Tag Archives: book review

Book Review The Happiest Man on Earth

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The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

Summary

WINNER OF THE ABIA BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2021

Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you.

Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp.

Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country.

Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’.

Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.

Published by Pan Macmillan Australia

Comments

This book was liked very much by most of our readers. Described, surprisingly, as a happy read.

Most readers described this book to be a very uplifting story from a man who experienced such harrowing personal experiences and such great loss as a young man.

Eddy tells his story as one of the many unsettling personal  recollections of a holocaust survivor.

In the beginning of the book he describes his families perception of themselves as being good and loyal Germans who greatly loved their country. The thought that their fellow countrymen would turn on them so violently was initially beyond their belief. 

His story is short and simply written, giving detail to his personal experience with his education and skill learning that would stand him in good stead in dire life threatening moments throughout his incarceration and then later on in his life. He details many personal moments where his life was saved at the last moment by a quirk of fate and moments of being let down by people he considered to be friends.

His story also emphasises his love for his family and friends, his great will to survive his horror experience and his hopes for building a new future away from that place of cruelty and enslavement.

A few readers were wary of reading another “holocaust story” but Eddy moves on to rebuild his life in Australia with his own personal philosophy of resilience and compassion making a vow to bring happiness each day and to build a good life with his family.

In this Eddy is successful, and by sharing his story he uplifts his readers with the life choice that he makes and shares.

Read by MJ Readers August 2025

Book Review All the Light We Cannot See

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All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr

About the book

Marie-Laure has been blind since the age of six. Her father builds a perfect miniature of their Paris neighbourhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. But when the Nazis invade, father and daughter flee with a dangerous secret.

Werner is a German orphan, destined to labour in the same mine that claimed his father’s life, until he discovers a knack for engineering. His talent wins him a place at a brutal military academy, but his way out of obscurity is built on suffering.

At the same time, far away in a walled city by the sea, an old man discovers new worlds without ever setting foot outside his home. But all around him, impending danger closes in.

Comments

All The Light We Cannot See tells the stories of Marie-Laure, a blind girl growing up in Paris and Werner, a young boy growing up in a German orphanage set during the Nazi occupation of France.  This novel was beautifully written, with very well thought out sentences. The pace was a little slow to start, setting the scene and introducing us to the all the characters.  However, the short, sharp chapters kept the story moving along.  While we enjoyed the story being told from different points of view, we did struggle a little when the timeline jumped around.

While we enjoyed Marie-Laure’s story; her bravery and courage during the war & her connection with her uncle, Etienne,  we really connected with Werner and his sister Jutta, and the characters Werner encounters when he starts training with the German army.  We felt Werner internal struggle throughout the story was particularly poignant.    While the ending felt a little long, we loved hearing what happened to Jutta, and where she ended up, however, some of it could have been a little more condensed or even wrapped up one chapter earlier. 

Overall we would recommend this book and think it would make a great holiday read. While it’s a heavy subject, the author seems to find the beauty in these tragic events.

Read by the Cultcha Club Book Club – 8/10

Book Review Seven Sisters

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Seven Sisters by Katherine Kovacic

About the book

Men get away with murder all the time. Now it’s our turn …

Naomi started grief counselling prepared to run for cover as soon as her therapist, Mia, pulled out a crystal or tried to align her chakras.

When Mia suggests that she join a support group, Naomi is sceptical: how could she begin to describe what it felt like to lose her sister, Jo? How could she possibly share her loss and rage to a room full of people? How could she express her helplessness that Jo’s killer walks free on a suspended sentence?

And how could she share her deepest desire to see Jo’s killer dead by her hand?

In the group sessions, Naomi finds that her experiences and her anger are shared between the other members: Gabrielle, Brooke, Katy, Olivia and Amy. Under the enigmatic leadership of Mia, a plan begins to take shape.

I’ll kill yours if you kill mine …

Comments

Not a fluent read, wasn’t a psychological thriller. Didn’t get to know the characters; too many characters. Ulbrick is like a dog with a bone, wouldn’t let the investigation go, wouldn’t report the others.

Read by The Borrowers Book Club

Book Review Carrie Soto Is Back

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Carrie Soto is Back

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

About the book

Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular.

By the time Carrie retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask her, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach.

But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan.

At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked the ‘Battle-Axe’ anyway. Even if her body doesn’t move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.

In spite of it all: Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a story about the cost of greatness and a legendary athlete attempting a comeback.

Comments

We meet Carrie six years after retirement, sitting in the crowd at the women’s tennis final of the US Open with her dad, Javier.  Up until this point, she held the title of the most ever Grand Slams won.  On the court is Nicki Chan.  One win away from equally Carrie’s haul.   As Nicki hits the winning shot, Carrie decides to come out of retirement for one year, in an attempt to reclaim her title.  Her father, who had raised her to be the best tennis player the world has ever seen, will be her coach. We quite enjoyed this book.  While we didn’t love Carrie at times, we did admire her tenacity.  We liked how she is unapologetically herself, fierce and competitive. She speaks her mind, knows she talented, and doesn’t mind who she hurts on her way to the top.  We felt by mixing the story up with newspaper article and scripts from sports TV shows, the author demonstrated the double standards when it comes to male v female athlete.  Carrie is often criticised in the media for her confidence on the court and during press conferences while the male players are somewhat praised for theirs.  We thought this would make a great holiday read.

Read by Cultcha Club Book Club – 7.5/10

Book Review Take My Hand

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Take My Hand

Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Summary

Montgomery, Alabama. 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference in her community. She wants to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies.

But when her first week on the job takes her down a dusty country road to a tumbledown cabin and into the heart of the Williams family, Civil learns there is more to her new role than she bargained for. Neither of the two young sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling their welfare benefits, that’s reason enough to have them on birth control. When Civil discovers a terrible injustice, she must choose between carrying out instructions or following her heart and decides to risk everything to stand up for what is right.

Inspired by true events and a shocking chapter of recent history, Take My Hand is a novel that will open your eyes and break your heart. An unforgettable story about love and courage, it is also a timely and uplifting reminder that one person can change the world.

Comments

This book was well recieved and enjoyed by our readers.

The story is fictional but the core subject matter is factual and based on actual events of that time. This was a dark and shocking period of very recent history.

Our group found this book educationally informative and at times emotionaly shocking.

The focus of the story is around a black american nurse in Montgomery Alabama in the early 1970’s.

Working in a federally funded family planning clinic, Civil Townsend, a newly registered nurse, is confronted by the harsh realities of birth control practices for poor black people. Civil develops a very close relationship with two young sisters under her care along with their father and grandmother. She is very conflicted about their treatment and the blind violation of these girls basic human rights. With the help of other key characters, that she activily conscripts to help, Civil decides to take legal action for these girls.

There was some critisism from our readers about the relationship development between some of the key characters, described as clumbsy and baffling at times. The individual character development however was respected with some characters moving readers to tears with their powerless vulnerability or with their conviction to help Civil to do right for poor, vulnerable people.

This book is a recommended read. The story is well written and flows very well. There is some jumping from 1973 to present day and back that some readers do find confusing but overall a good read. The disturbing thing about this story was our groups realisation that this treatment did not  happen just in Alabama but to the poor, the disabled and the mentally ill worlwide.

Read by MJ Readers