Book Review: The Distant Hours

From Goodreads: A long lost letter arrives in the post and Edie Burchill finds herself on a journey to Milderhurst Castle, a great but moldering old house, where the Blythe spinsters live and where her mother was billeted 50 years before as a 13 year old child during WWII. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent most of their lives looking after the third and youngest sister, Juniper, who hasn’t been the same since her fiance jilted her in 1941.
Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Milderhurst, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in ‘the distant hours’ of the past has been waiting a long time for someone to find it.
Morton once again enthralls readers with an atmospheric story featuring unforgettable characters beset by love and circumstance and haunted by memory, that reminds us of the rich power of storytelling.

Thoughts: I listened to this as an audio book and must say  the narrator, Caroline Lee was a fantastic choice. 
The Distant Hours is a book about secrets - those we keep from others, those we keep from ourselves and the effect those secrets have on those surrounding it. Kate Morton takes the reader into the lives of the Blythe sisters - thick with secrets - and slowly unravels their tale and the tragedy of lives not lived to the fullest. Enslaved by a controlling, dead father and the legacy of a book he wrote - The True History of the Mud Man - Percy, Saffy and Juniper all have their roles to play, whether they want to or not.
For me, Morton's great strength is in her characters and her ability to make you invest in them. She is very good at leading you down a certain path, only to suddenly change direction and make you question everything you thought. The person you detested, thinking they were horrible and really not very nice, turns out to be one you admire most by the end.
A trait of Morton's is the story jumping back and forth in time. However, the distance between the time lines (in this case, WWII and 1992) makes it fairly easy to follow the story. Another thing I like about Morton is the fact that the reader is told everything, even if the characters are still in the dark. In this way, the reader is privy to all the secrets without feeling like the characters have come across the information in a contrived and unnatural way. The reality is a lot of secrets are taken to the grave, those left behind to never know the full truth of the matter. As a reader, that frustrates the hell out of me! If I've taken the time to follow the story, invest in the characters then I want to know what happened! Morton is more than happy to let the reader in, but is also happy to keep the characters in the story in the dark.In this way she ties up all loose ends without ruining the feel of the book. 
There is now only one Kate Morton book I haven't read and I'm caught between diving back into one of her wonderfully rich worlds or putting it off so it doesn't pass to fast! My next audio is Tim Winton's Eyrie, so maybe after that... 

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The Distant Hours

Book Review: The Coffin Dancer

From Goodreads: This return engagement for quadriplegic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme is strong on forensic details as he tracks an elusive assassin known only by the tattoo that gives this fast-paced thriller its title.
Three witnesses to a murder could put a millionaire arms dealer behind bars for good. When one of them, the co-owner of Hudson Air, is blown up in a plane bombing with the Dancer's fingerprints all over it, the FBI takes the other witnesses into protective custody. Only Rhyme can decipher a crime scene, read the residue of a bombing or identify a handful of dirt well enough to keep up with the killer. Helped by Amelia Sachs, his brilliant and able-bodied assistant, Rhyme traces the Dancer through Manhattan streets, airports and subways. The psychological tension builds rapidly from page one all the way through to the stunning and unexpected denouement. At the same time, Jeffery Deaver slowly develops the against-all-odds love affair between Rhyme and Sachs.

Thoughts: This is the second book in Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series and it was totally enjoyable. An easy read (took me just over a day), it's fast paced and keeps the reader interested. As the series progresses it will be interesting to see if Rhyme mellows a bit or if he stays the gruff, short-tempered potential arsehole he has been so far. I'm not sure which option I prefer. I think there is a danger of him becoming a caricature of the second if there is no mellowing. On the other hand, if he mellows too much he'll become boring!
As with all good crime/ thriller novels, there is a twist at the end. At first I was a bit incredulous of the twist, found it a bit hard to swallow, but Deaver's writing soon had me not really caring as he swept you along in the break neck speed of the end game. Then when it was further explained, I was ok - still fairly far fetched, but let's face it, it's a book not real life we're dealing with here.
 

Book Review: Hand Me Down World

From Goodreads: This is a story about a woman.
And the truck driver who mistook her for a prostitute.
The old man she robbed and the hunters who smuggled her across the border.
The woman whose name she stole, the wife who turned a blind eye.
This is the story of a mother searching for her child.

