Favourite Books From The Last 12 Months

This weekend I am at the Writers’ Festival in Perth, so I thought it would be a good time to review some of my favourite reads since the last festival. I had the pleasure of listening to and meeting Louise Allan, a lovely, natural lady, who seems surprised and perhaps a little overwhelmed by the success that has come her way. I hope you will all read this, her first novel, and love it as much as I have.

I think all of my choices are excellent reads, but would love to hear your opinions and comments. I’d also like to know what your favourite books were.

The Sisters’ Song: Louise Allan

I am reading this book for the second time, partly because I recommended it to my book club and we are meeting to discuss it next week. I’m enjoying it even more the second time.

Ida and Nora are aged eight and six when their father dies. He was the one who softened the effects of their mother’s harsh tongue and short temper, so when he’s no longer there, the girls have to cope with their grieving, often irrational mother, on their own, until Grandma (their father’s mother) takes them all into her home. I’m sure you can imagine the frictions, jealousies and power plays that follow.

The novel is mainly about how two sisters, very different in character and ambition, endeavour to cope with the disappointments that fate has dealt them. Being the eldest in a family of five (with two younger sisters) my sympathy goes to Ida, but I can readily understand the utter frustration and despair that engulfs Nora.

Ida, a feisty girl who can’t hold her tongue when life seems unfair, has unruly hair (something that typifies her character), never manages to stay neat, clean and presentable as a child and teenager until she is hired as a nanny for two little girls in a ‘posh’ house and is appreciated for the love and care she bestows on those children.

Nora, as a pretty, well behaved, younger child, has musical talents that Ida cannot aspire to. She has a voice that could be developed to make her another Nellie Melba, and her fingers move up and down the piano with such ease and producing the sort of music that provokes her sister to unforgivably jealous behaviour. Sibling rivalry is a major issue, which develops and almost destroys the love that these sisters have for each other.

Ida’s greatest wish is for a family. Nora’s is to become a star as a pianist and singer. For each of these girls, the longing is far more than just a wish, it’s the sort of necessity that neither of them can survive without, but survive is what each must do. Both want what the other has, and because neither of them can fulfil their longings, this is a story that gripped my heart. Louise Allan pulled me along, deeper and deeper into this family saga. With my first reading I started at three in the afternoon, and with breaks for dinner etc, I finished it at about three the following morning.

With my second reading I’m able to appreciate the nuances, the use of words, the sentence structures and the development of characters. Grandma is my favourite, but this time I also appreciate Alf a lot more. I feel as if these are real people, not just made up characters and I empathise with them as they struggle with life. Young Ted, the son of Nora and her Italian lover, who is accepted by Alf as his own son, but never accepted and loved by his mother, breaks my heart. Unable to have children, Ida loves Ted as if he is her son, but of course that too, causes problems.

Despite all the difficulties, the ending is perfect. Please read it. This is Louise Allan’s first novel and I can’t wait to hear what my book club friends think of it. I also can’t wait to see what she produces next.

Night Street:  Kristel Thornell

This, too, is about two sisters, the main character being Clarice, who knows from an early age that she has to paint, that creating art is as important to her as breathing. I’m not sure of the time when it is set, but definitely before any form of career was acceptable for women, over the highly prized role of marriage and motherhood, so probably it’s the late 19^th, or early 20^th century when education for girls was encouraged, but putting that education to use, beyond the wife and mothering role, was not.

Clarice is introverted, hence her preference for painting at night, or when she found ‘mist shrouding the beach like unearthly smoke.’ Her mother, in fact both of her parents, seemed quite similar to my own, in their lack of appreciation for talents other than those that would attract a desirable mate.

Clarice did not understand her mother’s desire to draw her daughter out of herself. ‘Drawing was being in herself. If you came out of yourself, where would you be?’ Today that response would seem reasonable to many young women who want to make a life for themselves, particularly those who chose creativity – writing, music, art, in all its forms—as their life’s work.

There is no great successful career for Clarice. She becomes the spinster daughter who stays at home to attend to her parents. After her mother dies it becomes increasingly apparent that her father wishes to simply ignore this life of and for art that Clarice has made for herself. So long as she cooks and cleans, and generally fulfils the role of domestic servant, her father can pretend, most of the time, that all is okay at home. Quietly, she continues to paint, dragging the box that she has made for her materials, away from home and down to the beach.

Women of my generation will relate to this book. Even if we didn’t participate in the Women’s Liberation movement, we were part of its cause. My father thought that education of women was a waste of money. He believed that, despite sticking to my plans and becoming a teacher, I would give it all up when I married. As with so many of us, he was wrong.

‘Night Street’ is a story for women of all ages. I loved the determination and the constant and continuous struggle for perfection that Clarice had with herself. I know from my writing, that we creative souls are rarely satisfied and that we are concerned about how others will perceive our work.

I recommend this book to all women (and the men who now understand that we can do more than make babies and homes, although they are probably the most important roles for any human being.) I think that artists, writers, composers, creative creatures of any and all varieties will love this book.

Death in the Dordogne – Bruno chief of Police: Martin Walker

Dark Vineyard – Bruno, Chief of Police: Martin Walker

I have just started this series and can’t wait to read more. Bruno is a village policeman in rural France, but his career is secondary to the way of life and his care and concern for the people in the village that has become his home.

For anyone who loves France, especially the villages in rural France, this series is a ‘must read.’ I don’t particularly love detective stories, (although I must admit that I’m partial to the character driven Midsummer Murders and Father Brown on television) but Bruno and his friends, especially the Mayor and the Baron, who have become like the family he never had, have got me hooked.

As any Francophile knows, truffles, wine and all the glorious dishes that are so common at any table (especially the all important lunch table) are sooooo delicious, that we can’t help but fall in love with the food and everything that it includes.

Now, if you are thinking negatively about the French, please think again. Rural France, like the countryside anywhere, is not like the capital city. Paris is definitely not where Bruno wants to be.  The local citizens, like country people anywhere, all know their neighbour’s business, are highly competitive, but support each other like members of a close family.

As with any good character driven story, there’s a woman, or two, who endeavours to win Bruno’s heart. I’m keen to discover how he deals with the lovely single women who cross his path and although the solving of the murders is important, I’m more interested in the private life of our chief detective and how this is going to develop.

I thoroughly recommend this story and series, no matter what your preference in genres.

Our Souls at Night: Kent Haruf

Two elderly people agree to spend their nights together, not initially as a sexual arrangement, but as something that they both miss – that warmth and companionship of another body in the bed.

I loved the way this story developed. It is warm and uncomplicated until the families intrude. Neighbours accept these two people reaching out to each other after they are left to cope with the loneliness of widowhood, but children—grown up, independent children—intrude.

I was disappointed with the ending, but understood why the story had to end the way it did. Who is more important? As older members of society, we sometimes have to rely on the younger ones to care of us and to let us enjoy our grandchildren. This is a story of blood being thicker.

Both the oldies and their children can learn from this heart-warming story. It made me feel grateful for my own children and those of my partner, who don’t judge or put restrictions based on their own prejudices, on our relationship.

I took the recommendation for this story from the ABC’s Book Club; at their final episode for 2017, all participants approved of this one. It’s a simple story, but one that is bound to give you a warm feeling. Although, you might, like me, want to strangle the interfering kids.