AKIN by Emma Donoghue

It has taken me a while to get around to reading this, and I am so glad I finally did. Such a story teller this woman is, and so versatile in how she chooses her subjects, writes her stories. Who would have thought the writer of Room  would come up with this tale of an elderly man lumbered with having to take an 11 year old boy to the other side of the world with barely 24 hours notice. Noah is a feisty retired chemistry professor, making what he feels will be his last big overseas journey. He wants to go back to the city he was born in - Nice - to learn a little more about his parents, what made his father come to New York with him during the war when he was a baby, why his mother stayed, plus his famous photographer grandfather. This desire to delve into the past follows his discovery of a box of photos taken by his photographer mother during the war. On the eve of departure from New York he finds himself in the unwanted predicament of having to take his great nephew - Michael - with him in order to keep the boy out of a foster home and the bottomless vortex of social services.  

You immediately love Noah, even if he is a bit cantankerous, impatient and knows nothing about 11 year old boys. Michael is equally unhappy about having to be with Noah, a man he knows nothing about. But off the intrepid duo go, somehow knowing they are going to have to get along. Noah has a manic week long programme worked out for his stay in Nice in a bid to solve some of his family mysteries. He initially sees Michael as a hindrance but it becomes clear pretty early on that Michael is a brilliant asset with his close attachment to his phone - specifically maps and the web. A veritable feast of information at his fingertips. 

As well as being of practical help to each other, slowly and painfully, they unfold themselves to each other, begin to weave in and out of each other's emotional orbit as they find common ground, ways to join forces and be necessary, wanted to each other. It is wonderful how carefully and gently this process happens. They are both intensely likeable people - the elderly not entirely healthy old man, and the young, cocky, lonely and uncertain young lad. So much potential for a great relationship but will one of them completely stuff it up? 

As well as Noah, Michael and his phone, Nice is the other wonderful character in this novel. At a time when no one can really go anywhere, to be able to read about a place, learn something of its history, its culture, its landscape is the biggest encouragement to not give up on the dreams of being able to travel again. Plus add another place to the list of places to go before one dies. 

ONE BY ONE by Ruth Ware

 

Named as the new Agatha Christie after publication of her first novel in 2015, Ruth Ware writes a fabulously suspenseful thriller novel. You will be turning those pages in a crazy frenzy to get to the end because you have no idea what is going to happen, who is going to die, who is going to save the day. And why!!! This is so good - always love a good thriller. 

Reading a bit about the author, she seems to specialise in plotting her novels in confined spaces where you can't get away - manor houses, cruise ships, locked down places. She doesn't seem to shy away at all from the Agatha Christie style, this latest closely aligned to And There Were None. The scary thing of course, is that no one knows who is going to be next to be the one. 

How claustrophobic and helpless would you feel stuck in a ski chalet having survived an avalanche, your furnicular out of action, no phone or internet coverage. And no power. Plus a killer on the loose somewhere indoors. 

Snoop is a wildly successful company that developed a unique music app - where do writers get the ideas for these things from - enabling you to listen into what any fellow user is listening to. Imagine how cool it would be to listen at the same time to whatever Lady Gaga is listening to - shared singalong! The excitement. How different and exciting your life is going to be knowing you and Lady Gaga are musical besties! Anyway, I digress. The nine current owners/employees plus ex-employee Liz have convened at the ski chalet high in the Swiss Alps for a week of skiing, bonding, apres ski, and as the plot unfolds, a whole lot more. 

Erin is the chalet housekeeper, and Danny is the cook - the hosts to the ten guests. The story is narrated in turn by Liz and Erin. It is immediately apparent that there are huge conflicts, smouldering resentments, unresolved fears, and a general feeling of impending doom. The freezing and immaculately white environment hiding its own dangers and obstacles does not help. As people die and/or disappear, the hope of rescue fading away, the pipes freezing over, who is going to make it out. Fortunately we know from page one that there are survivors as the story begins with a newspaper article. So no spoilers there. But who....

