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Click on the title for the review or scroll downwards to browse through them. It seems that I now have so many reviews that I need to split them between two pages
A History of God by Karen Armstrong
A Lesser Evil by Lesley Pearse
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
A Spring in my Step by Joan McDonnell
A Time for Angels by Patricia Schonstein
All My Sisters by Judith Lennox
Always and Forever by Cathy Kelly
Best of Friends by Cathy Kelly
Big Fat Love by Peter Sheridan
Cash - An Autobiography by Johnny Cash
Fat God Thin God by James Kennedy
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Andrew McCall-Smith
From Claire to Here by Judi Curtin
From Under Gogol's Nose by Jack Harte
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Giving up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
Hannah's Gift by Marie Housden
Hollywood Trivia and Literary Trivia by Aubrey Malone
I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti
Jungle Child by Sabine Kuegler
Leaves of the Fig Tree by Diana Duff
Living to Tell the Tale by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Looking Good by Tracy Culleton
Love and Devotion by Erica James
Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Peter Mayle
Time Warner Books
€16.16
Max, a young man with a broken marriage already behind him, suddenly loses his high-powered job in the finance industry. His luck then changes for the better when his Uncle Henry, whom he has visited in France on holidays as a boy, dies and leaves him his large eighteenth century house and accompanying vineyard. His best friend, Charlie lends him the fare.
What Max finds in France is much to his liking - endless sunshine, the more relaxed pace of life and even a couple of possibilities of romance in the forms of an elegant solicitor, Nathalie and voluptuous café owner, Fanny. The quality of the wine produced from the vineyard is inferior but he hopes that this can be improved on. There is the question of why Rousel, who has tended the vines for Max's uncle for years, seems so wary.
To complicate matters further, Uncle Henry's hitherto unheard of illegitimate daughter, Christie arrives unexpectedly from California. There is a chance that she may have a claim on the property. They visit a lawyer, who advises them both to stay in the house in order not to relinquish their respective claims on it pending investigation into the law on the matter. Although both have pleasant personalities, the unusual domestic arrangement causes tension which finally erupts in violence albeit not of an on-going nature.
Rousel,, the vine-tender, confesses to minor dishonesty, revealing that aforementioned elegant solicitor, Nathalie Auzet was in on his secret. Yet it becomes clear that matters are not what they seem. Charlie, Max's generous friend comes to visit. His considerable acting skills will be required to deal with the intrigue that develops around the vineyard.
A Good Year is slow moving yet engaging with likeable and memorable characters. The atmosphere of the French village, St Pons is charmingly evoked. Description is sparse yet accurate and incisive. There are deft touches of humour. The wine industry is described as the emperor's new clothes in a bottle.
Karen Armstrong
Vintage
€14.89
Karen Armstrong writes interestingly and clearly on a fascinating and complex subject. Needless to say, this isn't a history/biography of God as such. Rather, it is a history of belief in God, or to be more accurate, of humanity's concepts of Him Armstrong points out that it would be a mistake to think of God as an unchanging entity. To clarify, God Himself may be totally consistent, just as we have been taught, but the same certainly cannot be said for human notions of Him, which have changed and evolved through the ages - somewhat diversely in different parts of the world yet with considerable similarities. The tragedy and irony of all the wars that have been fought in the name of religion are highlighted. A point worth making is that imperialism has played a major role in religious tension. Armstrong charts the development of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Readers will find the insights she offers into the leading world religions worthwhile. Indeed, many readers will learn more about their own religion. A History of God does much to promote understanding between followers of the three creeds.
One might be surprised at the number of people who have actively sought a deeper comprehension of the nature of God - his personality or lack thereof, his accessibility or otherwise through prayer or ritual, his role in worldly affairs and even in creation itself etc. Among His earliest interpreters were the prophets. Armstrong stresses that much of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, consists of myths devised to illustrate underlying truth. The notions that have been entertained concerning what might be termed the Great Unknown are remarkably numerous and varied. Armstrong deserves credit for expressing the most complex of these concisely. Philosophers, clerics, saints, scientists and writers have contributed to what must surely be the most intriguing debate of all. Quotations are cited from Aristotle, St Paul, Martin Luther, William Wordsworth and Isaac Newton, to name but a few.
A History of God is not a newly-published book but one would have to search long and hard to find one which contains so much information on a subject so central to human existence. It may be said that, ultimately, it raises more questions than it provides answers, but perhaps this is inevitable. In order to get the most of it, more than one reading is required.
Lesley Pearse
Penguin
€22.34
Would you report neighbours who were abusing their children to the authorities? Even if it meant putting yourself or your loved ones in danger? That's the dilemma facing Fifi Reynolds in best-selling author, Lesley Pearse's latest engrossing novel. The heroine is incurably curious about other people yet instantly likeable for her warm and caring personality. Family and friends warn her of the pitfalls of becoming too involved in other people's lives. But will she listen? The consequences of her eager interest in her new neighbours prove far beyond even her lively imagination.
One might say that Fifi is slumming it on Dale Street, Kennington, London. (Sharing a bathroom with the tenants of other flats is not what she's used to.) She has married handsome bricklayer, Dan Reynolds in secret, fearing her middle-class family's disapproval. She is attracted to his sense of humour and happy nature. Although Fifi and Dan undoubtedly love each other very much, there are times when it seems that their backgrounds are too vastly different for their marriage to survive.
Fifi's new neighbours are a motley bunch though for the most part likeable. It seems that everyone has a dark secret, tragic past or intriguing story. However, it is the hated Muckle family that truly fascinates her. Can they be as black as they're painted? Their domestic fights provide compulsive viewing. One day, Fifi comes across the youngest child, Angela. The little girl has been savagely beaten by her father. This is where Fifi and Dan's problems begin with a vengeance. Lesley Pearse's many fans will scarcely be surprised to learn that A Lesser Evil scores highly for entertainment value.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Travel-writer, Bill Bryson was suddenly struck by how little he knew about how life on earth actually came about. He undertook to learn as much as he could on the subject with a view to sharing his newly acquired knowledge. Naturally, this involved extensive research in a range of scientific areas. Then, there was there was the undoubtedly mammoth task of presenting the vast store of information in such a way as to make it accessible to those of us unversed in science. Such a book must excite the interest of those with even a passing curiosity concerning the origins of life. It is scarcely surprising that it has reached the top of the non-fiction best-selling list.
So how well does Bryson succeed in his objective? It must be said that this depends a lot on the individual reader. A Short History of Nearly Everything certainly has a great deal to offer. His style is refreshing and he explains the most complicated matters in a way that is relatively easy to understand. He relates many interesting anecdotes about the lives of various scientists. One could be forgiven for concluding that they are truly an odd bunch. Remarkably, many made significant discoveries and kept these to themselves for years. Such reticent geniuses include the painfully shy Henry Cavendish who, among other things, figured out how much the earth weighs. This book could well prove invaluable in encouraging teenagers to develop an interest in science and in the world around them. Astronomy, physics, biology, chemistry, geology and genealogy are all covered. However, it mist be said that if you have little or no interest in one or more of these, you will have difficulty in reading some sections. Then again, there is every possibility that you will find at least some of these areas much more absorbing than you imagine.
Bryson is not content merely to pass on the accumulated wisdom of the greatest scientific minds throughout the ages and right up to the present day - one might say from the Big Bang to DNA. He explains how people such as Newton, Einstein and Darwin amongst many others reached their conclusions. In some cases, this entails describing difficulties encountered and mistakes made along the way.
A Short History of Nearly Everything answers many questions. It also reveals that there are many questions still to be answered. Perhaps most importantly, it awakens in the reader a new awareness and sense of wonder with regard to the miracle of life in all its forms.
Joan McDonnell
The Collins Press
Foreword by Gay Byrne
Readers will remember Joan McDonnell for her gutsy attitude to life and a uniquely quirky and unfailing sense of humour. Many will find her memoir hilarious and it will certainly raise chuckle after chuckle. This is a considerable achievement given the grim nature of some aspects of her story. Young and old will enjoy it. She writes with honesty and a remarkable lack of self-pity. She is not in the least averse to making jokes at her own expense. One often suspects her of writing with her tongue firmly in her cheek.
