I have just read and thoroughly enjoyed the third book by Carrie Tiffany who is a most original Australian writer. This latest one is called Exploded View, by which is meant the sort of diagrams you might find in a car manual. It all ties in.
The story is told in the voice of an adolescent girl who has not spoken for many weeks. Most of the time the family is securely placed in a car on a long drive, perhaps to Perth. The narrator is very imaginative and makes many observant and amusing remarks in her head but there is an atmosphere of fear. Something bad is happening and bit by bit it becomes clear.
I recommend all three of her books which also include Mateship with Birds (which was the winner of the first Stella Prize in 2013 and also shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award in the same year) and Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living, her debut which also took out a slew of awards and shortlistings.
Carrie Tiffany recently appeared at the 2019 Sydney Writers’ Festival and I made sure I got a ticket for that session.
I’ve also had a good time reading an exciting thriller written by Catherine Steadman called Something in the Water. It begins with the narrator digging a grave for her husband in the Norfolk Woods. How did this come about? Short sharp sentences. All very exciting. The author is also an actress who appeared in Downton Abbey, as Mabel Lane Fox (I think she was a rival to Lady Mary in the marriage stakes in the later episodes).
I’ve already reminded you in my previous post, that on Abbey’s Home Page there are separate squares for you to check the stock we have here for Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Other very useful boxes are the box directing you to Penguin Black Classics and Popular Penguins. You can choose to browse through the 'in stock' titles or to look at the entire wonderful range. We can, of course, order any title for you for prompt delivery.
Happy reading, Eve
Since 1968 ~ Abbey's 131 York Street Sydney ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers
I’ve just eagerly read the final book in Steven Carroll’s wonderful Glenroy series. This one is set in 1917 Melbourne when the city is in a ferment of discussion about whether to accept conscription or not. The central character is Maryanne, Michael’s grandmother. She is almost forty, pregnant and unmarried. A stalwart character who is determined to keep her child (who becomes Vic) and not give him up to the Church as expected. It is called The Year of the Beast and although sixth in the series it is a prequel. You have yet to meet engine-driver Vic, wife Rita and their son Michael, their neighbours and workmates, living in a newly emerging suburb on the outskirts of Melbourne.
Steven Carroll’s style is quite addictive. Short rhythmic sentences, graceful and tender prose. If you haven’t met these life-like characters yet you have a treat in store. The Art of the Engine Driver and The Gift of Speed, should be read first, in my opinion, while the other titles can be read in any order. They are The Time We Have Taken, Forever Young and Spirit of Progress. Steven is a Miles Franklin Award winner as well as several other big prizes. He is Australia’s John Updike and I think these books are marvellous.
Carroll has written another series all about T.S.Eliot. Those titles are The Lost Life, A World of Other People and A New England Affair. Take your pick! Enjoyment guaranteed.
Steven spoke at Abbey's in 2011 on the writing of Spirit of Progress. Excerpts:
Prize winning Poet, Barry Hill wrote a glowing report in the Australian Review last Saturday for The Poems Vol.III in the Cambridge Edition of The Works of D. H. Lawrence, which includes Uncollected Poems and Early Versions. It is not cheap, although we have sold some already. He says "Dig into Lawrence dear readers. Fork out for this book. It is all process, and contemporary".
Bear in mind that Abbey’s carries a very extensive range of books published by Cambridge University Press especially, and also from Oxford University Press. On our website homepage there are currently two links, one each for Cambridge and Oxford, showing you all the titles in stock. You will be amazed! And if we are out of stock we can get it for you quickly.
Happy reading, Eve
Since 1968 ~ Abbey's 131 York Street Sydney ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers
I am having a bit of a kick in American History/Politics just now starting with a new book called Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life by Robert Dallek. We remember Roosevelt not only as a great President but also as a much loved and admired man with a wife who was equally admired. The author, History Professor at Boston University, has previously written, a long time ago, Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy 1932 – 1945, as well as books about John F.Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Nixon and Kissinger. This latest book does focus more on the details of Roosevelt’s various campaigns for re-election and his mastery of consensus politics. He did, after all, serve an unprecedented four terms and died in office.
There is a new historical fiction book, not before time, about Eleanor Roosevelt and her loving relationship with journalist Lorena Hickok who became a White House fixture, known often as 'First Friend'. Franklin D. was so admired and revered by the media and by historians that no-one was willing to acknowledge this relationship, just as photographers kindly never showed Franklin’s paralysed legs. Tabloid gossip is how historians thought about Eleanor and Hick’s romance. Amy Bloom has written a fine fictionalised account of this long affair. It is called White Houses.
