The Others

Sometimes people do the most terrible things. Sometimes you just have to. This statement by the father at the end of part two of The Others by Mark Brandi dramatically changes the tone of this novel - a study of psychological power of a father over his son.

Jacob, an eleven year old boy, lives with his father on a small, isolated farm in Tasmania during a drought. Only at the end of the book do we learn the boy's name and location of the farm and this anonymity aids the thread of fear portrayed in the book. 

Although the son regularly has lessons from this father and has learned the basics of reading, writing and maths, his main source of information is from a dictionary and encyclopaedia. The father also teaches his son survival skills. Jacob has also had to learn to read his father's face to judge his father's moods. Sometimes after lessons Jacob is allowed to ask his father one question but depending on his father's mood it is sometimes best to remain quiet.

The story is told in the first person as Jacob records his life living with his father, cut off from other people. According to his father there has been a disastrous plague in the community. People referred to as the Others who live on the other side of the hill must be avoided. Jacob's mother has died. Her grave is on the property and occasionally he visits the grave. He does not know how his mother died. In fact Jacob knows little about his earlier life, only what his father has told him and that is not much.

Generally Jacob obeys his father's rules including remaining in his room when his father is not at home. The catalyst for change occurs when a lady from the past appears at the house and leaves a message.  Jacob hears male voices talking at night occasionally but this is the first time he has seen someone. His father refuses to tell him what is going on. After Christine's visit the son questions his situation, begins to explore beyond the farm boundaries on his own and makes a decision which will change his life.

Throughout the book there is an underlying and increasing current of fear and suspense. Initially Jacob's fear is of the Outsiders and what might happen if he disobeys his father. Eventually he begins to understand that most of what he has been told is a lie. The distrust of his father increases as he realises what his father has done and what he might he do.

Thanks to Better Reading and Hachette Australia for a preview copy of this book. #BRPreview 

Publication of this book is due at the end of June

Mister Monday

Currently my granddaughter and I are reading Mister Monday by Garth Nix, the first book in the Keys to the Kingdom series. Recently I found two summaries that I wrote in 2004 about Mister Monday and the second book in the series, Grim Tuesday. We have also read Drowned Wednesday (book 3)

Mister Monday

Arthur Penhaligon is not supposed to be a hero. He is supposed to die an early death. But then his life is saved by a key shaped like the minute hand of a clock. Arthur is safe – but his world is not. Along with the key comes a plague brought by bizarre creatures from another realm. A stranger named Mister Monday, his avenging messengers with bloodstained wings, and an army of dog-faced Fetchers will stop at nothing to get the key back – even if it means destroying Arthur and everything around him. Desperate, Arthur escapes to the mysterious House that has appeared in town – a house that only he can see. Maybe there he can unravel the secrets of the key – and discover his true fate.

 Grim Tuesday

Arthur is summoned back to the House to retrieve the second key and release the second part of the will. He and Suzy continue their adventure venturing into Grim Tuesday's deep pit, scaling the glass pyramid, sailing to a sun to rescue the second part of the will and finally repairing the breach in the wall to stop Nothing entering the Kingdom. Lots of action and tension in this adventure.

There are seven books in the Keys to the Kingdom series.

 

 Drowned Wednesday

Leaf is visiting Arthur in hospital when a large wave carries them both out to sea and many adventures.

Drowned Wednesday had summoned Arthur to ask for his assistance but in the meantime he encounters the Raised Rats, the crew of the ship (The Moth) including Dr Samandros, Sunscorch and Captain Catapillow and learns of the dreaded pirate, Feverfew, who wants to rule the seas. 

In order to restore order as well as assist Drowned Wednesday who has been turned into an extremely large, very hungry whale, Arthur needs to find the third part of the will and the third key.

