Stone Yard Devotional

A woman returns to the area where she grew up after thirty-five years. The first place that she visits is the cemetery containing the graves of her parents. She then travels to the nearby monastic retreat where a group of nuns live but other people can stay for a short time. We do not know the name of this woman or what caused her to make the visit at this time. She is not a religious person but enjoys the quietness and structure of the life at the monastery. She stays for five days. Later she returns for good.

As the narrator records her story about her life at the monastery we learn about her relationship with her mother, who she deeply misses. We also learn a little about her early life at school, especially when a a fellow student from the school stays at the community for a time. There is also mention of a husband, but that is in passing. 

Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood is not a life story but provides reflections on life as they relate to events in the present. At the monastery they are contending with a mouse plague. At first just a few, but then swarms of mice in the building and grounds. Then they learn that the body of a former sister at the monastery has been located overseas and will be returned. This is during COVID-19 so many obstacles occur before a final resting place for this sister can be arranged. Accompanying her is Helen Parry who for a variety of reasons is returning to the area where she grew up for a short time.

This novel explores long-term grief for the loss of a loved one. People are complex creatures and the novel also explores long-term feelings held by the woman and regret for past events. What is forgiveness and can a person truly forgive the actions of  others? Respect for the environment is another theme of the novel.

Australian author, Charlotte Wood, shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize

Scar Town

Scar Town by Tristan Bancks is the winner of the 2024 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Younger Readers. I borrowed a copy from the library and left it for my twelve year old grandson to find when we had our next reading session. As soon as he saw it his eyes lit up as he told me that they had been discussing this book at school. I then purchased a copy from Dymocks. 

Normally in our reading sessions my grandson and I share the reading - I often read the descriptive sections while he reads (and acts) the conversations or we might read alternate pages or paragraphs depending on the book. But this time my grandson picked up the book and started reading enthusiastically. I have not been allowed to read a word. Part way through the book he announced that this was the best book that he had ever read. But what is the book about?

Scarborough is a small town which has been drowned by a lake but during a drought some of the buildings appear again out of the water. Three children, Will, Dar and Juno (J), ride their bikes to the lake and swim to one of the houses. They break in and make a dramatic discovery. Will wants to inform the police but J asks him to wait for twenty-four hours while they attempt to discover information about what they have found.

This is a fast paced junior crime novel which keeps the reader guessing about what might have happened in the past. My grandson reads lots of books on his own as well as the books we enjoy reading together but, having observed his reaction to Scar Town, all I can say is thank you Tristan Bancks for writing a book that has captured my grandson's attention to such an extent. He has now investigated the school library for other books by this author.

Tristan Bancks sharing his inspiration for Scar Town - video.

Scar Town - CBCA

When it Rains

The wet season is about to break in northern Western Australia and then the reports of crime begin. Detective Inspector Dan Clements and his team investigate. Detective Sergeant Shepherd is attacked in a hotel carpark. A young woman is found badly injured at a local motel. Then the remains of a woman tied to a post are found in a river. She had been attacked by a crocodile. At first it is thought that the same person was responsible for these crimes, however further investigation reveals otherwise.

Dan had just met Lena but he needs to leave her at his home in Broome while the investigations take him to various locations in The Kimberley including Derby and Kununarra.  

When It Rains by Dave Warner is an action-packed novel which moves at a fast pace. As the story unfolds the reader experiences the landscape and climate of north-west Australia as well as a partial glimpse of life in outback communities. Another great addition to the ever growing collection of Aussie Noir.

How to be Remembered

Tommy Llewellyn turned one and no one, including his parents, remembered him. His presence was still there but no one remembered who he was. This happened every year. Tommy was taken to a foster home where he was looked after by Miss Michelle until he turned eighteen, though he had to reintroduce himself to her every year on the day after his birthday.

As he grew older Tommy was determined to find a way of defeating this jinx that was affecting his life. Each year he would experiment to try and find out what would prevent this annual event from occurring. When in the foster home, Tommy met Carey but she, of course forgot him. When he left the home Tommy was determined to find Carey and re-establish their relationship.