Joan McDonnell was born in Limerick in 1952. Her parents had a Herculean struggle to make ends meet. As if such poverty wasn't enough of a handicap in itself, she contracted polio as a baby, resulting in one leg being longer than the other so that she walked with a pronounced limp. A lengthy stay in a Dublin hospital rendered her a stranger to her family although she was eventually reunited with them. Her efforts to win the acceptance of her young peers despite her limp are often comical. Her escapades include jumping off a wall, skating on ice and taking a ride on the back bumper of the bread-van. Frankly, it seems a miracle that she survived at all. She developed asthma as a child although this wasn't diagnosed for years.
As a teenager, Joan's attempts to disguise her disability and also to grow taller are highly amusing. Love does finally come along in a rather unusual way. She decides to search for romance by finding herself a pen-pal. This works like a dream. She finds herself writing daily to a Mayo-man living in London whom she nicknames Mac. He visits her during the summer. Fearing that it is all too good to be true, she shows him her bad leg at the earliest opportunity to make sure that he can cope with it. Fortunately, he can. She flies to London to spend Christmas with him. This is her first plane-journey - bound to be a memorable experience. They become engaged. Mac is certainly forthright, stipulating that Joan's engagement-ring must be the cheapest available. Still, theirs is clearly to be a marriage made in heaven.
For a rare blend of inspiration and entertainment, look no further than A Spring in My Step. As well as being available in the shops, it can be ordered on-line at www.collinspress.ie.
Patricia Schonstein
Bantam Press
€23
This adult fairytale is a curious blend of fantasy and realism. Most enjoyable, it is light and entertaining although it touches on the dark side of life. Love, betrayal, death, war, religion and the afterlife all feature. Patricia Schonstein is a storyteller supreme.
Primo Verona has clairvoyant powers, which he uses to help others. He foresaw his mother's death while still in the womb. He is brought up by his father and aunt, both Auschwitz survivors. Eugenio Verona was a watch-maker with curious notions on the concept of time. He taught his young son about astronomy and philosophy. His sister, Lidia told the most wonderful stories. Primo has grown up fascinated with the theme of good and evil.
Pasquale Benvenuto, Primo's best friend since boyhood, owns a delicatessen and bar, having inherited his supreme culinary skills from his father as well as the family business. How Massimo Benvenuto acquired the former is a tale in itself. The two friends have contrasting personalities, Pasquale being as volatile as Primo is calm. The friendship is severed when Beatrice, Primo's wife leaves him for Pasquale. Primo is devastated. He takes a certain grim satisfaction in preparing spells that would destroy Pasquale's business but, not being malicious, he puts them on hold. At least, that is what he thinks. Unbeknown to him, they have taken effect - with devastating consequences.
However, Primo's biggest mistake is when, in desperation, he weaves a spell to bring Beatrice back to him but, instead conjures up - the Devil. This is not as alarming as it seems. Apart from being a handsome devil, Lucifer turns out to be quite different from how he is usually represented, his mission being to contain evil rather than provoke it.
The tale that unfolds is delightful.
Judith Lennox
Pan Macmillan
€8.99
The four Maclise sisters share centre-stage in this enchanting historical novel set in the second decade of the twentieth century. Marianne finds true love in the form of Arthur Leighton. It seems that her future is mapped out to her utmost satisfaction. Sadly, fate holds a few nasty tricks up her sleeve. Marianne finds herself at the mercy of a dangerous man on a tea-plantation in far-off Ceylon. Iris is the family beauty with no shortage of suitors though none interests her as a marriage partner. It seems that the only man for whose opinion she cares has labelled her as shallow. Contrary to all expectation, including her own, she embarks on a nursing career. Eva has artistic talent but her desire to attend art-school in London meets with her father's stern disapproval. He concedes reluctantly when Great Aunt Hannah offers to provide the necessary finances. She falls passionately in love with a successful but most unsuitable artist. The youngest sister, Clemency gives up school, which she loves, to care for her mother who is considered an invalid although she suffers from no specific medical condition. Her only release from her duties as carer and companion is attending the odd piano-recital, a rather unusual friendship developing between her and the pianist who performs at them.
The story alternates between the considerably varied lives of the four sisters so that there is always plenty of activity to keep the reader turning the pages eagerly. Each faces different challenges yet each experiences the frustration of being a woman in a man's world. All My Sisters offers great insight into the times in which it is set. This is the era of the Women's Suffragette Movement. Also, the First World War impacts greatly on the lives of all four sisters, bringing grief and despair yet changing their world in more unexpected ways as well. Each, in her own way, shows tremendous courage.
As an epic saga of life and love amidst adversity, All My Sisters is hard to beat.
Cathy Kelly
Harper Collins
€10.85
From an early age, Mel has wanted to have a successful career. However, combining full-time work in health-insurance with motherhood is proving increasingly difficult. Cleo has just completed a course in hotel management and has ambitious plans to restore the crumbling family business, the Willow hotel to its former glory. The problem is that these plans seem to count for little with her family. Meeting the handsome, personable and wealthy Tyler Roth serves to complicate her life still further. Daisy enjoys being part-owner of a boutique. She and her long-time boyfriend, Alex have weathered storms although he isn't in favour of formalising their relationship through marriage. All she needs to complete her happiness is a child. Sadly, this is where matters begin to go seriously wrong.
American woman, Leah Meyers is very much the heroine of Always and Forever. Indeed, she is described on the back-cover as a fairy godmother. Her methods are subtler than producing magical results through waving a wand though no less effective. Leah has known grief and despair but has emerged stronger, wiser and eager to share her newly acquired serenity with others. She opens a spa in the town of Carrickwell, which is the setting for this engaging novel. While it is quite possible that Mel, Cleo and Daisy could have sorted out their problems on their own, Leah is certainly instrumental in pointing them in the direction of the answers they seek.
Cathy Kelly's latest offering lives up to the expectations of her many fans. It examines the comparative advantages and disadvantages of being a stay at home mother and working outside the home with perhaps the most definite conclusion reached being that all mothers experience a certain amount of guilt regardless of the choices they make. Other themes explored include infidelity, childlessness and sibling rivalry. Always and Forever makes for ideal bedtime or beach reading. Drama, romance and humour are all on the menu.
Colleen McCulllough
Harper Collins
€26.81
Unlike many other authors, one thing you can be sure of with Colleen McCullough is that each novel is totally different. There is absolutely no question of the same stock characters and situations being served up again and again. Angel is no exception. A memorable and beguiling tale, this is a cocktail of drama, humour on occasions earthy, romance and even a dash of the supernatural. Although light-hearted, the theme of sex discrimination is explored. The reader is privileged to enjoy access to the diaries of Harriet Purcell, dating from 1 January 1960. She loves her family but finds them somewhat boring although not half as boring as her staunchly Catholic "fiancé", David, who doesn't believe in wasting money on such a frivolity as an engagement-ring.
Twenty-one years old, Harriet begins work as an x-ray technician at Queens, Sydney. What she doesn't know is that she will soon be moving to King's Cross, which turns out to be a kind of Wonderland to her although, according to her father, only fools, Bohenians and tarts live there. As it happens, the tenants of "the House" are a motley collection of fascinating, loveable and dubious characters including the eerie Harold who is given to spying on Harriet. The boring David doesn't last too long. Freed from his clutches, she goes a little wild for a time.
Harriet's landlady, Mrs Delvecchio Schwartz is an experience in herself, mountainous in build, with a heart to match and claiming psychic talents. However, it is her four-year-old daughter, Flo who wins Harriet's heart. So much so that, when the little girl finds herself all alone in the world in the most unorthodox of circumstances, she is prepared to fight tooth and nail to save her angel from the tender or not so tender mercies of the establishment. Young, single, needing to earn a living and with her reputation not quite intact, the battle is scarcely an equal one. Yet one senses that she has whatever it takes. Watch out for the delightful twist in the tale.
