Blood

Blood - Tony Birch

From Goodreads: From the moment he saw her wrapped in a blanket at the hospital, Jesse knew that he’d be the one to look after his little sister. When their mother's appetite for destruction leads the little family into the arms of Ray Crow, Jesse sees the brooding violence and knows that, this time, the trouble is real. But Jesse is just a kid and even as he tries to save his sister, he makes a fatal error that exposes them to the kind of danger from which he has sworn to protect Rachel. As their little world is torn to pieces, the children learn that when you are lost and alone, the only thing you can trust is what's in your blood.

What I thought: After reading his two anthologies of short stories in one day, I couldn't wait to start on Birch's first novel - Blood.
Blood is the story of two kids - Jesse and his younger sister Rachel. They lie a nomadic and unsettled life with their mother Gwen. Gwen does not keep the best company  and her association with Ray leads to the three of them running across the country in the hunt for safety.
Once again Birch's writing pulls the reader right into the story. You are truly there as Jesse tries to protect his little sister. You feel Rachel's continuing devotion to Gwen and at the same time witness Jesse's growing distance from his mother and the choices she makes. I loved Jesse and Rachel - so much so I wanted to pull them out of the story and give them the loving stable home they deserved. The ending is as messy as real life, with no real resolution offered  to the reader. However, I choose to believe Jesse wins through eventually, saving him and his sister from what could be a tragic life.

Challenges: 13 in 13 Challenge, Aussie author Challenge

Book Review: Shadow Boxing & Father's Day

Shadowboxing - Tony Birch

Father's Day - Tony Birch

Shadowboxing blurb: Shadowboxing is a collection of ten linked stories in the life of a boy growing up in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in the 1960s. A beautifully rendered time capsule, it captures a period of decay, turmoil and change through innocent, unblinking eyes. Michael's family, led by his long-suffering mother, live as though under siege, surviving his father's drinking and rage as well as the forces of 'urban renewal'. Their neighbourhood is a world of simple pleasures as well as random brutality; of family life and love as well as violence and tragedy. As Michael experiences all this with a combination of wonder and fear, he matures into a sensitive adult who can forgive but never forget.

Hunter Publishers (Father's Day): Tony Birch has an eye for life lived at the margins and in Father’s Day he brings the streets of the inner-city to life with compassion and dry humour. But he also focus on the relationships that connect us all, particularly the emotional lives of fathers and sons. In subtle, understated prose touched with poetry, this new collection of stories cuts deep into the minor joys and tragedies of ordinary Australians.

What I Thought: Both of these books are collections of short stories. In the first, Shadowboxing, all the stories are interlinked. The narrator, Michael, describes his life growing up in inner Melbourne in the 1960's. Each story shows a snapshot of growing up on tough streets during tough times.
The stories in Father's Day are not linked, but once again shine a spotlight on people's lives as they move through their highs and lows.
Birch draws from his own experience of growing up in Fitzroy, an area and time where most men talked with their fists. This interview   conducted by Richard Fidler explains many of the links between Birch's stories and his life. It also explores how Birche moved from an incredibly tough childhood into being an academic and a writer. Using his own experiences lends Birch's stories an air of authenticity. The reader is transported to the time and place of the story, sharing the joys and fears of the characters and allowing the reader for a short time to live in a completely different time.

Challenges: Aussie Author Challenge

Book Review: The Great Divorce

The Great Divorce - Ilyon Woo

From Goodreads: Ilyon Woo’s The Great Divorce is the dramatic, richly textured story of one of nineteenth-century America’s most infamous divorce cases, in which a young mother single-handedly challenged her country’s notions of women’s rights, family, and marriage itself.
In 1814, Eunice Chapman came home to discover that her three children had been carried off by her estranged husband. He had taken them, she learned, to live among a celibate, religious people known as the Shakers. Defying all expectations, this famously petite and lovely woman mounted an an epic campaign against her husband, the Shakers, and the law. In its confrontation of some of the nation’s most fundamental debates—religious freedom, feminine virtue, the sanctity of marriage—her case struck a nerve with an uncertain new republic. And its culmination—in a stunning legislative decision and a terrifying mob attack— sent shockwaves through the Shaker community and the nation beyond.
With a novelist’s eye and a historian’s perspective, Woo delivers the first full account of Eunice Chapman’s remarkable struggle. A moving story about the power of a mother’s love, The Great Divorce is also a memorable portrait of a rousing challenge to the values of a young nation.

