiMiM0FETUM3NAyFPDYaFh3HMWFWGXVHt-82252_n4tX0M_oDqO5ScZ/w200-h150/Retelling.png" width="200" /></a></div>My interest in feminist retellings of ancient myths continues. This year I read two novels based on myths - although not the ones I had on my to be read pile! I picked up two new novels published in 2023 - <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/04/heroine-of-argonauts.html" target="_blank">Jennifer Saint's <i>Atalanta</i></a> and <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/12/warrior-queen.html" target="_blank">Costanza Casati's <i>Clytemnestra</i></a>. Both were really enjoyable and I look forward to reading more myths in 2024.</div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzr4h0-BN-yaUsKDRYa0vm0mErhz7713MVir6CPVLb5F1MZPQU69f687TstI0gsUzp3AZwtr1FrE7acySjMDd1r9SosfQBvxoHlJ-zqyBpd3dvKHGUnaIY-OA36iKIXnHCRy1LHV-3q5OrZUUXJy0nmZz9SZxoeKdhGeOT-nOmIKB2EXyRH2jNS4cI2Yl/s1022/Aussie%20Noir.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1022" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzr4h0-BN-yaUsKDRYa0vm0mErhz7713MVir6CPVLb5F1MZPQU69f687TstI0gsUzp3AZwtr1FrE7acySjMDd1r9SosfQBvxoHlJ-zqyBpd3dvKHGUnaIY-OA36iKIXnHCRy1LHV-3q5OrZUUXJy0nmZz9SZxoeKdhGeOT-nOmIKB2EXyRH2jNS4cI2Yl/w200-h154/Aussie%20Noir.png" width="200" /></a></div>I read quite a few Aussie Noir crime novels this year. <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/01/small-town-big-secrets.html" target="_blank">Hayley Scrivenor's<i> Dirt Town</i></a> was brilliant and I have been recommending it to everyone I know who loves a good page turner. In 2022 I heard Scrivener speak at the <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/05/sydney-writers-festival-2022-day-two.html" target="_blank">Sydney Writers Festival</a> on a panel with Garry Disher. This started my love of Disher's Hirschhausen series and after reading <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/06/hell-to-pay.html" target="_blank">Bitter Wash Road </a></i>last year, I gobbled up <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/mallee-scrub.html" target="_blank">Peace</a></i> and <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/on-run.html" target="_blank">Consolation</a></i> this year. Likewise, I enjoy Chris Hammer's novels and read two in the Lucic/Buchanan series - <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/dead-mans-creek.html" target="_blank">The Tilt</a> </i>and<i> <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/12/cover-bones.html" target="_blank">The Seven</a></i>. Both were excellent. </div></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVlTjJ_tfUFDaKLv6_RneEmckU55EddovSloXrxtwv-PwODsWiyKNSvpwObn0WZohxm_-ehMRDKwMStbwNFWOdkgFUarC7DkZBF8cwhvWMv9lPmZ15NdvcEVTek_EUV5UfGAkJi16n6_8xr6dsihKt4R6KdOVvTRJZWBVtzU7eUkTfF3zw8Mcf60jN2bb/s1050/Thrillers.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="708" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVlTjJ_tfUFDaKLv6_RneEmckU55EddovSloXrxtwv-PwODsWiyKNSvpwObn0WZohxm_-ehMRDKwMStbwNFWOdkgFUarC7DkZBF8cwhvWMv9lPmZ15NdvcEVTek_EUV5UfGAkJi16n6_8xr6dsihKt4R6KdOVvTRJZWBVtzU7eUkTfF3zw8Mcf60jN2bb/s320/Thrillers.png" width="216" /></a></div>I also read some crime/thriller novels by non-Australian authors. I pre-ordered the latest Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) novel in the Cormoran Strike series, <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/11/pure-spirit.html" target="_blank">The Running Grave</a></i>. It was such an enjoyable read and my favourite in the series so far. </span></span>Dervla McTiernan is another gifted crime writer and I was delighted to learn about her Cormac Reilly series through reading<i> <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/10/bridge-of-sighs.html" target="_blank">The Ruin</a></i>. I pre-ordered Eleanor Catton's novel <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/guerrilla-gardeners.html" target="_blank">Birnam Wood</a></i> and was delighted to get to meet her at the <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/sydney-writers-festival-2023-day-three.html" target="_blank">Sydney Writers' Festival</a>. This novel had me gripped from the outset and lingered long after the last page was read. Likewise Percival Everett's magnificent<a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/02/mississippi-goddam.html" target="_blank"> </a><i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/02/mississippi-goddam.html" target="_blank">The Trees</a> </i>has not left my mind. I heard about this novel when it was <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/09/booker-prize-shortlist-2022.html" target="_blank">shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize</a>, but had difficulty finding a copy. I am so glad to have read this and look forward to exploring more books by Percival Everett. </div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></span></div><div>The <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/sydney-writers-festival-2023-day-three.html" target="_blank">Sydney Writers' Festival </a>was also a chance to meet Colson Whitehead. I absolutely loved his novel <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/06/academy-of-broken-dreams.html" target="_blank"><i>The Nickel Boys</i> </a>and at the time I declared it would be a contender for one of my favourite books of the year. I am looking forward to reading more of Whitehead's books in 2024. </div><div><br /></div><div>Award longlists provide me with much reading inspiration but this year I didn't read as many longlisted novels as I normally do, in part because the ones I was most interested in were hard to find. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBBeeIm2ZV3YzkcELpETzLAy6KiI-1BWquHTBihYU1i67mO_eFwYleC2Lux5nQiciBGzVTt87ivwpuLa54ztDVmXRsgUfPN7PKGbY4AfHFfhxkpjlpkWIJ0DLxnutM3rfVCw9hd0AiUfDi447J3__DAt-sU1gXJ66_2GUOMKE2uqLuYjoK1H2w42G0cDS/s696/Fiction.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="696" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBBeeIm2ZV3YzkcELpETzLAy6KiI-1BWquHTBihYU1i67mO_eFwYleC2Lux5nQiciBGzVTt87ivwpuLa54ztDVmXRsgUfPN7PKGbY4AfHFfhxkpjlpkWIJ0DLxnutM3rfVCw9hd0AiUfDi447J3__DAt-sU1gXJ66_2GUOMKE2uqLuYjoK1H2w42G0cDS/s320/Fiction.png" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/08/le-pain-maudit.html" target="_blank">Sophie Mackintosh's<i> Cursed Bread</i></a><i> </i>was longlisted for the <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/womens-prize-longlist-2023.html" target="_blank">2023 Women's Prize</a> and sounded really intriguing, but unfortunately left me disappointed. Likewise, <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/12/only-connect.html" target="_blank">Jessica Au's <i>Cold Enough for Snow</i></a> has won countless awards and was on my wishlist for ages. I read it as my #NovellaInNovember and was underwhelmed. I had avoided <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/10/tainted-love.html" target="_blank">Sally Rooney's<i> Normal People</i></a> for years due to the hype around it but finally read it this year and can now understand why it was so popular. Another much hyped novel is <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/12/our-town.html" target="_blank">Ann Patchett's <i>Tom Lake</i></a><i> </i>which I read and enjoyed with the audiobook performed by Meryl Streep - the first novel I have read which features the COVID-19 pandemic. I also read <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/03/manifesto.html" target="_blank">Miriam Toews' <i>Women Talking</i>,</a> as I wanted to see the film but read the book first. Both the novel and the film were great! </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div>Of all the novels I read this year it is really hard to pick a favourite. My top five would be:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Eleanor Catton - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/guerrilla-gardeners.html" target="_blank">Birnam Wood</a></i></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span>Coleson Whitehead - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/06/academy-of-broken-dreams.html" target="_blank">The Nickel Boys</a></i></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #222222;">Hayley Scrivinor -</span><i style="color: #222222;"><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/01/small-town-big-secrets.html" target="_blank"> Dirt Town</a> </i></li><li><span style="color: #222222;">Percival Everett -</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span><i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/02/mississippi-goddam.html" target="_blank">The Trees</a></i></li><li><span style="color: #222222;">Robert Galbraith - </span><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/11/pure-spirit.html" target="_blank">The Running Grave</a></i></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Non-Fiction</span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This year I didn't read as much non-fiction as I had planned to. It was a difficult year for me on many fronts, so perhaps I needed the escape that novels provide!