The Son – Phillip Meyer

Every once in a while you come across a book that is so captivating that  you immediately want to search out and read everything and anything the author has ever written. Unfortunately for me, The Son is only Phillip Meyer’s second book so I’ll have to wait a while. The novel is nothing short of epic, spanning the vast and bloodied history of Texas from the Comanche raids of the 1800s up until the politics surrounding big oil money in the present day. Meyer’s story beautifully captures the social upheavals sweeping through Texas, but never at the expense of his characters. Each protagonist, Eli, Peter and Jeanie, is distinctly and refreshingly human;  fallible, flawed and struggling with their own nature, the pressures of Texan life and the expectations of others. While Eli’s kidnapping by a raiding band of Comanches is the most riveting (and horrifying) vein of the novel, all three characters portray something of the complexity of life on a frontier. Meyers has a wonderful talent for drawing out big questions of what is right and wrong in a way that forces you to re-evaluate any preconceived notions about nature, nurture, strength, kindness and weakness. All in all, The Son is a masterpiece and I have no doubt that Meyer is fully deserving of the praise, ‘a modern day John Steinbeck’. Highly recommended

The Bookery Cook: where food meets art

The Thompson sisters have always shared a loveof good food and their blog, The Bookery Cook (check it out at 
http://thebookerycook.com.au/
), is a feast of recipes and other foodie delights. Here at Fairfieldbooks we have just received the sister’s first cookbook; The Bookery Cook, and it is brilliant! The sisters asked artists from all over the world to create artworks inspired by the recipes. All up 66 artists contributed and the results are beautiful and often quite quirky. There is a great selection of recipes including everything from dolmades to the classic meat pie, Vietnamese-style squid salad to panna cotta with berry balsamic reduction. The book is perfect for lovers of art as much as lovers of food (and it might even be the perfect Mother’s Day surprise!). $40.00.

Boomer & Me

Jo Case is a writer and mother whose son Leo was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome after some time of social problems. Jo views the news with a mixture of feelings, which isn’t surprising. Relief at a final diagnosis but also some fear about what it means for Leo and his future.  As she throws herself into reading about Asperger’s, she recognises aspects of herself, her father and her brother in the literature.  She comes to the view that they are all within the Asperger’s spectrum.  She is reluctant to get a definitive diagnosis for herself her main fear being whether she can be a good mother if she really has Aspergers.  Jo writes really well, and isn’t afraid to paint herself warts and all.  She is at different times irrational, moody and fearful, but she tells it like it is.  I think this is a very good contribution to the available literature on Aspergers. 

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The Stella Prize

At last Australia has it’s very own literary award celebrating the extraordinary breadth and depth of women’s writing in this country, akin to Britain’s highly respected Orange Prize. The longlist of twelve novels has been announced:

Floundering by Romy Ash

Mazin Grace by Dylan Coleman

The Burial by Courtney Collins

The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny

Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser

Sufficient Grace by Amy Espeseth

The Sunlit Zone by Lisa Jacobson

Like a House on Fire by Cate Kennedy

Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan

The Mind of a Thief by Patti Miller

An Opening by Stephanie Radok

Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany

Congratulations to all the women on the longlist! The winner of the first-ever Stella Prize will be announced on Tuesday 16th April.

 

 

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Gentle crime with a yarn bombing twist: Maggie Groff, a new crime author to try

Maggie Groff is an Australian crime writer whose books are set  in Byron Bay.  Her heroine is Scout, a mother, a diabetic, a journalist and part time crime solver. The second book, Good news, bad news is just out, and while stocks last, if you buy the second book, we will give you a copy of the first book FREE.  A perfect opportunity to try a new author. 

A Light Shining in the Forest by Paul Torday

A Light Shining the Forest is Paul Torday’s latest and is a winner!   Set in the north east of England it tells the story of some missing children which the police are calling ‘missing persons’ but which the parents call ‘abductions’

Three people are brought together in an unlikely alliance.  Norman, the Children’s Czar, is a  lifetime bureaucrat who has reached a high position in the public service doing very little and taking no risks.  Although he is Commissioner for Children he is unmarried and has no experience of children!

His secretary Pippa, studying part time,  spends a lot of time arranging his lunch appointments and meetings ,fetching coffee and making eyes at Willie.

Willie is an ambitious reporter on the local rag who hopes for a story after the first child disappears and the police seem indifferent. When more disappear he smells an even bigger story that will ” make his career”, so he goes to see the Children’s Czar!!

The three of them struggle against the police attitude, the parents and Willie’s editor to find out what happened.  What starts out as a tale of incompetence, selfishness and indifference becomes a tale of passion, commitment and bravery.  The story twists when people start having unusual dreams and seeing things that disappear.

The culmination in the forest is unexpected and thrilling!  $30 large PB

The Paper Dolls

Julia Donaldson has branched out from her tried and tested collaborations with Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo, Superworm) with her new book, The Paper Dolls. This whimsical story about the power of imagination and the wonder children find in the simplest things is illustrated by the talented Rebecca Cobb. This is simply a lovely story accompanied by lovely illustrations of Ticky and Tacky, and Jackie the Backie, and Jim with two noses and Jo with the bow. A great story of kids, especially girls, aged 3-6. You might have paper dolls lying around the house but stimulating your kids imagination might be worth it.

Guinness World Records 2013!!!

Guinness World Records 2013, HB $43.00

Your mind will be blown by fascinating facts and crazy people in the newest edition of the Guinness World Records. There is now an App available that allows you to view the records in 3D.

More than 280 pages of records from the dangerous to the gross to the truly unbelievable. Kids and adults will really enjoy this book and will probably be inspired to try and break some records of their own…

10 hamburgers in 3 minutes anyone???