What I thought: In the early 1800's, Eunice Chapman was just like any other woman - property of her husband, dependent on him for support and access to her children. On the day she returned home and found her husband had taken their three children and gone to live with a religious group known as the Shakers, she decided to fight back.
Over 5 years Eunice petitioned legislators (at the time the only way a woman could get a divorce was to prove adultery or have it passed into law), wrote books and harassed the Shakers all with the single minded objective of getting her children back.
Woo does not make Chapman out to be a saint. By all accounts, Eunice was not above using whatever tactics she thought would work for her in her fight against the Shakers. However, at that point in time, there were not a lot of options available to women who chose not to follow their husbands and were therefore seen by the law as "civilly dead." This means she was unable to own property, testify against her husband or lay claim to their children.
Woo tells the tale of an amazing feminist, who fought for her children and never gave up. A highly recommended read.

Challenges: 13 in '13 Challenge

Book Review: Holy Hell

Holy Hell - Patricia Feenan

From Goodreads: When Senior NSW Police Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox told the ABC's Lateline programme on November 8, 2012, that the Catholic Church had covered up crimes by paedophile priests, silenced investigations and destroyed crucial evidence to avoid prosecution, the public outrage across Australia that ensued triggered a Royal Commission into institutional child abuse. A case of Church interference Fox outlined was that of Patricia Feenan's son, Daniel who was a fourteen-year-old altar boy when he was first raped by a priest in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese. One of the many shocking aspects of the case was how the priest, a close family friend, set about secretly grooming his altar boy victim. The priest was later found guilty of nine charges of sexual abuse of a minor in a public criminal trial in 2004.  Patricia writes with raw honesty about her son's terrible ordeal, and it's effects on her family. She bravely reveals the scars that linger from the callous and often cruel ostracism they endured, as well as the denial they encountered from the Catholic community for seeking to bring a paedophile priest to justice. Detective Chief Inspector Fox describes Patricia Feenan as "an extraordinary woman who never gave up the struggle to rescue her family from the terrible abyss of despair created by a paedophile priest."

What I Thought: Christine Feenan had to face one of the worse nightmares any parent would have to face - the abuse of her son by a man she trusted and respected.
Christine Feenan is an extraordinary woman. She stood by her eldest son Daniel for many years, not knowing where his self destructive behaviour came from, but drawing on her faith and church to believe he would come good eventually. And the Daniel dropped a bomb shell - he'd been sexually abused by a priest from their church. A man who Christine had worked with on several parish councils, a man they had invited into their home and a man whose counsel they had sought when concerned about Daniel's behaviour.
For me, apart from the obvious, the worse part of this story is the way the Catholic church abandoned the Feenan family. This is a family who were heavily involved in their church, lived their faith and believed those leading the church did too. They were not part time players. From the time Daniel accused Father John Fletcher until the day he was convicted, the church all but washed their hands of the Feenan's. Little to no help was offered, no prayers were said, no support was given. On the other hand,  Fr Fletcher had funds raised for his defense, prayer circles were held for him and the support of his fellow clergy was freely given. And while I assume there are exceptions to this closing of the ranks, I fear they were few and far between.
Christine Feenan tells this story from the heart. It's gut wrenching, but it is not sensationalised. She leads the reader through events carefully, showing them how her family was betrayed by the one person they thought they could have full faith in. She is not searching for sympathy, she is standing up to say this was wrong, Daniel, like so many other's was the victim and the church needs to take responsibility for the actions of their priests - both those who perpetrated abuse and those who covered it up or pretended it wasn't happening.
The release of this book is timely, with an inquiry having just been launched in Australia to investigate the response (or lack thereof) of institutions into reports of child sex abuse. We can only hope those institutions, religious and otherwise, learn from previous mistakes and work to support those who were the victims of abuse while in their care.
You can listen to an interview with Patricia Feenan here. It's not an easy listen, but it gives you true insight into the strength of this amazing woman.


Challenges: Aussie Author Challenge 

Book Review: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja - John Flanagan

From Goodreads: The adventure continues in the tenth installment of the bestselling series. When Horace travels to the exotic land of Nihon- Ja, it isn't long before he finds himself pulled into a battle that is not his - but one he knows in his heart he must wage. A kingdom teeters on the edge of chaos when the Nihon-Ja emperor, a defender of the common man, is forcibly overthrown, and only Horace, Will, and his Araluen companions can restore the emperor to the throne. Victory lies in the hands of an inexperienced group of fighters, and it's anybody's guess who will make the journey home to Araluen.

What I Thought: Book 10 in the series and I am still enthralled. Simply cannot recommend this series highly enough to anyone with 9 -10 year olds who enjoy a good quality story line and excellent writing.