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_OVSoEHBYrjGFxmz3icXWk_hxafdH3-H_QAZjFBLXJoWs4r8Qiw28yfUHT6nO69-8H2CuG4WoQpu9iUxQa2RD7QD5_YDVq8eqnTTMJ3mgU3MIMaFbVAk6XwCBrAevbXtGOohiLImc9WLR_rdPdYt7jrh1AXKYy4vQLT4MoSA99nfZDpstA2oWXEbYvif/s510/Politics.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="510" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_OVSoEHBYrjGFxmz3icXWk_hxafdH3-H_QAZjFBLXJoWs4r8Qiw28yfUHT6nO69-8H2CuG4WoQpu9iUxQa2RD7QD5_YDVq8eqnTTMJ3mgU3MIMaFbVAk6XwCBrAevbXtGOohiLImc9WLR_rdPdYt7jrh1AXKYy4vQLT4MoSA99nfZDpstA2oWXEbYvif/s320/Politics.png" width="320" /></a></div>In January I read Julia Gillard's excellent essay collection<i> <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/01/i-will-not.html" target="_blank">Not Now, Not Ever</a> - </i>which looks back at the infamous misogyny speech she gave while Prime Minister and the aftermath ten years later. I loved this book and the diversity of voices she gathered to reflect on politics, sexism and the unfinished business of equality. Another revelatory book on Australian politics was Margot Saville's <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/06/independent-women.html" target="_blank">The Teal Revolution</a></i>. I attended a session with Saville at the <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/06/sydney-writers-festival-2023-day-five.html" target="_blank">Sydney Writers' Festival</a> and heard her speak about the wave of women entering politics as independents. I found her book a fascinating insight into the current shake up of Parliament.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LT6tQNsFNDBgsK43hXx9R3fORDD6Qy8pBjRH2uT63CnM_whMGZKFO0cH-GzAnr_qxdZlxm1rw0qkQw1zc2IJ4kaiA2oahIsW3nlagTaQYkc1My8ovEXBhOxLNc0Ylx8BokIN0p3zlx4jxcHA_pJNPj6xF7szebl9syiHEWVRQyrRVJEEeHKA3dQd6Ejq/s660/Memoir.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="660" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LT6tQNsFNDBgsK43hXx9R3fORDD6Qy8pBjRH2uT63CnM_whMGZKFO0cH-GzAnr_qxdZlxm1rw0qkQw1zc2IJ4kaiA2oahIsW3nlagTaQYkc1My8ovEXBhOxLNc0Ylx8BokIN0p3zlx4jxcHA_pJNPj6xF7szebl9syiHEWVRQyrRVJEEeHKA3dQd6Ejq/s320/Memoir.png" width="320" /></a></div>I also read some interesting memoir this year. Grace Tame's memoir <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/01/let-her-speak.html" target="_blank">The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner </a></i>was an interesting exploration of the life of this remarkable woman. While the book was challenging and in need of an edit, I have nothing but admiration for Tame. Similarly Britney Spears' <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/11/piece-of-me.html" target="_blank">The Woman in Me</a></i> was not particularly well written but was such as interesting read. It is a fascinating look at the music industry and the perils of early fame, and I really loved this book and the audiobook performed by Michelle Williams. </div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div><br /></div><div>Another memoir of sorts was Anna Funder's <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">Wifedom</a></i> - a look at the life of Eileen O'Shaunessy Blair, wife of George Orwell. I love Anna Funder and would read anything she writes. I pre-ordered this book as soon as it was announced. <i>Wifedom</i> does not fit neatly into any category as Funder fuses styles, melding her life with Eileen's. I found it an engrossing read, and made me look at Orwell and his work in a new light. Definitely my favourite non-fiction this year.</div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Other Genres</span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I also explored a mishmash of other genres in 2023. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZuTtxI2zjvJkfVSfrVYXleSJvSdvDJcV2zcbFN1LO5bP3s1Afk6vq1ATbrN800tGlI5Jwo47dmRh0QA7YziGY2QLC8nZUqb8yAjw1GNY-ClyJBSslJIto6aHOcMcegk_e4VXYl1VOMjdpjMyMPVwcd287V_jUuSTSyVszwweToExki9BJqZIIAAhqWFm/s662/Various.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="662" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZuTtxI2zjvJkfVSfrVYXleSJvSdvDJcV2zcbFN1LO5bP3s1Afk6vq1ATbrN800tGlI5Jwo47dmRh0QA7YziGY2QLC8nZUqb8yAjw1GNY-ClyJBSslJIto6aHOcMcegk_e4VXYl1VOMjdpjMyMPVwcd287V_jUuSTSyVszwweToExki9BJqZIIAAhqWFm/w320-h186/Various.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I re-read a play I had studied in high school, <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/12/our-town.html" target="_blank"><i>Our Town</i> by Thornton Wilder</a>, to assist me in my reading of Ann Patchett's <i>Tom Lake, </i>and found I still didn't love it after all these years. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-possibility-of-evil.html" target="_blank">Shirley Jackson's<i> Dark Tales</i> </a>- a collection of her eerie short stories, was wonderful and made me want to read more of her work. I also read an amazing poetry collection -</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Sarah Holland Batt's award winning <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/08/vital-signs.html" target="_blank">The Jaguar</a></i>. I picked this up after hearing her read from the collection at the<a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/sydney-writers-festival-2023-day-two.html" target="_blank"> Sydney Writers' Festival</a> and have savoured her verse.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Best of 2023</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I read so many great books this year. I loved and highly recommend:</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Anna Funder - </span></span><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">Wifedom</a></i> </li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">Britney Spears - <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/11/piece-of-me.html" target="_blank">The Woman in Me</a></i></span></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">George Orwell - </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/07/revisiting-nineteen-eighty-four.html" target="_blank">Nineteen Eighty-Four</a></i></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">Winifred Watson -</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/10/big-day-out.html" target="_blank"><i>Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day</i></a></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Sarah Holland Batt - </span></span> <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/08/vital-signs.html" target="_blank">The Jaguar</a></i></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Hayley Scrivinor -<i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/01/small-town-big-secrets.html" target="_blank"> Dirt Town</a></i></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Chris Hammer - </span></span><i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/12/cover-bones.html" target="_blank">The Seven</a></i></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Percival Everett - <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/02/mississippi-goddam.html" target="_blank"><i>The Trees</i></a></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #222222;">Robert Galbraith - </span><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/11/pure-spirit.html" target="_blank">The Running Grave</a></i></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Eleanor Catton - <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/guerrilla-gardeners.html" target="_blank"><i>Birnam Wood</i></a></span></span></li><li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Coleson Whitehead - <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/06/academy-of-broken-dreams.html" target="_blank"><i>The Nickel Boys</i></a></span></span></li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I had to choose my absolute favourites, I would pick Anna Funder's revealing exploration </span><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/invisible-hand.html" target="_blank">Wifedom</a></i> and Eleanor Catton's page-turning eco-thriller <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/05/guerrilla-gardeners.html" target="_blank">Birnam Wood</a>.