Remember Dickens’ (male) biographers never mentioned his mistress Nelly Ternan who remained unknown until Claire Tomalin published that terrific book The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens. There is an amusing remark quoted in Dallek’s book “Eleanor didn’t know how to be spontaneous – but then you can’t teach spontaneous can you?”
Prolific author Richard Aldous has written a revealing biography of the man known as Court Historian for the Kennedy years, especially for his famous book A Thousand Days, who was a brilliant writer and American historian. This is the story of an exciting intellectual life . It is called Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian. Don’t miss it. I am enjoying it now.
Daughter Jane is still working up on the Thai-Burma Border with the Karen Women’s Organisation. She is always looking for suitable material for the Personal Development School started years ago in the displaced person’s camp. Recently she asked for Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 1 and 2. 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women. Lindy has already mentioned these large hardback books sitting in the treasure trove of Children's books she keeps in the far left of the shop. The books compiled by Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli not only succinctly tell the story of important and famous women but the single page story is in clear simple English with a striking original illustration on each facing page. Perfect for primary school libraries or special schools.
I’ve just finished, with much pleasure, Donna Leon’s 27th book in the Commissario Brunetti series set in Venice. It is called The Temptation of Forgiveness and in it Brunetti does indeed think about advising the culprit how to avoid prosecution. Donna Leon is not losing her touch, for this is indeed a very complicated fraud and Brunetti has not been reading his Latin classics too much but he has come to acknowledge how very complicated life has become.
A few months ago a friend insisted on lending me some old DVD’s which included not only Brideshead Revisited (which I mentioned last month) but also Becket and The Lion in Winter in both of which Peter O’Toole played Henry II. I was so intriqued by these that I decided to read about Henry’s mother, the amazing Eleanor of Aquitaine who not only married the King of France(Louis VII) but also Henry II of England, was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and of King John and managed to live to eighty two when she was indeed the King Pin!
So I am reading Eleanor of Aquitaine: By The Wrath of God, Queen of England by Alison Weir. There is also a book by leading medieval historian, Desmond Seward, called Eleanor of Aquitaine: Mother Queen of the Middle Ages which I have on order.
Looking at Abbey’s website I can also see many books about Eleanor, including the trilogy written by Elizabeth Chadwick beginning The Summer Queen, then The Winter Crown and finally The Autumn Throne. Find them in Historical Fiction.
An amusing piece of trivia… I looked up Henry II who is described as red-haired, freckled, short and sturdy with bow legs from riding his horse so much. Ah yes! Just like Peter O-Toole!
Keep well,
Eve
Since 1968 ~ Abbey's 131 York Street Sydney ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers
Would you like to try a piece of really original writing? Something unusual? If so, read The Town by Shaun Prescott. This is a first novel from a short story writer and it is very successful. His work is being compared to Gerald Murnane, especially to The Plains. There is a carefully controlled voice of the narrator, a writer who has moved to a Central West country town in order to write a book about the disappearing towns of the outback. The voice is dry and flat like the surrounding countryside. Is it banal? Surely something will happen? Someone will rebel? Fatalistic for sure. The Lifted Brow is the small publisher responsible for this. Take a good look.
I’ve just finished reading Tim Winton’s deeply personal book The Boy Behind the Curtains. This is a wonderful book, brilliantly written, wise and mature. In some pieces he recalls accidents that happened to his family, in others he speaks about the landscape of Western Australia and in others he recalls the important part played by church-going in his adolescence, or a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria or the euphoria of surfing or swimming with whales or the strangeness of a winter living in the gatehouse of a derelict Irish castle.
A fine book to give to a young person just awakening to the world. These autobiographical pieces are to be savoured one at a time.
The Boy Behind the Curtain has recently won the Non-Fiction Prize at the Adelaide Festival. Tim has donated the $15,000 prize to the fund for the Ningaloo Reef, one of his environmental concerns.
Since then I have read Tim Winton’s latest book, a novel called The Shepherd’s Hut. This is a very different approach. Written in the voice of an angry, poorly educated young man who has been horribly abused by his father, it is a style I would usually not enjoy reading but there are intermittent gorgeous descriptions of the Western Australian landscape as the young man escapes from society.