Many secrets, many resentments, many coming to terms with one's behaviour - everyone is a suspect. It's a cracker. Really look forward to the inevitable film or mini series. So much atmosphere you can create with snow and cold and evil. 

ME by Elton John

 

Fabulous, funny, fascinating. I can't think of three better words to describe this terrific page turner.  This is an absolute capture-fest of outrageous anecdotes, unexpected details and stories about all sorts of icons of the last 50 years in the music, fashion, celebrity industry. And of course of Elton himself. He did have a ghost writer assist with this book, which gets the barest acknowledgement - a little disappointing for me, as it would have taken hours and hours of work to put this exceptional life into the book it is. It must have been hilarious and overwhelming sitting with Elton as he talked about his life, told his stories, relishing every outrageous detail. Such a great job done by the writer, as it has been written almost as if Elton is in the room with the reader, jabbering away, laughing hysterically, jumping from one episode to the next. 

Elton's story has been well known for a long time, brought to life with the recent movie. But the book is so much better. So personal from his humble beginnings, his really quite dreadful parents, his love of music and exceptional talent from a very young age, his classical music training that provided the foundations to his music career, his early band days, the serendipitous set up with Bernie Taupin, the constant need to prove over and over again that he was bigger, better, more flamboyant, more crazy than anyone else. his discovery of cocaine, alcohol and the dreadful path these took him down - really he should be dead, his gradual discovery of his sexuality, his never ending search for love and approval - a hangover from his childhood,  his gradual acceptance that he really can like himself and that he is fully deserving of happiness and peace just like everyone else. Along the way of course, the craziness of the rock and roll lifestyle, the unreal world they all live in, the fame,  his famous friends and friendships, his enormous humanity. Freddie, Rod, Versace, Diana, Mick, Madonna, John and the other Beatles, and dozens of others weave in and out of this life. Not only is it a story of Elton, it is also a story of the music and musicians/bands that many of us grew up with, whose music is so familiar and memorable. 

It's a great read, a fantastic insight into the heart and mind of a hugely talented musician and composer whose songs and music will endure for a long time yet. 

THE GREAT ESCAPE FROM WOODLANDS NURSING HOME by Joanna Nell

What a delicious treat this has been to read. I would be very happy to end up in a place such as the Woodlands Nursing Home if there were such adorable characters as Harriet, Walter and Sister Bronwyn. Let's not forget Queenie the animal companion with her over active tail, or the mysterious resident or maybe staff member who puts dishwashing liquid in the outdoor fountain! This is a gentle and funny story of physically aged  people who simply do not want to become old people. The power of the human spirit is an amazing thing, and although it may make us slightly delusional - read sons and daughters thinking crazy old mum or dad - it would seem  that we really are in our best place when  we continue to deny our physical age and keep on living the best way we can. With some minor adjustments ....

89 year old Harriet has had some bad luck. Her sole survivor self sufficient way of life getting the better of her. She has found herself in Woodlands following a fall from a ladder during some of her routine home maintenance. Pretty fiesty is Harriet, terribly upset to be in this predicament, away from her home, her garden, her precious birds, her freedom. Walter, of a similar age, has found  himself in Woodlands thanks to his daughter who feels he is no longer capable of looking after himself. A professional driving instructor all his life, all he wants to do is get his hands on a motorised scooter but first he has to pass the test. 

These two unlikely personalities are the main characters in this very nice sounding, although perhaps overly micro managed nursing home. With a routine inspection coming up the already far-too-many rules are being rigorously enforced. So many rules, so much pettiness, it is hardly surprising that Harriet makes a bolt for it. But the escape is not just the physical escape. The residents are constantly looking for ways to play with the system they are living in, sneaking around the staff - all very boarding school -ish really, but totally charming, with the reader egging them on, wanting them to succeed! 

It's a great romp, and a reminder to us all, young and not so young, that every day is worth being alive for, every day there is at least one joyful and meaningful thing to be found and enjoyed. Being a nursing home for elderly people it is no surprise that death comes during the story, handled beautifully and lovingly by the writer. I recently read the author's earlier novel - The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village which I also loved, but this is better. More depth, a stronger story, more diverse characters with larger back stories, the same themes done extra well. Read it and enjoy it. 