Fynn
Harper Collins
€14.69
To mark the 30th anniversary of its original publication, Mister God, This is Anna, and its sequels, Anna's Book and Anna and the Black Knight have now been collected in one volume. The story of Fynn and Anna is amazing but true. He was 16 when he found the five-year-old with the flaming red hair and bright blue eyes abandoned in the East End of London on a foggy November night in 1936. He could have had no idea how she was to change his life.. She lost no time in telling him she was coming to stay with him. Fortunately, as he said himself, his mother was one in a million. She was given to taking in waifs and strays, animal and human. Unusually, she encouraged Fynn and Anna to go out at night regardless of the weather.
The most striking thing about Anna was her great love for "Mister God". Indeed, in Fynn's words, no one has ever liked Him as much as she. She talked to Him and about Him all the time. Yet she was anything but pious. There are those who would consider her downright bold. She had no qualms about using swear-words when deemed appropriate. There are some hilarious interludes. She was also unusually intelligent. She asked endless questions and was especially fascinated by numbers, mirrors and shadows. This aspect of the book can be tedious on occasions. Don't let that put you off though. She certainly had a more mature understanding of God and of religion than many adults.
Anna's Book contains some of her own writings, interspersed with explanations from Fynn when necessary. Her spelling and grammar were atrocious, understandably given her tender years. Yet her goodness and inspiration never failed to shine through. She had interesting ideas on how God came to be. Her love for Fynn is evident.
Anna and the Black Knight introduces us to a third leading character, John D. Hodge, a cynical and sarcastic though basically good-hearted schoolteacher who became a father figure to Fynn. He and Anna struck up a warm friendship despite some sticky moments. (She objected strongly to him calling her a moron but it turned out that the word he actually used was oxymoron.) He had trouble believing in God or in anything that could not be proven but a conversion of sorts took place gradually.
Fynn has a rather charming way with words. Here, he describes Old Woody one of the "night-time people" who numbered among his and Anna's friends. Those eyes just sort of wrapped you up, those eyes were full up with good things, and when he smiled, why, they just poured out all over you.
Readers certainly won't forget Anna with her unique way of looking at life and original insights into matters spiritual.
Josephine Cox
This rates amongst Josephine Cox's best novels and it is scarcely surprising that it has topped the bestsellers list. An old-fashioned saga of love, hate, loss, greed, revenge and reconciliation, with a spot of insanity and a few murders thrown in for good measure, it absorbs the attention from beginning to end. It will delight her many fans and is bound to win her some new ones as well.
Little Jack and Nancy Sullivan capture the heart right from the first page and it is all too easy to sympathise with their plight when abandoned by their father at the Galloway Children's Hone. Not that Robert Sullivan is nearly as callous as this might imply. Almost immediately, he has a change of heart. However, before he can reclaim them, he is savagely assaulted and left for dead by a vicious thief.
Clive Ennington, the manager of the children's home, is a thoroughly bad egg. Enough of the children are placed in good homes to satisfy the authorities but some are sold to the highest bidder. This is Nancy's fate. She is sold to the wealthy Edward and Rosemary Cornwell as a replacement for their dead daughter, Sarah-Jane. She and her adoptive brother, David are the best of friends. Rosemary is loving towards her but insists on her taking Sarah-Jane's name. She must also cope with her adoptive sister, Pauline's hostility. As she grows up, she is haunted by a past she cannot properly remember.
Jack finds a home with Justin Lyndhurst, a farmer. Justin loves him like a true father and he returns his love. He also gets on well with Justin's stepdaughter, Lizzie. Lixxie's mother, the avaricious Viola, is a different matter entirely. Jack is plagued by a guilty secret.
Mary still loves Robert Sullivan. However, she has been driven away by Jack's resentment. Marrying guesthouse-owner, Paul Marshall, she tries to find happiness again despite the ruthlessness and cunning of his vindictive Aunt Agatha.
So, we find the four principle characters leading entirely separate lives. It will be a long road to their eventual reunion with many unexpected twists of fate along the way.
Cathy Kelly
Harper Collins
Abby, Jess, Lizzie and Erin aren't exactly the best of friends at the beginning of the novel. In fact, apart from Abby and Jess being mother and daughter, they're strangers to each other. The common link is Sally Richardson. Sally has fulfilled her dream of opening a beauty-salon in the town of Dunmore. Not that she is primarily a career woman. She is devoted to her husband, Steve and their two small sons, Jack and Daniel. Also, she has a talent for spreading happiness. Her family and friends are devastated when she becomes seriously ill. Indeed, it seems that the entire community is profoundly affected.
No one is more surprised than Abby Barton at her success as a presenter on a television-show. Unfortunately, her deputy school-principal husband, Tom is far from supportive. Tensions arise. Difficulties emerge in her career as well as her home life. A chance encounter with her former boyfriend, Jay Garnier at a time when she is at such a low ebb complicates matters still further. On impulse, she agrees to meet him again. She quickly realises that becoming involved with him again is a terrible mistake but, sadly, it seems that it is already too late.
Jess is studying for her Junior Cert. She hates having to wear both glasses and braces. She finds being a teenager is difficult enough without having her parents' marital problems to contend with on top of everything else. The day will come when she will feel that matters are so desperate that she is driven to drastic measures.
Lizzie Shanahan has lived a life of putting others first. It is through no fault of her own that she is separated from her husband, Myles. At last, she has a chance of finding some happiness for herself. She decides to do a parachute-jump to raise money for charity, surprising herself and everyone else. The handsome instructor, Simon asks her out and there is a real prospect of romance between then. However, she reckons without her grown-up yet extremely spoilt daughter, Debra.
Erin and her husband have just returned to Ireland from Chicago. She has grave doubts regarding their decision to return. She hasn't seen her family for nine years. It isn't as if they weren't a close family. However, before emigrating to America, on sending away for her birth-certificate in order to obtain a passport, she'd made a shocking discovery. The couple she had always believed to be her parents were actually her grandparents. Her much older sister, Shannon who had spent years travelling around the world without returning hone had suddenly turned out to be her mother. She couldn't forgive them for keeping the truth from her. She'd phoned home a few times but that was before her fiery sister/aunt, Kerry had told her not to do so again. Her feelings had changed with the passing of the years. She'd written home but her letters hadn't been answered.
With 520 pages, there is nothing small about Best of Friends. Episodes such as Lizzie's parachute-jump, Abby and Jess' holiday in Florida and Erin's meeting with her biological mother add variety and colour. Cathy Kelly has a special talent foe creating interesting and likeable characters. This is an entertaining and engaging read.
Peter Sheridan
Tivoli
"I feel like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. I've nowhere else to go," announces Philo on the doorstep of the convent of the Sacred Heart in Dublin's North Wall.
Sr Rosaleen can't help reflecting that she seems nothing like Julie Andrews. She's as Dublin as can be, to quote Pete St John's Rare Ould Times, tattooed and grossly obese. She expresses a wish to be a nun, neglecting to mention her abusive husband, Tommo and her five children.
Philo transforms life at the convent and, even more especially, at the day care centre for the elderly run by the nuns where endless board-games are replaced by singsongs, bingo with lots of prizes and games of Blind Date with Philo taking the role of Cilla Black with panache. Long established tensions dissolve at her magic touch. A special friendship develops between her and Sr Rosaleen whom she introduces to her true vocation - of a bingo-caller. She has a heart tattooed on her arm. This seems appropriate as she has room in her heart for everyone.
Tommo won't be kept secret for long. He turns up at the convent and pleads with Phulo to come home. He charms the nuns but she is adamant that she won't go. He has left the children at Goldenbridge orphanage. However, the eldest, Jack, who is not Tommo's son, has been convicted of joyriding and sent to the San Francisco Boys' Home.
In an entertaining sub-plot, two of the senior citizens who attend the day care centre, Cap and Dina discover that the romance barely started between them in their youth has survived despite the fifty intervening years of hostility. It is in the interests of fostering this that Philo masterminds the Blind Date session. Unfortunately, Dina has a rather serious accident while preparing for her night out at the Abbey Theatre. Still, true love conquers all.
There is much humour in Big Fat Love. Yet it has a serious core. Behind Philo's eating disorder lies a dark secret. Even though she has developed a personality to match her physical size, she must confront her past before she can be truly whole. Just how this comes about is hilarious and well beyond most of our imaginations.
