BOOK REVIEW
MARY BARBER I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The four women you meet in the first few chapters are clearly portrayed as distinct individuals. There’s no confusion over who’s who. They are well-developed characters of different ages from different places. And they each have their own backstory and struggles. I enjoyed meeting them again and again when their chapters came around. The four are drawn together by their daily ritual of swimming in the ocean and over the course of the book become good friends. This novel celebrates ordinary lives. There are no bloody murders or mysteries to solve. There are life experiences and challenges that require courage. The book shows how having a few good friends can bring light and joy to your life in difficult circumstances.
BILL MCCARTHY Last month I complained a bit about major literary prizewinning books. This month we have gone totally to the other end of the spectrum. By now the reader has probably figured out my preferences. After two chapters I gave up with this cliché-ridden, boring 1980s era suburban tale. There are so any wonderful authors out there who can amuse, excite, enchant, educate and even scare you. Some are classics, some are brand new and some are favourites. You have one life, but if you read well you can have many. Anon. Choose carefully.
BOOK review SUZI HIRST This is most definitely a book for the ladies and excellent for sitting on the beach and passing a few hours. It is a quick and easy read about four strangers, women of different ages, different lives, secrets and family struggles who meet on the beach and form a friendship while early morning ocean swimming. The circle of friendship grows with each swim and the support for each other is cleverly written as they begin to open up to each other and learn to rely on their circle to help them through the most difficult of times. It’s about the strength of women caring for each other. 7/10
THE SHELLY BAY LADIES SWIMMING CIRCLE by Sophie Green
In a seaside suburb of Australia in 1982, housewife Theresa takes up swimming to get fit and have a few precious minutes to herself. From the same beach, the widowed Marie swims, it’s the one constant in her new life. After finding herself in a desperate situation, 25-year-old nurse Leanne only has herself to rely on. Elaine has recently moved from England. Far from home and without her adult sons, her closest friend is a gin bottle. In the waters of Shelly Bay, these four women find each other. They survive bluebottle stings and heartbreak; they laugh and cry and they find solace and companionship in their friendship circle.
JOHN KLEINSCHMIDT This is a good news read about four women who find a common interest in ocean swimming each day. Friendship and a strong bond develops and matures into a genuine love and care for each other. Identifying with the superbly developed and very different characters and sub-cast and their sharing of personal triumphs and tragedies is as easy as taking notice of the Australian way of life as it happens around us daily. The author’s fluent, clear and simple style exposes the quirks and secrets of each character providing enough surprises to keep the reader interested, if not absorbed. This book probably has more appeal for the ladies.
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TONY HARRINGTON This enjoyable novel gives the reader great insight into female friendship and camaraderie. The different life problems and challenges of four women help bring them together in love for each other as they enjoy surf and sea swimming around Shelley Bay each morning. The cycle of life and the seasons binds these women into a tight circle of friends helping each other through their different hardships. As a male this book reveals so much of the female psyche and of female perspective dealing with marital problems, death of a partner, a mother’s love for her children, breast cancer, homesickness and rape. The author’s easy immersive Aussie writing style combines both descriptive and narrative elements to make you feel you are part of the swimming circle in Shelly Bay. 8/10
JO BOURKE Reading this pleasant book made me nostalgic for the days when I would meet my friend before work and go swimming. Our friendship was strengthened by shared exercise and chatting and continues today. This book espouses the same concepts – four strangers each with their own hidden ups and downs together gradually peeling back their layers and deepening their friendships. I found the development of the characters a bit confusing especially the similarity between the names Leanne and Elaine and was regularly checking the back cover to read the description of each of them. All in all, a light, pleasant and predictable read – good for a beach holiday and perhaps encouragement to those of us who live near the ocean to take the plunge each morning!
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