Bestsellers for March 2010
1 The Legacy Kirsten Tranter Harper Collins $32.99
This is Australian writer, Kristen Tranter’s debut novel, but is written with great assurance and individuality. She was inspired to write the book after experiencing New York during September 2001 and thinking how easy it would have been for a crime to have taken place during that tragic and chaotic time and for it to have gone completely unnoticed. So the idea for “The Legacy” was born. Recently orphaned Ingrid is adopted by her wealthy uncle and goes to live in his affluent home in Sydney. Her presence disrupts the relationship between her cousin Ralph and his adoring girlfriend Julia. Ingrid ignores Ralph and goes to New York to marry an older, sophisticated art-dealer. When Ingrid is presumed dead during the 9/11 attacks, suspicious Ralph sends Julia to investigate….At once a thriller and a homage to Henry James, “The Legacy” is an intriguing and satisfying novel.
2 The Long Song Andrea Levy Headline $32.99
Andrea Levy’s new book is a masterpiece – she has created a fantastic voice in the character of July, a slave girl in Jamaica during the early nineteenth century. July tells the story of her birth and childhood and the Baptist War of 1831, which was supposed to improve the life of the slaves in Jamaica. The slave community is depicted with wry humour - their methods of survival in the harshest circumstances and the tricks that they play on their white masters and mistresses. Even the abolitionists are shown to be flawed and with their own agendas. Levy never preaches, she lets the characters and events speak for themselves through the feisty, defiant voice of July – a character whom you won’t forget in a hurr
3 Paperbark Shoe Goldie Goldbloom Fremantle Press $32.95
A quirky tale of unexpected love between an Australian farmer's wife and an Italian Prisoner of War during WW2. Based on true events and with fabulous characterisation.
4 The Swan Thieves Elizabeth Kostova Little Brown $32.99
Elizabeth Kostova’s new novel tells the story of the enigmatic artist Robert Oliver, who has tried to slash a painting in the National Gallery in Washington. He is taken into the care of Andrew Marlowe, a psychiatrist, who becomes fascinated by his taciturn patient. Marlowe’s quest to find a motive for Robert’s behaviour takes him to various destinations in America and a revisiting of the world of the French Impressionists. This is a fascinating examination of the artistic temperament and the power of an image to become an obsession. Well researched and with an intriguing array of characters, this is a great novel with which to start the year.
5 Jasper Jones Craig Silvey Allen & Unwin $29.99
Late on a hot summer night in the tail end of 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of thirteen, is startled by an urgent knock on the window of his sleep-out. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in the regional mining town of Corrigan. Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress.
Jasper takes him through town and to his secret glade in the bush, and it's here that Charlie bears witness to Jasper's horrible discovery. With his secret like a brick in his belly, Charlie is pushed and pulled by a town closing in on itself in fear and suspicion as he locks horns with his tempestuous mother; falls nervously in love and battles to keep a lid on his zealous best friend, Jeffrey Lu. In the simmering summer where everything changes, Charlie learns why the truth of things is so hard to know, and even harder to hold in his heart.
6 Good to a Fault Marina Endicott Allen & Unwin $27.99
Marina Endicott won the Canadian and Caribbean section of the Commonwealth Writers Prize for 2009 for this clever and insightful novel. Clara Purdy, a middle-aged middle class lady is popping out to the bank in her lunch-hour, when she accidentally hits another car. The family in the other car are taken to hospital and it is discovered that the young mother has a serious illness and needs to be kept in for treatment. As the rest of the family are homeless (they have been living in their car), Clara is riddled with guilt and decides to help them. She decides on the extreme remedy of letting them stay at her home. What ensues is a roller-coaster ride of emotions - guilt, blame, revulsion, love and ultimately we are left wondering about the motives behind trying to “be good”.
7 Lacuna The Barbara Kingsolver Penguin $35.00
At last the long awaited new novel from Barbara Kingsolver!! Barbara tells the story of Harrison Shepherd, born in 1916 in America of a Mexican mother and American father. Harrison is a delightful character – he always seems to live on the edge of someone elses more eventful and exciting life – firstly becoming the cook and then secretary for Frida Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera and ultimately secretary to the exiled Tolstoy. By the time he is thirty and the Second World War has just finished he has become a well respected novelist, writing adventure stories about Mexican and Mayan history. But then anti-red fanaticism sets in and Harrison becomes a target. Kingsolver does not shirk from revealing aspects of American history that Americans can be least proud of. In Spanish “lacuna” means hole or gap and she uses this as a metaphor for the gap between historical truth and fiction. An epic story that can be enjoyed on many levels – note that we also have a newly re-released biography of Frida Kahlo, if you want to continue some background reading!
8 Consolation Anna Gavalda Random House $32.95
Fans of Anna Gavalda (Hunting and Gathering), will be thrilled to have the chance to read her latest offering - “Consolation”, which was the bestselling novel in France in 2008. The central character, Charles Balanda, is an endearing middle-aged architect, whose successful life is starting to unravel, especially after he hears of the death of Anouk, the mother of his childhood friend. Scenes from the past, involving this woman whom he has always loved, keep coming back to haunt him and he becomes unable to focus on the present. Ultimately he finds himself on a Parisian pavement with a head injury, and luckily in his search for healing he meets the lovely Kate, herself damaged but wise. You will enjoy the wonderful characters and sharp observations of life in contemporary Europe.
9 Come Back to Me Sara Foster Random House Australia $32.95
Do you have to honour a promise you made in the past, if it means losing all that you have now? Set in London and Perth - this is an exhilarating page turner that will leave you guessing until the very end!
10 Counterpoint Anna Enquist UWA Press $32.95
This beautiful novel comes with your own copy of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on CD. In the novel, the unnamed woman practises the same pieces of music and muses back over her life. She is coming to terms with the death of a child and reflecting on her life, family, music and desparately trying to master the technicalities of the music. Anna Enquist is a Dutch musician, poet, psycho-analyst and writer and this novel has been beautifully translated. Despite the dark themes this is very readable and thought –provoking.
Previous Bestsellers Lists
View the previous bestsellers lists by selecting the date of the list you'd like to view
3 March 2010
2 February 2010
28 October 2009
29 September 2009
3 September 2009
30 July 2009
2 July 2009
29 May 2009
30 April 2009
31 March 2009
1 March 2009
1 February 2009
Book of the Month
March 2010
Trespass
by
Rose Tremain