Eventually Tommy decides that his life will always be different but is determined to work out how to still create a life with a new family even though there will always be parts of his life that he leaves behind each year.

History for Tomorrow: inspiration from the past for the future of humanity

Roman Krznaric has written this book about challenges faced by society today and explains how society dealt with challenges in the past. His Book, History for Tomorrow, is divided into 10 challenges - Breaking the Fossil Fuel Addiction, Nurturing Tolerance, Kicking the Consumer Habit, Taming Social Media, Securing Water for All, Reviving Faith in Democracy, Managing the Genetic Revolution, Bridging the Inequality Gap, Keeping the machines under Control and Averting Civilisational Breakdown.

Roman Krznaric is a social philosopher. In each of the ten chapters he presents a current or future problem before recounting how challenges in the past were faced and how techniques used might be useful when considering how members of society might work together to deal with challenges today. The chapters where he describes groups working together to make decisions instead of the reliance on the hierarchical government occurring in most societies today are worth considering - though getting agreement on such changes is unlikely. Time is running out due to society's over use of fossil fuels and often blatant disregard of the environment.

As the author writes - History is not simply a means of understanding the past but a way of reimagining our relationship with the future and Humanity needs to look backwards in order to move forwards.

At the end of the book are extensive endnotes, bibliography plus an index.

The Black Loch

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the three books in the Lewis Trilogy by Peter May - The Black House, The Lewis Man and The Chess Men. The Black Loch is a sequel to the Lewis Trilogy (or number 4 in the series).

Fin MacLeod and his wife, Marsaili, arrive back on the island of Lewis after they are informed that their son, Fionnlagh, is under arrest for the murder of an eighteen year old girl, Caitlin Black. Fin cannot believe that his son is guilty and sets out to establish what really happened. Having grown up on Lewis he encounters a number of people he went to school with. Most are not pleased to associate with someone whose son might be a murderer. Fin no longer works as a policeman but he is able to use his detective skills to help him determine the truth.

Much of The Black Loch by Peter May deals with environmental issues including large-scale salmon farming and the occasional mass beaching of pods of whales. Descriptions of the island are an important part of the book as are the present and past interactions of the characters with with Fin. At the end of the book Fin and Marsaili decided to move back to Lewis from Glasgow to live. Perhaps there may be another book in this series in the future.

The Chilling

 

In the days before television I remember listening to part of a radio serial set in Antarctica where there was the danger of falling down a crevasse - very scary. Reading the debut novel, The Chilling, by Australian author, Riley James, caused part of that long ago memory to resurface.

Kit Bitterfield has the opportunity to spend a winter in Antarctica assisting her friend, Sally, in a project involving Wendell seals. On the journey to Macpherson Station they learn that another ship, The Petrel,  has become stuck in the ice. While waiting for orders to attempt to rescue the passengers they then learn that the ship is on fire. By training Kit is a dentist though she now works primarily on research projects so, because of her medical training, she is involved in the search for the passengers of the stricken vessel. They only locate one passenger who they take back to their ship. Where are the remaining passengers? What caused them to leave the ship? How did the fire start?

Being in Antarctica was a very different experience for Kit. Early on it was explained to her about the mood swings suffered by some of those spending a winter in Antarctica. If a boiling point is when people cannot contain their anger, the chilling point is when they cannot suppress their hostility or lack of sympathy. (p 45) All is well initially at MacPherson Station, apart from the concern about the missing people from the other ship, but then a malaise begins to afflict many of the staff. What has happened to cause this?

Nick, the geologist rescued from the other ship, has lost his memory though his general health rapidly improves. Kit hopes that Nick will recover his memory and be able to explain some of their concerns. Meanwhile the search for the passengers of The Petrel and their general scientific investigations continues while the the survivors of The Petrel disaster attempt to make their way across the ice to Macpherson Station - provided that they do not starve or freeze to death. In The Chilling Riley James has written a tension filled thriller of survival in an extreme climate and terrain.