6 minute read
Review
TOP 4 BOOKS TO READ THIS MONTH
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.
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 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.
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!)
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!
A BOOK LOVER’S REVIEW BY JACQUI SERAFIM
Great Circle
by Maggie Shipstead
Great Circle was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Adventure Writing Prize.
100
WORDS
Send in your ‘100 word’ contributions to: editor@thevillageobserver.com
The traffic was bumper to bumper on Riverside Drive, as Jason drove Valerie home, after her shift at the South Street Seaport Museum. She had been run off her feet with tourists, and with no time for a bathroom break. How she wished she’d gone, before accepting the ride. “Pull over Jason, I have to pee!” she suddenly exclaimed. “We’re on a freeway!” he replied. Then she spotted the rubber glove poking out from the dashboard. It was now or never. Jason looked horrified, before averting his eyes. With all dignity depleted, this wasn’t how she pictured their first date.
PERIHAN BOZKURT, LANE COVE
She yanked her dog from the filthy bunting connecting the red bins. His car was in their driveway. Her heart jumped, stomach dropped. A bouquet of flowers peaked out from the top of their bin. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t done it herself; reject the gift in a gust of dramatic effect only to regret it later. Scared she’d be seen, she whipped the flowers away and took them home. She knew he’d slip in the back door later; preened, guilty and itching to touch her. She fanned them neatly in the vase, the scent filling the sunlit bedroom.
LINDA PATTY, GLADESVILLE
Karen Paull
Community Chaplain
Shared Paths
Bike riding and walking are currently great outlets for me. Utilising shared paths for both activities, makes me aware of both sides of the story! I am grateful for all the considerate people around, who move aside, greet or wave cheerfully, especially when riding. Many people are utilising our shared paths better, although others are just getting more irritated. Stories abound of locals supporting each other in considerate ways, balanced by others who have really had an overdose of their neighbours and lockdown issues. Our newsfeed makes us aware of people doing it tough all around the world, too. The reality is that we now live in a globalised way and we can’t simply turn the clock back to just living locally. Global warming and this pandemic clearly illustrate our need to cooperate together, on our shared path into the future. Yet, how much can we realistically take, when we have very serious lockdown pressures in our mix? I found an unusual Biblical example in Mark 7: 24-30 , of a ‘foreign’ woman’s plea to Jesus, helpful to me. This woman came from outside of Jesus’ focal group, at a time he wasn’t welcoming visitors, with a request. You can almost hear the weary sigh. He is none-too-polite with her, delving to see if he’s going to expend his energy on this one. She responds to his off-putting opener with humility and great faith. Hence, Jesus relents and grants her wish. I learn that Jesus focused on his ‘main game’ (the local Jewish community), without putting blinkers on everything else, remaining warily open to compassionately extending his boundaries. He weighed the situations outside of his primary focus with more care, balancing them with his own needs for downtime. This sits well with me. We have a certain capacity to handle the world’s pain, depending on what we are personally experiencing, and our inherent ability to cope. To limit our primary scope of compassionate influence, enables us to respond to these people and situations with relative ease. Our caring response to other areas, comes after stepping back to analyse our concern first, lest we become over-extended. Responding compassionately has a great side benefit too. It tends to take our eyes off ourselves for a while and provide a by-product of joy in helping another. Let’s share our paths with consideration so our fellow travellers benefit too.
I am here to listen to people (on the phone or Zoom) of any or no religious persuasion, in order to help them through difficult times, such as these.
