A delighted reader was I, flying along with this informed and quality work. It’s times like this a reader chides themselves with the age-old adage ‘whA delighted reader was I, flying along with this informed and quality work. It’s times like this a reader chides themselves with the age-old adage ‘why have I not read this author before now?!� Devouring this believable, compelling, and propulsive thriller to the extent I had not experienced for a long while. An engrossing twisty thread chock full of meaty subjects, whilst heavy, carrying the reader through extreme emotions without faltering. Fully immersed in the female camaraderie, the desperation of escape, and the true caring of reliable protagonists who I felt close to and protected by; I felt I knew them. Absorbing the feeling of evil in which they were fleeing, while attempting to bring to justice made for a terrific read. I loved the right characters; I hated the others with vehemence. Alan Carter has hit the nail on the head with smart writing and faultlessly crafted characters which made it hard to put down. Wanting my lunch break to be longer (what is wrong with stealing some work time to read?!) Here we have an established author clearly shining and I loved it. My copy has a full dance card right now � a sure sign of success.
With thanks to @fremantlepress and @goodreadingmag for my copy to read and review as part of the Early Bird Read. ...more
Nick Cave is a complete genius, layered, complex and so gifted. So it was an interesting task to read a compilation of short stories, written by felloNick Cave is a complete genius, layered, complex and so gifted. So it was an interesting task to read a compilation of short stories, written by fellow creatives of their own interpretation of a particular song.
As with all short story collections, I liked more than others, and here the range is vastly different. As is each of Mr Cave's songs. These works of art have many meanings behind them, and was a constant theme as I encountered each new story.
It struck me how each of us have such a vast comprehension of creative works. I was continually looking up the song lyrics and would be sucked into a longer search into this man's life, flicking between the lyric, articles, and the book.
This story to me opened up more of a curiosity into the man, this book befitting the wonder that is Nick Cave. I was curious to read the Reimagined Songs as I've been devouring the Red Hand Files.
Fans will like this collective of interesting and quirky stories. My favourite unsurprisingly is the more contemporary one about a young girl desiring to save a struggling greyhound racing dog.
With my thanks to Claire at Fremantle Press for a physical copy to read and review....more
I am not as anxious as Celia, but I can relate. I loved this book, she is self deprecating, worrisome, a high achiever, extremely annoying, but also eI am not as anxious as Celia, but I can relate. I loved this book, she is self deprecating, worrisome, a high achiever, extremely annoying, but also extremely lovable. This book is relayed in diary form, and I enjoyed the format as I could dip in and out, reading small amounts which often suits my time constraints. Noting my comments on the reading progress here, I have noted this: I love this. I LOVE MY BOOK. How good is this?
The short and snappy diary entries composed of things like this. Also, because am nerd, am pleased that it is tax time. Must make time to collate papers for the accountant.
Celia is bright, capable. Pretty much an all rounder � but to what cost. She runs to and from work (I run and the complexities of having work clothes/shower/red face/bad hair) bamboozled me from the start. She is a loving wife and daughter, and industrious granddaughter. So many commitments!
She also has a highly stressful job, a side hustling popular blog, and now she is also writing a book. Eyebrows raised, I was following this beautiful girl’s journey wondering how on earth she was going to survive. The lists to follow up lists, the schedules for time management, food management, holiday management and so one was exhausting. And keeping up appearances, she must hold it together on the outside, mustn’t she?
Lucky for her she had a wonderfully written husband, whom I was pushing along to support Celia more; for a hot minute he seemed to be allowing her to flounder.
This book was not only full of quirk and candour from the voice of a strung out woman, but it was also a serious one, with ultra important and relevant issues of our time. Body image, addiction, mental health. In saying this, everything was treated respectfully with resources woven into the narrative, The Butterfly Foundation, Access EAP (anyone who works for large organisations would have heard of this).
