The Story Thief by Kyra Geddes

 The Story Thief is an Australian saga which follows Lillian Taylor from her birth in 1892 in outer western New South Wales up to her present life in 1954 in suburban Sydney. Tragic circumstances saw Lillian leave Bourke as a young girl and, through the generosity of a benefactor, become a boarder at Kincoppal Sacred Heart college in Rose Bay, Sydney. 

One day Lillian chanced upon a copy of While The Billy Boils, a collection of Henry Lawson’s short stories. [Reviewer’s note: I was given a copy of this book as a prize in my own convent school days, many years ago, (although not as long ago as Lillian’s, of course).  Sadly, it was destroyed in a flood in 2022.]. Lillian was struck by the story, The Drover’s Wife, and she can’t help wondering if Henry Lawson had met her family and based his story on her mother. In her determination to find out the truth, and whether he was a ‘story thief’, she wrote a letter to Henry Lawson. I won’t be putting any spoilers in here on that thread.

The twentieth century moves on as Lillian’s story unfolds through to the years of the Second World War and their aftermath. Her life is shaped by all the people who come into it, bringing happiness and, inevitably, sadness. 

Kyra Geddes’ elegant prose is perfect for invoking the magnitude of the changes in Australia’s, and the world’s, history from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Lillian is a deep and complicated character whose intelligence and strength, together with the kindnesses and friendships she encounters along the way, get her past her unbearably tragic beginnings and help prepare her, as far as possible, for everything her future holds. 

This book was absolutely unputdownable. Congratulations Kyra Geddes. Brilliant!

Published by Affirm Press.

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

 

I’ve collected most of the Lucy Barton books but, unfortunately, I only had time to re-read one, Oh William!, to reacquaint myself with some of Lucy’s story before reviewing Tell Me Everything.

In Tell Me Everything, Lucy is sharing a house with William, her ex-husband, and has a loving friendship with Bob Burgess. She has begun meeting regularly with Olive Ketteridge for the purpose of hearing Olive’s stories, and in turn telling Olive some of hers. In this way it’s good to find out what is happening with Olive now.

Lucy and Bob meet frequently for walks and Lucy is privy to Bob’s guilty secret of smoking the occasional half a cigarette. In their conversations they discover things about each other and, on reflection, about themselves. I’ve read a few books lately which focus on the lifelong effects of parent/child relationships and I’m nearly at the point of having heart-to-hearts with my own children and asking them how good, or bad, a mother I was/am. Then again, is anybody ever ready for that talk?

As you can see, Elizabeth Strout brings out my inner philosopher, which I’m sure happens with all of her readers. I would love to read all of her books again but, you know, so many books, so little time.

It was an absolute treat to catch up with Lucy Barton again!

Published by Random House

Long Island by Colm Toibin

 

Long Island is a sequel to Colm Toibin’s novel, Brooklyn. Colm Toibin writes basic, true-to-life characters who have flaws, foibles and weaknesses that mirror the real world outside of literature. They don’t know themselves, sometimes, how pure their own motives are, but for even the kindest and most considerate, self-preservation is the ultimate goal.

Long Island 1976 and Eilis, married to Tony and with two teenage children, receives some utterly shattering news, in the light of which she decides to go back to Ireland for her mother’s eightieth birthday and while there to reassess the circumstances of her life in her adopted homeland.

I think Long Island could be read easily as a stand-alone but if you’ve read Brooklyn you will appreciate the problems Eilis has newly created for Jim Farrell and for her former best friend, Nancy. In his down to earth style, Colm Toibin has Jim walking a tightrope, trying to hold on to what he’s got but willing to let it go if he can be sure of getting what he really wants. Jim is not horrible, or wishy-washy, he is simply human.

Colm Toibin’s characters’ actions speak louder than their words. Some are loveable, some not so much, but once you start reading about them find yourself somewhere comfortable because you won’t be getting up again for anything other than emergencies. It would be an absolute treat to be reading both books for the first time, and then to discover that the ending of Long Island points surely to another sequel!

Published by Pan Macmillan 

All The Beautiful Things We Love by Jonathan Seidler

 

I was in a quandary with this book: I sank way down deep into it and didn’t ever want it to end while at the same time wanting desperately to know how it was going to end, if you know what I mean.

Elly is witty, creative, vulnerable; Enzo, having been bathed in the love of his large family back in Naples all his life, is warm hearted, funny, and perfect for Elly in so many ways. Elly and Enzo are together for ten years before they marry but for only one year after that.

I’m not revealing any spoilers by saying the story ranges back and forth in time, from Ellie living alone and selling off everything that reminds her of Enzo and their life together, to times before they met, to times when they were together. Their very different family backgrounds emerge as pieces in the puzzle of their lives.