A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES by Ian Rankin

 How I have got through life without reading a single Ian Rankin novel, never having the pleasure of meeting John Rebus, I just do not know. Because here is a hero I want to read more of! Detective John Rebus has been around in since 1987 for goodness sake. He has a whole Wikipedia page! And his own TV show! The man is a legend. And this is his 24th outing. Surely the man is ready to fully retire by now?

But no. The book opens with him moving from an upstairs flat to the ground floor flat, mainly due to his breathing difficulties related to his long standing lung condition. He is being helped by former colleague, now good friend DI Siobhan Clarke  - a regular character in the series.  Rebus gets a distressed phone call from his estranged daughter Samantha, also a regular character in the series. Samantha's husband and father of her child - Keith -  has gone missing, so Rebus, now determined it would seem to make up for bad fathering,  drops everything and drives up to the remote area of Scotland that Samantha lives in - remote because mobile phone coverage drops out from time to time, and as we all now know, this is an essential ingredient in any modern day thriller! 

A parallel plot is taking place back in the big smoke. A young wealthy man about town is found murdered in a back street. Things just don't seem to add up for Siobhan and her colleagues,  so an investigation gets underway. It soon becomes clear that there are strong links between this case - one of the friends of the young man is the daughter of the land owner of an estate. Keith had become obsessed with the WWII history of a portion of this land that had been an internment camp for Germans/Italians and others during the war. Are the death of young Salman bin Mahmoud and disappearance of Keith connected? 

This is very good. Nothing happens quickly, excellent detective work and evidence gathering abounds. Rebus tries very hard with his daughter, there is tension, some danger. The whole thing walks along at a steady and always riveting pace  if that is possible. The best type of thriller. So having gone from knowing nothing about this character or the other regulars, I now feel I have learnt a lot about interesting, real and much liked people. Will read more. 

ALL OUR SHIMMERING SKIES by Trent Dalton

 

Almost all reviews compare this second novel of Trent Dalton to the outstanding, charismatic, energetic and huge novel of Boy Swallows Universe. First novel - totally extraordinary story, characters, and writing, all held together by a thread, but what genius it delivers. Second novel - always a hard act to follow. How many authors do we have to wait years, decades even before they fearfully give us a second novel? Not Trent Dalton!!! Less than two years later this second glorious piece of writing from an ex journalist who will no doubt never write for a newspaper again. 

Boy is probably going to be my favourite read of 2020. So I have to say before going further that, for me, and after looking at a number of other reviews, this did not take my breath away in the same way, did not seem to have the same tightness of narration and dedicated sense of purpose, and possibly had too much going on it. But, the same sense of joy, hopefulness, adoration of young Molly as we felt for Eli, and the wonder of life and adults, both good and bad, seen through a child's eyes, their determination in the face of so many obstacles is just amazing. Exactly the sort of thing we need to be reading, enjoying and learning from in the world we are currently living in. If I had read this first, I would be 5*-ing it, but I didn't. What I do want to do though, is reread Boy just to get that magic.

Molly Hook is a girl version of Eli with just as much trauma, grief and complications to deal with as Eli did. She is 12, lives with her father and uncle - both serious wastes of space, reminding me of Eli's comment in Boy that most of the problems families have, and perpetuating them onto the next generation, is due to useless fathers. Molly's family is 100% this. She is known as the gravedigger girl, because she lives at the cemetery where, with her appalling father and uncle she digs graves. Her mother died of an illness when Molly was 6 or 7, and with no one to grieve with or parent her, she has developed her own internal coping mechanisms that can only come out of a child's brain and imagination. Life is tough for Molly. She has grown up believing her family has been cursed by an Aboriginal gold prospector, Longcoat Bob, following her grandfather supposedly stealing a lot of gold from him. Her mission in life is to find a way to lift this curse, so that her family, and herself can be happy again. Her mother always told her to keep looking up, looking to the sky, all the good things come from the sky, and so that is what Molly does - the sky is her inspiration and her saviour. 