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5Me4sBaa9NVKlaPDBFn-_I_KQTgE-fg9uZn5WRpk4O3M_eGGPNeaTdRjvjNghM6cbY5o0NM6AHFkCr18p9W5YAJRjkR17p0t6m0c12FXEims-B0qaP-0pKZE6p_8iVBPW4Hivgi-PaB5R5Zs0cnEreQ6aucJXVfwmAkB9E2ig4l2GknIFbaZ5czoyywd/s1196/Favourites.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1196" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5Me4sBaa9NVKlaPDBFn-_I_KQTgE-fg9uZn5WRpk4O3M_eGGPNeaTdRjvjNghM6cbY5o0NM6AHFkCr18p9W5YAJRjkR17p0t6m0c12FXEims-B0qaP-0pKZE6p_8iVBPW4Hivgi-PaB5R5Zs0cnEreQ6aucJXVfwmAkB9E2ig4l2GknIFbaZ5czoyywd/s320/Favourites.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><div>Well, that's my year of reading! A new year starts tomorrow and I cannot wait to discover new books and rediscover old favourites. Happy New Reading Year!</div><div><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div></div></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-79021172225882759942023-12-27T22:21:00.000+11:002023-12-27T22:21:20.488+11:00Cover the Bones<p>The third novel in Chris Hammer's series featuring Detective Ivan Lucic and his plucky partner Nell Buchanan has recently been published. <i>The Seven </i>(2023) sees the partners investigating a homicide in Yuwonderie, a fictional town in the Riverina area of New South Wales. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4a2S7c1_0c53BNTn8bYBIG9cCfETEX3stLgsOeTIhZ6T5HA_iDVqJ_JITUV188a2g_LjxmeV5q0clEjQU2G-ErpIX2QwkR2-mKsCnoTZbkby0qet7PyCTcprnRW-apKkxoD_C22nNh7Ro03jv09SF2VzVbfMLp_wopiQiPm03BmkhVDQKLOaXkS9NE7g/s898/HammerSeven.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="586" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4a2S7c1_0c53BNTn8bYBIG9cCfETEX3stLgsOeTIhZ6T5HA_iDVqJ_JITUV188a2g_LjxmeV5q0clEjQU2G-ErpIX2QwkR2-mKsCnoTZbkby0qet7PyCTcprnRW-apKkxoD_C22nNh7Ro03jv09SF2VzVbfMLp_wopiQiPm03BmkhVDQKLOaXkS9NE7g/s320/HammerSeven.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>A body is found in the canal that runs through the heart of Yuwonderie. Lucic and Buchanan drive down from their base in Dubbo to investigate. The victim is a local accountant, Athol Hasluck, who has died in mysterious circumstances. They quickly learn that Hasluck is from one of 'The Seven' - the seven families that built and established the town one hundred years earlier. These families created the irrigation scheme - a system of canals that bring water from the Murrumbidgee River into the town - central to the prosperity of the community. But the detectives soon discover that there are dark secrets beneath the facade presented by this planned community, and the more they uncover the more dangerous their investigation becomes. <p></p><p>The novel unfolds on three timeframes. The present, where Lucic and Buchanan are investigating Hasluck's death. Thirty years earlier, in 1993, when Davis Heartwood, one of the Seven families, begins researching the origins of the irrigation scheme for his thesis. And 1913, when a young Aboriginal woman named Bessie arrives in the area to work for one of the families and writes to her mother who lives on a mission. Over the course of the novel, the three timeframes are interwoven and reveal information essential to this story. </p><p>In the previous instalment of the series, Buchanan was the focus. In this novel, we learn more about Ivan Lucic and his past. We also have characters from previous Hammer novels - like Martin Scarsden from <i>Scrublands</i> - make appearances in this book. While it helps to have read the previous Lucic novels, <i>The Seven</i> can be read as a standalone book.</p><p></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQK2a61fPiF3lkrC6hapG-C4hK-R13Zj1I3qb1r7O7rZDT-SurQaC7tK4TOychmu9O2Jy6SLuDO_QdycBQIwsLj2gPGw2G3MbRSlABv-JVEw7t6R-DgrjgL1UDH92MVMWka-3N-d8aDtpT9eZ46S_cdkfY-5RnxS0mTv7t7H3PgOQgHOHguqx0y_fX0Ve/s1350/Yuwonderie.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1350" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQK2a61fPiF3lkrC6hapG-C4hK-R13Zj1I3qb1r7O7rZDT-SurQaC7tK4TOychmu9O2Jy6SLuDO_QdycBQIwsLj2gPGw2G3MbRSlABv-JVEw7t6R-DgrjgL1UDH92MVMWka-3N-d8aDtpT9eZ46S_cdkfY-5RnxS0mTv7t7H3PgOQgHOHguqx0y_fX0Ve/w400-h260/Yuwonderie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Once again, Hammer has called upon Aleksander J Potocnick to create a map of the fictional town. This is a handy reference when reading to help understand the topography of the landscape and the proximity of various locations. </div><div><br /></div><div>I really enjoyed this novel. It is a gripping murder mystery, with interesting characters and a clear sense of place. I hope that Hammer continues to write this series, as I want more Ivan and Nell! </div><div><br /></div>My reviews of other Chris Hammer novels are available on this blog: <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2018/09/into-badlands.html"><i>Scrublands</i></a> (2018); <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/05/home-truths.html"><i>Silver</i></a> (2019); <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/07/past-is-present.html"><i>Trust</i></a> (2020); <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/01/into-gap.html"><i>Treasure and Dirt</i> </a>(2021) and <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/09/dead-mans-creek.html" target="_blank">The Tilt</a></i> (2022). For readers outside Australia, the Lucic/Buchanan novels are published under different titles - look for O<i>pal Country (Treasure and Dirt), Dead Man's Creek (The Tilt) </i>and<i> Cover the Bones (The Seven)</i> instead.Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-21314787722174608362023-12-26T08:53:00.000+11:002023-12-26T08:53:20.340+11:00Only Connect<p>For my 'Novella in November', I chose Jessica Au's <i>Cold Enough for Snow</i> (2022), a book I have been longing to read. It won the 2020 Novel Prize, the 2023 Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, the Victorian Prize for Literature and the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction. With all the accolades, I had high expectations for this book, but unfortunately it left me cold.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0BvUNHtOHlDmPgaqlI7TInQdmCM3ojjaQxgjO_SAbQBJU08o_2um3IjjLNmgFjPp9xkjuM1tb2qmW80j95sTxjD0myOB-wQ_-0YIev0fgO3R8KiEZ7E1u611PQEReUOlrhfNpY8dcXG2aPVtMk9bmH7Y0WjGXMKrXJKoWvk-WB5HT8otfxnVogOJk9lWP/s2560/Au_Cold.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1807" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0BvUNHtOHlDmPgaqlI7TInQdmCM3ojjaQxgjO_SAbQBJU08o_2um3IjjLNmgFjPp9xkjuM1tb2qmW80j95sTxjD0myOB-wQ_-0YIev0fgO3R8KiEZ7E1u611PQEReUOlrhfNpY8dcXG2aPVtMk9bmH7Y0WjGXMKrXJKoWvk-WB5HT8otfxnVogOJk9lWP/s320/Au_Cold.jpeg" width="226" /></a></div>The story involves a woman who arranges to meet her mother in Tokyo and travel around Japan together. Narrated by the daughter, she describes their visits to art galleries, restaurants, temples and stores. The two are estranged and while they are travelling together, they share little - even at an art gallery they view the works separately. For the daughter, this trip is a chance to escape her daily life and contemplate her future. Through flashbacks we learn about the narrator's sister, an uncle in Hong Kong, her partner Laurie - but we learn little of the mother and daughter. In an effort to please each other, neither says what is on their mind. Can they bridge the distance between them?<p></p><p>Jessica Au writes in a beautifully observant sensory style. She describes places and things meticulously. The way our narrator describes what she sees is evocative, contemplative and delightful. For example, </p><blockquote>'When my mother finally appeared, she might as well have been an apparition. She came with her puffer jacket zipped up to her chin, and in the cold night air her breath came out in a little cloud, like a small departing spirit' (p. 90).</blockquote><p>I loved Au's descriptive prose, admiring each sentence. The author forces you to slow down, savour every word. However the overall stream-of-consciousness style without chapter breaks did not work for me. I wanted more from this book, to gain a better understanding of the characters, to feel more substance. Not unlike the narrator, I longed for connection.</p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-31663729297122395832023-12-24T08:10:00.003+11:002023-12-24T08:10:29.344+11:00Our Town<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FD3InbB7OmuYo34x6loh3FMvsu1RHZnFLKu-v1iKGLNdHOYe5hfAJRY6iiE3Ypu2o01y1zHh4qloRqY91Y7TIvYU7_ck7sU4I6RyvXyK2Do9EeUpI-he4dtPgajuBZt0e0uRL7oPSRu8NDVEmKEg91fvYQ89tUeaTIXq1J04EFtymEhRcZiZpVrm94Y-/s1538/Patchett.