Tag Archives: Review

Books, Introspection

Discomfort books

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marjorie
Jennifer Byrne from the First Tuesday Book Club on ABC1 says her comfort book is Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk.

She read it when she was a teenager and it resonated.

It’s the story of a Jewish teenager  in the 1930s, living in New York with dreams of becoming an actress – she falls in love with this glamourous songwriter – look I could go on but perhaps Wikipedia has a more fulsome description…

…are you back with me?

SPOILER ALERT

Anyway many readers – in particular young teenage girls are completely disillusioned by the ending.

This is because Marjorie doesn’t fulful her dreams of becoming an actress, preferring to follow her dreams to marry this charming writer – who is a wastrel and a bit of a bastard if you ask me.

He skives off to Paris and she follows him, eventually finds him and when he asks her to marry him… turns him down.

She then goes back to New York and marries someone else, has four kids, goes prematurely grey and lives happily ever after.

Jennifer says she found this book very empowering as a teenager.
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Here is this young girl with big dreams living in New York, a working girl.  A girl forgoing the hunt for a husband in order to be a broadway success.

Maybe you have to be a teenager to see that.

I read a completely different story.

I read about a young girl, very beautiful but with not that much acting talent in a co-dependent relationship with a cad and who is more concerned about marrying said cad than her acting career.

Eventually she becomes worldly wise, realises the acting thang just ain’t never going to happen and realises that Noel is a complete loser as well.

Maybe it’s because I’m a grey-haired (though dyed a fetching brunette) mama from the burbs reading this and not a young 17 girl full of dreams.

Or maybe as a 17 year old you can’t see the old and cynical tone of Herman Wouk’s world?

For me, this book is about acceptance.  Acceptance of your limitations and those of others.

Have you read it?

What do you think?

Restaurants

Pata Negra Restaurant Review

iberianpig
See… now the logo makes sense!

I don’t usually do restaurant reviews on this blog but Friday night we went to Pata Negra, the new Tapas bar open on Stirling Highway… opposite my fave Vietnamese restaurant TQR.

It was fantastic.

The food was ALL good.

Of course I am rubbish when it comes to Tapas.

There are simply too many choices… hey I have trouble enough trying to decide between still and sparkling water.

But I have a secret Spanishy-bits weapon.
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Groover.

He is GREAT at ordering Tapas. Who knew?

We had some amazing Iberico ham – melt in the mouth – and you have to have it, after all the restaurant is named after it.

We had olives, mushrooms, asparagus with walnuts, mountain bread and Tsziki dip, eggplant fritters and to finish pork belly.

If I go back I’ll be ordering the eggplant fritters and probably the asparagus and definitely the pork belly.

OMG it was sublime.

Other reviews:  Abstract Gourmet, Gourmet Traveller, AceHighWine

Dippity, Film

Not scary enough

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You know I liked the Twilight series, so it should come as no surprise to learn I went to the movie.

In fact I went with three other mums in Dippity’s class – with the four girls who sat a few rows in front of us.  Sit with their mothers?  You’ve got to be joking.

The movie follows the plot of the first book pretty closely.  The scenery is breathtaking.  The character of Bella looked exactly like I imagined.

But as you’ll have guess from the title of this post, I felt it lacked a little in the scary department.

Edward goes on and on about being a monster and dangerous to know but he just looks like a cute teenager, and the bits in the book where you “see” the monster just look a bit silly in the movie.
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I guess I was expecting it to be a bit more Van Helsing.  A bit more scary teeth and hissing.

Especially in the vampire v vampire scenes.

With the scary scenes looking a bit silly it lost a bit of gravatas for me.

Still that said – sans menace – I enjoyed the film and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do in book 2.

Maybe this time find some money for some CGI.  🙂

Books

Breath by Tim Winton

4 Comments

I think this is Tim Winton’s best novel.  He has lost his earlier pretentiousness.  His writing is spare, evocative and compelling. 

The tale is told by a paramedic in his 50s who attends an accidental hanging.   He knows it’s accidental because of events in his youth, and so you are drawn into this tale of coming of age.  Of a young boy becoming a teenager, who with his friend become acolytes of an enigmatic surfer.  A surfer who encourages them to risk everything for the rush that comes with living on the edge.

The rush that cuts through everything to make you feel alive.

It’s also the story of friendship, and of chips that we carry with us from childhood.