Lots of food for thought. ..you stay the same level of pretty you always have been, but with more cabinet clutter. I enjoyed Celia’s journey in her own way to declutter her being, encountering many swings and roundabouts.
This young Australian author is one to look out for; a former bookseller cum journalist, I am keen to see what else she has in store. A very important book.
With my thanks to Claire at Fremantle Press for my physical copy to read and review....more
Another rerelease from Fremantle Press, originally released in 2010. I find it refreshing when there is less of a social media presence in books writtAnother rerelease from Fremantle Press, originally released in 2010. I find it refreshing when there is less of a social media presence in books written in the not so distant past.
This is an unusual story of a woman finding it hard to come to grips with a tragedy, and her not so conventional way of dealing with a serious loss. This intertwines with an fractured childhood, which we are told in alternating chapters of this childhood lived in various parts of the world.
Gaelle's mother is a drifter, who goes out 'dancing' in the evenings, leaving her alone at night to fend for herself. Reappearing in her daughter's life at a young age, Gaelle was happily living a beautiful life with her maternal grandparents, but as we see her mother pop up out of nowhere to remove her from this settled and happy life we see this mother is unhinged in some kind of sad and unsettling way.
Relying on a strange type of whymsical storytelling, mother and daughter form a bond in this unreal way. Gaelle is a smart girl; she knows her mum is unusual, and begins to tire of this life and not having what the other children at school have. Left to be befriended by a neigbour she is quite abandoned. We see the geographical solution her mother tries to fix her problems, from contintent to continent.
Gaelle is now 30 and suffering a personal loss, retreating from the wealthy areas of Sydney to Fremantle. Befriending a young tween we see Gaelle try and tease out the solution to her messy life. This young girl becomes quite enamoured with the restless Gaelle, and the two begin to teach each other lessons about life, agian with the storytelling ever present.
Gaelle wasn't a character I loved, so this limited my connection to the story, and the fantastical storytelling wasn't my preferred genre either. Her actions after her loss seemed odd to me, and as with most of my reading, if I don't gel with a character, it blocks the process for me.
I found this a unique story, one I didn't fully embrace, but would be by others who enjoy some magical realism and less conventional storytelling. 2.5 - 3 stars.
With my thanks to @fremantlepress for my copy to read and review....more
This edition is a rerelease of the author's debut novel, originally published 2009, with a gorgeous cover more fitting 2023. The story itself though lThis edition is a rerelease of the author's debut novel, originally published 2009, with a gorgeous cover more fitting 2023. The story itself though lacks a modern feel. A different type of book about a bookshop, there are MANY threads popped into this story which makes it quite busy, and a little crowded.
Helen's marriage is crumbling, her husband is a hoarder and she's had enough. The story moves along to the neighbouring couple, who themselves have their own domestic problems, Astrid is her friend so invites her to live with them.
Helen stumbles into making an underhanded deal to buy a crumbling store, her sons have returned to the fold at the same time. One helps her in the store, and the other helps his father attempt to lessen the junk pile at home.
There are many lies and many points of dysfunction, to the point the reader finds it all a little unbelievable. I'm a reader who prefers to like the protagonist, and I didn't like Helen. She judged people's reading habits; she judged people. Although as the story went on she tried to change this.
Sadly though, his choice of science fiction seemed characteristic of his generation and type. Helen determined that the young man needed re-educating.
Fornicating no doubt, breeding more children of a romantic persuasion. Was there no shame? She sneered at the cheap paperbacks, a shabby lot which remained shy beneath her judgemental eye.
The harshness of Helen made the tone a harsh one to the book in general. This isn't a soft book, the characters are flawed and marriages all breaking, the folk quite unhappy. The characters did not seem real to me, perhaps written in a voice older for their age.
Other readers may enjoy this more than I, this is a contemporary read, leaving me feeling quite sad for all of the characters. A good point to note here is that the protagonist isn't young and beautiful, she is a more mature age which is always refreshing!
With my thanks to @freemantlepress for a physical copy of this very pretty book....more
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