review TOP 4 BOOKS TO READ THIS MONTH
A BOOK LOVER’S REVIEW BY JACQUI SERAFIM
Peril by Bob Woodward Peril is the third instalment from legendary journalist Bob Woodward on President Trump’s time in office. It deals with the 2020 election and the storming of The Capitol on Jan 6th and is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand this tumultuous period in American history.
Great Circle
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. A missing woman, long kept secrets, family resentments and a mysterious stranger. “I loved it ... An absolute page turner” Jane Harper (We all loved it too!)
Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman Osman follows his supremely entertaining debut (The Thursday Murder Club) with an even better second instalment. A clever and at times funny mystery that will keep you guessing to the end. “Relax and enjoy” The Guardian
Guinness World Records 2022 The new instalment in this perennial favourite. Packed full of interesting stuff destined to appeal to all ages. Good one to put aside for Christmas!
by Maggie Shipstead Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle is an ambitious, sweeping historical novel that chronicles the life of a fictional early female aviator, Marian Graves. The story begins in 1914 with the ill-fated meeting of her parents, her father a ship’s captain and her mother a damaged lost soul. When Marian’s mother is lost at sea and her father is imprisoned, Marian and her twin brother Jamie are sent to live with an uncle in Montana – an artist and a drunk who does his limited best while the children raise themselves. At the age of 12, Marian has her first encounter with a small plane that flies closely overhead. From that moment, she is driven by a single-minded desire to become a pilot. The novel tells Marian’s story against a backdrop of early 20th century aviation during Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II. Deftly woven through the novel in alternating chapters is the contemporary narrative of Hadley Baxter, a disgraced Hollywood starlet who is cast to play Marian in a biopic. This dual narrative offers stark contrast between the two heroines; Marian’s courage and determination is juxtaposed against Hadley’s cynical self-sabotage. But there are also strong parallels between the two women, both losing their parents to accidents and raised by hapless uncles. They are also both women pursuing independence in a world contrived by men. Marian faces the social barriers and the physical risks of being a woman alone where marriage and domestic imprisonment is only acceptable “safe” place for women. She writes “We’re celebrated for marrying.. but after that we must cede all territory and answer to a new authority like a vanquished nation.” Hadley, however, also confronts the limitations of the predefined roles assigned to her by Hollywood and faces the constant judgement of her behaviour by her minders, her fans and the social media context in a world which is a hypocritical “blow job-based barter economy”. Although Marian’s is the dominant, more compelling story and Hadley’s a lighter, contemporary echo, Hadley’s story provides a fascinating view of the way history is misinterpreted by those who find evidence and draw conclusions based on false assumptions. It reveals the complexity of interpreting history and writing biography: the truth that is in the lost details that lie unrecorded. As one character, Adelaide Scott says, “I’ve.. been written about.. no one has more than a few scattered data points, but they connect the dots however they please”. This is a compelling novel which combines sweeping action with lyrical descriptions of landscape and precise detail of people and places. It chronicles sinking ships, illegal bootlegging, battling on the frontline and descriptions of landscape so vivid it catches your breath. “Clumps of autumnal cottonwoods turned such a bright, sweet tangerine it hurt my teeth to look at them”. Shipstead has accomplished an amazing feat with this novel whose wide scope encompasses accurate and compelling aviation history spanning half a century, and a heart-wrenching, detailed narrative involving a multitude of finely drawn characters each with their own story.
Great Circle was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Adventure Writing Prize. 34 TVO