I felt a little creeped out by the book.  You want to like your hero right?  Instead I felt repelled.  But perhaps it was more that I was repelled at how easily he slipped into character traits that were less than seemly.  Maybe slipping into them is easier than we’d like to think. 

Groover thinks the book describes Tim.  I don’t like to think of him as that creepy myself.

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One other small niggle:  I hate the way Tim uses Angeles and Sawyer for the town names.  I find it a distraction and it gives me the irrits. 

I’d be interested in your thoughts.  Have you read Breath?

List of reviews

SMH article

The Australian

Books

The Spare Room by Helen Garner

I had no interest in picking up Helen Garner’s latest novel The Spare Room. Helen has always seemed a little worthy, a little hard core for me.

I based this assessment on what I’d seen of her in the media and some vague memory of her writing something on sexual harassment… I haven’t actually read anything of hers before.

Such is the way opinions are made and held.

The cover didn’t inspire me either. It was hard cover. A quiet, worthy looking design.

However my boss offered me the book and I find it hard to say no, so I said yes and dutifully put it in the pile of books on my bedside table for later.

Later happened.

I picked it up preparing to read the first few pages and put it down again, distracted by the next shiny covered airport novel to catch my attention – within the first page I was hooked.

The Spare Room has been described as exquisite. I agree.

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It’s the story of a dying woman, Nicola, who goes to stay at her friend Helen’s house in another city to fight her cancer at a dodgy clinic. She doesn’t want to admit defeat. She also remains defiantly cheerful in the face of death – which she in fact, doesn’t face.

It’s the story Helen who takes on her Nicola’s anger, absorbs it. Who is desperately caught between the role of supporting Nicola in her pathetic endless quest for a cure and wanting to shake her and stop the farce… and then of course feels guilty… and angry.

The mirror that shatters in the first pages symbolises the struggle. How can you face death if you can’t see it… and you have to walk pretty carefully if there is broken glass on the floor…

Nicola doesn’t want anyone to reflect her truth, but by denying it, she keeps Helen at arms length.

I really enjoyed the read. Couldn’t put it down.

It’s not a long book – 2-3 hours – but it stays with you.

Interview with Helen Garner

Books

The Grave Tattoo by Val McDermid

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I like Val McDermid’s writing. I always have.  From Wire in the Blood to her lighter novels, they never fail to entertain.  Highly descriptive, great character profiles, a page-turning plot.

In The Grave Tattoo the action centres around the discovery of a 200 year old body in the peat of the Lakes District.  The body has South Sea tattoos, which gives our heroine new impetus to follow her theory that Fletcher Christian – chief mutineer on Bligh’s ship – you know, the mutiny on the Bounty – came back to the UK and told his story to his schoolmate – none other than William Wordsworth – the poet.

As our heroine Jane Greshem starts to interview descendents of Wordsworth’s maid, they mysteriously start dying.

This novel is part historical, part literature review, part forensic pathologist and 100% Val McDermid.

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That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it.  I even caught the train to work to sneak a few extra minutes to read it.  OMG – yes I was that hooked.

I liked the historical element – and although I started off skimming the supposed Wordsworth bits, I found myself going back and rereading them.

This novel has something for everyone and is not gory – well, not compared to Wire in the Blood!

Books

Rhett Butler’s People by Donald McCaig

First of all, I LOVED Gone With the Wind. The sweeping saga, the feisty heroine, the dashing, rich, and rather butch hero… with a soft side. *Swoon*

And I’ve not loved sequels written by random authors.

It was there on the “new” table at the library and well, what was a girl to do?

I picked it up.

It sat on my beside table for four weeks, until the library asked for it back.

I renewed it.

I picked up Fierce Conversations and nearly finished it.

I picked it up again and started reading.

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The book runs in parallel to Gone with the Wind for the most part – starting with Rhett as a young man, flashbacking his childhood and introducing us to his sister who is the glue in this story weaving the two together.

We find out more about the Civil War – from the blokes’ side.

We discover some of Rhett’s motivation.

And yes, we find out what happens after those immortal words “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”.

So yeah, if you like Gone with the Wind – read Rhett Butler’s People. If you didn’t, I’m not sure you’ll like this 500 page novel. And… I’m not sure it would work if you weren’t familiar with the story… but maybe I’m wrong… if you’ve read it and not the original – let me know.