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FD3InbB7OmuYo34x6loh3FMvsu1RHZnFLKu-v1iKGLNdHOYe5hfAJRY6iiE3Ypu2o01y1zHh4qloRqY91Y7TIvYU7_ck7sU4I6RyvXyK2Do9EeUpI-he4dtPgajuBZt0e0uRL7oPSRu8NDVEmKEg91fvYQ89tUeaTIXq1J04EFtymEhRcZiZpVrm94Y-/s320/Patchett.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>Ann Patchett's latest novel <i>Tom Lake</i> (2023) is set on a Michigan cherry farm in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Lara and Joe's three adult daughters have returned home to support the family farm and live out lockdown in their childhood home. The eldest Emily will inherit the farm and likely marry her sweetheart on the neighbouring farm. Middle child Maisie is a local veterinarian and youngest Nell is studying to be an actor. While they pick cherries in the orchard, the girls ask their mother to tell them about how she once had relationship with Hollywood heartthrob Peter Duke. Lara tells the tale of how she did a summer stock production of <i>Our Town </i>at Tom Lake, a festival town, where she met Duke and had a summer romance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Told in flashbacks, Lara recounts the story from her early twenties when she was cast to star as Emily in Thornton Wilder's classic play <i>Our Town (1938) </i>and Mae in Sam Shepard's <i>Fool For Love</i>. The summer she spent at Tom Lake was filled with rehearsals, performances and lazy days of swimming and hanging out with her friends - Duke, his brother Sebastian, and Pallace (Lara's understudy). After this summer of passion, Duke went on to become a star and then converted his celebrity into an Oscar winning performance in a serious dramatic role. Lara had a brief moment of fame, starring in one film before retiring in her mid-twenties and retreating to the farm. Her daughters are keen to know how Duke and Lara's paths converged and then separated, and ultimately how Lara ended up on the farm instead of a mansion in Hollywood. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_ZeNNzE8EzEAo3pq9dFKruUAJ2mkkftA2__ah_fGdV6QbvqNAacrwZ-M-JVzG32spSq42XfmlYRAMu69gVxyZ7rUv2bqAS5qwWxYj83-Nfq7-x4S-V8Uca2ZVl1Fd5AuFpCwrwWWQbiNJQky9xB8fnTon-UXaTO1kfGNjmwoESwMUwyi_pwlBilkzpA-/s2847/IMG_7402.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2847" data-original-width="1865" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_ZeNNzE8EzEAo3pq9dFKruUAJ2mkkftA2__ah_fGdV6QbvqNAacrwZ-M-JVzG32spSq42XfmlYRAMu69gVxyZ7rUv2bqAS5qwWxYj83-Nfq7-x4S-V8Uca2ZVl1Fd5AuFpCwrwWWQbiNJQky9xB8fnTon-UXaTO1kfGNjmwoESwMUwyi_pwlBilkzpA-/w213-h320/IMG_7402.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>It helps to have knowledge of Wilder's <i>Our Town</i> when reading <i>Tom Lake</i>. A few chapters in, I decided to refresh my memory and found my browning 1985 edition of the play. In my high school drama class I did a scene from <i>Our Town</i>, playing Emily Webb opposite a classmate's George. I have no doubt that my Emily was not unlike the many dud Emilys, Lara observed during auditions! <i>Our Town</i> is essentially a play about life in a small town and the preciousness of the little things in life. I didn't really appreciate the play when I read it as a teenager, but can understand it more now. The folksy tale of life in Grover's Corner is an excellent parallel for <i>Tom Lake</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I read Patchett's <i>Tom Lake </i>while listening to the audiobook performed by Meryl Streep. She read this book with warmth and embodied Lara perfectly. Interspersed between Lara's memories of one golden summer, is the present on her family's orchard. The novel explores the joys of family, and the slowness that the pandemic brought as people formed protective bubbles. Lara explains the choices she made without regret. Along the way we learn more about her daughters and her husband and life on the farm. Lara revels in the preciousness of each day and the joys of having her children close by. <i> Tom Lake</i> brings about a coziness, like comfort-food - a cherry pie enjoyed while wrapped in a patchwork quilt by a roaring fire. </div><div><br /></div><div>My review of Ann Patchett's <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2015/04/heart-of-darkness.html" target="_blank">State of Wonder</a></i> (2011) is also on this blog.</div><div><p></p></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-5326841980255581352023-12-10T08:32:00.002+11:002023-12-10T08:32:47.429+11:00Warrior Queen<p>Clytemnestra is best known as the sister of Helen of Troy and the wife of Agamemnon, the brutal King of Mycenae. She is often depicted as a villain who murdered her husband. Clytemnestra appears in Aeschylus' <i>Oresteia</i> (5th century BCE), Homer's <i>Odyssey</i> (8th century BCE) and elsewhere, where she appears as a peripheral character, cast in a vengeful light. In <i>Clytemnestra</i> (2023), author Costanza Casati seeks to understand this complex woman and tell her story, in this impressive debut novel.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiLIXuqKrul2rNNj9PdxClvKehnp6CQst3dgiXDgFrRiWVR2IVt36fAH4gqdu_ndrtftvWXpYPNZwc8wokqoUL6SeC89maDo4X3HWL_7dmV85eO5HDsyzL-FCnLeKnBeRcm2Rf2onpV8bQx2SJ1wc0lLTSTo_8CuRY8fUrvyllSRsU6_mrYMQ_dS-ZtEW/s458/clytemnestra.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiLIXuqKrul2rNNj9PdxClvKehnp6CQst3dgiXDgFrRiWVR2IVt36fAH4gqdu_ndrtftvWXpYPNZwc8wokqoUL6SeC89maDo4X3HWL_7dmV85eO5HDsyzL-FCnLeKnBeRcm2Rf2onpV8bQx2SJ1wc0lLTSTo_8CuRY8fUrvyllSRsU6_mrYMQ_dS-ZtEW/s320/clytemnestra.png" width="208" /></a></div>Born in Sparta, Clytemnestra is raised alongside her sister Helen and her brothers Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux) and younger siblings. Her father Tyndareus is King of Sparta. Her mother Leda was raped by Zeus in the form of a swan, resulting in her drowning her trauma in alcohol and raising her daughters to fight, routinely testing each other's strength in the wrestling ring. The girls know it is their lot in life to be married off to form strategic alliances. Helen choses Menelaus. Clytemnestra marries for love, choosing Tantalus the King of Pisa, with whom she has a young son. In a grotesque act of betrayal, her husband and son are murdered and Clytemnestra is forced to marry the man who caused her grief - Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae - with whom she has Iphigenia, Electra and Orestes. <p></p><p>When Helen runs off with Paris, the Trojan War begins. Menelaus asks his brother Agamemnon for assistance. The Greek troops meet at Aulis, and soon Agamemnon sends for his wife and daughter who is to be wed to Achilles. When the women arrive at Aulis, Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter in exchange for favourable winds. This second act of betrayal hardens Clytemnestra's heart and she vows her revenge. </p><p>While Agamemnon is away for the ten years of the Trojan War, Clytemnestra serves as Queen of Mycenae. She manages trade negotiations, resolves disputes, dispenses justice. She is a driven, capable leader. Casati presents her as a woman in full - a daughter, a sister, a lover, a wife, a mother, a queen, a survivor. I particularly enjoyed the way Casati portrayed her as a sister - supporting her brothers, defending Timandra, worrying for Helen.</p><p>I have read many retellings of ancient myths, and the characters routinely overlap. I had worried that I might not enjoy another story covering the same ground, but Casati has found a new way of telling a familiar story to make it feel fresh. Casati has given Clytemnestra a voice, and created a sympathetic portrait of a woman who experienced multiple traumas and endured. In doing so, she has recast the villain as a survivor. Highly recommend this for fans of ancient myths.</p><div><b><i><span><a name='more'></a></span>Want more myths?