Mosman Readers2024-03-29T00:54:18Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/echttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2981628988?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://mosmanreaders.ning.com/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=21jr4m32bh1f1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noFree Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Leetag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2019-02-18:2517344:Topic:606502019-02-18T04:30:52.688Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p>When I finished reading Pachinko and couldn’t recover from my book hangover, I knew Min Jin Lee’s debut novel was the answer to my literary woes. Free Food for Millionaires, released ten years before the hugely successful Pachinko, tells the story of first-generation Korean-American Casey Han and the wide cast of characters who inhabit her world. She has just graduated from Princeton with expensive tastes in clothing (and the credit card debt to match) and no clear direction in life. We…</p>
<p>When I finished reading Pachinko and couldn’t recover from my book hangover, I knew Min Jin Lee’s debut novel was the answer to my literary woes. Free Food for Millionaires, released ten years before the hugely successful Pachinko, tells the story of first-generation Korean-American Casey Han and the wide cast of characters who inhabit her world. She has just graduated from Princeton with expensive tastes in clothing (and the credit card debt to match) and no clear direction in life. We watch, sometimes cringing and holding our breath, as Casey navigates jobs, cultures, careers, parental pressure, friendships, mentors, and lovers in New York City in the 1990s. While different in scope and tone to Pachinko, Free Food for Millionaires is a sweeping, highly satisfying, and nuanced intergenerational tale about the messiness of finding your way and following your dreams.</p> Prairie Fires: the American dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Frasertag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2018-10-08:2517344:Topic:589562018-10-08T23:34:25.278Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p>Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this is a comprehensive biography of the iconic writer Laura Ingalls Wilder of 'Little House on the Prairie' fame amongst many other titles. Her stories of a simple, happy but sometimes hard and cruel life on the prairies as a child and then with her husband are some of the most popular in American literature, up there with 'Little Women'. I found the first section very interesting as it went through the violent and fraught years for the Indigenous population,…</p>
<p>Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this is a comprehensive biography of the iconic writer Laura Ingalls Wilder of 'Little House on the Prairie' fame amongst many other titles. Her stories of a simple, happy but sometimes hard and cruel life on the prairies as a child and then with her husband are some of the most popular in American literature, up there with 'Little Women'. I found the first section very interesting as it went through the violent and fraught years for the Indigenous population, the Dakota, as they found their traditional lands taken off them quite arrogantly by the new settlers themselves in search of a better life.</p> The Blackbirder by Dorothy B Hughestag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2018-10-08:2517344:Topic:589532018-10-08T22:59:00.633Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p>Brilliant noir fiction by one of the best but often forgotten authors, Dorothy B Hughes. There were so many plot twists and turns I was riveted. Who is the gray man -innocent traveller, Gestapo, FBI or none of these things. Is he really a danger to the equally mysterious protagonist Julliet, on the run from being a potential suspect in a murder. Moving from New York to Santa Fe and set during World War II , it is full of men in hats lurking in bars and street corners, train journeys taken by…</p>
<p>Brilliant noir fiction by one of the best but often forgotten authors, Dorothy B Hughes. There were so many plot twists and turns I was riveted. Who is the gray man -innocent traveller, Gestapo, FBI or none of these things. Is he really a danger to the equally mysterious protagonist Julliet, on the run from being a potential suspect in a murder. Moving from New York to Santa Fe and set during World War II , it is full of men in hats lurking in bars and street corners, train journeys taken by stealth and so much thinking ahead and on the run that I was in awe of these characters' abilities! 4.4/5</p> Mister Pip / by Lloyd Jonestag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2018-08-06:2517344:Topic:591492018-08-06T01:55:55.745Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p>One of the best things about reading this fine book was my ability to complete it while here at the Byron Bay Writer's Festival, a celebration of quality literature and authors. I might add it was a double pleasure after attending the dismal, depressing APLIC conference at Gold Coast last week where I had the unusual experience of sharing a large convention hall of "librarians" who had nothing to say about books.</p>
<p>But on to the story at hand. Matilda is the single child of Delores, a…</p>
<p>One of the best things about reading this fine book was my ability to complete it while here at the Byron Bay Writer's Festival, a celebration of quality literature and authors. I might add it was a double pleasure after attending the dismal, depressing APLIC conference at Gold Coast last week where I had the unusual experience of sharing a large convention hall of "librarians" who had nothing to say about books.</p>