Both funny and moving, Big Fat Love is sure to put a smile on your face. You certainly won't forget Philo in a hurry.
Nicola Lindsay
Poolbeg
€9.99
This tells the story of Hebe Sayer's journey from despair to happiness. Nicola Lindsay's talent for combining life's harsher realities with its lighter aspects makes an entertaining and inspirational novel out of what could so easily have been a rather depressing read. Hebe is in the course of getting her life back on track following her daughter, Pandora's death. The novel takes the form of a diary. Hebe will be remembered for her warm and bubbly personality. There is a cast of (mostly) likeable characters, including Bushy, the unusually affectionate cat.
Hebe writes novels, poetry and "children's stuff!,. Her lively imagination has always provided a means of escape from stress and strife. However, she hasn't written since Pandora died. Not that resuming her writing career is her top priority. Twenty-year-old Cassandra is, understandably, also finding it difficult to cope. Despite boyfriend, Keith's loving support, and Hebe's too of course, her black moods are hard to face. It doesn't help when her father, Owen, separated from Hebe for some years, has his new girlfriend, who is the same age as Cassandra, move in with him. Owen's mother, Dervila, portrayed rather humorously, is the ex-mother-in-law from hell. Her own mother, Molly has Alzheimer's Disease.
When Hebe meets the famous author, Sam Ellis, there is an instant bond between them. The question is can romance blossom when she has so much on her plate. Butterfly is an enjoyable novel with extra depth, depicting how in real life happiness and sadness, tragedy and humour often exist side by side. Even the minor characters have engaging personalities and interesting lives.
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash's autobiography is a must for anyone with the slightest interest in the legendary performer. He writes in a conversational style and it is easy to imagine him speaking the words. His integrity always shines through. Interestingly, he concurs with his friend, Kris Kristofferson's description of him in his song, The Pilgrim, inspired by him, a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.
Cash tells of growing up in Dyess, Arkansas. The family, cotton-pickers - yes, the children worked long hours in the fields along with their parents - were on intimate terms with poverty. Still, there was always music in his life. He loved to listen to programmes like the famous Louisiana Hayride and to the records of artists such as Jimmy Rogers and the Carter family. Also, his mother, Carrie loved to sing.
The most tragic event of Johnny's life was his older brother, Jack's accidental death at the age of fourteen. Jack had already decided that he had a vocation to be a minister of the gospel. He would always be a major influence on Johnny's life.
Cash chronicles his meteoric rise to fame and, less happily, his "affair with pills." The latter came about not through experimenting with drugs but through addiction to painkillers. He could easily have numbered among the stars who lost their lives to drugs. Indeed, he reached the point where he believed he had chosen death. Thankfully, the desire to live ultimately triumphed even though there was to be more than one battle and he could never claim that the war against addiction was won for once and for all.
Cash's relationship with the music industry had many ups and downs. In latter years, there were more downs than ups as the objective of wooing a youthful audience reigned supreme. Nevertheless, he pays tribute to those who helped him in his career. There are also interesting insights into the lives and personalities of performers such as Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison, his next-door neighbour of many years. He writes lovingly of his family. His most moving tribute is saved for his wife, June Carter Cash, a successful entertainer in her own right and member of the famous Carter Family.
Melissa Diem
Tiboli
This is a complex and inspiring novel. While a work of fiction, much of the inspiration for it comes from, the author's own life. The opening sentence alone is memorable. My first vision of the universe is indelibly imprinted in my head. The central theme is that of acceptance. While not in the least preachy, this is a book we can all learn from.
The central character, Jean has been rejected by her mother. (Her father is scarcely in evidence at all although there are five children in the family.) She is the one who can never do anything right. The resultant emotional damage is portrayed rather frighteningly. A minor accident causes her to consider her future. She decides she must escape in order to create a new life for herself. Her mission is to have a baby to replace the love that has been missing from her life. She becomes pregnant following a one night stand yet this does not seem sleazy or at least downright irresponsible, as it might well do, but as part of some master plan. It soon becomes obvious that her baby-daughter is severely disabled. Jean has decided to call her Sugar Pea until she comes up with a permanent name although one suspects that she will remain Sugar Pea. Sugar Pea is Jean's salvation. Towards the end, the narrative becomes alarmingly far-fetched and the reader is relieved to finally learn that there is an explanation. (Apparently, emotional disturbance can manifest itself in strange ways.) Jean's fascination with the stars, atoms, creation and such adds an interesting extra dimension.
Melissa Diem and her partner, Peter's seven-year-old daughter, Saoirse suffers from Down Syndrome and epilepsy. Although she can't speak and has a profound loss of motor control, she is a happy child. Melissa also has two daughters, Jessica and Melanie, from an earlier relationship. She was born in New York in 1965 to an Irish mother and an American father. The family moved to Orlando, Florida for four years before settling in Ireland when she was twelve years old. Changeling is a wonderful achievement in itself but what makes it even more so is that Melissa has dyslexia. She is multitalented. Her sculpture is applauded for her idiosyncratic style. Her research into Saoirse's condition prompted her to take a degree in psychology. She wrote Changeling because it's the kind of novel she'd have liked to read herself when struggling to come to terms with her youngest daughter's disabilities. She's working on a second novel, which is bound to be eagerly awaited.
Frances Itani
Sceptre
€22.34
This debut novel is a major literary achievement. Frances Itani knows her characters intimately, their thoughts, their words, their feelings. Hence they come alive on the pages and live on in the memory. She pays close attention to detail, writing with great vividness. The story moves at a leisurely pace yet captures the imagination.
Deafening is set in Canada at the beginning of the twentieth century, an age when women hung their underwear out to dry in pillow-slips so that it would not be seen. Grania O'Neill is five years old when she contracts scarlet fever and loses her hearing. Her family is close and loving although her mother blames herself for what has happened and refuses to accept Grania's deafness as permanent, her relentless quest for a cure becoming tedious. Perhaps it is Grania's grandmother, Mamo, who loves her best of all, having delivered her, a destructive fire raging in their hometown on the night of her birth. Mamo comes up with an original way of coping with stress and the vicissitudes of life, of which they have more than their share to contend with, although this isn't revealed until the end of the book.
At nine years of age, Grania is sent away to be educated at the Ontario School for the Deaf. She cries incessantly for the first two weeks, then is never seen to cry again. She comes to see her fellow-pupils, all three hundred of them, as her sisters and brothers. Her best friend is Freda, known as Fry. They have interesting conversations about what it is like to be deaf. Unlike Grania, Fry has opted to learn to communicate solely through sign-language rather than being taught to speak. On completing their education, both do some training in nursing and stay on at the school to nurse children who are sick.
Grania meets and falls in love with a hearing man called Jim, which she pronounces Chim. He is attracted to her flowing red hair, her beauty and her air of stillness. They marry just a fortnight before his departure to serve as a stretcher-bearer in World War !. She returns to live with her family although this is not altogether her own choice. The story alternates between both their lives. The horror and futility of war is depicted graphically yet sparingly. By comparison, Grania's world is much more peaceful though family, friends and neighbours are touched by injury and death. Their love is inspiring yet this is not so much a love story as a documentary of their separate lives.
Deafening deserves to be regarded as a classic.
James Kennedy
James Kennedy served in the Philippines as a missionary priest with the Columban order between 1970 and 1977. This is primarily an account of his experiences during those years. His sincerity is striking. Those in religious life, particularly those in missionary orders, have tended to be viewed as a breed apart. It has been easy to forget that these are mere human beings struggling with huge problems such as poverty, severe climatic conditions, the need to adjust to vast cultural differences, language barriers, geographical isolation and loneliness. In such circumstances, it is easy to doubt the validity of one's work/mission.
There are plenty of lighter moments in Fat God, Thin God. These include a brief account of an incident in which two nuns almost came to blows over which of them will be first to receive swimming lessons from the Parish Priest. It emerges that both already knew how to swim. A warm camaraderie existed between Kennedy and his missionary colleagues. He seems to have a great capacity for relating to people, especially women. He certainly has a talent for letter-writing. Indeed, much of the book is made up of his letters to his friend, Annette Rowland. This is part of its appeal.