He stumbles across an old man, a priest who has been, for some reason, seemingly imprisoned on the edge of the huge, beautiful salt lake. Gradually, you come to understand that this is an allegory about the painful search for peace.
Winton’s writing is never dull and always has some deeper meaning. The story will stay with you.
Fans of Julian Barnes will enjoy his latest novel The Only Story, which is the curiously unemotional tale of a long love affair between a very young man and an older married woman in the suburban wilds of Surrey, England. All very circumspect and polite. I found it odd and dispiriting but nonetheless thought-provoking.
I’ve been watching a three disc set of Evelyn Waugh’s fabulous novel Brideshead Revisited. So sad. So melancholy. But thirty or more years ago no-one rang a friend on Sunday night because everyone was watching Brideshead Revisited.
The novel was a surprise departure from the famous satirical novels he had written in the thirties and described Charles Ryder’s infatuation with an aristocratic Anglo-Catholic family. It was first published in 1945 but the Popular Penguin edition which you can buy for $12.99 (who can complain about the price of books!) has some revisions made by Waugh and his Preface to the revised edition.
After Brideshead Revisited he went on to write some of best novels of the twentieth century, using his own experience as a not very successful soldier. Officers and Gentlemen, Men at Arms and Unconditional Surrender were put into one volume in 1965 under the title Sword of Honour. There is a special edition in Penguin Modern Classics as well as a Popular Penguin edition.
At Abbey’s you can usually find the backlist titles from special authors so look out for Vile Bodies, Handful of Dust, Scoop and Put Out More Flags, all of which were first published in the thirties. Enjoy yourself.
You can also find Waugh’s Complete Short Stories 1910-1962 as well as Work Suspended and Other Stories. To complete your pleasure look for Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited by Philip Eade. And what a life! Not an especially nice man but a wonderful writer with a wicked tongue.
Keep well,
Eve
Since 1968 ~ Abbey's 131 York Street Sydney ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers
In November I went to a fascinating talk put on by the Jessie Street Women’s Memorial Library at the Customs House Library at Circular Quay. Have you ever called in there? It’s such a welcoming spot in the heart of the city, basking in the glory of having saved this gorgeous old building. There are meeting rooms and changing exhibitions by local artists, free wi-fi with public access to computers, and a very comfortable lounge if you want to spend a quiet ten minutes while waiting for a friend. And of course a few books, magazines, comics, DVDs and ebooks, as well as newspapers, from all over the world. There is a special room on the first floor for Asian material, and a special room on the ground floor for detective books.
The talk was by Marilla North, an enthusiastic supporter of the works of Dymphna Cusack, author of the Australian classic Come in Spinner. As Marilla says, “everyone should read Come in Spinner”. Not only is it a classic, it is startlingly readable. Despite its chequered history, it has remained constantly in print since first published in 1951, when it had to be abridged because the subject matter - including rape, prostitution and abortion - was considered too controversial. Perhaps you remember seeing the ABC television series in 1990? The story revolves around the lives of three young women working in the beauty salon of a famous hotel during the Second World War. The only drawback is it’s 700 pages, so be sure to have a bookmark handy!
Marilla North is currently working on a biography of Dymphna Cusack, but meantime she has produced Yarn Spinners, which unfortunately does not say clearly on the cover that it’s the story of three of our most famous female writers - Miles Franklin, Dymphna Cusack and Florence James. All three were early supporters of the women’s movement, social justice and human rights. Their story is told by arranging the letters between themselves and their friends from the 1930s to the 1950s. This will be regarded as Volume One of the projected biography. This is all fascinating stuff – not just literary memories – as these women were very active both socially and politically. Be sure to read this. It was first published in 2001 by University of Queensland Press. It’s another big book - 566 pages including index, end notes and a useful historical chronology of the times.
PART 1: I’ve brought home Julia Baird’s wonderful biography, Victoria: The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Changed the World. This has 696 pages including index and notes. With my bookmark at the ready, I’m plunging into this very readable and fascinating account of Victoria’s life. I’m sure we’re ready for this most personal look at her life. Victoria has been in the public mind lately, what with films and TV series. Find it in history, not biography. It’s worth using a book cover for all these big books. (CONTINUED BELOW)
I recently went to see Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express at the movies. This new production by Kenneth Branagh has aroused a lot of interest, not least because at the end Poirot does not solve the crime; he just offers two suggested solutions! Very annoying, so I was led to read the book again. And guess what? The film is indeed true to the book! I have seen maybe three other versions and I guess this won’t be the last.