Thoughts: This book is part of my TBR Spring Clean Challenge. I've had this book for a couple of years but have put off reading it. The main reason for my reticence is my memory of reading Mr Pip, also by Lloyd Jones. While I enjoyed it, I remember a feeling of struggling with it. Once I re-read my review, it obvious the struggle came from thinking I was missing something. I might have to have another go at it.
As for Hand Me Down World - I needn't have worried. I tore through this book in just 3 days. I so desperately wanted to know what was going to happen. A woman sets out from Tunisia to find her child - the child whose father has taken and returned to Germany with. From her trip on a people smuggler boat to her trek from Sicily, through Italy, across the Swiss alps and finally to Berlin, Germany, her tale is told by the testimonies of those who helped her along the way. Once in Berlin, we get to read the longer testimonies of two who helped her there. This way of telling the tale give the reader only a glimpse of the woman who we finally come to know as Ines. All your impressions comes from third parties and as Ines is not very forth coming with details, you are left wondering about her thought processes and motivations. You know she is vulnerable, but she is also determined and, at times, incredibly frustrating! Finally, in the last third you get Ines point of view. Not surprisingly, her interpretation of events does not always correlate with what you have already been told and you are left to wonder who is telling the truth - or more to the point, which part of each testimony is true. In the end, I'm not sure I knew Ines any better for having read her story.
The use of testimonies to tell this story works. It sounds like it wouldn't and if I'd known about it before I 'd read the book I would have been very skeptical about it. However Lloyd pulls it off with brilliance. Everyone's voice sounds genuine. The spin they put on their part of the tale sounds plausible, as if the narrators truly believe every word they are saying. Ines' character stays consistent from one to another - she never lets her guard down. I truly enjoyed this book and will be looking for more of Jones' work.

Book Review: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

From Goodreads: It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people’s home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The Mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not… Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan’s earlier life in which – remarkably – he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century. Already a huge bestseller across Europe, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is a fun and feel-good book for all ages.

Thoughts: This is my book groups book for September. I love it when I love a book group book - especially when I chose it! The Hundred-Year-Old Man who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is a true gem. Totally irreverent and full of humour, the book moves back and forth between the events that occur after Allan absconds from his nursing home on the day of his 100th birthday and the amazing life he led as a younger man. I've read reviews that compare it to Forrest Gump and I can see the comparison - Allan, it appears to have had a hand in many of the world's major political events - but HYOM is more intelligent that Forrest Gump. Allan's character is brilliant. He has lived, and continues to live by the idea that it will all be ok in the end. Take people at face value, treat them as you would like to be treated and chances are it will all work out. His complete lack of interest in politics means he has no problem in helping an American President or a Chinese Dictator. He is also an incredibly loyal friend and generous to boot.
This book has me giggling frequently. It taught me aspects of history I never knew and entertained me at the same time. While it took awhile for me to get into the rhythm of it (an issue I frequently have with translated books) I soon got to a point where that was part of it's charm. Suspend all belief and enjoy this book for what it is - a wonderfully fun-filled tale of an amazing man and why being 100 shouldn't mean the end of your life! 

TBR Spring Clean Challenge.

Spring has sprung - at least it has in Brisbane, Australia. Chances are there are still parts of the country battling the cold, but it's definitely warming up here!

Since buying my Kindle, I've bought most of my books via it. It's easier to lug about and I know I will never be short of a book. However, I have managed to collect a small pile of hard copy TBR's. My aim this September is to whittle it down a bit by devoting my reading almost exclusively to the pile you see above. So the rules are as follows:

1. My reading in September must come from the pile of books above.

2. The only books that can come from somewhere else are library books that need to be read before their due date (at the moment, there is only one, but I have several on request that may or may not come in over the month), or books that are the second of a series where the first must be read. (only candidate as far as I know is Susan Duncan's Gone Fishing)

3. If I am reading a book from another source, I must read one from the pile straight after.

4. If I start the book and am not liking it, I am under no obligation to finish it, but must choose another book from the pile to substitute.

5. If I am enjoying the book, but finding in unwieldy I may purchase it to read on my kindle - especially if it's something I am likely to read again.

Anyone is welcome to join me! Just head over to my tracking page and leave a comment. Follow my rules or make up your own - what ever works for you. Most of all - have fun!