James Kennedy was over forty years old when he met and fell in love with Filipino nun and journalist, Vising Benavidez. (He jokes that he comes from a family of late developers, his father having married at forty-eight years of age.) Huge decisions had to be made by both of them. Vising contributes a section to Fat God, Thin God. Like her husband, she writes with a refreshing air of honesty. Both seem confident that there will, one day, be women priests and married priests.
Kennedy pays tribute to the priests and nuns with whom he has come into contact during his years as a missionary. However, he is critical of the Roman Catholic Church as an institution. He argues strongly against compulsory celibacy as a requisite for the priesthood.
Fat God Thin God is for those interested in the stories if those who have chosen a different way of life. It is an inspiring, poignant, occasionally humorous and, ultimately, somewhat disturbing read. It also provides food for thought.
Alexander McCall Smith
Little Brown
€11.50
Isabel Dalhousie is the editor of a philosophical magazine. She spends a lot of time pondering questions of morality and life's mysteries. She may overdo it a little but many of her thoughts are quite interesting. She often exchanges views with Grace, her housekeeper, who takes a somewhat different approach to life, displaying a curious combination of practicality and superstition. On one occasion, Grace persuades Isabel to attend a session with a medium. Isabel strives to keep an open mind.
Isabel takes charge of her niece, Cat's delicatessen for a week while Cat goes to Italy to attend a friend's wedding. One of the customers, Ian who has had a heart-transplant confides in her about his strange experiences. He feels that he is being plagued by memories not his own and he fears that this will prove dangerous to his health if the mystery of their origin is not solved. Isabel cannot resist becoming involved even though the voice of wisdom might dictate otherwise. Her best friend Jamie also advises caution. Jamie, a musician and music-teacher. is her niece, Cat's ex-boyfriend. Isabel is alarmed to discover that she is falling in love with him when there is fifteen years between their ages.
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate is a light and warm-hearted read. Its heroine is likeable, believable and distinctive despite just occasionally being mildly exasperating. This is the second of Alexander McCall Smith's novels featuring Isabel Dalhousie and her exploits as an amateur investigator, the first being The Sunday Philosophy Club.
Judi Curtin
Tivoli
€9.99
Judi Curtin comes from Cork though she now lives in Limerick with her husband and three children. Author of the bestselling Sorry, Walter, this is her charming second novel and is set to establish her firmly among Ireland's leading women authors. Perfect for the beach or the back-garden, it combines depth with entertainment value.
Claire is a memorable heroine. She is regarded as eccentric. She is often seen on her high Nelly bicycle and she exhibits a total disdain for fashion - she doesn't even own a mobile phone. She has a loving husband, James - even if his over-protective mother, Maisie is relentless in reminding her of her non-existent culinary skills - and her four-year-old daughter, Lizzie is as angelic as a human child can be. Yet she is far from happy, much as she seeks to delude herself otherwise. Why remains a mystery for quite some time. Clearly, past events cast a dark shadow over life. The reader slowly becomes aware that she hovers close to the brink of psychological disorder. Why doesn't she have any friends? She erects an impenetrable barrier whenever anyone threatens to get too close.
In a stroke of rare good fortune, Claire wins twenty thousand euro on a scratch-card. She sees it as a means of escape. She is soon planning a year travelling around the world for James, Lizzie and herself. To her dismay, James refuses to fall in with her dreams. This causes much tension between them. As a compromise, it is decided that she and Lizzie will spend the summer in Greece, exchanging their suburban home in Douglas, Cork for the rather more exotic setting of Mykonos where she spent the summer with two friends fifteen years earlier - scene of happy memories as well as the worst of her life. One senses that one is coming closer to discovering the source of her deep-seated unhappiness.
In fairytale Mykono, Claire and Lizzie meet Ross, handsome, kind and separated, and his young son, Alistair. Lizzie and Alistair take to each other immediately. Claire and Ross - well, there's a lot of chemistry here. Chemistry aside, he is a good friend in her time of need. Can she turn her back on him? Only there is still, James, whom she loves. But has she a marriage to return to? Time alone will answer these questions.
From Claire to Here is for anyone who enjoys romantic novels but likes them to be a little different.
Jack Harte
Scotus Press
Sligo-man, Jack Harte's short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies in Ireland, Britain, U.S.A, Australia, Finland, New Zealand, Bulgaria and India, and have been included in many school text-books. Two previous collections, Murphy in the Underworld and Birds have been combined in this single volume. There are also two new short stories and an interview with the author. These form a preface exploring the history of the Irish short story. This is somewhat academic yet makes for interesting reading.
Harte is an excellent story-teller. His stories are wonderfully varied. Deep emotion, wisdom and irony all feature strongly. A Message to Sparta is as eloquent an expression of opposition to war as you'll find. Two neighbouring villages have been officially at war for years. Yet the inhabitants choose to leave each other alone. Finally, through an elderly blind musician, friendly relations begin to be established. Unfortunately, the powers that be are not content to allow this state of affairs to continue. As a result, many lives are lost.
Murphy in Murphy in the Underworld finds himself in a rather bureaucratic "Underworld" following his death. Typically Irish, he insists on complicating matters by being hell bent on securing passes to visit two places on earth rather than the customary one on "November Night". There are a few surprising revelations along the way. The Bleeding Stone of Knockaculleen tells of an old man prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to save an ancient "bleeding stone" from destruction in the name of progress, utterly convinced of the truth of the legend attached to it. And What is the Thunder?, for this reviewer at least, depicts the ultimate triumph of hope over despair. In Baptism of Water, disenchanted school-teacher, Joseph Cavanagh is dreading an appointment with the Headmaster, knowing that he will be taken to task for his pupils' poor exam-results. He starts thinking about his hero, Shelley, drawing inspiration from the poet's life (or his death to be more precise) in most unusual fashion. Three for Oblivion tells of Green Tie, White Tie and Orange Tie who have just been killed by a bomb and now find themselves in a rather unexpected predicament. No marks for guessing which part of the world these three gentlemen hale from. Gelding opens with You asked me whether sexuality is a bridge or a barrier between men and women. The story that follows is truly shocking.
These are just some of the stories included. Aficionados of the short story will treasure From Under Gogol's Nose. It will also make new converts to the genre.
Tracy Chevalier
Harper Collins
€9.99
This novel is slow-moving yet it holds the attention from beginning to end. The setting is the city of Delft in 17th century Holland. When her father, a tile painter, is blinded in an accident at work, sixteen-year-old Griet is forced to contribute financially to save her family from destitution. Her mother finds her a job as a maid to the family of the real-life artist, Johannes Veneer. (Little is known of the actual details of Veneer's life.)
For the purposes of this work of fiction, Veneer is furnished with a seemingly always pregnant wife, Catharina, a consequently growing number of children and a mother-in-law, Maria Thins, who, it soon becomes clear, is the one really in charge of the running of the household. They are Catholics, unlike Griet's family who are Protestants.
Veneer and Catharina visit Griet's home to meet her. They agree to take her on although it is the artist who really makes the decision, apparently taking a liking to her straightaway. As a consequence, his wife regards Griet with antipathy from the outset. Griet's work is hard. Her hands are soon raw from washing clothes. She is homesick. She's only allowed to visit her family on Sundays although they only live a short walk away.
Although Griet's duties include cleaning his studio, it is some time before she comes to Veneer's attention again. Then however, she becomes his assistant, mixing his paints for him, sometimes even making helpful suggestions. Meanwhile, a sort of courtship begins between her and Pieter the butcher although this is really at his instigation and that of her parents. She is trapped by their poverty, which decrees that a butcher in the family would be useful.