NY Times Review
The Guardian

Uncategorized

A dinner for clever people

7 Comments

Remember how we won that quiz nite way back in July? Well last night we used the prize – a $500 voucher at Lamonts in Cottesloe.

Winners are grinners

Winners are grinners.

This is another Kate Lamont restaurant to go with the East Perth posh dining and the more rustic fare in the Swan Valley.

The business model is a wine bar, serving little plates of yumminess – none of which I photographed (sorry TFP).

It is not a cheap night out.

I’ve been there a few times now and enjoyed the atmosphere – which is buzzing. I’ve never been there when it’s quiet. The wine is always good. The tea organic. The service exceptional. But the food…

You know, it is beautifully prepared but I just find it a bit meh.

Last night we had the scallops… or should I say scallop. You only get one scallop per serve and even for a small plate of yumminess that’s a bit rich I think. The slice I had was delicious.

The venison chorizo was also tasty – I’d recommend that if you go.

The truffle fritters were deep fried and that saves many a dish – I found the centre tasteless myself.

The roulade was generous (for Lamonts) and quite tasty – loved the pistachios.

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We had a potato and artichoke (I think) stack – which I didn’t like at all… but it was slightly better than the scordalio I had last time – bleah… it’s like a lump of cold mashed potato.

And we had the saffron chips. They were yummy.

We tried the chocolate mousse – which I had last time and found a bit heavy – and the creme caramel – which I must admit was the best creme caramel I have ever tasted.

I left feeling vaguely unsatisfied with the food.

It was like reading a book from an award winning author. All the ingredients are there, you know the author is celebrated, but… you just can’t get into it. You feel you should… but you’re left wanting another book.

Hey the company was great though!

Does this look like a girl whose car tire is flat?

Winners are grinners

Winners are grinners

And afterwards our chivalrous blokes changed a tyre.

Chivalry is not dead

Books

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

4 Comments

This Jane Austen novel has at it’s heart an anti-heroine. Miss Fanny Price is invited to live with her rich uncle, aunt and cousins as an act of charity and is treated perhaps a little unfairly, a little more strictly. Made to feel her inferiority.

She is a prim and proper miss. Timid and shy. Never puts herself forward or stands up for herself. A mouse.

Frankly, I wanted to slap her! She is so wet.

Not like other Austen heroines like Emma and Elisabeth Bennett.

In the end I didn’t really care what happened to her, and maybe Austen didn’t either as she wraps up the story – which drags in parts – with haste.

The version I read had loads of footnotes which irritated me for the most part as they referred to pages at the back of the book. I’d much prefer the notes to be at the bottom of the page – if there at all.

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Austen is pretty sarcastic in this novel… more than I’ve noticed in others… particularly in the first half. She is less scathing, or so it seemed to me, as the novel wore on.

This is not my favourite Jane Austen novel. I like to like my heroines. However it’s still worth the read.

Nabou review

Inklings

Austen.com

Books

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

The Little Friend by Donna TarttDonna Tartt doesn’t write many books. It was at least ten years between The Secret History – which I loved – and this new novel The Little Friend.

Donna Tartt’s books are dense novels. Rich novels. Long novels. At the end you feel intimately connected with her characters (possibly because it has taken so long to read about them), but it is ultimately a satisfying experience.

In The Little Friend we meet Harriet, aged 12. Our heroine grew up with an absent father, a mother whose grief made her practically absent, a sister, three elderly aunts and a grandmother, a housekeeper and a dead brother.

She was only 6 months old when he died but his death overshadows her life, both because of the legend he becomes but also because she wants to avenge his death.

So Harriet with her mate Hely come up with a scheme to get back at the man she reckons killed her brother, then a boy himself.

The action takes place over one hot, drowsy summer in Mississippi.

I felt drawn into the novel. It takes perseverance and a bit of ploughing through, Donna Tartt takes her time, but her descriptions and characters are so well drawn you feel as if you are merely remembering a time from your own past.
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And yes there are some problems with the novel, sometimes I lost track of where I was, and the central mystery remains unresolved – which is a bit annoying especially if you’ve grown up with a collection of Agatha Christie novels – but then, maybe real life is unresolved?

If you’re looking for light, holiday reading – this is not your best choice, but if you have time to sink into Donna Tartts world – then I think you will enjoy the journey. I did.

Make sure you have a big handbag if you are travelling with it though… 🙂

Reviews:

The Telegraph
BBC
Bloomsbury
January Magazine (didn’t like it much)