The Hotel Avocado

 The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer is a continuation of the story of the lives of Gary and Emily who we originally met in The Satsuma Complex. Gary continues to work in a law firm in London while Emily has moved to Brighton where she is upgrading the hotel she has inherited from her father. Gary and Emily continue to meet in Brighton each weekend. In order to attract publicity for the hotel, Emily decides to purchase a model of a giant avocado to use as the hotel sign. However, before the avocado can be suspended from the balcony permission needs to be obtained from the local council and the chair of the planning department is known to be corrupt.

Meanwhile Gary has his own issues in London. He is working to help his elderly neighbour, Grace, have visiting rights to see her grand-daughter again. But then as the trial of the police who were arrested in the previous novel is looming, Gary is targeted by two men working for the criminals to persuade him not to attend the trial to give evidence that would convict them. His only solution is to disappear for awhile.

The story is told largely through the voices of Gary, Emily and Grace plus a fourth voice whose identity is only revealed at the end of the novel. The squirrel that Gary communicated with in the first book also makes an appearance.

The author's humour and quirky method of weaving a story is a feature of the book which will appeal to those who enjoy Bob Mortimer's quirky story-telling abilities. The result is a light, amusing enjoyable read.

The Land Before Avocado

When reading the Letters to The Age there are frequent comments as to how much better life was in the past compared with today. This is especially the case when there is discussion about interest rates and home loans. Baby Boomers had a much easier life than young people today! is the belief of many younger people. 

In The Land Before Avocado, Australian author, journalist and radio host, Richard Glover, sets out to investigate what life was really like for Australians living in the late 1960s and 1970s and concludes that generally Australians have much better living conditions and opportunities today compared with the past.

Richard Glover has researched what life was really like at the time by studying official statistics, advertisements and articles in The Australian Women's Weekly and asking his radio listeners to comment on some of his ideas for the book.

The ability to be able to purchase a home of their own, and to furnish it, was not as easy as may people today seem to think. Money was short after the war and, especially with generally one wage, there was not much money left after paying the mortgage. Household items such as refrigerators, washing machines or television sets, were often purchased by the use of lay-by, hire purchase or even rented.

The author discusses what it was like growing up and attending school during this period - especially the discipline metered out to children as punishment. People looking back over time remember how children were generally left to their own devices after school which may have been fun but often carried an element of danger, especially when children played on some of the now considered dangerous play equipment in parks at that time.

Food at the time is discussed - very different nutritionally from what is available today. At one stage Richard and his wife prepare a typical meal that would be provided for guests at a dinner party in the 1970s. The guests were generally not impressed. Clothes and fashion is another topic discussed.

In the 1960s / 1970s Australia was predominately a nation of mainly white European immigrants. Discrimination against Aborigines and people from Asian countries was the norm.

Many  of the laws appear archaic in modern society now. There were laws against homosexuality. Women required a male guarantor to have a bank loan. At the beginning of this time period women working in the public service had to resign when they married. 

Legislation regarding seat belts in cars and child restraints for children were gradually implemented in the 1970s. There were no laws against drink driving and men, on car trips frequently went into the pub for a drink. Any family with them waited in the car or the ladies' lounge. The Australian road toll was extremely high and increasing each year. 

Smoking was allowed everywhere and was generally encouraged. There were even lollies, FAGS, for children to pretend to smoke.

People sunbathed without sunscreen. In many areas it was difficult to get a telephone line installed at home. Dining outdoors in the street was not allowed. What is considered 'real coffee' today was unobtainable.

Richard Glover admits that the music in the 1960s and 1970s was good, however he was not impressed with audio cassettes which were easily damaged and record that did not work when scratched. Television was a relatively new medium but initially there were only three channels and programs were limited. The quality of the picture varied according to antennas available. Censorship was also rife limiting the books that could be freely read.

Today people complain about the growing amount of corruption in modern society. In 2018 when this book was published, the author argued that this was a much greater problem in the 1960s and 1970s. Robbery, murder, and car theft was common along with corporate and political corruption.

However there is one plus, according to Richard Glover. We can now expect to live twelve years longer than in the 1960s and 1970s! Another plus is that avocado is now a recognised ingredient on Australian restaurant menus as well as in family homes.

This book was one of three books selected as a possible title for the Monash Alumni Book Club in May-June 2025.

The Surgeon of Royaumont

In 2017 I researched the life of a nurse - Janet Muir Gaff - who served overseas during the First World War. This research was also part of an assignment for the Diploma of Family History, University of Tasmania. I have also read a number of novels about nurses during World War I. Consequently I was pleased when Better Reading sent me a copy of The Surgeon of Royaumont, a work of historical fiction set during the First World War, to read and review.

Clara Heywood trained as a doctor at the Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and worked, initially, in the children's ward. With the advent of war, surgeons were needed to work overseas treating wounded troops. However the Australian Army would not accept female doctors in their ranks. Also Clara's father, an army officer who had served in India, was adamant that no daughter of his would serve in Army medical units.

But Clara was determined to assist soldiers wounded during the war so when Clara heard of the Scottish Women's Hospital at Royaumont in France, which was run by women to treat wounded soldiers in France, she travelled to England and then to France to take up a position at the hospital. 

Treating severely wounded soldiers was an entirely new experience for Clara and it took some time for her to even begin to adjust to her new environment. Fortunately it would be three months before she would be expected to amputate limbs but treating other battle injuries could also be a challenge.

Trying to establish a role for herself in the medical profession, Clara constantly faced discrimination because she was not male. Overseas she also discovered, from time to time, discrimination because she was Australian. Clara soon discovered that discrimination also existed in a variety of other forms at the hospital.