<p>But on to the story at hand. Matilda is the single child of Delores, a woman whose husband abandoned their island home to work in Australia and was unable to return when a revolution and blockade cut his family and their neighbors from the rest of the world. Enter into this bleak scene the eccentric Mr. Watts, a gaunt white man who undertakes the task of reopening the local school by reading the children <em>Great Expectations.</em> Matilda becomes transfixed by the novel as it reveals to her a world so different and alien from the one she inhabits, and perhaps the one thing the book offers which her surroundings do not: hope and the transformative power of changing fortunes. As she becomes more engrossed in the story, Matilda's relationship with her mother deteriorates, primarily because of Delores' jaundiced view of life sprung from her husband's abandonment and a very narrow interpretation of the Bible.</p>
<p>This book takes you into a different world, much like <em>Great Expectations</em> does, but the world of Matilda is dangerous and narrow. There are some shocking developments as the narrative completes, but overall, Mister Pip is well worth your time!</p>
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<p></p> Oliver Twist / by Charles Dickenstag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2018-07-02:2517344:Topic:586502018-07-02T19:56:27.790Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p>I could have never read this book without the knowledge that it would have a happy ending. Oliver Twist is so unspeakably sad in its opening chapters that I found it difficult to remain a passive reader while hearing so many injustices in a society that debases its poor. (I suppose I felt this way because it reminds me of what is happening to American under the Trump dictatorship.) However, this story of an orphaned boy who runs away from those cruel state actors only to end up in a den of…</p>
<p>I could have never read this book without the knowledge that it would have a happy ending. Oliver Twist is so unspeakably sad in its opening chapters that I found it difficult to remain a passive reader while hearing so many injustices in a society that debases its poor. (I suppose I felt this way because it reminds me of what is happening to American under the Trump dictatorship.) However, this story of an orphaned boy who runs away from those cruel state actors only to end up in a den of juvenile thieves has so many compelling characters it makes up for the pain of the opening scenes. I must admit it is the villains who have the most interesting sketches. Fagin, the cunning old Jewish thief is almost charming in his knavery, and Bill Sikes is as scary a bogeyman as you would ever care to meet in fiction or in life. (Even his dog hates him, it seems, although he follows his master to death at the end.) The good guys, Mr. Brownlow and his friend, Mr. Grimwig, are not as well drawn, although each has his moments. Oliver Twist has been criticized for being too formulaic and predictable in its plot, and perhaps that is true, but after spending a number of pleasant evenings with Charles Dickens in my reading chair, I am inclined to overlook the incredible coincidences of the story. If you have never read Dickens, I would heartily recommend starting with this book.</p> Doc: a novel / by Mary Doria Russelltag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2018-03-26:2517344:Topic:582512018-03-26T15:27:13.018Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p>Doctor John Henry Holliday, by most accounts, was a tubercular, homicidal drunk and a close friend of Wyatt Earp. According to the legend, Holliday’s illness made him reckless with his life, descending from a respectable, educated southern gentleman to a mean tempered gambler who cared little for his ability to see beyond his next drink. These interpretations are pretty two dimensional, even by low bar set by popular fiction, so this book by Mary Doria Russell is a welcome departure.…</p>
<p>Doctor John Henry Holliday, by most accounts, was a tubercular, homicidal drunk and a close friend of Wyatt Earp. According to the legend, Holliday’s illness made him reckless with his life, descending from a respectable, educated southern gentleman to a mean tempered gambler who cared little for his ability to see beyond his next drink. These interpretations are pretty two dimensional, even by low bar set by popular fiction, so this book by Mary Doria Russell is a welcome departure. Russell’s portrait is a believable account of a doomed man who still clings to the hope of normality during his final years on the planet by the practice of dentistry. As a talented dental surgeon, this Doc Holliday is refined, intelligent, and drawn into alcohol primarily as a solace for his continuing coughing spells. The temporary relief gained by gulping whiskey becomes a habit, all the more debilitating due to his declining weight, and his desire to serve humanity by practicing dentistry is a frustration that drives him to gamble. This novel also has a sub plot involving a Dodge City death under mysterious circumstances, and a more plausible explanation for Doc’s friendship with Wyatt; he fixed the lawman’s teeth!</p> Raw Spirit by Iain Bankstag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2018-01-11:2517344:Topic:581472018-01-11T01:52:25.663Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866509881?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866509881?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="150"></img></a> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866509881?profile=original" target="_self">I <span style="font-size: 10pt;">really</span> enjoyed this book. Iain Banks is a wonderful writer and there is also a lot of humour in his writing style which makes it more enjoyable. If you love whisky and driving tours then this book is for you. Banks also includes a lot…</a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866509881?