The Chateau Marmont

After the death of her parents, Aria Jones is sent to live with her aunt, the actress Devine Rey, at the Chateau Marmont. In this alien environment, Aria meets two young actresses, Flitter and Calliope, who befriend her and the three girls refer to each other as sisters. She also meets the musician Theo Winchester and his daughter, Adele. Aria becomes Adele's governess.

But Aria soon realises that all is not well at the hotel and that the life of a young actress is full of additional challenges, especially when auditioning for parts in films directed by certain directors. She also begins to fear that the hotel is haunted by a ghost who wanders the corridors at night. It is not long before Aria realises that she might be a target of the ghost. Aria cannot afford to leave the hotel until she turns 21 so she must make the best of her life there until she can escape and really live the life she wants to live.  Eventually the opportunity arises and Aria escapes the hotel to discover herself in Europe.

The Chateau on Sunset by Natasha Lester is largely a book about relationships and finding the true path but it is also about dealing with grief, learning to trust and living your own life. A major theme is the fight for the abolition of sexual power exerted over female actors by some men in the film industry.

The Chateau Marmont is a work of fiction set in a large hotel with the same name situated on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, since 1929. The hotel has become known as the home of the rich and famous. 

Chateau Marmont - Wikipedia   

The Oasis

In The Oasis by Ann Buist and Graeme Simsion, trainee psychiatrist, Hannah Wright, is working at the outpatient clinic of The Menzies Hospital. While there, she meets many patients with a variety of issues and conditions, including some she had treated at the hospital when doing medical rounds there.

Much of the book also concentrates on issues faced by the staff professionally in their work with patients as well as understanding their own mental health. Hannah is dealing with events that occurred during her childhood when her parents fostered children over many years. The reader also learns of the extensive training undertaken by trainee psychiatrists in order to be fully qualified.

This is the second book in the Menzies Metal Health series - three books so far. The books provide a human and sometimes slightly humorous account of life working in the mental health field.

The Shock of the Light

Tessa and Theo are twins and thus have always experienced a close relationship. They live in Cambridge, England, but as their mother is French the twins, especially Tessa, have learned to speak French and have visited that country. Their father is a professor at the university. When the twins complete their secondary education the plan is that they should both study at Cambridge. Although the university accepts female students they are not entitled to graduate with a degree so Tessa decides to go to France and study for a degree at the Sorbonne. This is the first time that their lives take separate paths.

While in Paris Tessa becomes friends with an artist named Luc. Then something happens to break that friendship which Luc does not understand. Tessa returns home. When war breaks out Theo enlists in the RAF. Tessa has a secretarial job but is then told to go for an interview allowing her to help in the war effort. Her family is not to be told what she is doing.

After training Tessa ends up working for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and is parachuted into France to assist members of the Resistance and to report  secret messages back to London. It soon become obvious that someone is attempting to sabotage the mission.

The first part of The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall is Tessa's story. Part two is told from Theo's perspective. Part three is set in London in 2003 where a PhD student, Edie is writing a thesis on the SOE and she makes contact with Theo to find out what happened to Tessa. Edie also wants to know why Tessa's story was never made public.

This novel provides a study of the women who worked in the SOE but also examines the effect of war on members of families, especially when a family member disappears without a trace. This book provides a compassionate study of the effects of war on families, especially when they are attempting, without success, to discover what happened to their loved ones.

The Secret Society of Librarians

After completing their library studies in 1936, Jo, Joyce, Grace, Beth, Evelyn, Clara, Annie and Dorotha decided to form the Secret Society of Librarians (SSL) and produce a newsletter Libertatem per Lectio.  Most of the women worked in libraries in various parts of England while Dorotha returned to her home country, Poland. Then in 1939 Hitler's army invaded Poland and England was at war with Germany. The last that the SSL hear from Dorotha is a letter Joyce receives requesting that the SSL assist Adela, her young sister, when she escapes Poland to travel to England. Adela initially works with a family that has left London for a house in the country.

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson tells the story of life in England during the Blitz and in a Jewish ghetto in occupied Poland through the eyes of Joyce in London and Dorotha in Poland. Members of the Secret Society of Librarians resolve that if people cannot come to their libraries then the role of the librarians is to get the books to the people. Many of the libraries are bombed along with homes, shops and factories. However the women strive, when possible, to make reading material available to those who need to read books as a distraction from the devastation occurring around them.

In some cases parts of libraries can still be used but library staff carry books to people who cannot visit a library. Joyce makes it her mission to establish a mobile library. Libraries are also established in underground shelters. Library staff also conduct reading sessions for young children.