</i></b></div><div>I have written about other retellings of ancient myths on this blog, including:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-survivors.html" target="_blank">The Silence of the Girls</a></i> (2019), <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-spoils-of-war.html" target="_blank"><i>The Women of Troy</i></a> (2021) - Pat Barker</li><li><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-witch-of-aiaia.html" target="_blank"><i>Circe</i></a> (2019), <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/01/love-and-war.html"><i>The Song of Achilles</i></a> (2011), <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-first-stone.html" target="_blank"><i>Galatea</i></a> (2013) - Madeline Miller</li><li><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/04/heroine-of-argonauts.html" target="_blank">Atalanta</a></i> (2023), <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/07/sisters-of-crete.html" target="_blank"><i>Ariadne</i></a> (2021) - Jennifer Saint</li></ul></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-14638218043571143132023-11-28T06:04:00.002+11:002023-11-28T06:04:05.462+11:00Booker Prize Winner 2023<p>The winner of the 2023 Booker Prize for fiction was announced today, with Irish author Paul Lynch receiving the £50,000 prize for the novel, <i>Prophet Song</i>. </p><div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPJ98B3lniENp32N5RXtrhRzo_W3mqAxd78YtX0lS0DjAvTDPjCFGw9lq5zMGsTQ38M5f5zT_u_eHpGTXs7JJsY7pBQZxMMVEapL3_o7U8B81XAZ1dHs6zTTbDR5Pjf-ZH1t83wkE7_BeezD1IXDjCY5RTU26z9mJjmOGBgfpt2iVaqrO6maErPHDkcUz/s425/Lynch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="278" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPJ98B3lniENp32N5RXtrhRzo_W3mqAxd78YtX0lS0DjAvTDPjCFGw9lq5zMGsTQ38M5f5zT_u_eHpGTXs7JJsY7pBQZxMMVEapL3_o7U8B81XAZ1dHs6zTTbDR5Pjf-ZH1t83wkE7_BeezD1IXDjCY5RTU26z9mJjmOGBgfpt2iVaqrO6maErPHDkcUz/s320/Lynch.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><p></p><div>Set in Dublin, Eilish Stack is a mother of four. One night, two officers from Ireland's secret police show up seeking her husband. As the government lurches towards tyranny, Eilish does whatever she can to keep her family together. The Judges write 'Paul Lynch's harrowing and dystopian <i>Prophet Song</i> vividly renders a mother's determination to protect her family as Ireland's liberal democracy slides inexorably and terrifyingly into totalitarianism.' </div><div><br /></div><div>Paul Lynch was born in Limerick and now calls Dublin home. He was a film critic and cinema writer for the <i>Sunday Tribune</i> and <i>Sunday Times</i>. His previous novels are <i>Red Sky in Morning</i> (2013), <i>The Black Snow </i>(2014), <i>Grace</i> (2017) <i>and Beyond the Sea</i> (2019) </div><p>Chair of the Judging panel, Esi Edugyan, said of <i>Prophet Song</i>:</p><p></p><blockquote>‘From that first knock at the door, <i>Prophet Song</i> forces us out of our complacency as we follow the terrifying plight of a woman seeking to protect her family in an Ireland descending into totalitarianism. We felt unsettled from the start, submerged in – and haunted by – the sustained claustrophobia of Lynch’s powerfully constructed world. He flinches from nothing, depicting the reality of state violence and displacement and offering no easy consolations.<br /><br />‘Here the sentence is stretched to its limits – Lynch pulls off feats of language that are stunning to witness. He has the heart of a poet, using repetition and recurring motifs to create a visceral reading experience. This is a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave. With great vividness, <i>Prophet Song</i> captures the social and political anxieties of our current moment. Readers will find it soul-shattering and true, and will not soon forget its warnings.’</blockquote><p></p><p>With three guys name Paul in the shortlist, it was a safe bet that one would win. I am pleased it is Paul Lynch for<i> Prophet Song</i>. While I have not yet read this novel, I love dystopian fiction, and this book stood out on the list as one that I would likely enjoy.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiximKO3p6KkvbNxIlIUpLpabvV7YjLxdCBOtWIMGpUYbmzuGEnanz1aoiNSn1gRuhwLAiMO0Jocgm03zMFOqXEbaCyisZtZZ4748MgcJL0HC5ME-mr7pxXs5UKAo5wwLOnjCCmfw4yH28VxwEszBR-eXqmjP72OAjku8V5Hmj4muiAXoeMDHd2jxnuGYc7/s3000/Lynch%20Wins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="3000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiximKO3p6KkvbNxIlIUpLpabvV7YjLxdCBOtWIMGpUYbmzuGEnanz1aoiNSn1gRuhwLAiMO0Jocgm03zMFOqXEbaCyisZtZZ4748MgcJL0HC5ME-mr7pxXs5UKAo5wwLOnjCCmfw4yH28VxwEszBR-eXqmjP72OAjku8V5Hmj4muiAXoeMDHd2jxnuGYc7/w400-h225/Lynch%20Wins.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-13764724587807772023-11-26T08:38:00.006+11:002023-11-26T08:40:13.835+11:00Pure Spirit<p>The Strike series by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) features my favourite detective duo of Cormoran Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott. Over the seven novels of the series, I have enjoyed observing these characters develop while they solve complex crimes. When I knew the latest novel was forthcoming, I preordered the book and audiobook of <i>The Running Grave</i> (2023), and commenced reading as soon as it arrived. </p><p>The previous book, <a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/10/strike-force.html" target="_blank"><i>The Ink Black Heart</i> (2022)</a> got bogged down with too many characters and long-winded sections of online chat threads. When I heard the next book would also run to close to a thousand pages, I was worried that Rowling would again go overboard with subplots and superfluous exposition. Fortunately, <i>The Running Grave </i>is a return to form. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CYHw5Ef3uTbaHsmlJvY7EBbgbAD0yDgai6r3Mf8PepNmzfEDxMW4MZ0t9Q8GtjAcmCT89zcfUj6A4HYMGtS1Us1tjhOy6A_kLQe2Zznwp49yj8dj4-YFPT7KFBQrtfBt5GS_Isz7j3SOVy1RLwN14rkBO1KnAXM3Zzv6ZemrGt-q0IyPIVtS5iBGmUpW/s500/Galbraith_Grave.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CYHw5Ef3uTbaHsmlJvY7EBbgbAD0yDgai6r3Mf8PepNmzfEDxMW4MZ0t9Q8GtjAcmCT89zcfUj6A4HYMGtS1Us1tjhOy6A_kLQe2Zznwp49yj8dj4-YFPT7KFBQrtfBt5GS_Isz7j3SOVy1RLwN14rkBO1KnAXM3Zzv6ZemrGt-q0IyPIVtS5iBGmUpW/w260-h400/Galbraith_Grave.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>The main case in this novel involves a cult. Sir Colin Edensor contacts the detectives with a request to help free his son Will from the Universal Humanitarian Church (UHC), which Sir Edensor believes has brainwashed him and cut off all communication. Will is staying at the Church's farm compound in Norfolk. The UHC is run by the charismatic Papa J and his wife Manu, who have created a mythology of various prophets and supernatural events. To infiltrate the UHC, Robin goes undercover as Rowena, a wealthy young woman. She is whisked off on a retreat to the farm, where she experiences the indoctrination and control of the UHC as she tries to find and get close to Will. <p></p><p>While at the UHC, Robin faces serious danger. Recruits are forced into hard labour on minimal food rations. They are continually surveilled and suffer corporal punishment for infringements. The cult is also based on controlling sexual relationships, requiring people to engage in 'spirit-bonding' (coerced unprotected sex). Robin's quick wits are routinely tested and the only contact she has with the outside world is the messages she sneaks out once a week by hiding them in a fake rock in the forest. Rowling does an excellent job of portraying the physical and mental pressure that Robin is under, and the sense of ever-present danger.</p><p>Robin and Strike are seperate for most of this novel. He is worried sick about her in the cult, but tries to keep his mind busy with the other cases the team has on their list. Aside from the case, there are personal matters to deal with. Robin isn't sure how she feels about her police officer boyfriend Ryan (who we met in<i> The Ink Black Heart), </i>as she attempts to quash her feelings for Strike. Strike is facing multiple personal matters - Uncle Ted's dementia; ex-girlfriend Charlotte's instability; his demanding one-night-stand, Bijou; and building relationships with various half-siblings. But his biggest personal issue is he knows he is in love with Robin, but doesn't know what to do about it.</p><div><i>The Running Grave </i>is my favourite book in this series so far. The audiobook is performed by Robert Glenister, a gifted actor who is able to portray the diverse characters giving them each a distinctive voice. Rowling masterfully weaves together various strands of plot and subplot, and, like all good crime series, <i>The Running Grave </i>ends with a tantalising cliffhanger which leaves the reader in anticipation of what comes next. Knowing that Rowling intends to have ten novels in this series, I cannot wait for the next one! </div><div><br /></div><div>My reviews of previous books in the series are available on this blog:</div><div><ul><li><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2014/10/model-behaviour.html" target="_blank">The Cuckoo's Calling</a></i> (2013) </li><li> <i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2014/11/mightier-than-sword.html" target="_blank">The Silkworm </a></i>(2014) </li><li><i><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2016/10/strike-back.html" target="_blank">Career of Evil</a></i> (2016)</li><li><i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2018/10/blackmail-and-bridles.html" target="_blank">Lethal White</a></i> (2018)</li><li><a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2020/12/cold-case.html" target="_blank"><i>Troubled Blood</i></a> (2020)</li><li><i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/10/strike-force.html" target="_blank">The Ink Black Heart</a> (2022)</i></li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPUDmhP9EgjObDx7KSiE-IGqqRGfVGZfvZ7pVsJS7bdFt5d10P4c2dqk_PdEkvImcs12uIoZkjX302kDqm7kI149wQEAvWNA_fxz-qMJ9GFmVXdp_y1E1Kg3m44IO91QLsfMIxPxt51evWgaTMMSNMfjWB_pzIWRGwz5h_cU8lp43_yNf0y2XOO3Br-Ti/s1648/Strike%20Novels.