Griet's situation becomes gradually more complicated with an intensifying sense of impending doom. Tracy Chevalier's style is subtle rather than dramatic. She pays close attention to detail. It is no surprise that Girl with a Pearl Earring has been made into a successful film.
giving up the ghost - a memoir
Hilary Mantel
Harper Perennial
€11.91
Best-selling English novelist of Irish descent, Hilary Mantel's memoir is rather bleak. It would be depressing indeed but for her wry sense of humour and courageous spirit. Her childhood is far from the happiest. Her parents separate and she never sees her father again. Also, she is beset by ill health and insecurity. She feels less important than her two younger brothers. On the lighter side, as a small child, she eagerly awaits the day she will become a boy. From an early age, she displays imagination and an independent streak.
Young Hilary develops a strange medical condition which goes undiagnosed for many years. Being prescribed anti-depression leads to much suffering. The incompetence of the medical profession is clearly to blame. Nevertheless, she studies law, encountering sex discrimination, the notion that women shouldn't practise in this area widely prevalent
Mantel's early childhood in particular is described in too much detail, making for dull reading. However, there are more interesting episodes and she offers perceptive insights on human nature. Giving up the ghost is more educational (using the word in its broadest sense) than entertaining. Despite the author's undeniable wit, it wouldn't be ideal beach or bedtime reading. It is complex at times and could induce nightmares.
Maria Housden
Element
Paperback
€10.40
This is a special book about a special little girl. Everyone would like to change the world for the better but it seems virtually impossible. Yet Hannah accomplishes just that without consciously trying. Her true story, written by her mother, an author who proves more than equal to the immense task, is both heart-breaking and inspirational.
Hannah is just three years old when diagnosed with cancer. Anyone who doesn't cry when reading Hannah's Gift doesn't have a heart. However, there are many happy moments throughout the months of her illness. Also, her family do find true happiness again following her death even if this takes some time. Indeed, it can be said that her short life teaches them to experience joy of a higher quality than they might otherwise have done.
It has been said that the truest measure of a life is not its length but the fullness in which it is lived. Hannah's story certainly bears this out. Her joy in living is evident from our first introduction to her when she falls in love with a pair of red shoes in a shop. Trying them on, she dances for all she is worth, attracting an appreciative audience. She also faces terminal illness with great courage as well as displaying a startling understanding of her situation for one so young.
It seems that Hannah creates a lasting impression on everyone she meets. When she is first examined by a doctor at the hospital, she insists that he tell her his real (first) name. Any students present must introduce themselves similarly. This not only sets the pattern for her subsequent treatment, but also for future practise at the hospital. Hannah proves instrumental in bringing about other changes in the hospital regime as well.
Hannah's Gift is Maria Housden's story as well as her daughter's. She shares with us what she has learned through Hannah's illness and death. The book is aptly sub-titled, Lessons From a Life Fully Lived. Maria has clearly changed as a person. Her faith has deepened. Her attitude to suffering, her own and other people's, has changed. She has acquired the courage to be more truly herself without being limited by the expectations of others. She has learned to treasure every moment.
Aubrey Malone
Prion
€11.90
Literary Trivia
Aubrey Malone
Prion
€11.90
Hollywood Trivia is a treat for film buffs. Indeed, it has something for everyone with any interest in the silver screen. You're bound to find a host of new facts about your favourite stars. Literary Trivia will be of interest to virtually everybody. Famous writers, from centuries back to the present, come alive on these pages. Renowned Irish authors such as Joyce, Shaw, Behan and O'Casey, to name but a few, feature strongly, rubbing shoulders with international luminaries. (The solution to many Christmas present problems lies here.) These books are not meant to be read from cover to cover but dipped into according to whim. One word of warning, there is a certain amount of X-rated material.
Each book contains over 300 lists relating to a wide variety of themes. In Hollywood Trivia, a list of the more bizarre doings of the stars includes Dolly Parton's penchant for eating cookies while watching fitness videos. The pope's 10 favourite films are listed, as are the famous ladies who have been romantically involved with Warren Beatty. From a list of facts about censorship comes the revelation that in 1937 Walt Dissney had to cut a scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves showing the dwarves making up a bed for Snow White.
Perhaps the most amazing fact from Literary Trivia is that there are hand-written copies of the Bible so small that they fit into a walnut shell. Oscar Wilde merits a list of his own, recounting classical Wildean witticisms, which includes the following. During a bout of depression, a friend asked Wilde what was making him feel down. "I'm sad because one half of the world doesn't believe in God," he replied, "and the other half doesn't believe in me." On the subject of inspiration, Graham Greene said that he wrote primarily because he didn't like himself and his characters provided an escape from his identity.
This is just the tiniest sample of what's in store. Aubrey Malone is a writer and journalist and, of course, his reviews and articles appear in Insight. His books include The Cynic's Dictionary, The Guinness Book of Humorous Irish Anecdotes and The Rise and Fall and Rise of Elvis.
Robert Winston (Editor)
Dorling Kindersley
€43.20
This is an encyclopaedic volume on all areas of knowledge relating to the human race. For all age-groups from early teens up, there is a great deal to be learned here. Evolution, biology, the workings of the mind, culture in all its many aspects and the histories and characteristics of different races are all explored. Robert Winston has collected the writings of experts on the various spheres. It is rare to find such a wealth of information gathered together. While educational, it is highly readable. While few will read this impressive book from cover to cover, many will find a great deal to interest them. Also, it is wonderfully illustrated in full colour, making it visually attractive as well as mentally stimulating. Indeed, it is worth looking through for the pictures alone. Items of special significance or interest are highlighted.
The Origins section tells the story of evolution, causing us to marvel at how much Darwin has added to our store of knowledge. It also gives an overview of the major events of history in all its aspects from the foundation of Jericho, the world's first city to the escalation of technology. The biology chapter deals with cells, respiration, circulation, digestion, reproduction and the senses. Some fascinating insights are given into how the mind functions. There is information on many of the world's religions. A wealth of national and ethnic customs concerning birth, coming of age, marriage and death is described and photographed. Also explained is the variety of economies, political systems and social structures that exist. Human concludes with a section on predictions for the future. As one might expect, some of these are mind-boggling, not least the notion of virtual companions and pets.
Human deserves a permanent place on bookshelves, being one for all the family to return to time and time again. It will probably serve best as a reference-book - just the ticket for school-projects. It will certainly encourage young people to develop an interest in their own species.
Niccolo Ammaniti
Canongate
This novel is absorbing if somewhat bewildering. Don't expect to understand the events behind the story - unless maybe if you have a knowledge of recent Italian history. Much remains unexplained. The experiences related are beyond those of the average reader although they may not be nearly so unusual in times of conflict or unrest. The story is told from the point of view of a nine-year-old boy, this being done remarkably well. Although the darker side of human nature is highlighted, there are happy moments too and the magic of childhood is here as well as its more sinister elements.
The setting is rural Italy in the hot summer of 1978. (The depiction of the heat might even make one appreciate a typical Irish summer.) There seems to be wheat growing everywhere. The children enjoy an uncommon degree of freedom. The community consists of just a few families. The novel begins with a display of juvenile cruelty but a not so childish act of heroism saves the day. These events lead to our young hero, Michele Amitrano making a sinister discovery which makes what went before pale into insignificance. He finds a boy tied up with a chain in an abandoned house. At first, he believes him to be dead but, on returning, finds that he is alive. The stranger doesn't talk much sense. Although Michele has resolved to keep his discovery a secret, he soon changes his mind and decides to tell his father. However, fate intervenes and he doesn't get to tell him.
Michele is a sensitive child with a lively imagination. He has a five-year-old sister, Maria. (It must be said that at the end she behaves with a maturity scarcely conceivable in one so young. However, this is a minor quibble.) Until now, their father has worked away from home a lot and their mother has seemed fiercely unhappy in his absence. However, he announces now that he is home for good. At night-time, Michele happens to hear his father and the local men, all of whom have gathered in the Amitranos' home, engaged in intent discussion. A news-item comes on television involving a distrait woman begging for the safe release of her abducted son. From the reactions of the men, including that of his father, Michele concludes that the boy kept prisoner in the abandoned house is her son and that they all share the responsibility for his abduction. One wonders if this can be put down to his active imagination. Yet there are questions to be answered. His secret is certainly a dangerous one.