Challenges: Aussie Author Challenge 

Book Review: The F Word: How We Learned to Swear by Feminism

The F Word: How We Learned to Swear by Feminism - Jane Caro & Catherine Fox

From Goodreads: When it comes to the work/life balance, modern women continually find themselves in a no-win situation where they are criticized regardless of the path they choose. The F Word: How We Learned to Swear By Feminism argues that the pervasive idea that women will never be able to effectively combine work or interests outside the home with marriage, a social life and parenting is a furphy. In their lively and topical new book, Caro and Fox combine both personal experience and the stories of a range of women with the big picture, and provide practical suggestions for forgiving ourselves, having fun and not giving up while holding it all together.

What I Thought: I think one of the great myths of today is that woman have achieved equality. We haven't - at least not in reality anyway. While it all appears good on paper, reality proves otherwise.
You see, equality is about more than the right to a career, more than about equal pay for equal work, more than the right to make decisions about our own bodies, our own money, our own lives (although all of that is important), it's also about being viewed as equals in society regardless of our marital status, parenthood status, age or appearance. It's about not being judged because we return to work, don't return to work, have ambition to reach the top of the corporate tree, have a spotless house, have a messy house, serve home cooked meals, pick up takeaway - you get the picture. It's about not having to "play the game" a way a man does in order to get ahead, being able to be ourselves without being labeled a slut, a ball breaking bitch, a macho cow. You only have to spend half a day listening closely to conversations or cruising social media sites to realise all of these happen every day. Whether it happens in your house or not, reality is that regardless of their work outside the home, women still do the majority of work inside the home as well. Our clothes, our weight, our whole appearance is still open for comment and debate. Violence against women is still seem by many as a joke, and when women don't laugh, show our disgust, we are called names and told to develop a sense of humour. Reality is, it's not funny. Don't believe this stuff still goes on? Go to Google and type in the following and see the suggestions you get.

Women shouldn't...

Women should...

Women need...

Women want to...

Now put men at the front. Notice the difference? 

Jane Caro and Catherine Fox discuss all of these things and more. They also celebrate how far we have come, how our sisters in other cultures are still facing days we have left behind and how important it is to continue. We need to reclaim the word feminism and make it about what it really is - men and women who support positive change and want true equality for all.

Challenges: 13 in '13 Challenge, Aussie Author Challenge

Six Sentence Sunday

As frequently happens when I haven't blogged for awhile, I get a little overwhelmed with what needs to be reviewed.

I'm not sure where 6 Sentence Sunday comes from but I've seen it around. Basically it means you review your book in 6 sentences or less. I have four to catch up on, so lets get started!

Russian Winter - Daphne Kalotay

In the hope of closing the curtain on painful memories, Nina Revskya, a Russian ballet dancer who defected to America, is selling her extensive jewelery collection and donating the proceeds to the Boston ballet. Griogori Solodin is a professor in Russian who believes he has a link to the famous ballerina. Kalotay writes a beautiful story of a woman living in very dangerous times and a man desperate to know the truth. Jumping back and forth from present day Boston and Stalinist Russia, the story exposes piece by piece the mystery behind Revskya and Solodin's past. Russian Winter is a beautifully written history lesson, love story and mystery all rolled into one - highly recommended.

The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver

 This was our first Book Group selection for the year but due to my 10 year old breaking his leg I was unable to get to the meeting. The Lacuna traces the life of Harrison William Shephard, a half Mexican, half American raised in Mexico but moving back to America as an adult. I don't find Kingsolver easy to read and this was no exception. I spent much of the novel waiting for something to happen, and with our main character encountering real life people such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and  Trotsky, you expected something to happen! In the end the prose kept me going, it is beautifully written. Just don't pick it up expecting a great page turner.

Challenges: Ebook Challenge

Paper Towns - John Green

 I'd heard the John Green around the blogosphere a lot but had never picked up one of his books until Paper Towns - and wow - I now get the hype. Recently I have come to the realisation that a lot of YA fiction no longer does it for me - most probably because I am way past being a YA myself. But every now and then you discover something that works and for me this was it. I loved the characters, the story line, the adventure, the puzzle, everything. I'll be looking for more of Mr Green's work!

Halt's Peril - John Flanagan

Oh but it was good to be back with Halt, Will and Horace as they search for Tennyson and his band of followers. One of the things I love about this series is the characters actually change and grow as the books progress. This is the ninth book in the series and Horace and Will have obviously become very competent young men, well past their apprenticeships. Flanagan continues to produce quality writing that is a wonderful introduction into the fantasy genre for younger readers.

Challenges: Aussie Author Challenge

So there I am caught up, thanks to Six Sentence Sunday!