Hamnet

The works of the playwright, William Shakespeare, have played an important part in English literature since the sixteenth century. Increasingly other works have been written based on his plays and poetry and also about his life - though little information about his life actually exists. There have also been numerous television programs, such as Upstart Crow, based on Shespeare as playwright and relations with his family. A recent film, All is True, also looked at the latter years of Shakepeare's life.

In this work of historical fiction, Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell tells the story of Shakespeare's family in Stratford-upon-Avon. The main character is Agnes (Anne) who marries the future bard when he is helping his father with his glovemaking business and teaching Latin to village school boys. It is obvious that William's mind is not on either of these jobs. When William and Agnes marry they live in a small building attached to his parents' house. Their lives are therefore intertwined with ther members of William's family, particularly his father who is definitely not easy to live with.

Eventually William goes to London to find suppliers for selling his father's gloves but while there becomes involved with the theatre as an actor and a writer and producer of plays. Meanwhile, back in Stratford-upon-Avon, Agnes looks after the three children - Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Judith was born a sickly child and Agnes did not want to risk taking her to London to live. From time to time the father visits his family but he is needed in London to supervise the productions that he has written. 

In 1596 the plague returns to London and the theatres are closed. The theatre companies therefore take the opportunity to tour their plays in nearby counties. Meanwhile the plague also comes to Shakespeare's house with tragic consequences. The rest of the novel explores the reactions of family members, particularly the parents, to the loss of a child.

This is a moving novel which provides interesting background as to what life may have been like at the end of sixteenth century England. The novel has now become the basis of a play performed by The Royal Shakespeare Company.

Summer of blood - the Peasants' Revolt of 1381

Dan Jones has written an account of life in England during the latter part of the fourteenth century, particularly during the reign of Richard II. This was the time where wars with France were costing the country huge sums of money and, in order to pay for the shortfall, new poll taxes were imposed on the populace. Richard II inherited the throne when  his grandfather, Edward III, died. As he was only nine when he became king, several of his uncles, including John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, helped him rule the country.

The fourteenth century saw the increase in the power of the Parliament in England resulting in rowdy discussion and complaints from the populace. After the plague had killed a large proportion of the population earlier in the century the power of peasants in regard to employment had increased. This was demonstrated when groups of peasants in parts of England began protesting about the new poll tax. Buildings and properties were destroyed and murders committed as groups of peasants marched towards London. One of the leaders of the peasants was a man named Wat Tyler while another was a preacher, John Ball.

In this book Dan Jones presents an account of the events leading up to to the peasant march on London in June 1381 when many major buildings were destroyed including the Savoy Palace, the London home of John of Gaunt. He describes the events leading to the revolt as well as the actions of the peasants and the reprisals when the revolt was over. This was a brief turbulent time in the history of England.

Death and the Spanish Lady

The February 2015 issue of Boronia & The Basin Community News contains an article by David Doughty about the Spanish Flu - the influenza epidemic that occurred after the First World War. Many of the patients were treated in temporary hospitals, including one set up in the Exhibition Building, and photographs are included with the article.

Coincidentally I have just read a murder mystery by Carolyn Morwood set in Melbourne during the Spanish flu epidemic. Eleanor Jones, an army nurse recently returned from serving overseas, had experienced many horrors when treating patients injured during battle. Her two brothers had served in the army - one had died while the other was now suffering from shell shock. Her lover had also been killed. Arriving home safely Eleanor then nursed influenza patients in the temporary hospital now occupying the Exhibition Building. Many of the patients were also recovering from their war experiences. Nursing in these conditions was a strain for the medical staff but when one of the patients, who was thought to have recovered, is found dead a murder investigation begins. Eleanor is determined to find the truth when one of her friends is considered the main suspect.