Sabine Kuegler
Virago
€16.49
German woman, Sabine Kuegler had the most unusual childhood imaginable. She was seven when, in 1980, her family went to live in a remote jungle area of West Papua, Indonesia. They would live for many years among the Fayu, a newly discovered tribe, untouched by modern civilisation. Sabine's parents, Klaus and Doris Kuegler are missionaries, although they do not seek to convert the Fayu to Christianity, and Klaus is also a linguist. To begin with, the reader may find Jungle Child too far removed from life as we know it, but it is well worth persisting with.
Life in the jungle is very basic and close to nature. The heat of the sun, the relentlessness of the rain and the power of the storms are all vividly conveyed. Once, Sabine, her parents, her older sister, Judith and younger brother, Christian were caught in a storm while on a long river journey by canoe. They only survived through their own courage and the help of the Fayu. The jungle holds many dangers including the ever-present threat of malaria. Yet there is a sense of time passing much more slowly there than in the West. Generally, the Fayu were hospitable towards the Kueglers but there was one problem. The family invariably returned from their infrequent shopping-trips to find that their home had been ransacked and many of their relatively few possessions stolen. They were on the point of desperation when the Fayu finally changed their ways.
Despite their tolerance of the Kueglers, the Fayu had a savage lifestyle. They recognised only two causes of death. One was either shot with an arrow or cursed - in either case, the evil work of an enemy. The number of revenge killings had escalated over the years until there were hundreds of tribe members where there had once been thousands. Also, marriage generally involved the woman being kidnapped and forced to submit. Sometimes, her protector, be it father or brother or some other male relative would be killed, launching a new cycle of revenge killings. Thankfully, all of this has changed gradually over the years through the example of the Kueglers.
At seventeen years old, Sabine leaves the Fayu to attend boarding-school in Switzerland. It is with some difficulty that she adjusts to her new life. The modern world holds many dangers for an innocent child of the jungle. It will be many years before she reconciles the two such widely diverse cultures that are her heritage.
Diana Duff
This autobiography was certainly one that cried out to be written. In many ways, Diana Duff's experiences differ vastly from most people's. Coming from an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, most of her childhood was spent in Ireland, while her adult life has been lived in Africa. The reader is introduced to two sharply contrasting worlds and given interesting insights into both.
Diane was born in Johannesburg in 1932, but abandoned by her mother as a baby. She was raised by her eccentric grandparents at Annes Grove in Co. Cork, a stately house renowned for its beautiful gardens. However, the closest thing to a mother in her life is the housekeeper, Molly O;Reilly. Hers was a rather lonely childhood. Her father's visits were few and far between as he and his parents didn't see eye to eye. She was taught by a series of governesses. One had planned to come for three weeks but stayed for three years - Diane's beloved "Kitten". An earlier governess is described as a sadist.
Still in her late-teens, Diane joined her father in Uganda. From the beginning, she felt a strong affinity to the continent of Africa. She found the freedom of her new life intoxicating. Away from Ireland and drunk with freedom, I saw life as an enormous glittering Christmas tree and myself with carte blanche to take what I liked from it. (Heady stuff.) She worked as a stand-in for Grace Kelly in the film., Mogambo This wasn't as glamorous as it sounds. She also worked briefly as a nurse.
Diana married a young officer in the Colonial Services, having nursed him when he was in hospital with malaria. Their travels took them to various parts of Africa. They experienced war and peace, meeting many colourful characters over the years. Perhaps the most compelling chapter of their lives is their time in Johannesburg during the most exciting years in South African history.
Diana eventually met her mother. The meeting did not go particularly well. However, when she met her half-brother, Norman some years later, an instant bond formed between them. She did, finally, learn something that made her realise that her mother hadn't been quite as heartless as she'd believed.
Yann Martin
Canongate
€10.42
This novel is extraordinary - wonderful too if one discounts its anti-climax of a conclusion and the fact that some of its events are much too far-fetched to be believed possible. The second criticism may be in some doubt as the narrator may be describing hallucinations but the line between reality and imagination is extremely blurred. Notwithstanding these faults, this Booker award winner is often beautiful, tense, exciting, poignant, educational and life-affirming.
Pi is an Indian boy, raised in a zoo. The information on the lives and habits of wild animals is quite absorbing, even for readers lacking sufficient patience to sit through nature-programmes. Be warned, this book is not for the faint-hearted or weak-stomached. Just for starters, Pi's father may seem to go to extreme lengths to ensure that his two young sons retain a lifelong respect for wild animals.
Pi Patel is no ordinary teenager. Unknown to his non-religious family, he has come to practise not one but three faiths. One day, he is out with his parents when the local priests from all three churches converge on him all at once. The heated debate which follows is amusing to the onlooker if not to the participants. Pi describes it as his introduction to inter-faith dialogue. He confounds all by stating that he simply wants to love God.
Hard times befall India and the Patel family. Pi's parents decide to emigrate to Canada in search of a better life. Selling what animals they can, they take some with them on a cargo-ship. Tragedy strikes when the ship sinks. Just sixteen years old, Pi finds himself marooned at sea in a lifeboat which he shares with a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena and Richard Parker, an adult male tiger so named due to a clerical error. In due course, the crew of the lifeboat is reduced to two, Pi and Richard Parker, the zebra, orang-utan and the hyena having been eaten. Pi realises that his only hope is to tame Richard Parker. This is a mammoth task - especially while constantly battling the elements so relentless in such appalling circumstances. His struggle for survival is certainly absorbing. He experiences grief, loneliness, hope, despair, boredom and gratitude, each with extreme intensity. A curious and powerful love for and dependence on the tiger grows in him. Yann Martell''s descriptive powers are second to none. He compares the depths of the ocean at sunset, teeming with marine life, to what Tokyo must be like at rush-hour.
Despite his heroic efforts, the day finally comes when Pi is so weak that he believes he must die. He begins to hallucinate. It is doubtful that any of the remainder of the story of his struggle for survival can be meant to be taken for reality. Perhaps, at this stage, the details are irrelevant.
Diana Duff writes with charm, wit and understanding of human nature.
Gabriel Garcia Màrquez
Jonathan Cape
€27
This is a most frustrating book. It should make a wonderful read. The opening chapters are a delight. However, it deteriorates slowly but steadily to the point where one wonders if the beginning could really have been as fascinating as one has imagined.
Living to Tell the Tale is the first volume of a planned trilogy which will form the author's autobiography. It would probably have been wiser to condense his life-story so as to fit it all into this book. Close to five hundred pages of quite small print is too much for just a third of anyone's life.
As it says on the sleeve, Gabriel Garcia Màrquez is considered to be possibly the most acclaimed, revered and widely read writer of our time. His works include Love in the Time of Cholera and One Hundred Years of Solitude, which won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
As one would expect, this memoir does have a great deal to offer. Màrquez's account of his childhood is absorbing. His style is both eloquent and conversational - a compelling blend. He writes vividly and it is easy to share his experiences. He is enthusiastic about life, clearly having lived his to the full. He shows a deep understanding of human nature. His warmth and sympathy towards others always shines through.
Interestingly, Màrquez introduces the book with the sentence, Life is not what one lives, but what one remembers and how one remembers it in order to recount it. Sometimes, the line between fact and fiction becomes rather hazy, with reality, imagination and legend becoming entangled.
Living to Tell the Tale is translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman. A native of the former Spanish colony of Colombia, Màrques's revelations of the Colombian/Spanish culture are interesting. His large and colourful extended family play a major role in his childhood. Civil war and political unrest are part of his story. He describes his and his family's abject poverty without self-pity.
The one major defect in Living to Tell the Truth is Màrquez's tendency to go into excessive detail. This is particularly true of his student days and his journalistic and literary careers, making for a lot of academic and dry reading. Be prepared to gloss over passages or even pages. Nevertheless, despite its faults, this book is certainly worth a read. That which is good in it is excellent.
Tracy Culleton
Poolbeg
This is the worthy winner of the Open House Write a Bestseller competition. It certainly has the two chief ingredients for a bestseller - an engrossing plot and convincing flesh-and-blood characters.