Although working at Royaumont provided many challenges for the young doctor it allowed her to expand her medical knowledge and expertise. But it took time for her to accept that if a patient died it was not necessarily her fault. She still hoped to eventually work in Australian or British Army medical corps but until that became possible she would learn all that she could at Royaumont.

Although some of the staff made it clear that they did not want to work with young Australian female doctors, Clara did make good friends with many of the staff. Also, because of her previous experience with horses, she was allowed to check the condition of the working horses in the stables which provided a break from medical procedures involving men wounded in war. 

There was, however, another problem that had to be faced. Her father  now worked in England and ordered her to transfer to England or return to Australia. Her unofficial fiancé, also a doctor, had taken up a position in England and wanted her to join him. Clara had decisions to make about her future.

The Surgeon of Royaumont by Susan Neuhaus is a thought provoking novel about the challenges faced by women who wanted to serve their country overseas helping their countrymen wounded in battle. Australian women had achieved the right to vote in elections, however there was still a long way to go before equality with men would be possible. This book also provides an insight into the dedicated work of doctors, nurses and VADs in treating the injured with limited resources.

Many thanks to Better Reading and HQ Books for a preview copy of this book.

Additional information:

The Scottish Women's Hospital at Royaumont - Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

Royaumont Abbey - Wikipedia 

Australian Women Doctors in World War I  - Australian Women at War

Remarkable Women - Janet Gaff

Books about Nurses during First World War in this blog.

Wild Dogs

Gabe Ahern earns a living trapping dingoes and other wild dogs in Western Australia. He is grieving the loss of his partner, Valerie, and feels responsible for her death. Gabe is an experienced trapper but in order to make a living he occasionally uses unorthodox methods to increase his haul. He is also not permitted to trap dogs on Aboriginal reserves.

One day while checking traps he is aware of a disturbance nearby and when he investigates he witnesses a man being shot and a second man about to receive the same fate. He intervenes which  is where he meets Amin who has arrived in Australia from Afghanistan aboard a people smuggling boat. His wife and child arrived on another boat and Amin wants to find them. Gabe becomes involved in the attempt to rescue Amins's family. A young Aboriginal man and the local nurse also  inadvertently become involved in the chase.

In this fast paced, tension filled Australian thriller we encounter the crimes perpetrated by people smugglers and those who assist them in Australia. The novel also reveals how people can gradually understand  and accept people of different races and beliefs. Despite the violence this is a story of compassion as a group of individuals with their own challenges strive to assist those whose lives are in danger.  Wild Dogs by Michael Trant is the first book in the Gabe Ahern series.

That Island Feeling

Pearl Island is a special location where Lily and Harry spent their honeymoon many years ago. They often spoke about the island to their daughter Andie so when Andie was looking for a location to take her friend, Taylor, who was recovering from a marriage break-up, Pearl Island was her first choice. Consequently Andie, Taylor and two of their friends set out for a girls week on Pearl Island. Arriving on the island Andie was not aware of the changes that were about to occur in her life.

That Holiday Feeling by Karina May explores the special relationship that develops between Andie and Jack Cooper who lives on the island. Is this just a holiday fling or will it develop into a lasting relationship. Gradually we learn more about the traumas faced by Andie and Jack and their attempts to overcome challenges to lead life as they each want to.

Part of the novel deals with grief and how people cope with the loss of friends and loved ones. Jack is also struggling as he blames himself for an incident that caused danger to one of the island's main industries. However, as the holiday progresses Andie strives to find the island feeling that her mother had loved on her visit. 

Her father now has dementia and is in a home and when Andie isn't teaching young children she visits her father each day and looks after him. On the island she feels guilty as she has left her young brother with the responsibility of looking after their father.

But is is the island that is the star of the book providing many opportunities for Andie and Jack to spend time together and get to know each other. Readers are invited to enjoy this island location when reading That Island Feeling and learn to appreciate life and love. 

Blood and Gold

What better way to spend the first day of autumn than sitting on the back verandah reading an Australian crime novel. I began reading Blood and Gold by Michael Trant last night and just had to spend today reading to finish the book. Blood and Gold is the third book in the Gabe Ahern series.

Terry Drage had wanted to fossick for old and had asked Gabe advice for good locations. Gabe had suggested the old mining community of Cue, approximately 600 km from Perth. Then Gabe learned that Terry had disappeared. Gabe assured Terry's daughter that he would travel to Cue to look for Terry. His friend, Amin, went with him.

In Cue, Gabe and Amin learn that Terry is not the only prospector to have gone missing in the area recently. This makes them more determined to not only discover what happened to Terry but also the fate of the other prospectors. 

The novel has strong characters, especially, Gabe, Amin and Antonio, and as the story develops there is a strong feeling of friendship and responsibility to help others. As the story progresses we also learn about what happened in Cue when Gabe previously lived there.

Blood and Gold is definitely a fast-paced thriller that made me want to keep reading to discover what would happen next. I will now have to read the first two books in the series.

Aussie Towns - Cue, Western Australia

The Bogan Book Club

James Larwood is employed by his brother, Larry as James works as a cleaner in a factory. James has several university degrees including a PhD but is unable to find another job because he spent a short time in prison. Working at the factory James meets a group of people with a variety of backgrounds and problems. Larry organises a variety of out of work activities for his staff. When James arrives he is asked to start a book club for anyone who is interested to attend.

In The Bogan Book Club John Larkin has written about a group of people who generally look out for each other. They also have a sense of humour as they also try to better their position in life. James soon realises that his fellow workers are not bogans.

Throughout the book are references to books being discussed by the group as well as other titles of books they may have read - or seen the film. We learn more about the characters at each book club meeting. There is a lot of humour in the book along with the discussion of serious issues. Towards the end of the book the members of the book club also find themselves solving a crime.

On the cover of the book, beneath the title, is the expression Don't judge a bogan by its cover. This proves to be sound advice.