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1648" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPUDmhP9EgjObDx7KSiE-IGqqRGfVGZfvZ7pVsJS7bdFt5d10P4c2dqk_PdEkvImcs12uIoZkjX302kDqm7kI149wQEAvWNA_fxz-qMJ9GFmVXdp_y1E1Kg3m44IO91QLsfMIxPxt51evWgaTMMSNMfjWB_pzIWRGwz5h_cU8lp43_yNf0y2XOO3Br-Ti/w400-h241/Strike%20Novels.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div></div><p></p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-4303565913079706872023-11-12T15:57:00.008+11:002023-11-12T16:07:22.109+11:00Piece of Me<p>American singer-songwriter Britney Spears, the 'Princess of Pop', is one of the best-selling music artists of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Throughout her career she has been recognised with a Grammy Award, American Music Award and eight Billboard Music Awards. For three decades she has had number one singles and studio albums, creating memorable singles like 'Oops!... I Did It Again', 'Toxic', 'Womaniser' and 'Me Against the Music'. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKeFykXUHEw6-GAANqLkJr6zPM6_vcqZrQZMz5mCTd6FFjpuD4OF3LT9fIeeQxzq8KE6l-RJghBoZS9o8HexFw9A9L5LOR1azbTotnTUE-WIGT2n6RaS2xqu6TJF5FvMD7K56Wu1dqKlPvAFgaaKkad4fZbJhX_XSjyqWLRTh-8nKwk5FAuQPc3H62dmr/s2167/Spears.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2167" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKeFykXUHEw6-GAANqLkJr6zPM6_vcqZrQZMz5mCTd6FFjpuD4OF3LT9fIeeQxzq8KE6l-RJghBoZS9o8HexFw9A9L5LOR1azbTotnTUE-WIGT2n6RaS2xqu6TJF5FvMD7K56Wu1dqKlPvAFgaaKkad4fZbJhX_XSjyqWLRTh-8nKwk5FAuQPc3H62dmr/s320/Spears.jpeg" width="207" /></a></div>Alongside her career, Britney was often in the tabloids for her personal life - her high profile romances, her ill-advised marriages, her alcohol abuse, her mental health concerns and her battles to free herself from the conservatorship that controlled her life. In her memoir <i>The Woman in Me</i> (2023), Britney explores all of these matters giving her side of the story. I read this book while listening to the audiobook version read by actor Michelle Williams. The story was brought to life by Williams' incredible performance, an empathetic and moving voice. I would regularly stop reading to play Britney's music, watch videos or look up photos of events she referred to - like the 'pyjama top' she wore on a date with actor Colin Farrell or the double-denim look she and Justin Timberlake wore to the 2001 American Music Awards.<div><p>Britney Jean Spears was born in 1981 and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, a rural town near the Mississippi state line. As a child she loved to perform, singing and dancing, and participating in her church choir. She won many talent shows and was destined to be in show business. At age eight her mother took her to Atlanta to auction for <i>The Mickey Mouse Club</i>, but she was turned down because she was too young. After a brief stint in New York, at age ten Britney joined Disney's 1990s revival of <i>The Mickey Mouse Club, </i>performing alongside castmates Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Keri Russell. As seen in this clip from the show, she had a real presence, performing with Timberlake who would become her first boyfriend.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z9cMa-5Nh9o" width="320" youtube-src-id="Z9cMa-5Nh9o"></iframe></div><p></p>The show was cancelled in 1994 and Timberlake went off to join NSYNC. Spears was wooed for various girl groups but went out on her own to record her first album <i>Baby One More Time </i>(1999) which debuted at number one on the US charts and was the biggest-selling album by a teenager. In<i> The Woman in Me </i>Spears describes this period of her career and the making of the video, which changed her life. Suddenly she was in the spotlight, hounded by paparazzi. She also received a fair amount of criticism for her risqué attire and racy dancing. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C-u5WLJ9Yk4" width="320" youtube-src-id="C-u5WLJ9Yk4"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidrRjYm4JMG6Zn0ruhl7Nyt6vTPZxKcNm4AbNpocvn_3JJRGdKMAYmzvwPU3Aqa3ewRUcX0KA7P52uqlIZnJv3tAaoM72ZEFBvTbczDBzI6ctYdxpK9DE2B8bKZ4xYQxHFEAkYkgYk2S37D1LEBDBfNEmnvsnYXbMPvEFRQJejMWDs0cOnOHXZUi72jND/s2587/Denim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2587" data-original-width="1546" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidrRjYm4JMG6Zn0ruhl7Nyt6vTPZxKcNm4AbNpocvn_3JJRGdKMAYmzvwPU3Aqa3ewRUcX0KA7P52uqlIZnJv3tAaoM72ZEFBvTbczDBzI6ctYdxpK9DE2B8bKZ4xYQxHFEAkYkgYk2S37D1LEBDBfNEmnvsnYXbMPvEFRQJejMWDs0cOnOHXZUi72jND/w240-h400/Denim.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>With Timberlake and Spears touring and achieving mega stardom, their relationship was in the spotlight. Spears writes about how she became pregnant and was persuaded by Timberlake to have an abortion as they were very young. He ended up breaking up with her via text message, and she was devastated at the media treatment of the pair. He portrayed her as a promiscuous heartbreaker, whereas the opposite was true. Shortly after the breakup her father forced her to do an interview with Diane Sawyer where she felt exploited and demeaned. </div><p>Throughout the book Spears shows the sexism and misogyny in the music industry and the double standard applied to women. Those who should have protected her - her parents, siblings, husband - all sought to use her. Their lifestyles were fuelled by her success. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqpZnyE6PURFg9LGiRdNan1eNC4nTnEdWSfv7lSG5tHFMlZGPS1isQ91YdiO-OpjNOYK6fpx1YaelgIVwPV_bR2yER_u-QloTvNrgJWgmBL4nt4X8yI60wF-iccLJI_UGBTlchRhmjfhaxZ65s_fO8PvyAnbMaMAz-_0MV1SSULBsrUDEkedNtPjMMQAW/s1714/BritneySnake.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>Ultimately, Spears just wanted a simple life - a family and a home. She married Kevin Federline and had two boys in rapid succession - only to have custody of the children weaponised against her. She is forced into rehab as a tool to regain custody. <p></p><p>Her father then embarks on a 13-year conservatorship in which all decisions about her life are taken out of her hands. Spears points out the contradictions of an adult woman so apparently unwell that she must be controlled by her parents, and yet well enough to tour relentlessly to keep the money rolling in. She is drugged against her will, told what to eat, surveilled and isolated from friends. Ultimately she is institutionalised. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXQJv1vF_HHE5xqNTLK2CwPefc6OFq3SYysQZwxDbA4ShlTvnYflk2Lq5xFxDQqBZqyyGBIK97mZvBnSo0apHNP4POJcSZmkVmNa4EMe3i-lWouG3Zp647GvdOi2Ns71mS-ngAC9omBHw8L0VOGVJ3b8aWsGw6O7XqhiRZofNi6Ap6L31PBROVWbpHIa6/s2850/FreeBritney.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2850" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXQJv1vF_HHE5xqNTLK2CwPefc6OFq3SYysQZwxDbA4ShlTvnYflk2Lq5xFxDQqBZqyyGBIK97mZvBnSo0apHNP4POJcSZmkVmNa4EMe3i-lWouG3Zp647GvdOi2Ns71mS-ngAC9omBHw8L0VOGVJ3b8aWsGw6O7XqhiRZofNi6Ap6L31PBROVWbpHIa6/w400-h283/FreeBritney.jpeg" title="#Free Britney (via Vice)" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>While in the facility a nurse tells her about the #FreeBritney movement led by her fans. This gave her the inner strength to go on, to get her own lawyer and challenge the conservatorship. When her father was removed, and the conservatorship ended, she was able to make decisions for herself, including the decision to remain estranged from her family. </p><p>Spears is now free, to find herself and the life she wants. The book ends with her marriage to Sam Asghari, a man she has known since 2016 and who was a supporter of hers in the efforts to end the conservatorship. They married in 2022 and sadly miscarried the pregnancy she had been longing for. In August 2023 they announced their intention to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. I had hoped that Britney would get the happy ending she deserves after such a shocking period of abuse and trauma.