Grounded: a journey through landscapes, sanctuaries and sacred places

James Canton started writing Grounded during the COVID pandemic when England was in Lockdown. Restricted in where he could travel he decided to explore some of the special sites close to home including landscapes and religious sites. The plan was to research what had made these sites special over a period of time and why some sites may no longer be considered significant. In England many of the churches have been built on the sites of earlier churches and in some cases on sites that were considered special before Christianity. Why were these sites chosen for religious buildings?

Once restrictions had been lifted he was able to travel further afield and visited locations in Wiltshire including West Kennet Long Barrow and Coneybury Hill (close to Stonehenge but in  use a thousand years earlier). What was the significance of these sites that thousands of years ago people had chosen the site to bury the dead or to share a celebration. How could you begin to visualise what people living up to 6,000 years ago saw around them.

The author then examined some recent finds that were probably votive offerings including the Garboldisham Macehead, antler bone axes and wooden carvings such as the Dagenham Idol. One of the author's conclusions is that to the hunter gatherers in England the most sacred places could be those connected to the living. He suggests that people today should not see themselves as separate from nature. It is not possible to see the world as people in the past saw it but it is still possible to view glimpses of their world and what it might have meant to them. Being aware of our environment, including special places, helps us to remain grounded.

Missing Pieces

Recently I read The Chessmen by Peter May, the third book in the Lewis Trilogy crime series. Part of the story revolved around a collection of chess pieces found on Lewis in 1831. Missing Pieces by Jennifer Mackenzie Dunbar is a historical fiction novel about four sets of chess pieces carved in the twelfth century. Many of the pieces washed up on the shores of Lewis after the ship carrying the pieces was wrecked. 

In this novel we learn the story from those who had contact with the chess pieces - Magrit who carved the pieces in Iceland in 1190; Morven and Seamus who discovered the shipwrecked chess pieces in 1190 and arranged to have them hidden; Mhairi and Calum who discovered the chessmen again in 1831.

The novel is also about Marianne who works at the British Museum and arrives in Lewis to prepare a display of some of the pieces in the small museum at Lewis. At Lewis she is assisted by Agnes and Euan as well as her mother, Shona, as they decide to look for the pieces that were never found.

Marianne also has to contend with workplace bullying from her supervisor in London, has to reestablish her relationship with her mother and also decide whether she wants to meet her son who she gave up for adoption when she was sixteen. While working on Lewis, Marianne discovers new friends as she decides what is really important in her life.

Southern Aurora

It is the mid 1980s and Jimmy lives in the poorest section of a small country town in New South Wales with his mother and his young brother, Sam. His older brother, Mick, is in gaol, again. His mother sometimes drinks too much when she is depressed. Then there is Charlie who sometimes lives with them but when he abuses family members returns to his own lodgings. Life certainly has its challenges.

Southern Aurora by Mark Brandi provides Jimmy's view on his life. He is in grade five at school and finds it difficult to make friends, especially as he is not good at sport. With his brother away, Mark feels responsible for the family and blames himself when things go wrong. He tries to look after Sam who attends a special school and he keeps an eye on his mother's welfare. 

When it is announced that a billy cart race is to be held at school Jimmy feels that he can really become involved, however even this does not go entirely to plan. It does though allow Jimmy to get to know Don, an elderly neighbour who encourages Jimmy to realise that although life can be unkind at times he cannot control everything. Others too need to help resolve life's problems.

The Southern Aurora is the train that used to travel between Melbourne and Sydney. The railway line passed through the town where Jimmy lived and children used to wave to passengers on the train and dream of one day escaping on the train themselves. The train was named after the southern lights that sometimes can be seen brightening up the sky in the southern hemisphere.

Broken Bay

Broken Bay by Margaret Hickey is set on the Limestone Coast of South Australia. Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is visiting Broken Bay for a short break from work and family issues. While he is there experienced cave diver,  Mya Rennik, disappears. But the body retrieved from the cave is not Mya. Mark is requested by senior officers to remain in the area and investigate the case of the mystery diver and to also be present when the divers eventually retrieve Mya's body from the sink hole.

It is soon obvious that numerous secrets are held by members of families who have lived and worked in the area for many years. Before long Mark learns of two other deaths in the past that may or may not have been accidents. Then there is a murder in the town. A team of detectives from Adelaide arrives to attempt to unravel the mysteries that seem primarily to involve the Doyle and Sinclair families.

This is a novel that I just wanted to keep reading. Like so many Australian crime novels the scenery plays an important part in the story. The sink holes and underground caves are beautiful but sinister and the myriad narrow passageways joining caves can be horrific. Add to this mysteries spanning more than twenty years, the recent deaths and the secrets held by community members all help to hold the attention of the reader. Mark is also trying to resolve his own family issues.

Broken Bay is the third book in the Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti series.

Wake

Set in the fictional community of Nannine in outback New South Wales, WAKE by Shelley Burr is another title in the growing number of  excellent Australian crime books.

Private investigator Lane Holland arrives in the area hoping to investigate the case of Evelyn McCreery who disappeared nineteen years earlier. For several years his mission has been to investigate cold cases involving the disappearance of young girls. However he is presented with a case involving the disappearance of Crista Rennold who had also lived in the area. As Lane carries out his investigations the reader learns about events that have occurred in Lane's past that impact on his interest in these cold cases.

