BOOKCLUB RECOMMENDATIONS JULY 2010
Landed Tim Pears Random House $3,495.00
This beautifully written book starts factually with a report on a traffic accident in a suburban town in a Midland town in England. The driver of the car unfortunately loses his hand in the crash and also his oldest child. Two years later and still suffering from the trauma of the accident, Owen the driver decides to take his two remaining children on a journey across the countryside to revisit the Welsh borders, where he spent the happiest years of his childhood with his farming grandparents. The journey becomes an odyssey, with Owen gradually coming to terms with both his recent past and events from his boyhood. As he nears his journey end, it becomes harder to separate the past and present. This is a most unusual story, and one to be savoured and shared with a friend. Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet David Mitchell Sceptre $32.99
This dense and detailed historical novel by the talented David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas), tells the story of the humble and decent Dutch clerk, Jacob de Zoet. The year is 1799 and the story is set on the island of Dejima, which is an island near Batavia where the western world is allowed to make trading contact with the Japanese. The Japanese have been in isolation from the rest of the world for two centuries and are extremely secretive about trade and scientific practices. Jacob becomes involved in what amounts to industrial espionage and fascinated with the Japanese and their world. He also falls in love with a clever Japanese woman, which is tricky when he is supposed to be in the Far East earning his fortune so that he can marry his true love back in Holland. The research that has gone into this book is phenomenal and the period details bring time and place to life in a masterly way. Private Life Jane Smiley Penguin $32.99
Jane Smiley is one of those authors whose new books are greeted with glee by the staff here. Her new book tells the story of the marriage between Margaret Mayfield, who feared herself an old maid at 27 and the famous Captain Andrew Jackson Jefferson Early, a naval officer and astronomer. Margaret struggles to get to know her husband and as events move towards the second World War, she finds herself more and more distanced from him and his obsessions. At once a picture of a marriage and the isolation that it can contain and also a chronicle of events in American society in the first half of the twentieth century, this is Smiley writing brilliantly. Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of his Friend Marilyn Monroe Andrew O'Hagan Faber & Faber $32.99
Did you know that Marilyn Monroe would now be 84 if she had lived? This book is a celebration of her last two years, told through the eyes of her dog Maf – a dog who actually existed, but who has only now been able to reveal events that he witnessed. Maf was a Maltese terrier given to Marilyn by Frank Sinatra and through his wise and kindly eyes we see Marilyn trying to win respect from those around her. Maf has the benefit of having lived several previous lives, so is able to comment with wry sympathy on the predicaments that Marilyn finds herself in and is able to see through the company that she keeps. Andrew O’Hagan finds a perfect voice in the character of Maf and this book is expertly handled and becomes a loving tribute to a great artist. Martin Westley Takes a Walk Andrew Humphreys Random House $32.95
When Martin Westley takes a walk he is hit on the head by a kite. He wakes up in hospital and quickly realises that although he can count to three, he has no memory of his personal circumstances. Quick-thinking Martin realises that he does not want to admit to this and endure months of neurological testing, so he pretends that all is well and goes home with his wife, whom he has no memory of and takes an instant dislike to! So commences a hilarious course of events, chronicling Martin’s attempts to re-write his life and re-invent himself, without people realising what has happened to him! Thought-provoking – what would you do if you suddenly saw your life, family and friends with completely fresh eyes?! Bookcaffe Bookclubs
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