</p><div><i>The Woman in Me</i> is a fascinating inside look on an industry that exploits young women, and the ways in which men and the media construct a narrative that is impossible to break. While it is not particularly well written, it is an important story that deserved to be told after so long being denied her own voice. You don't need to be a Britney Spears fan to appreciate this book, but it helps. I would also strongly recommend choosing the audiobook for this memoir. It is truly excellent.</div></div></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-21496083695806064212023-10-28T09:28:00.002+11:002023-10-29T18:11:45.308+11:00Bridge of Sighs<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>The Ruin</i> (2018) is the first novel in the Cormac Reilly series by Irish writer Dervla McTiernan. In the epigraph, McTiernan writes that a 'ruin' can be read in English, but in Irish 'ruin means something hidden, a mystery, or a secret, but the word also has a long history as a term of endearment'. With that, the reader sets off to uncover which meaning will apply to the book's title. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo4gACZ7AzEp_U-Z4T-IIbJzomQ2AKB1EkfmIOILL_6zMB3a69yijaCm9gVnibisV3LUhYjeE-eUSvEhjgWTF8j8l6HkqzeKOglAkbdcbMfPPOyIqJFZDoA-E97fAXSWO7iXtVB-zAnNNaRPBjwcYds2vD9VzRQ_BudEeY9TF6-6Ac4sShhMMNJSdA-01/s1553/McTiernan-Ruin.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1553" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo4gACZ7AzEp_U-Z4T-IIbJzomQ2AKB1EkfmIOILL_6zMB3a69yijaCm9gVnibisV3LUhYjeE-eUSvEhjgWTF8j8l6HkqzeKOglAkbdcbMfPPOyIqJFZDoA-E97fAXSWO7iXtVB-zAnNNaRPBjwcYds2vD9VzRQ_BudEeY9TF6-6Ac4sShhMMNJSdA-01/s320/McTiernan-Ruin.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>Novice police officer Cormac Reilly is called to a crime scene where a woman has died, leaving behind two neglected children - Maude (age 15) and Jack (age 5). The children are taken in by authorities who will send them into foster care. It is a distressing case that stays in Reilly's mind. Twenty years later, Jack is found dead in the River Corrib, from a possible suicide. Jack's grief-stricken girlfriend Aisling and his sister Maude suspects foul play. Reilly, now a detective, is assigned to reinvestigate the cold case, wondering if there is a link between Jack's death and his mother's, two decades apart.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Reilly is an interesting character. Unlike so many police procedurals, where the detectives are damaged figures with terrible backstories that impact their work, Reilly is a normal hard-working bloke just wanting to do the right thing. After working in elite Garda units in Dublin, Reilly has taken a demotion to move to Galway with his girlfriend. He is disappointed by this new post, and challenged by the police work by some of his fellow officers. In many respects he reminded me of Hirsch, from Garry Disher's excellent <i><a href="https://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2022/06/hell-to-pay.html" target="_blank">Bitter Wash Road</a> </i>series. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I really enjoyed <i>The Ruin</i>. McTiernan created an atmospheric novel which moves along at a just the right pace. There were a few aspects that I think could have been better managed, particularly related to Maude, and there were perhaps too many minor characters that could have been consolidated. But overall, I thought it was a terrific book and I look forward to exploring the next in the Reilly series with <i>The Scholar </i>(2019), <i>The Good Turn</i> (2020) and the prequel audio novellas <i>The Sister</i> and <i>The Roommate</i>.</div><p></p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-51305600544611343852023-10-08T10:35:00.004+11:002023-10-08T10:39:08.124+11:00Tainted Love<p>Irish author Sally Rooney has gained a kind of cult following among readers. Her debut <i>Conversations with Friends</i> (2017) was praised by critics and appeared on many top ten lists that year. Her follow up, <i>Normal People</i> (2018) won the Costa Best Novel award and the British Book of the Year Award and was longlisted for both the <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-booker-longlist-2018.html" target="_blank">Booker</a> and Women's Prize.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPSNC4lShD2_DK671nPl1xk4qQ0FGlDre9C4DAa2a8eLpGYkitZNjAHpvBF6qjSRwFcNoxc5l0vsWm-15x2FQvAHZi2ZcyCnWrdjhEmVss0SUFkIXOfWZrg-WbxspIj847XQLpEH6_r0MbpgwoIBfRY4IlsdLOfkk5EoTRkRSZZGxdS2Nj9AfJtU77iSU/s556/Rooney.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPSNC4lShD2_DK671nPl1xk4qQ0FGlDre9C4DAa2a8eLpGYkitZNjAHpvBF6qjSRwFcNoxc5l0vsWm-15x2FQvAHZi2ZcyCnWrdjhEmVss0SUFkIXOfWZrg-WbxspIj847XQLpEH6_r0MbpgwoIBfRY4IlsdLOfkk5EoTRkRSZZGxdS2Nj9AfJtU77iSU/s320/Rooney.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>I picked up a copy in 2018 but quickly shelved it. The hype surrounding the novel - and many friends telling me that I absolutely must read it - put me off. It felt very much like the universe was telling me I had to enjoy this book, and I was concerned I wouldn't, so I avoided it at the time and the novel sunk further and further down my gigantic 'to be read' pile. I had forgotten all about <i>Normal People </i>until I recently stumbled across the 2020 TV adaptation of the novel staring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal. After binging the miniseries, I grabbed the book and binge-read the novel. <div><br /></div><div>In January 2011 we meet Marianne Sheridan, an awkward teenager in County Sligo, Ireland. Marianne lives with her widowed mother and her bullying older brother. The family has wealth, but lacks any sorts of loving familial relations. At school Marianne is a loner, intent on using her intelligence to get out of town. Connell Waldron is in her class at school. He was born to a teenage mother, Lorraine, who raised him on her own working as a cleaner for the Sheridans. Connell is popular and bright and wants to make his way in the world, although he is not sure how.</div><div><br /></div><div>Connell and Marianne begin a secret, intense relationship. When they are together, they can be their true selves. Outside they are repressed by social pressures and the class divide, leading to misunderstanding and betrayal. Their on/off closeness continues when they move to Dublin to attend Trinity College as gifted students. At Trinity roles reverse - Marianne is popular; Connell is the loner. The story is presented as moments in time, jumping ahead by weeks or months to the next stage of the characters' lives. Over the next four years, the novel follows their relationship and they navigate young adulthood and figuring out where they belong.</div><div><br /></div><div>In many respects I understand the appeal of Rooney to her multitudes of fans. Rooney writes in a sparse way, not adding extraneous dialogue or scene fillers. The dialogue is sharp, and there is humour underpinning the exploration of some dark themes. But in many ways, the light touch did not allow for full character development, leaving the reader at a distance. Ultimately, while I liked this novel, I didn't love it and would not be in a rush to read Rooney's other work.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-Aad5I6hjB_YELRDLgY3WdSo7yufstygMnTSC4YPrUP2rNxuRAb25akqSjC0MsjqqkTN8hui8-j5I1ctqgUNLU4nj8iODOV7tmLQEOcJWMLS_pJq6MaU3azgmwCN-pN4gYBjDQiby6WnBf98yExm6VtNpF-OTSC9VL6TTM3tfssLXdXR2XYZSMvtDUQC/s332/NormalTV.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-Aad5I6hjB_YELRDLgY3WdSo7yufstygMnTSC4YPrUP2rNxuRAb25akqSjC0MsjqqkTN8hui8-j5I1ctqgUNLU4nj8iODOV7tmLQEOcJWMLS_pJq6MaU3azgmwCN-pN4gYBjDQiby6WnBf98yExm6VtNpF-OTSC9VL6TTM3tfssLXdXR2XYZSMvtDUQC/s320/NormalTV.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>It is rare for me to see an adaptation and then read the book, but I am so glad I did with <i>Normal People. </i>Had I read the book first, I probably wouldn't have bothered with the show. </div><div><br /></div><div>The series works because the two leads (Mescal and Edgar-Jones) are excellent in their roles and compelling together. The adaptation is faithful to the book (Rooney was a writer on the show), and in some respects television is a better medium for this story. It was filmed on location in Sligo and at Trinity College Dublin.</div><div><p><br /></p><br /><p></p></div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-71821706097792494262023-10-02T08:15:00.000+11:002023-10-02T08:15:13.362+11:00Big Day Out<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlbbdQXLkLJw2Qar85iWuAWPDdOXcLpxAA6XgeNYSdx643N37QTWcnXUfjbeg2Or55QZLcN2FGMJK-mBedmQPe3hgX3rAxy1vIhq_AgCO-MxygjeTPRqwNAttEtX86gGLcKtprxH4G2Dq14OVAtgq19cVQlF_NZIUhq2i-TWMfUPhpBUvpz-VGkvxSe3q/s1408/Watson.