29 May, 2006

New Authors to Explore

For my future reference, mostly:-

Denise Mina (crime)
Tara Winch (dunno)
Leigh Redhead (crime)
Kate Forsyth (fantasy)
Emma Bull (fantasy/magic realism)
Anne Lamott (um... essayist?)
Anne Bishop (fantasy)
Jacqueline Carey (fantasy)
Lilian Nattel (magic realism)
Dani Shapiro (dunno)
Libba Bray (fantasy/fairytale)

28 May, 2006

Dirt Music (Tim Winton)

I enjoyed Dirt Music much more than I thought I was going to. For some reason, I had this false perception of Tim Winton as a difficult author, requiring rather a lot of effort from his readers. This perception has now been dispelled, after I was drawn into his wonderfully lyrical story. (I also loved the companion CD which he released - great stuff).

When I put down Dirt Music, I sighed a little enviously over Winton's skill as an author. His characters are fantastic, his evocation of landscape is sublime. It was very enjoyable to be so captured by his story. 5 out of 5.

(And I'm going to move on to more Tim Winton - next up, listening to an audiobook of Cloudstreet).

The Spiral Staircase (Karen Armstrong)

The Spiral Staircase is a fascinating memoir by religious scholar (if that's the right term for it) Karen Armstrong. I love Armstrong's writing - I read The History of God at University, and enjoyed it enormously (and I didn't usually become so absorbed in my academic texts). The Spiral Staircase is an account of Armstrong's life after she spends 7 years as a nun, and how she adjusts to the secular world. It made me want to read more of her books, which is always a good sign. Five out of five.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lionel Shriver)

I'd read mentions of this book in various places, and eventually picked it up from the library after someone at book club raved about it. So I had a vague idea about the plot - mother of a boy who shoots up a high school writes letters to her husband because, you know, they need to talk about Kevin.

We Need To Talk About Kevin, however, is much more about his mother than it is about himself. One interesting aspect of this book, which I initially found frustrating and then thoroughly enjoyed, was its unreliable narrator. Eva finds Kevin has a disturbing personality even as a baby - she finds him cold, uninterested in the world, and sees his refusal to drink from her breasts as a personal rejection of her. Some part of me itched at this point to know the full picture - is Eva suffering from post-natal depression, stress, what? However, WNTTAK is so well written that such thoughts quickly disappeared as I became completely drawn into Eva's world.

WNTTAK is really about Eva's intense guilt and grief over her son, and while he is the character around which the narrative focuses, we never really get to know him. We only see him through Eva's eyes, and consequently learn much more about her than we do about him.

I found the last half of WNTTAK extremely disturbing, given that the descriptions of violence increase, and felt rather sick once I had closed the book (despite the somewhat optimistic ending - as optimistic as such an ending can be, I suppose). But I am cursed with a ridiculously visual imagination - don't let the prospect stop you from reading the book. It really was a pleasure to read, so wonderfully well crafted. I definitely want to read more of Shriver's work. Five out of five.

09 May, 2006

Writing Your Life (Patti Miller)

Writing Your Life is a fantastic book aimed at those who are interested in autobiographical writing. What I usually dislike about books like this are that authors often scatter books with their own examples of autobiographical writing, which I often find lacking (Julia Cameron, Natalie Goldberg, I'm looking at you).

What is wonderful about Patti Miller's book is that she uses excerpts of really wonderful autobiographical writing by a great variety of authors - some you will love, some you may not, but it's all there to illustrate different styles and approaches. The book is based on a series of workshops, so it's extremely practical, and packed with fantastic and thought provoking exercises. I was inspired, and plan to complete many of the exercises within. 5 out of 5.

Wizards at War (Diane Duane)

Wizards at War is the latest book in Diane Duane's (surely that name must be a pseudonym) Wizard series. I enjoyed the first few books in the YA fantasy series, but this one was overly complicated, overly strewn with new characters - the actual thread of the story and the threat to the world was rather lost to me as it divided itself between so many protagonists. 3 out of 5.

Drowned Wednesday (Garth Nix)

Garth Nix is a very cool Australian fantasy author, who mainly writes for young adults. Drowned Wednesday is the third book in his Keys to the Kingdom series, which is written for younger children, I think, which explains why I wasn't so thrilled by it. It's very inventive, but too simplistic in its characterisation, too rushed. I imagine I would have loved it if I was 10. Reluctantly, 3 out of 5.

Fool's Fate (Robin Hobb)

I'm rather annoyed that this series couldn't end on a lovely golden happy note, but it's a silly annoyance, because such an endings wouldn't be true to the characters or their journey. Nevertheless - it's just a little frustrating.

This is the last book of Robin Hobb's wonderful fantasy series. 5 out of 5, and may she hurry up and write her next book.