Nobel Prize Winner Patrick Modiano

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Sometimes it might surprise us that an author isn’t that well known wins a Nobel Literature Prize. Patrick Modiano is well known in France but not a wider world outside of his own country. Having said this the excuse for us not having any of his titles in English, is because there was hardly any English translation to be seen in Australia’s market. However we’re sure the publishers will act soon and we’re going to buy Modiano’s titles ASAP.

The Swedish Academy awarded Modiano “for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation.”  Modiano has written more than 20 novels and several screenplays.

We’re sure once we read the author’s book we’ll get know Modiano more. More info go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Modiano.

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

 

The Man Booker Prize Winner

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Congratulations Richard Flanagan.

WINNER of the 2104 Man Book Prize for ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’

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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.

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

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the-rosie-effect-no-more-signed-copies-The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

Book Summary

Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are now married and living in New York. Don has been teaching while Rosie completes her second year at Columbia Medical School. Just as Don is about to announce that Gene, his philandering best friend from Australia, is coming to stay, Rosie drops a bombshell: she’s pregnant.

In true Tillman style, Don instantly becomes an expert on all things obstetric. But in between immersing himself in a new research study on parenting and implementing the Standardised Meal System (pregnancy version), Don’s old weaknesses resurface. And while he strives to get the technicalities right, he gets the emotions all wrong, and risks losing Rosie when she needs him most.
Review

The Rosie Effect continues the story of Don and Rosie, now married and living in New York. While I enjoyed ‘The Rosie Project’, I found ‘The Rosie Effect’ BRILLANT!

Don and Rosie are settling into their new life in New York when Don is thrown a curve ball, Rosie announces; “We’re pregnant”.

This is the beginning of a hilarious and delightful story; one which I am sure everyone will find hard to put down.

There are some familiar characters Gene, Don’s best friend and Dave the American who Don met on his trip to New York. All the characters both old and new fitted so well together. Their stories and the way they interacted with Don added those special elements that made this book so AMAZING.

Graeme Simsion’s writing style is very engrossing; you feel like you are actually part of Don’s story. I found it hard to believe Don was not a real person and that I wasn’t his friend sharing his ups and downs.

‘The Rosie Effect’ will make you laugh; be prepared for strange looks if you are reading on the bus or train. You will also hold your breath and hope against hope that Don will triumph.

It would be very hard not to like ‘The Rosie Effect’. Instead I feel people cannot help but be sucked into the vortex that is Don Tillman.

I can already tell that ‘The Rosie Effect’ will be very high up on my list of books that I loved this year.

5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewed by

Jody

ParraPods

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ParraPods 3 – An evening with Rachael Johns

Parramatta City Library – Podcasts

Parramatta City Library was thrilled to host a wine & cheese night with Rachael Johns, bestselling Australian rural romance writer.

 

Click on the picture below to listen on Soundcloud.

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