The book provides a picture of Melbourne during the period immediately after the war. It is a city of fear - people go out only when necessary and they all wear masks. Entertainment centres are closed and people meet in groups only when absolutely necessary. It also shows how families were affected by the war. Many had lost family members who had died overseas but most of those who returned home were suffering  physically or mentally as the result of their experiences. The effects on men who stayed at home is also shown with Nick being the recipient of a collection of white feathers. The description of the use of the Exhibition Building as a hospital is another interesting aspect of the book. The work by organisations such as the Red Cross is also portrayed. Those who like mysteries and / or  are interested in this period of Melbourne's history will enjoy this book. A sequel to this book is Cyanide and Poppies.

Middle Ages: the illustrated history of the Medieval World

This book, written by Anita Baker and published by Carlton Books in 2014, provides an easy to read introduction to the history of life in the Middle Ages in Europe. The period known as the Middle Ages is generally considered to be from the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 until, in Europe, the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1543 or, in Britain, the death of Richard III in 1485.

The book is divided into six sections - dynasties and empires; daily life; religion; medieval culture; war and conquest plus dawn of a new age. Although it is only 98 pages, this well illustrated book provides an understanding of what it was like to live in Europe at this time allowing the reader to then explore sections in greater depths in other books.

The chapter, daily life in the Middle Ages looks at feudalism, women in the Middle Ages, the Church in daily life, employment, food, science and technology, medicine plus crisis in the fourteenth century (including plague, famine and general discontent).

This would be a good book for those starting to investigate this period in history, those who may have been able to trace their family tree back to this period or those who enjoy fiction set in medieval times.

Bereft

"Do you know, Quinn, there isn't even a word for a parent who has lost a child? ... It is unspeakable: Bereft." - Quinn's mother attempting to describe a mother's feelings concerning the death of her child. (page 144)

In 1919 Quinn Walker returns to Flint in outback New South Wales after serving in the army during World War I. But he cannot go home. In 1909 he fled from the district when, as a sixteen year old, he found the body of his twelve year old sister, Sarah, after she had been murdered by two men. Both his father and uncle threatened to hang Quinn if they ever found him. Yet he returns and watches from the hills the family farmhouse where his mother is dying from the influenza epidemic that affected many parts of Australia after the war. When he is sure his mother is alone Quinn visits her and tries to explain his ten year absence.

To some extent, due to lack of rain, the countryside is dry and almost barren, not dissimilar to part of the countryside destroyed by battles in Europe. While deciding what to do next he meets twelve year old Sadie, an orphan who is waiting for her brother to return from the war. Quinn is haunted by memories of war and it is Sadie who helps him when his dreams become too real. In many respects Sadie is a mystery, not just in her use of magic but in her knowledge of  Quinn's past. They both fear Quinn's uncle and know that he will eventually come and look for them. Together they hide and forage and wait until they both know that they will have to move on.

This novel portrays the lasting physical and mental affects of war on those who served, the loss felt by family members left at home, the affects of epidemics on families and the reactions and fear of members of small, isolated rural communities when faced with violent crime, the appearance of strangers and events that cannot be explained.

A place in The Rocks

The first European settlement in Sydney was on the sandstone stepped area later referred to as The Rocks. Over the years many small houses and tenements were built in this area, initially timber to be replaced by stone. This book recalls a number of distinct stages in the history of The Rocks and the establishment of a house museum consisting of a terrace of four houses, known as Susannah Place, located at 58, 60, 62 and 64 Gloucester Street.

Susannah Place was built in 1844. Each house had two rooms on two floors and, because the houses were constructed on a slope, another room was dug out of rock at the back of the house.

Susannah Place survived the slum clearances as a result of bubonic plague in 1900, the clearance of land for the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the 1930s and other land clearances for 'development' in the 1970s and the 1980s. The Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales has converted the Susannah Place building into a house museum to record the lives of the many people who lived in this area and this important part of Sydney's social history. The stories of people recorded in A Place in The Rocks by Anna Cossu are the result of an oral history project. Photographs throughout the book are from a variety of collections. There is also a tenant list providing the names of families who lived in the four houses from 1845.

  Susannah Place Museum