There are many twists and turns and dead ends throughout the novel until Lane is able to prove his theory about what happened to the missing girls.

According to a community forum, MyMurder, quoted throughout the novel WAKE stands for Wednesday Adams Killed Evie. To discover the significance you will have to read the book.

Review:

Murder in the brain-broiling heat and red dust of the outback - New York Times, 21 July 2022.

Homecoming

When Jess returns to Australia after almost twenty years in London she is determined to discover the true stories of past events that have never been revealed to her. Her grandmother, Nora, has had a fall and is seriously ill in hospital. Jess tried to communicate with her grandmother in the hospital but the only words offered at the end of one visit was Issy, help me ...he's going to take her from me. What did this mean? Jess was determined to discover the truth.

Nora had been Jess's prime carer when Polly, her mother had relocated to Queensland so the relationship between Jess and her mother had been strained for many years. When Jess discovered that there was a mystery about events that had occurred at a large house owned by Nora's brother in the Adelaide Hills in 1959 she decides to find out the true story as she suspects that this may be the cause of strained relationships in the family.

 Homecoming by Kate Morton is set in Tambilla in the Adelaide Hills in December 1959 and in London and Sydney in December 2018. Much of the plot is also revealed via a book written about the tragic events that occurred on Christmas Eve at Halcyon, Tambilla. Pages torn from a diary and a letter help Jess to unravel what happened at that time. Gradually Jess and Polly learn the true family story.  

This is not a book to read in a hurry but one to read when there is time to spend becoming immersed in the journey leading to Jess's gradual understanding of the truth about her family.

The Albatross

As I have recently read a novel with the back story being cricket I decided to try this one which involves golf. 

Primrose is a former journalist who decided to stop writing when her daughter was born and her husband was battling cancer. Much of the novel is concerned with how Primrose copes with the many challenges presented by life as she re-evaluates her relationships with family members and friends. Many issues appear throughout the book including cancer, sexual assault, politics, toxic friendships, first love, parenting, growing up as a migrant in Australia, race relations,and issues of class but generally, although the author makes the reader aware of the issues, the reader is left to fill in many of the gaps as to how Primrose is reacting.

As Primrose attempts to decide what she really wants from life she decides to play golf at the local public course which is about to close permanently in a few months. At the golf course she meets Harriet, an older woman, who teaches Primrose about golf and encourages her to keep trying although the likelihood of Primrose becoming a good golfer is not high. However just being on the golf course helps Primrose relax and evaluate her life choices.

Cast Iron

Reading the final book in a series first is probably not the best move I have made but I still enjoyed reading Cast Iron by Peter May.

Enzo Macleod is from Scotland but now lives in France. Some years previously he read a book written by journalist Roger Raffin about a series of cold cases. Enzo made a bet with colleagues that he would be able to solve these cases and so far he has been successful. This time he is investigating the death of Lucie Martin whose body had been found in a lake many years after she was reported missing. As the investigation continues Enzo discovers links to past cases. The threats on his life that he has previously received become stronger and this time a member of his family is in danger.

This is a fast moving thriller as Enzo, with assistance from friends, tries to solve the mystery surrounding Lucie's death. It is also a race against time as Enzo establishes who does not want the truth to be revealed. Cast Iron is book number 6 in the Enzo Files series.

One life: my mother's story

Nance Russell would have liked to have been a writer but apart from one letter published in the Sydney Morning Herald this aspect of her life did not eventuate. After her mother's death, Australian author, Kate Grenville, discovered a number of notebooks and papers on which Nance had made notes about her early life. These form the basis of her mother's story.

After leaving school Nance became an apprentice pharmacist and eventually a pharmacist, on two occasions managing her own pharmacy. Much of the book involves the challenges of a young mother attempting to work when she has a young family to care for. Nance had married Kenneth Gee but although he appreciated the extra income brought into the family by his wife, which allowed him to go off on a tangent and follow his own pursuits, he was oblivious to the additional strain placed on his wife. 

Once again this is a biography demonstrating the challenges faced by women in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s when attempting to lead rewarding professional lives. Many years later Nance was able to follow some of her dreams including completing an Arts Degree and becoming a teacher. She was also able to travel overseas on several occasions. She must have been a strong and independent woman.

Estella

Estella is a retelling of the story of Charles Dickens' novel, Great Expectations, by Australian author, Kathy George. This version is told from the viewpoint of Estella, the adopted daughter of Miss Havisham. Estella arrived at Satis House when she was three and has no knowledge of her parents. To say that Miss Havisham lives in the past would be an understatement as she has never moved on from the time that her future husband left her before the wedding. Miss Havisham brings up Estella 'to break men's hearts'.

This version of the story relates Estella's early upbringing at Satis House, her later education in France and then her time in London where she is to learn about society and find a husband. Estella finds the London social life exhausting as she is pursued by a number of young men and makes an unfortunate decision in order to escape the London social scene. Throughout the novel is woven Estella's relationship with Pip, the young lad who Miss Havisham also appears to be grooming. It is many years before Estella discovers how she really wants to live her life and who her real friends are.The ending of the story is different from that of Charles Dicken's novel.