Book Review: Gravity

From Goodreads: In this exclusive insider account Mary Delahunty takes us behind closed doors to tease out thepersonal from the political and reveals the human cost of brutal modern politics. In Gravity we are eyewitnesses to history. Our first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard came to power suddenly after the night of the long knives in a coup that perplexed the nation. She hurried to an election and was chained to a hung parliament. She out negotiated Tony Abbott and formed a minority government but the deepest threat was from within. The man she beat for the top job was to relentlessly undermine her for three tortuous years.
In gathering material for the book, journalist and politician, Mary Delahunty had rare and unparalleled access to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, following her for her last 6 months. She was present at public speeches, party events and community cabinet. Mary was in her private office and the PM’s wider office during parliamentary sitting weeks, particularly witnessing from the inside the compelling dramas of the no-show coup in March and the defeat in June. Mary was the only journalist/writer to speak with the PM on June 26 ( the spill and caucus vote was that evening) and she has the exclusive conversation with the vanquished PM in her private office the Morning After.
The book uses Gillard’s own words to reveal the personal behind the political, the colour of contest,
the cost of defeat, the drama from within the PMO bunker and just how fast power drains away. It
explores resilience in public life and the disposability of modern leaders.

Thoughts: Reading this book made me sad. If you compare Australia's government today to what we had, what we could have had, it makes me angry. The treatment of Gillard, not only by those outside her party, but by those inside it is appalling. Whether you think it was her gender, her policies or a combination of both, no one can dispute that fact that no other Australian Prime Minister has been treated with such contempt and lack of respect for the office they held. 
I truly believe history will judge Gillard very differently from the way she was judged in office. In fact you only need to look at some of the literature around already to realise it started the moment she lost office. 
The saddest thing for me though is, as Delahunty points out, Gillard was never given the chance to truly what she could do. Attacked not only her opponents, one of her own (Rudd) worked incredibly hard to bring her down - ultimately succeeding and doing great damage to the Labor Party in the process. However, while leading a minority party, Gillard's government managed to get through 561 bills - including the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Education reforms, National Broadband Network (NBN) and the carbon tax. 
I am, and always will be a Gillard supporter. I don't ever imagine a time when I am not angry about her treatment and the damage done to Australian politics by her detractors. Delahunty is obviously also a fan, but she does paint a picture of a less than perfect person. (which is only fair and right!) She examines some of the areas where Gillard failed and where a difference in her attitude or demeanor may have made a difference. In the end though, this book tells the story of an incredibly determined woman who would not be swayed from what she believed in. A woman who refused to let a bunch of white, middle class men with a huge sense of entitlement push her around. She fought and she fought hard. Since leaving politics she has conducted herself with dignity and grace. Love her or hate her, I challenge you to read this book and not be impressed by her.

Book Review: The Penultimate Peril

From Goodreads: Dear Reader, If this is the first book you found while searching for a book to read next, then the first thing you should know is that this next-to-last book is what you should put down first. Sadly, this book presents the next-to-last chronicle of the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, and it is next-to-first in its supply of misery, despair, and unpleasantness.
Probably the next-to-last thing you would like to read about are a harpoon gun, a rooftop sunbathing alon, two mysterious initials, three unidentified triplets, a notorious villain, and an unsavory curry.
Next-to-last things are the first thing to be avoided, and so allow me to recommend that you put this next-to-last book down first, and find something else to read next at last, such a s the next-to-last book in another chronicle, or a chronicle containing other next-to-last things, so that this next-to-last book does not become the last book you will read.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Thoughts: Things are getting exciting now!! This is the second last book in the wonderful Series of Unfortunate Events that have followed the terribly sad tale of the Baudelaire orphans from that fateful day when their parents perished in a dreadful fire.
As with the previous books, more questions are raised and very few are answered. The Baudelaire's continue to wrestle with the question of their own nobility or villainy - is it ok to do something villainous for noble causes? Do the ends always justify the means? Characters from previous books resurface as everything starts to draw to a conclusion. In fact, I think half of the enjoyment of this installment for the kids was recalling who came from what book and what role they played in it. As always as this book drew to a close, the kids were begging me to download the last book - aptly titled The End. I will admit, they didn't have to beg too hard! Now all I hope is that we can make it through the last book before the school holidays start - not sure we could wait two weeks to find out what ultimately happens!