Travelling Light

A collection of short stories by Tove Jansson, now translated into English. The stories deal with people facing unpredictable situations and challenges -a man reluctantly travelling and forgetting the name of his hotel, an artist visiting an apartment where she once lived to find that a former friend has changed their life story, a lecturer staying in an English conclave in Spain finds herself sorting out disputes between the residents instead of the quietness that she had anticipated and a family deciding how to cope with a young visitor who disrupts their life are just a selection of the situations provided in this collection of short stories for the reader to contemplate.

Fighting on the Home Front

During the past month I have been concentrating on researching my family history research. Researching an individual or a family can often lead to undertaking research on a broader topic - in this case, women in England during the First World War.

Fighting on the Home Front: the legacy of women in Wold War One by Kate Adie (2013) is a good book for an overview of the effect of the war on the lives of women in England. With so many men fighting overseas women stepped in to keep essential services operating and also to assist with the war effort in England and overseas. Some of the work was paid but much was voluntary following on the practice of voluntary work undertaken by many women prior to the war. The skills of these women were put to good use not only in supporting the war effort but also in supporting women whose roles had dramatically changed during this period of conflict.

The Virago Book of Women and the Great War 1914-1918, edited by Joyce Marlow (1998). This is a chronological account of events that occurred from 1914 to 1918 from the perspective of women. The book contains excerpts from newspaper articles, books, diaries, correspondence, memoirs portraying the effect of the war on women in many countries, including England, involved in the fighting and the social changes that followed.

Singled Out: how two million women survived with out men after the First World War by Virginia Nicholson (2007) looks at the plight of women who had been brought up to believe that they would marry and have families but, because of the large numbers of men killed and wounded during the war, were to remain single. The book looks at stories of women who found different ways of coping in a new world and the wide reaching social changes and, sometimes, opportunities that opened for some women after the war.

28 Books You Must Read

I was interested to see this booklist from Bookworld - 28 Books You Must Read to Call Yourself Well Read - especially as I have read and generally enjoyed about half of them. The list includes children's books and books for teenagers as well as for adults. There is also a mixture of older titles as well as newer ones plus some non-fiction. Some more books to look out for when I have some spare time.

1. Charlotte's Web by E B White
2. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
3.  The BFG by Roald Dahl
4. Harry Potter by JK Rowling
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
7. Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
9. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
10. Cloustreet by Tim Winton
11. Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantell
12. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre
13. Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Garimara Pilkington
14. Neuromancer by William Gibson
15. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
16. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
17. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
18. Persuasion by Jane Austen
19. Animal Farm by George Orwell
20. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
21. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
22. Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared M Diamond
23. A Fortunate Life by A B Facey
24. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
25. Long Walk To Freedom by Nelson Mandela
26. The Brian That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
27. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
28. Gallipoli by L A Carlyon

Sapphire Skies

The gym that I go to is not only for exercise - from time to time it also involves discussions about books or films. Two of my 'gym buddies' were recently discussing  books by the Australian author, Belinda Alexandra, so I decided to read her latest novel, Sapphire Skies.

Belinda Alexandra's mother is Russian which helps to explain her interest in that country and the setting for this book. Lily is an Australian living in Russia. Her partner, Adam, had died from cancer and Lily decided to escape Sydney for a time as she readjusted to a life without Adam. After a bomb exploded in the underground railway near her work, Lily discovers that an elderly lady that she had befriended has been injured. Lily and her landlady, Oksana, look after the lady, who is reluctant to reveal her name, and her dog. Over time the secret of the elderly lady's life is revealed.

The story is told from several viewpoints. We learn of the life of the flying ace Natalya Azarov through the memories of Valentin Orlov and also from Natalya's perspective. Initially I found it difficult to become involved in the story as the first chapters jump from events in 2000 to events in the 1930s and back again and involved different stories - the discovery of a plane downed during World War II, Lily's life in Moscow and Natalya's life prior to the Second World War. Eventually the pattern of the stories become interwoven and the story of the role of female pilots during the war and the political intrigue when Stalin ruled Russia is powerfully portrayed. As Natalya's story is revealed Lily also comes to terms with the challenges in her life. Sapphire Skies is a novel but it introduces the reader to the horror of aspects of Russia's recent history. However it is also a story of survival and of love.

Australia's favourite novelist?

Booktopia Blog recently conducted a survey to decide Australia's favourite novelist - You may or may not agree with their list but it may suggest some additional authors to try.

The Summer Book

Although best known for her Moomintroll books, Tove Jansson also wrote a number of books for adults including, The Summer Book. In a collection of seemingly unrelated chapters Tove Jansson captures the essence of living on a small rugged island in the Gulf of Finland for several months over summer. The main characters are the elderly grandmother and her young grand-daughter, Sophia. The grandmother's son who is Sophia's father is also on the island but usually remains in the background.

The book revolves around the relationship between the grandmother and Sophia as they explore their island and observe the natural and often minute changes that occur over time as Spring becomes Summer and then Autumn approaches. Together they observe the sea, the small animals and insects that inhabit the island, the moss and small flowers that appear and disappear. They discuss and have differing opinions about life and religion and change. There is also the presence of death throughout the book - the death of Sophia's mother, the cat who kills small birds and animals and the approaching death of the grandmother. We see the island on warm calm days and during storms and the celebration for mid-summer. This is a beautifully written book, often philosophical, often humorous, where the small things of life matter. The Summer Book was originally published in 1972 with an English translation in 1974. The English translation was republished in 2003, two years after the author's death.

The Guardian 12 July 2003 published a detailed review of this book.

The Heist

Readers of Janet Evanovich books know what to expect but with this new series written with Lee Goldberg you can add additional action and tension. The Heist is the first book in the Fox and O'Hare series. I read the second book in the series, The Chase, before this book as that was the title that came across my path first. As you would expect, much of this book is setting the scene and introducing the reader to the cast of characters - Nick Fox (conman), Kate O'Hare who was a Navy Seal but now works for the FBI) and their team of specially chosen co-workers capable of successfully staging a con. How and why Nick and Kate are working together as a team is also explained.

In this book, Nick and Kate are charged with conning a corrupt investment banker who has retreated to a remote Indonesian island. First they must establish the location of the missing man and then persuade him to return the stolen money - obviously not an easy assignment, made even more complicated when a boatload of pirates arrive on the scene. One of the characters, Willie, describes her experiences as a great adventure and this book is an over the top adventure story with  humour thrown in plus, a few explosions and of course, a little sexual tension. All good fun.