Death of a Red Heroine by Qui Xiaolong

Chinese crime novel set in the mid 1990s at a period of reform in China.

1991 First McDonald's in Beijing
1997 Hong Kong handover
1997 Deng Xiopeng dies

7 out of 14 members finished the book and gave a score: Score range: 6 - 7.5.

Average score: 6.8

April Book - Bereft by Chris Womersley

This book was chosen because it was set in Australia and because "it was short, with big writing" - always elements of a promising bookclub book! There was a general murmur of appreciation for this. The blurb:

It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging through Australia. Schools are closed, state borders are guarded by armed men, and train travel is severely restricted. There are rumours it is the end of the world.

In the NSW town of Flint, Quinn Walker returns to the home he fled ten years earlier when he was accused of an unspeakable crime. Aware that his father and uncle would surely hang him, Quinn hides in the hills surrounding Flint. There, he meets a mysterious young girl called Sadie Fox, who encourages him to seek justice — and seems to know more about the crime than she should.

Early on in the book we learn what "the unspeakable crime" was. We agreed that we were grateful that this was dealt with early in the book so the reader can concentrate on the core of the book which was the return of Quinn and his defence of his innocence. Discussed:

• The author believes the book has definite musical themes, one of which is Chopin's "Nocturnes".


• We discussed whether Sadie Fox was real or imagined? None of us considered the possibility that she was imagined but agreed it was possible.


• The book is set in a real area of NSW - Hillend, near Bathurst - the site of early gold rushes.


• The book was full of spiritual themes - seances, witchcraft.


• It was well edited. Apparently the (female) editor cut the book by about a half.


• The imagery of NSW countryside was beautiful and compared in power to that in Breath by Tim Winton.


• One member, who was born overseas, didn't like the imagery in the book and the book didn't interest her which makes us wonder if the book would really only appeal to Australians who know or like the country.

In general, a very well-liked book. Scoring: Range: 7-9

March Book: Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

We discussed this book on Monday 21 March.

J chose the book because her daughter started high school this year so a book about high school teaching was very topical. She feels that teachers are often underrated.

Frank McCourt (1930 - 2009) was an irish-american teacher who wrote Angela's Ashes - a misery memoir about his impoverished childhood in Ireland. This book was written in 2005 and is a memoir of his thirty year teaching career in NYC.

Our views on the book:

Captures the hopeless atmospher of New York in the 1970s
Has lots of good bits but doesn't really hang together.
McCourt is good when telling stories but comes across as very needy. He writes like he needs to move on from his past.
McCourt focusses solely on the bad things.
No common thread pulling it together - as if his publisher demanded a third book and he threw it together.
The book reads like it is for the fans of Angela's Ashes and T'is (his second memoir) and has a lot of assumed knowledge.
Some enjoyed the Irish accent that seems to come through the writing. Others enjoyed his gritty honesty in writing.
Expected a less bleak story than Angela's Ashes
It rambled. Liked some of the lesson techniques but didn't get the point of the book.
Enjoyed the other books more.
An indulgent book about a needy author.
Lacks structure. Has some good comic points and some inspiring elements.

Score range: 5-6.5

Average: 5.6/10

Tinkers by Paul Harding

We met on 28 Feb to discuss Tinkers by Paul Harding.

Tinkers is the first novel of Paul Harding. First published in 2009 it tells the story of George Washington Crosby who thinks back on his life while on his deathbed - particularly that of his relationship with his father who suffered from epilepsy. The novel won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Set

Paul Harding was born in 1967 and while now considers himself as an author, also taught writing at Harvard and was the drummer for the band Cold Flat Water from 1990 - 1997.

What did we think?

Like The Slap we thought that the idea of the novel was better than the result. Like The Slap critical acclaim by the reviewers doesn't necessarily equal a book popular with readers. Not these readers anyway. Some comments from the group:

One member loved the cover (different to above) but the content was disconnected from the promise on the cover.

• There were little story gems eg. the story of the tooth being pulled, the epilepsy but found the descriptions a bit hard going.
• Enjoyed the little stories but not the flowery language and descriptions.
• Hard going. Skimmed all the clock imagery.
• Enjoyed the social commentary but skimmed a few bits.
• Too wordy.
• Not a great holiday read. Enjoyed it as it moved on but skimmed a lot.
• Often the winner of the Pulitzer isn't as good as the others on the shortlist.
• George's feeling of being trapped and running away was especially heartwrenching.
  
  Range of scores: 2-6 out of 10
  Average score: 4.5

Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons

We discussed Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons on Monday 7 February. It was almost a full house with 15 members present.

From the author's website:

"Jack is compiling a list: a comprehensive guide to the manners, customs and habits of England. He knows that marmalade must be bought from Fortnum & Mason, he’s memorised every British monarch back to 913 A.D. and the highlight of his day is the BBC weather forecast. And he never speaks German, apart from the occasional curse.

From the moment he disembarked at Harwich in 1937 he understood that assimilation was the key. But the war’s been over for eight years and despite his best efforts, his bid to blend in remains fraught with unexpected hurdles. Including his wife. "

This was the author's first book. Her grandfather received a pamphlet on how to assimillate to British society when he arrived from Germany before the war. This was the inspiration for a story of a man trying to assimilate. The author wasn't interested in writing a holocaust book, more interested in writing about the edges of history.

What did we think?

Score range: 7.5 - 8.5

Average: 8 out of 10

Ghost Child by Caroline Overington

On Monday 13 September 2010 we discussed Ghost Child by Caroline Overington.

In her own words Caroline is:

... a mother of twins; a reporter for The Australian newspaper; a resident of Bondi Beach; and the author of three books: one is about New York; the other about the UN oil-for-food scandal in Iraq. Her first novel, Ghost Child, has just been published by random House. Caroline was raised in Melton, on the outskirts of Melbourne

The book tells the story of child abuse and child protection in Melbourne. Of a child who died thirty years ago in mysterious circumstances. Told through flashbacks it examines the consequences of the death on all involved and unwinds the mystery.

Unfortunately I didn't write good notes on our discussion but from memory we felt that the story was harrowing, that it seemed like a work of non-fiction rather than fiction but that we were divided about the quality of the writing.

Score range: 5-7

Average: 6.2 out of 10

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

On 16 August 2010 we discussed In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

Truman Capote (1925-1984) was an American author who is particularly famous for writing Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood. He was a childhood friend of To Kill a Mockingbird author, Harper Lee - who was a researcher for In Cold Blood.

In Cold Blood took Capote four years to write. It is the story of the 1959 multiple murder of a farming family in Kansas. Hearing about the murder Capote decided to research the circumstances, prior even to the murders being captured. The novel details that search and the relationships he developed with the convicted murders. He claimed it to be the first True Crime novel or non-fiction novel. It was certainly ground-breaking for its time. Some claim, however there were fabricated elements.

Score range: 8.5 - 9
Average 8.5