Then WWII intervenes. Set in Darwin, I had no idea that this town as it was in 1942, was badly bombed by the Japanese, its strategic location seen as essential for the Japanese to disable. Along with dozens of others, Molly and her uncle's girlfriend Greta - also with her own tragic life story - flee Darwin into the Northern Territory bush, with nowhere to go but find Longcoat Bob. Along the way they pick up Yukio, a young Japanese pilot who deserted the cause of bombing Darwin to bits, deciding to take his chances by crash-landing his plane in the middle of nowhere. 

Naturally various adventures ensue, numerous near misses occur, there is magic and illusion, dreams, probably hallucinations due to dehydration and hunger, and as we go along a few other things. Things do fall from the sky, incongruous and odd, but nevertheless tell Molly that she is succeeding, and so she keeps going, even though it seems all the odds are stacking up against her, Greta and Yukio. By crikey that girl has some grit. 

It is magnificent, wonderful, expansive, frightening and amazing, even if it is slightly in the shadow of number 1, do not let that stop you from taking this on. 

INERTIA by Kim Cope Tait

 We still don't really like to talk about grief - our own - seeing it as a burden we put on those close to us, and often unable to explain or rationalise what is going on or how we may be feeling. Because we are uncomfortable in ourselves, we aren't that great at helping or listening to those around us with their grieving. And oh my goodness, grief is such a complicated beast, such an overwhelming and at times unbearable thing, stage of life we have to go through. As a funeral celebrant I have dealt with many situations of grief, read many books and personal accounts of what losing someone close and dear to you is like. And believe me, no one person's experience of it is like any other person's. It is quite an understatement and a cliche to say this is a personal experience, but it really is. Your grieving - the physical, emotional and mental manifestations of it is so different from anyone else's and needs to be relished, to be travelled through for it to have a meaning and a resolution of sorts. 

Which is what this novel is all about. A shocking boating accident takes the lives of three young teenage girls, the boat being driven by fellow teen Angela, and also on the boat is Jake, boyfriend of one of the girls. Young death is so much more shocking than elderly death. Those beautiful vibrant and promising lives stopped. Jake and Angela, never really friends while young, through this tragedy, forge a strange friendship, forced only because of the deaths, but also linked and united because of the deaths - they need each other. Angela has guilt on her side as the driver of boat even though she is completely blameless - a very common symptom of grief. Jake is devastated, completely bereft as he loses the only girl he knows he will ever love. Plus she will always only ever be that beautiful young thing, immortalised forever as that. And yet, through infrequent, random and awkward communications over the years, Jake and Angela  develop a very different type of closeness. 

Some years later, Jake is a teacher in a high school in Hawaii. A very good and popular teacher. In a strange turn of events Angela has managed to finally pay him a visit. And during this time, Jake realises that a second tragedy is looming, with close ties and similarities to what occurred when he was young. He does everything to avert the imminent events, and in the process comes to terms, finally, with the boating tragedy that changed his and Angela's lives so much. 

This is exquisitely written - the writer is also a poet. and she gives Jake the job of being an English teacher, allowing him to share with his students his own love of language and literature. I expect she too has gone through some serious grieving, so in tune with the depths of how grief and loss can affect oneself. There is a deep spiritual presence through out the story, but not a religious doctrine nature - more the spirituality we find within ourselves as we try to make sense of what has happened. Jake's move to Hawaii, for example, is part of this, his connection with the landscape, the environment aiding his healing. Other reviews of this book talk of angels, but I didn't really feel this, and to be honest did find the pivotal events in the last quarter of the story a little too fanciful for my own ever rational and pragmatic brain. However they do make sense, are not out of place in the context of the story or the character of Jake, and I concede it does work.  Best of all Jake's inertia is lifted, and he manages to find a way forward, life is for living, and part of that living is that we take our grief with us, it becomes a part of who we are and how we are.