Bestsellers for April 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 Too Much Happiness Alice Munro Chatto & Winduss $39.95
The Man Booker Prize winner cannot fail to delight with this collection of short stories.Special price was $49.95 now $39.95 HB.
3 Solar Ian McEwan Random House $32.95
Climate change is the background theme to McEwan’s latest novel. However, despite the scientific backdrop, this book is anything but serious and is a largely a romp through the life of the middle-aged, Nobel prize-winning physicist, Michael Beard, a man who has got through 5 wives and has spent the last two decades living off the work he did in his youth. Now Beard thinks nothing of stealing the ground-breaking work that his present wife’s young lover is working upon and as such embodies everything that has brought about the current climate change crisis – greed, heedlessness and a wilful refusal to think about consequences. McEwan provides us with a satirical and often hilarious look at a serious subject.
4 Mornings in Jenin Susan Abulhawa Bloomsbury $32.99
It has been commented that this heart-wrenching, powerfully written novel could do for Palestine what “the Kite Runner” did for Afghanistan. Forcibly removed from the ancient village of Ein Hod by the newly formed state of Israel in 1948, the Abulheja family are settled into the Jenin refugee camp. Exiled from their beloved olive trees, they face the challenges of the camp with varying attitudes and hopes and fears. Covering three generations of the family, this book clarifies the indignities and sufferings of the Palestinian nation and forces us to take a fresh look at one of the defining political conflicts of our lifetimes. Originally printed under the title “Scars of David” in 2006, this book has been re-issued to wide acclaim.
5 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.
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 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.
8 So Much for That Lionel Shriver Harper Collins $32.99
Lionel Shriver is back on form with this incisive look into the American Health system. Shep Knacker is all set to embark on his Afterlife – he has saved up a million dollars to escape the rat-race and start a new life on the tropical island of his choice. But unfortunately, on the very day that he buys the tickets, his wife announces that she is seriously ill and they will need all the health insurance that they can get… so poor Shep has to carry on working. This is a masterful expose of what happens when people are stuck in a system with no flexibility or humanity. Full of irony and feisty characters, this is a very memorable read and an ideal Bookclub choice.
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 Where Have you Been? Wendy James UWA Press $32.95
This book is also a thriller, dealing with the age old story of the missing sibling. Susan’s sister, Karen, went to her school ball and never came back. Her family have long given up on their hope that she might still be alive, but when Susan’s mother dies and her will reveals that her estate has to be shared between Susan and Karen, the family lawyer suggests advertising to see if Karen is still alive. Before long Karen (or Carly as she is now called) comes back into Susan’s comfortable life in suburban Sydney, but is she all she claims to be? Deceptively simple, this book exerts a mounting tension and involvement over the reader, with characters that we can all relate to and motives and reactions that demand to be examined.
Previous Bestsellers Lists
View the previous bestsellers lists by selecting the date of the list you'd like to view
3 September 2010
3 August 2010
4 July 2010
3 June 2010
5 May 2010
6 April 2010
3 March 2010
2 February 2010
28 October 2009
29 September 2009
3 September 2009
30 July 2009
Book of the Month
September 2010
Freedom
by
Jonathan Franzen