Category Archives: Australian Authors

Walkley Book Award Longlist 2014

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The Walkley Book Award celebrates the value and importance of long form journalism, acknowledging the proud line-up of Australian writers who have taken subjects of enduring topicality and consequence from news bulletins, eye-witness reporting, investigations and historical records and provided readers with expanded factual detail, revelation and greater clarity of analysis in book form. (cited from http://walkleys.com/awards/walkleys/walkley-book-award-2/)

This year the longlist for this category is here and you can borrow or reserve any of those titles by going through Parramatta City Library’s online catalogue.

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The Narrow Road to the Deep North

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The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

Abstract

What would you do if you saw the love of your life, whom you thought dead for a quarter of a century, walking towards you? Richard Flanagan’s story, of Dorrigo Evans, an Australian doctor haunted by a love affair with his uncle’s wife, journeys from the caves of Tasmanian trappers in the early twentieth century to a crumbling pre-war beachside hotel; from a Thai jungle prison to a Japanese snow festival; from the Changi gallows to a chance meeting of lovers on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Taking its title from 17th-century haiku poet Basho’s travel journal, The Narrow Road To The Deep North is about the impossibility of love. At its heart is one day in a Japanese slave labour camp in August 1943. As the day builds to its horrific climax, Dorrigo Evans battles and fails in his quest to save the lives of his fellow POWs, a man is killed for no reason, and a love story unfolds.

 

Comments

Found the book challenging. Needed to read it in parts due to the, intense cruelty. Excellently, written. Enjoyed the reflecting backwards and forwards.

Extraordinarily well written. Descriptions of POW camps were harrowing. The character Dorrigo Evans was a remarkable man – in terms particularly of his care and attention to his men.  A very good read.

Skimmed through due to descriptions of cruelty etc. Too close to what is going on in the world today. Very well written.

Didn’t enjoy the book, but a very good expose of Dorrigo’s life and character. The love story was interesting. Not an uplifting book. Dorrigo wasn’t a hero except when in the POW camps.

One of the best books I have read. All the main characters were three dimensional. Very good character development throughout the book. The Japanese also three dimensional characters. Very brutal but illustrated the need to understand why people act as they do in some circumstances e.g. the cruelty of the Japanese.

Really liked the book – couldn’t put it down, found it interesting from the perspective. In depth history of the Burma Death railway.

Loved the way Flanagan created Dorrigo’s character from so many different aspects. It illustrated how throughout history we justify war. Loved the style of writing.

Exceptionally well written, harrowing. Needed to put it down at times after some of the brutal descriptions. Could smell the gangrene etc. at times as the descriptions were so powerful.

Read by – The First Wednesday Book Group

 

PM’s Literary Awards Shortlist 2014

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Fiction

A World of Other People, Steven Carroll (HarperCollins)

The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan (Vintage Australia)

The Night Guest, Fiona McFarlane (Penguin: Hamish Hamilton)

Coal Creek, Alex Miller (Allen & Unwin)

Belomor, Nicolas Rothwell (Text Publishing)

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Dreamer’s Pool

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Dreamer’s Pool by Juliet Marillier

Book Summary

Embittered healer Blackthorn, wrongly condemned to death, is offered a lifeline by a mysterious stranger. In return, she must set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once loved. Not only that: for seven years she must agree to help anyone who asks for her aid. She and her companion Grim settle on the fringes of a mysterious forest in Dalriada, far from the place of their incarceration, and start a new life.

Oran, the crown prince of Dalriada, is waiting for his bride-to-be, Lady Flidais. Her letters and sweet portrait have convinced him that she is his destined true love.

But letters can lie.

To save Oran from disaster, Blackthorn and Grim will need courage, ingenuity, and more than a little magic.

Review

Juliet Marillier is one author that only seems to get better with every book she writes. ‘Dreamer’s Pool’ is a beautiful, magical, amazing story. Juliet Marillier is one of those rare authors who has an almost magical quality to her writing. You actually feel like you are there in the story, lost in an long ago forgotten land. You can smell the woods, feel the warmth from the fire and the cold from the rain. You share the characters heartbreak and want give them comfort. Blackthorn, Grim and Oran, the main characters were easy to love and the way each chapter was told through from one of their perspectives added so much to the book. For those people out there who are thinking, no I don’t like that; stop right now. This only added depth to the story and allowed you to really understand the characters. From what I understand this book is the first in a new series and I must say I am really happy. I know I can come back and get lost in the magic of Juliet Marillier’s writing. If it sounds like I have gone on too much and that one book can not be so enchanting then I am sorry; but it is rare when you can really loose yourself in a book and absorb every word. This is one book that should be read slowly, so the beautiful descriptive writing can be savoured.

5/5 Stars

Reviewed by Jody