Easy reading and not such a big book is Bruce Beresford’s collection of reminiscences, The Best Film I Never Made: And Other Stories About a Life in the Arts (281 pages). These memories are not only interesting, they also show our famous film director to be a very courteous and kindly man, one who had a vision to be a film director all his life (even if his son, when asked to name a director with the initials BB, could only come up with Bernardo Bertolucci!).
2018 has arrived. Abbey’s Bookshop, Language Book Centre and Galaxy Bookshop all look forward to 2018 when we can continue offering you the services of a good bookshop. Our staff are ready and waiting to help you and we've had a wonderful selection of titles in-store over Christmas and into the New Year to tempt you.
PART 2: Well, I made my way with much pleasure through Julia Baird’s big biography of Victoria: The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Changed the World. Although it looks daunting it is not. It is lightly written, with frequent asides to mention what else was happening in the world at that moment. You feel as if a very well-educated friend is telling you a good story. Quite fascinating. No wonder Victoria is the subject of so many films, TV series and books. I think I have to go and see the film Victoria and Abdul which I passed on before. There’s a good story there.
In my search for some good non-fiction a friend recommended Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India by Shashi Tharoor. It is incredible how the East India Company, and then the British Crown, rolled into India and destroyed a very successful medieval economy, extracted huge amounts of money, sent Indian soldiers to fight battles overseas and charged India for that, and made sure Indians were second class citizens. Tharoor tries hard to give some credit to Britain but says he finds it far easier to forgive than to forget. He pours scorn on the praise of Empire in the books by Niall Ferguson and Lawrence James, but recommends a new book by Jon Wilson called India Conquered: Britain’s Raj and the Chaos of Empire. He does delight, however, in telling us that Tetley Tea Company is now owned by an Indian company and that an Indian company recently rescued the British Steel Industry. [Editor's note: Also owned by the Indian company, Tata Motors, are two icons of British motoring, Jaguar and Land Rover]. Previously, by means of regulations about standards, the successful Indian steel industry was almost destroyed, along with shipbuilding). Oh dear! It makes me feel very guilty over the pleasure I have taken watching all those lovely British Raj stories, especially Jewel in the Crown! I was surprised and pleased to find Abbey’s has copies of the famous Raj Quartet stories by Paul Scott. They are The Towers of Silence, The Day of the Scorpion, A Division of the Spoils and Staying on. Enjoy them. Great characters including many historical figures and the very best portrayal of life in the British Raj.
Have you been watching the distressing documentaries on SBS about the Vietnam War? Journalist Neil Sheehan is one of the many people interviewed. His book Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam is regarded as the ultimate classic on this period. John Paul Vann was the American Colonel very unhappy with the progress of the war who was more than happy to leak information to a good journalist.
Over the holidays I read an excellent novel which was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2014. It is called We are all Completely Beside Ourselves and is by Karen Joy Fowler. At the beginning, the voice of the college-girl narrator sounds very like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye. However, there is a surprising twist in the middle. To tell you would spoil the surprise! Suffice to say, the rest of the novel not only concerns college-life it also concerns the activities of animal liberationists. A good choice for book clubs – there is plenty to discuss.
Were you also pleased to hear that Kazuo Ishiguro won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature? A good choice I think. Abbey’s has good stock of all his books and Language Book Centre upstairs has titles in both French and German and even a copy of Never Let Me Go in Persian! The titles in English are An Artist of the Floating World, The Remains of the Day (Gift Edition), The Buried Giant, Never Let Me Go, A Pale View of Hills, Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, The Unconsoled and When we were Orphans. Upstairs you can find Nocturnes: Cinq Nouvelles de Musique au Crepuscule, Quand Nous Etions Orphelins, Les Vestiges due Jour, Un Artiste du Monde Flottant, Lumiere Pale sur les Collins, Geant Enfoul, Aupres de Moi Toujours as well as Alles, Was Wir Geben Mussten. Set out to enjoy some really wonderful writing. Remember that there is a lift in the foyer next door to go up to level 1 to our Language Book Centre. Please ask a bookseller to show you where.
Keep well,
Eve
Since 1968 ~ Abbey's 131 York Street Sydney ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers