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1408" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlbbdQXLkLJw2Qar85iWuAWPDdOXcLpxAA6XgeNYSdx643N37QTWcnXUfjbeg2Or55QZLcN2FGMJK-mBedmQPe3hgX3rAxy1vIhq_AgCO-MxygjeTPRqwNAttEtX86gGLcKtprxH4G2Dq14OVAtgq19cVQlF_NZIUhq2i-TWMfUPhpBUvpz-VGkvxSe3q/s320/Watson.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div>I have been longing to read Winifred Watson's <i>Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day</i> (1938) for ages. I specifically wanted the beautiful version published by Persephone Classics, with its delightful illustrations by Mary Thomson, but I had great difficulty finding a copy in Australia and the import costs were horrific. So when my husband messaged me from London, standing outside Foyles Charing Cross, asking if I wanted anything, I immediately knew just what to ask for! Twenty four hours later, this delicious volume was in my hands! All I needed was to brew a cup of tea, and curl up with this book to satisfy my long-held reading desire.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story takes place over a single day in the life of Guinevere Pettigrew, a down-on-her-luck governess in her forties. She is about to be evicted from the room she rents, and desperately needs a new job. Miss Pettigrew is sent by her employment agency for an interview as a governess, but is mistakenly sent to the home of Miss Delysia LaFosse, a young, glamorous socialite. From the moment Miss LaFosse opens the door, Miss Pettigrew is whisked away into a life she had previously only imagined from her weekly visits to the movies. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinK7eGywvMocwNYH4Ttfwg2A4J30GPFZsd6DwLjQolFQHzGYCxTE4TFDyYh4NAfFOcyhH_JYlda-YJnybvFFo6Gklmvcie-HnJvQ2ndp7AnNGa_7qgxMzOZ3qiruj9MCtdln_q5jXf6n31Z_QHgWGzHNzZ3Qx1NFOtBPJssvsBAy68Cm9O_EYvuzLoGXEX/s1176/Thomson%201.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="1176" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinK7eGywvMocwNYH4Ttfwg2A4J30GPFZsd6DwLjQolFQHzGYCxTE4TFDyYh4NAfFOcyhH_JYlda-YJnybvFFo6Gklmvcie-HnJvQ2ndp7AnNGa_7qgxMzOZ3qiruj9MCtdln_q5jXf6n31Z_QHgWGzHNzZ3Qx1NFOtBPJssvsBAy68Cm9O_EYvuzLoGXEX/s320/Thomson%201.png" width="320" /></a></div>Miss LaFosse has a problem with men. Specifically, she is irresistible to them but chooses unwisely. She calls on Miss Pettigrew to assist her in managing her lovers Phil, Nick and Michael. Quick witted, Miss Pettigrew is able to intervene, pretending to be an old friend of Miss LaFosse, and swiftly dispatches the men. She also plays matchmaker, helping Miss LaFosse to see what she wants from a lover to help her choose more wisely.</div><div><br /></div><div>She also assists Edythe Dubarry, Miss LaFosse's friend, and is given a glamorous makeover, a gown and jewels to help Miss Pettigrew fit in with the vibrant young people she will be spending the evening at the club with. She hardly recognises herself, and has to regularly look in the mirror to seek reassurance that she belongs.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcK834-BH9VY2XKKzGnOzwDNbI0BWBzGhalwMWkWyNUVSQE02n0bmmOvTY8H9LBTTnINo3rbE1hP0mE6BWpRlhUKG9ulQ4HVpIlmk0Rt_bPMRhRG_U6VPlocySSx268QxV65e4XTbYHp8tkEqxskFm2-EjwVB3_ArO-7s8MPwKITMdfiMfMvO7onMjaoNo/s874/Thomson%202.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="874" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcK834-BH9VY2XKKzGnOzwDNbI0BWBzGhalwMWkWyNUVSQE02n0bmmOvTY8H9LBTTnINo3rbE1hP0mE6BWpRlhUKG9ulQ4HVpIlmk0Rt_bPMRhRG_U6VPlocySSx268QxV65e4XTbYHp8tkEqxskFm2-EjwVB3_ArO-7s8MPwKITMdfiMfMvO7onMjaoNo/s320/Thomson%202.png" width="320" /></a></div>Over the course of the day, Miss Pettigrew's transformation is more than just a make over. She blossoms from a naive spinster to a beloved confidante, finally feeling worthy of friendship and love for the first time in her life. She observes the carefree young people around her, realising how much of her life she has missed. She experiences the delight of cocktails and decadent desserts, and the attentions of a man.</div><p><i>Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day </i>is a remarkable novel, which I am so glad to have read. Modern readers will find it jarring to read passages that are casually sexist, racist and antisemitic, but it was written in 1938. The novel is intended to be light-hearted, and I found myself laughing aloud at this Cinderella story. Highly recommend this for anyone wanting to escape to another person's life for a day. It is on the list of <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/p/1001.html" target="_blank">1001 Books</a> people should read before they die, and was published by <a href="https://persephonebooks.co.uk" target="_blank">Persephone</a> as part of their reprints of neglected books by women writers. </p><br /><p></p>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913239027856305795.post-82368005413974547222023-09-22T06:14:00.003+10:002023-09-22T06:14:41.977+10:00Booker Prize Shortlist 2023<p>The Shortlist was announced today for the 2023 Booker Prize. The <a href="http://inaguddle.blogspot.com/2023/08/booker-prize-longlist-2023.html" target="_blank">thirteen titles on the Longlist</a> have been whittled down to six:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Sarah Bernstein - <i>Study for Obedience</i> (Canada)</li><li>Jonathan Escoffery -<i> If I Survive You</i> (America)</li><li>Paul Harding - <i>This Other Eden</i> (America)</li><li>Paul Lynch - <i>Prophet Song</i> (Ireland)</li><li>Chetna Maroo - <i>Western Lane</i> (Kenya/Britain)</li><li>Paul Murray - <i>The Bee Sting</i> (Ireland)</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dBfFEXaFq8Twlu_51-xrEyyv3lIIgC3F9nyAqb6X0Z2tE-xxtS648iYRc5BgLJzWfOuT0BBtoIeLQjfNbwWVigwfqEJVIi_BgZnxGkHSGPVgbbtn-Ky33VWvMQb9p3xvUgGMTmlNvgMODxecdw--syfdaLUxmG-hMIniEvFugrynWj2OuJSqSNhRFz_P/s1062/BookerShortlist.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="1062" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dBfFEXaFq8Twlu_51-xrEyyv3lIIgC3F9nyAqb6X0Z2tE-xxtS648iYRc5BgLJzWfOuT0BBtoIeLQjfNbwWVigwfqEJVIi_BgZnxGkHSGPVgbbtn-Ky33VWvMQb9p3xvUgGMTmlNvgMODxecdw--syfdaLUxmG-hMIniEvFugrynWj2OuJSqSNhRFz_P/w400-h375/BookerShortlist.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, it appears you have a better chance of being shortlisted if your name is Paul! </div><br />Chair of the judging panel, Edi Edugyan, said of the shortlist:<br /><blockquote><i>The best novels invoke a sense of timelessness even while saying something about how we live now. Our six finalists are marvels of form. Some look unflinchingly at the ways in which trauma can be absorbed and passed down through the generations, as much an inheritance as a well-worn object or an unwanted talent. Some turn a gleeful, dissecting eye on everyday encounters. Some paint visceral portraits of societies pushed to the edge of tolerance. All are fuelled by a kind of relentless truth-telling, even when that honesty forces us to confront dark acts. And yet however long we may pause in the shadows, humour, decency, and grace are never far from hand. <br /><br />‘Together these works showcase the breadth of what world literature can do, while gesturing at the unease of our moment. From Bernstein and Harding’s outsiders attempting to establish lives in societies that reject them, to the often-funny struggles of Escoffery and Murray’s adolescents as they carve out identities for themselves beyond their parents’ mistakes, to Maroo and Lynch’s elegant evocations of family grief – each speaks distinctly about our shared journeys while refusing to be defined as any one thing. These are supple stories with many strands, many moods, in whose complications we come to recognise ourselves. They are vibrant, nervy, electric. In these novelists’ hands, form is pushed hard to see what it yields, and it is always something astonishing. Language – indeed, life itself – is thrust to its outer limits.’</i></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: start;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: start;">This is a surprising shortlist without an obvious front runner. I haven't read any of these books yet and to be honest I am not sure I will, as most of the longlist titles I was interested in did not make the cut. The only one that intrigues me is Paul Lynch's <i>Prophet Song</i>. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>The Winner of the Booker Prize, and recipient of £50,000, will be revealed on 26 November 2023. </div>Ina Guddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08379848470323004664noreply@blogger.com