Elly meets some interesting characters in the forms of people answering her ‘for sale’ ads. Every piece she  is selling has meaning for her but it is important for her that they must go. Elly’s sadness is palpable and it was impossible for me not to sink into it with her, even before I knew what was behind the breakup.

Jonathan Seidler’s writing is in turn hilarious, naughty, hip (is that still a word?), sensitive and heartbreaking. I didn’t get any of the music references except Ed Sheeran but I did get why they were there and I went with the flow. I wish I could have taken longer to read the book but it wouldn’t let me go! It was brilliant!

Published by Pan Macmillan

Team Spirit by R J Gould

 

Welcome back to the Dream Cafe! Or, if you’re new here: welcome! As usual, the latest book in the series can be read as a stand-alone but it is nice to catch up with some of the regulars while also making new friends.

It’s time for the reign of Oliver and Stephanie Kilroy as chair and co-chair of the tennis club to be over. The Kilroys are not going down without a fight but for the good of the club they must go. Enter Laurie and Helen and let’s see what happens next. Laurie and Helen are late twenty-somethings who, despite being attracted to each other, have not moved beyond a platonic relationship…yet. Helen is a cellist in a classical music group who appear to be on the brink of  making it into the big time, Laurie is a scientist engaged into researching possible cures for various serious illnesses. Stephanie and Oliver are both barristers whose court battles have nothing on their dust ups at home. Bridget and David have been asked if the tennis club can hold their meetings and after-match teas in the Dream Cafe. All terribly English, highly enjoyable reading.

This is a lovely, cosy series about a slice of life in a London suburb. Speaking of series, it would translate beautifully onto the television screen. There are lots of interesting characters who experience a range of, admittedly First World, problems. 

R J Gould is a man writing in a female-dominated genre which gives his books a welcoming, different perspective. They are a breath of fresh air in a rather dodgy world at the moment.

Only the Guilty Survive by Kate Robards

Dominic Bragg lived on an old bird sanctuary at the expense of his parents who “…believe they’re funding a wayward sensitive son as he lives ‘off the grid’.” Dom studied the methods of mind controlling used by Charles Manson, Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite and David Koresh, and believed he knew where they went wrong. His aim was to gather followers using his own way of controlling their minds, lead them on a path to enlightenment and then send them on their journey, while himself staying behind to do it all again.

Claire was one of Dom’s most devoted followers but after a series of shocking events she was now married, back living in a town where she was viewed with a mixture of  curiosity and suspicion, and suffering from post traumatic stress. She had significant memory loss and wasn’t sure whether she wanted to get her memory back. When a man arrived in town with the purpose of dredging up the dark days of the cult’s demise for his podcast, Claire was forced into finally making that decision.

Only the Guilty Survive is a deep, dark, ultimately sad story. Cults are very strange phenomena which have been around for as long as people have been questioning the meaning of life and hoping for an after-life. Scarily, although Dom was aware that he was using and abusing his followers in insidious ways, he still believed he was purifying them in readiness for their perfect lives thereafter.

Creepy stuff but gripping reading. Kate Robards is a very good storyteller and has created some quite heart-breaking characters. In reality it would be hard to feel sorry for them, probably, but Dom was bending their wills so that they believed they were happy to live in quite deplorable conditions, much worse than anything they had left behind.

I recommend Only the Guilty Survive highly as a thoughtful study into human nature and, of course, as a compulsively readable book.

Published by Crooked Lane Books

My Father’s Suitcase by Mary Garden

 

The first thing I did on finishing reading My Father’s Suitcase was buy a copy of  Mary Garden’s earlier memoir, The Serpent Rising, which I am going to read next. The pattern of Mary’s life was set in train not only by her sister’s mental and physical abuse, but also by her parents’ response to it, and I am keen to read about her reasons for going to India and what happened to her there.

Mary writes with heartbreaking honesty. When abuse happens firstly in a marriage and then in a family and so goes on to become almost a way of life, serious damage is going to be done. I’m trying very hard here not to give away too much of Mary’s story but I am still feeling sad for that little girl hiding in a tree or a cave to escape the injustices in her life.

I am speaking as a second-hand witness to a similar situation but I think, surely, so much damage to all members of a family could be avoided if they were taken more seriously by mental health authorities when asking for help. No favours are being done for anyone when the person causing the damage is cursorily examined and  assessed as not having any problems. When physical conditions are mis-diagnosed, or not diagnosed at all, there can be tragic outcomes; the same can be said and should be recognised for mental conditions.

Bipolar and schizoaffective disorders when undiagnosed can ruin many lives.

This is an important book as well as an intensely personal look into the devastation which can be allowed to happen within a family. It is an absolutely riveting read and it will speak to a lot of people.

I wish Mary Garden a happy and peaceful future.

Published by Justicia Books.