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="150" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866509881?profile=RESIZE_180x180"/></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866509881?profile=original" target="_self">I <span style="font-size: 10pt;">really</span> enjoyed this book. Iain Banks is a wonderful writer and there is also a lot of humour in his writing style which makes it more enjoyable. If you love whisky and driving tours then this book is for you. Banks also includes a lot of biographical material and references to his published fiction. It is sad that he is no longer with us. It has encouraged me to seek out his books and also a few wee drams of the golden liquid.</a></p> "Testament" by David Gibbinstag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2017-07-25:2517344:Topic:561422017-07-25T05:50:31.589Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866502970?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866502970?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="150"></img></a> This is the first book by David Gibbins that this reviewer has read, but clearly it is one of a series with the same major protagonist appearing in them all. Clearly also, from the summaries included inside the back cover of the book under review, these other tales also incorporate elements of some sort of "Indiana Jones" oriented scenarios, as "Testament" also…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866502970?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="150" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866502970?profile=RESIZE_180x180"/></a>This is the first book by David Gibbins that this reviewer has read, but clearly it is one of a series with the same major protagonist appearing in them all. Clearly also, from the summaries included inside the back cover of the book under review, these other tales also incorporate elements of some sort of "Indiana Jones" oriented scenarios, as "Testament" also does.</p>
<p>At one level "Testament" is a speculative tale about what might have happened to the lost Ark of the Covenant, which disappeared from Jerusalem somewhere between 600 and 500 BC, and how it might have been transported to a much rumoured-about hiding place somewhere in modern day Ethiopia.</p>
<p>At another level "Testament" may best be described as a "ripping yarn", very much in the tradition of many English authors that have preceded Gibbins - such as Monserrat, McLean and O'Brien in particular.</p>
<p>Like those authors, the story of "Testament" is based on, and revolves around the sea and our (mankind's) interaction with it. However, unlike those authors, "Testament" does not involve conflict AT sea, but rather conflict WITH the sea, over millennia, and all the different levels of technology that go with that span of time, and how the archaeological evidence of such interaction might be used to inform today's world of the history of mankind's ancient challenges against the sea.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that some of the premises the author uses to hang his tale off are a little fantastical. However they have a reasonably solid foundation in historical fact and possibility, which provides the basis for a well presented tale of daring-do that spans from 600's BC to the present day via 1860's British interventions into Ethiopia and 1940's Bletchley Park activities.</p>
<p>Recommended for those seeking light relief in an adventure yarn that is not too demanding intellectually but which moves at a good pace.</p> Shallows / by Tim Wintontag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2017-07-10:2517344:Topic:556422017-07-10T16:45:13.349Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p>It is hard to imagine any seaborne activity in Australia currently more unpopular than whaling. Aussies regularly disparage Japanese “research” harvesting of whales and would likely pour even more vitriol on Iceland were it geographically closer to the continent. However, Tim Winton has written a novel that reminds us that the hated harpooning was also a part of Australian life in the not too distant past. In <em>Shallows</em>, Winton creates a fictional whaling town on Australia’s west…</p>
<p>It is hard to imagine any seaborne activity in Australia currently more unpopular than whaling. Aussies regularly disparage Japanese “research” harvesting of whales and would likely pour even more vitriol on Iceland were it geographically closer to the continent. However, Tim Winton has written a novel that reminds us that the hated harpooning was also a part of Australian life in the not too distant past. In <em>Shallows</em>, Winton creates a fictional whaling town on Australia’s west coast which is home to a drought-ruined farmer, his free-spirited daughter, her estranged husband, and a pack of radical environmentalists who come to shut down the killing in the late 1970s. The mood of the book is dark, and lots of peripheral characters are carefully drawn yet seem to have little to do with the main story line. No matter. This is a good novel that rightfully earned Winton the Miles Franklin prize in 1984. I found the ending quite disturbing, and no, I will not spoil it for you here!</p> Karen's Weekly Picktag:mosmanreaders.ning.com,2017-06-05:2517344:Topic:545792017-06-05T05:44:22.687Zechttp://mosmanreaders.ning.com/profile/ec
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866503524?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866503524?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="400" height="400"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866503524?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2866503524?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="400" height="400"/></a></p>