Graimne Quinn seems to have it all - a happy marriage, a fulfilling career, close friends, and a comfortable lifestyle. The only thing missing from her life is a child. She is becoming rather obsessive about this lack. However, her qualities include honesty, vitality and a sense of humour - black when necessary. She is going to need these just to survive let alone grow as a person as she does.
The scene is set for the entry of Darren Brogan into Grainne's life. Through a chance encounter, he turns her life upside-down with his deranged violence. Her relationships with her family, her career, her marriage and her sanity are all at stake.
In Looking Good, good comes out of evil, but at a terribly high price. The question is is the price too high. Grainne emerges a stronger person. This novel is surprisingly readable given that it portrays every woman's worst nightmare - possibly every man's too.
With the possible exception of its title, there is nothing superficial about Looking Good. It is about love, friendship, forgiveness and survival. It involves a suspense-filled court-case. One is always conscious of the very real possibility of the verdict being the wrong one.
Largely, what makes Looking Good such an enjoyable read is its cast, mostly although certainly not exclusively likeable. Everyone should have a friend like Sinead. (Grainne has other wonderful friends too.) Indeed, for women, a husband like Patrick wouldn't go amiss. On the other hand, she is cursed with the mother from hell. Her father and brother simply do what they're told.
Many readers will look forward to further novels from Tracy Culleton. Looking Good will be a hard act to follow.
Erica James
Orion
€8.95
Harriet Swift becomes guardian to her young niece and nephew when her sister, Felicity and her husband, Jeff are killed in a car-crash. Her new responsibilities mean moving back to her native village, giving up a satisfying job in computer software and losing her boyfriend, Spencer of whom she has had great hopes. Anyone would find the challenges she faces daunting to say the least. That she isn't exactly the maternal sort doesn't help. Fortunately for nine-year-old Carrie and four-year-old Joel, she does improve in this respect. To add to her troubles, when her PC is stolen, she uses Felicity's while it is being repaired and she discovers that her sister had been having an affair. She resolves to solve the mystery of whom with despite the marked absence of clues.
Will Hart is Harriet's new neighbour? Some years ago, his ambitious ex-wife, Maxine was less than sympathetic when he cracked under the stress of his high-powered job. Still, he remains close to his teenage daughters, Suzie and Gemma. He has built up a modest business in antiques. He first falls in love with Harriet's cute beret, then, quite quickly, with the rest of her too. Does he stand a chance with a woman fourteen years his junior? He does have a rival for her affections - her lifelong friend, Miles McKendry. Miles' fascinating if not altogether admirable brother, Dominic also plays a decisive role in shaping Harriet's life. Fate steps in rather shockingly to wipe all thought of forming a relationship from Will's mind.
Love and Devotion is peopled with a range of appealing and diverse characters, all struggling in their own ways to work out their individual destinies. There's always plenty going on in this lively novel. Erica James writes with poignancy, wit, perception and superior understanding of human nature.
Adriana Trigiani
Pocket Books
€8.99
Romance, betrayal, the joys and sorrows of family life, friendship and ambition are all ingredients of this heart-warming story. Most of it is set in New York's Little Italy in the early 1950s. Lucia Sartori is a modern young woman, reluctant to give up her career for marriage. (There are reminders everywhere that it is still a man's world.) Of course, it might be different if she found the right man. Or can it really be that she is destined to be unlucky in love because of a curse put on her before she was born? Apparently, Italians are traditionally big into curses
Lucia and her three best friends, Ruth, Helen and Violet have glamorous jobs as seamstresses in a Fifth Avenue department-store. She is the most ambitious of the four and has dreams of advancing in her career. A chance encounter with a handsome stranger does alter matters considerably. When Lucia falls head over heels in love with someone from a different background, it is his job to win over her parents. Her mother is charmed by him but her father remains suspicious of him. A grocer himself, Antonio Sartori can't make much sense of an entrepreneur who will dabble in any kind of trade but refuses to specialise. This causes serious friction between father and daughter although he does eventually set aside his own feelings for fear of losing her.
Characters such as the independent but loyal Lucia, her temperamental mother who seems fated to always be disappointed by her brood yet is devoted to all of them, her gentle father, the enigmatic John Talbot, the faithful but predictable Dante DeMartino and Delmarr, talented fashion designer and confirmed bachelor make this novel memorable. Adriana Trigiani writes with warmth, wit and poignancy. The author of a bestselling trilogy beginning with Big Stone Gap, all four of her books to date are to be made into movies. It isn't difficult to see why. Many women will love Lucia, Lucia, and more than a few men too.
The Struggle for Peace, Politics and the People
Mo Mowlam
Coronet
€10.99
This is essentially a documentation of developments in Northern Ireland between 1996 and 2002. Mowlam also writes on her experiences of being diagnosed and treated for a brain tumour and her work in the Cabinet Office following her period as Secretary of State.
As a person, it is difficult to dislike Mo Miwlam. Her warmth, courage, integrity, compassion and capacity for hard work are all evident in her book. That she worked so tirelessly for peace despite ill health makes her achievements all the more outstanding. Also, she gives credit unstintingly where it is due. She doesn't indulge in self-pity, dealing humorously with the loss of her hair due to radiotherapy and her rapid weight-gain through the use of steroids.
As one would expect, the strife-torn marching-seasons of the mid-90s, the peace-talks, the Good Friday Agreement, the North-South Referendum, the Hillsborough Declaration and the Omagh bombing are all outlined. Mowlam expresses frustration at the ups and downs of what must have been a demanding yet tedious process for all those involved. Few could have seen the light at the end of such a long tunnel.
On hindsight, one can see how it may have taken someone with Mowlam's flexibility of mind to make such a positive contribution to the Peace Process. She instinctively understood the necessity to take all shades of opinion into account. She showed great courage in visiting both Republican and Loyalist prisoners to discuss developments with them in the face of vast opposition.
Clearly, working under Tony Blair presented serious problems for Mowlam. She seems to believe that he couldn't accept her immense popularity. She also contends that he didn't give his ministers enough freedom to make their own decisions, interfering relentlessly and unnecessarily.
In her preface, Mowlan states her objective of writing a "readable" book on Northern Ireland politics, having read others and found them lacking according to this criterion. She largely succeeds. Her style is conversational in keeping with her personality. Be warned however, a keen interest in politics in general and that of Northern Ireland in particular is required as the subject-matter is rather weighty. As indicated earlier, there is some light relief, but much of this is in the early part of the book.
Jodi Picoult
Hodder
€10.05
Sara and Brian Fitzgerald are living through what must be among every parent's worst nightmares. As a two-year-old child, their daughter, Kate developed leukaemia. Their son, Jesse was not a genetic match and her best chance of survival involved them having a third child. From an early age, Anna has been called on to be a donor. Apart from this, she and Kate are typical of sisters everywhere, sometimes loving each other, sometimes hating each other. Living with such a serious illness has often been a harrowing experience for Kate. Both young lives have been blighted by the inability to make plans with any degree of certainty of not being in hospital on any given day.
It is something of a miracle that Kate has reached the age of sixteen years. She has even fallen in love. Tragically, leukaemia has struck yet again. This time, Anna is called on to donate a kidney. Another bombshell falls when the thirteen-year-old files a lawsuit against her parents in a bid to gain the right to make her own medical decisions and refuse to be a donor. This novel raises intriguing and disturbing questions.
Each chapter is written from the viewpoint of a different character, all of whom are distinctly memorable. These include Sara who has given up her career as a lawyer to raise her children, Brian, a fireman with a fascination for astronomy, Kate, who dreams of being a ballerina, and Anna, goalie and only female member of an ice-hockey team. In an engaging sub-plot, attorney's, Campbell Alexander and Julia Romano, former lovers, meet again after fifteen years through their work on Anna's case. Julia believes that Campbell ended their relationship because she was poor. The truth will ultimately be revealed. There is sadness in this novel but there is humour as well. Picoult cannot be accused of wallowing in sentimentality, as could have been easily done in telling such a story. Her deep understanding of human nature always shows through. My Sister's Keeper holds the attention from beginning to end. It is made more intriguing by the fact that matters sometimes prove to be far from how they seem. Indeed, it can be said to illustrate that this is also often the case in real life.