The story is revealed via Joyce's life in London during the Blitz and Dorotha's struggle for survival in Poland, especially when family members disappear. In London Joyce takes responsibility for looking after Adela who helps her with the library projects. When the war ends the SSL hear no news from Dorotha.

Once again Kate Thompson has written an important account of the effects of war on ordinary people and the resilience of people in their attempts to survive. The novel is also about the importance of books and reading in the lives of ordinary people, particularly in times of stress, and how libraries and librarians are an important part of communities.

At the end of the novel the author includes extensive historical notes relevant to events in the story plus excerpts of oral histories from people who experienced the Blitz in London. 

The Glass House

The Glass House by Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion is the first book in the Menzies Mental Health series. Recently I read The General Hospital which is the third book in the series. The books can be read individually as stand-alone titles but if you plan to read the series it is best to start with the first volume to fully follow the development of the characters of the hospital staff and their work with the patients, many of whom appear in more than one book including Chloe, Junjie and Max.

Doctor Hannah Wright is a trainee psychiatrist at The Menzies Hospital. Although she has previously worked in General Emergency she encounters even more challenges in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. With other registrars in the department Hannah encounters a range of patients and medical conditions. The young doctors hold regular meetings to share their experiences with the patients and medical staff. Hannah is also facing traumas from her past with which she must come to terms.

The Glass House by Annie Buist and Graeme Simsion takes the reader into the world of a busy hospital and the daily challenges faced. The novel also introduces us to a range of sometimes complex characters as they attempt to counter the challenges of daily life. However, although there are dark issues at times, the thread of humanity is at the forefront along with humour. 

Anne Buist is the Chair of Women's Health at the University of Melbourne. With her husband, Graeme Simsion, she has written three novels in the Menzies Mental Health series. Graeme Simsion is best known for The Rosie Project and other books in that series.

The Detective

Reading fiction can lead you to investigate information mentioned in the book. The Detective is one such novel. 

Slavery is the theme in Matthew Reilly's latest crime thriller set in Louisiana and Texas. Seven years earlier, private investigator, Sam Speedman, unsuccessfully investigated the disappearance of a young woman who had vanished with three other prostitutes. When the body of a baby, enclosed in a doll, is found in a river, DNA tests link the child to Sam's missing person. Sam is now back on the case.

The Detective by Matthew Reilly leads the reader on a dangerous journey through swamps and rivers infested by alligators plus car chases along highways pursued by men hired to ensue that Sam does not find the truth. Sam has discovered links to six similar disappearances occurring in 1877, 1905, 1930, 1958 1988 and 2018. In each case the men investigating the case also disappeared. Sam does not want to join them.

Once you start reading The Detective you will discover that, despite entering at times a dark world, it is a book that is difficult to put down. The book is also laced with humour as Sam and his colleagues investigate the case.

Not living in America I always thought that slavery in the southern states of the USA ceased in 1865 with the end of the American Civil War. The Thirteenth Amendment stated that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. The exception in the amendment led to the creation of Convict Leasing in the southern states which allowed prisoners to be used as unpaid labour. With the official abolishment of slavery, plantation owners needed another way to obtain cheap labour. This system officially continued into the twentieth century to be replaced by chain gangs in some states.

Convict Leasing - Equal Justice Initiative 

Convict Leasing System - Library of Congress 

Convict Lease System -New Georgia Encyclopedia 

This Book Made Me Think of You

It is 2 January and when Matilda (Tilly) Nightingale receives a phone call from Book Lane bookshop asking her to come and collect a book that was ordered for her she is mystified as she knows that she does not have any outstanding orders. When she goes to the bookshop she is greeted by the shop owner, Alfie, who tells her that before he died, her husband, Joe, had asked Alfie to have a new book ready for Tilly to collect at the beginning of each month for twelve months.

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page traces twelve months of Tilly's life as she gradually comes to terms with the loss of her husband, helped by reading the books that he had selected for her. Although one theme of the book is dealing with grief, the novel also deals with the value of friendship and the forming of new relationships. Tilly gradually learns that other people are also grieving the loss of a loved one and not everyone knows how to be there for someone who is grieving. This does not mean that they are not thinking of their friend or family member who is attempting to readjust to a different life.

At the beginning of each chapter the author provides a list of the titles of four books on a particular theme. Titles of books are also often referred to throughout the novel as much of the action revolves around the bookshop, the value of reading and the enjoyment of reading books, plus a slice of romance. If you enjoy books and reading you should enjoy reading this book.