BOOKS.
Dubbo Weekender | Friday 27.03.2015 to Sunday 29.03.2015
Fashion On The Ration: Style In The Second World War by Julie Summers is published in hardback by Profile Books THOUGH considering the effect war had on the fashion industry seems somewhat trivial, the way the nation dressed itself gives us an intimate insight into the daily impact of conflict. Summers’ book documents fashion during World War II, from a homeland perspective. Though war was an ever-present concern, life often continued on as before and, for women, clothing was an important issue. The clothes that formerly made women feel desirable were now replaced with al-
ien styles and uncomfortable fabrics that made the period disconcerting. Transitioning from evening gowns to functional dungarees was hard for many, and so ‘upcycling’ clothes became a welcome distraction from the trepidation of war. Dressing as before gave hope that things would return to normal. With wonderful photographs, diary excerpts, and magazine quotes, Fashion On The Ration gives the lesser heard but engaging view of the nation at war, contrasting our typical impression of drab clothing with the reality of a nation keeping calm, and carrying on. 8/10 Review by Holly McKenzie
One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway by Asne Seierstad is published by Virago WHAT started as an article for Newsweek ended as this captivating account on sociopath Anders Behring Breivik and the lives he so brutally impacted. Having begun this book by the author of The Bookseller Of Kabul, as much in trepidation as intrigue, it was easy to get wrapped up in what feels the definitive, if at times uncomfortably explicit, account of the events before, during and after July 22, 2011. That date will forever be remembered as one of the darkest in Norway’s history – a day when 77 people were murdered and countless others were harmed by a warped and twisted compatriot. Seierstad explores how Breivik became that callous terrorist, with his life moving from awkward, outcast to selfanointed Commander of the Norwegian Anti-Communist Resistance Movement. When you shut this compelling book, you cannot help but think of the waste of young lives who offered so much more than the inhuman protagonist. 8/10 Review by Simon Peach
Milly Molly Mandy OR several weeks the selection from the shelves has had an emphasis on serious matters so, prompted by my resident censor to encourage writing something passive, Spike Milligan’s “Man of Letters” has been selected. Finding comedians is not easy these days. What might appeal as humorous to some will not be seen as such by others. A small edition “Sod Calm & Get Angry” fits that situation, using a sub-title of “Resigned advice for hard times” – and proving the point, the first page quotes, “If you see a light at the end of the tunnel, it is the light of the oncoming train,” (courtesy of Robert Lowell). William Wordsworth is included with, “In modern business it is not the crook who is to be the most feared, it is the honest man who doesn’t know what he is doing.” And fitting the political agenda, Keith Davies gets a line: “We didn’t actually overspend our budget. The allocation fell short of our expenditure.” For those who have a dad who thinks he’s hilarious a special edition is “The Very Embarrassing Book of Dad Jokes” by
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Ian Allen. He quotes an idiot who dashed into a police station: “My car’s been stolen, but don’t worry, I got the registration number.” Another has a father talking to his son: “What do you mean by telling your friends I’m an idiot?” The son replies “I didn’t know it was a secret.” They get worse. For something a little better is Helen Ingram’s “Caustic Quotes” which is an A-Z of quotes, insults and one-liners. She notes that laughter is a tranquiliser without side effects, and also that idealism works better in speeches than in reality. And finally “the problem with political jokes is that they now run the country”. Some writers can assemble humour so that there is a wide age appeal. Michael Davis has written “Street Gang” – it’s the complete history of Sesame Street. That program has run for three generations with folks having their favourite characters ranging from Kermit to the two elderly guys shown at the end of those earlier shows sitting in the box seats and closing with some appropriate words of wisdom. Mentioned above is Norma
` A bank teller is telling a customer that the amount on his statement was the fee charged for finding out what the fee they charged him for, was for... a
Farnes’ release of a collection of Spike Milligan’s letters that he wrote over time, the earliest in the 1960s. The letters to and from friends, entertainers and business people provide entertaining reading – with many unexpected comments, and proof that brevity can be the soul of wit. However there is an exchange of letters in 1977 with a Minister of State for the Armed Forces in England which reveals his severe state of depression experienced in the 19th Battery Heavy Regiment. A likely candidate is “So Anyway” by John Cleese – an autobiography that reveals a number of facts not generally known. His first job was as a teacher but he moves on to his days scriptwriting with Peter Sellers, David Frost and others during his Monty Python days. Charles Sale wrote “The Specialist”. In it, he relates the specifications, trade skills and empathy a builder had to have to construct the lavatory, the privy, the outhouse, the dunny, depending on the requirement and domestic background. It is seen as an immortal classic of humour ranking with “Three Men in a Boat” and “1066 and all That”. Listed in the “Times Literary Supplement”, which delicately put it as “the simpler forms of sanitary engineering”, it presents the philosophy of a man who loves his trade and has considered every aspect of it, including how to prevent people taking their time when they communicate with nature.
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“I challenge you to find a more exquisite book.”
z CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK Beautiful Birds by Jean Roussen and Emmanuelle Walker is published in hardback by Flying Eye Books
THERE are some books that speak to you however old you are, whether you’re three or 83, reducing age gaps to nothingness in the turn of
a page. Roussen and Walker’s aptly named Beautiful Birds is one of them. I challenge you to find a more exquisite book. From the cover onwards, it’s a riot of colour and movement capturing some of our favourite species in all their brilliantplumed glory. Set out as a lyrical A to Z, from albatross “the admiral of the skies” to zos-tero-pi-dae (“finding that bird just made my day”), via ducks, eagles, flamingoes, nightingales and peacocks, illustrator Walker and author Roussen introduce the variety of the bird world in all its vibrancy, with pink neon picking out eyes, beaks, feathers, worms and even the robin’s red breast. One to read again and again. 9/10 Review by Kate Whiting
ADVERTORIAL
From the bookshelves by Dave Pankhurst The Book Connection There are lots of fine points in puttin’ up a first class privy that the average man doesn’t think about.” New generation readers will appreciate the developments into the 21st century. Des MacHale has collected a wealth of comment in “Wit” and offers a whole range of interests. On politics Lyndon B Johnston says, “Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” Spike Milligan advises, “Don’t stand around doing nothing – people will think you’re just a workman. “I always arrive late for the of-
fice, but I make up for it by leaving early,” says Charles Lamb. And with typical wit Groucho Marx said, “I’m not feeling very well. I need a doctor immediately – ring the nearest golf course.” John Clarke and Bryan Dawe are featured in “The 7.56 Report”. As a duo they have been raising a laugh since 2003 and the book copies their interview process, so aligned to political process. John Clarke also wrote “A Complete Dagg” which is a collection of brief articles and interviews with notable personalities. And if it was not so serious there could be some humour in the book “You Can Bank on the Wails”. A bank teller is telling a customer that the amount on his statement was the fee charged for finding out what the fee they charged him for, was for. When John Cleese and Tony Cook performed the skit on “The Bookshop”, Cleese started to read “Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying”. Because we don’t have that book in stock, I will read to you “Milly Molly Mandy”. Comfortable? “Once upon a time there was a little girl...” Enjoy your browsing, Dave Pankhurst.