All the Colours of the Dark

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker is a saga set in the town of Monta Clare in southern USA. The story covers the years from 1975 to 2001 and is a character drawn account of how lives can be forever changed by a single incident.

Saint and Patch become friends at school, a friendship that lasts a lifetime. However Patch's life changes dramatically when he intervenes to save Misty from being forced into a vehicle. Patch then disappears. Saint is determined to find her friend. Eventually Saint rescues him but while he was imprisoned Patch met Grace who visited him in the dark and told him stories that added colour to his life.

While looking for Patch, Saint learns that many young girls have disappeared. A number of graves are discovered but many girls are still missing. Saint and Patch spend years trying to locate the girls and their killer. Saint joins the police when she leaves school and whenever possible follows clues that may lead to the truth. Meanwhile Patch continues searching for Grace and also contacting families of the missing girls. 

Patch meets Sammy who runs a gallery and encourages Patch to paint. Patch paints pictures based on stories Grace told him as he tries to find clues which might help him find her. He also draws pictures of the missing girls which he gives to their families.

This novel investigates the lives of the many characters who become involved in this saga as they endeavour to find the truth regarding what is happening in their community. 

Dervla McTiernan Book club that isn't a book club book selection for February 2025.

The Artist

The Artist by Lucy Steeds has to be one of the best books that I have read so far this year. The novel is set in 1920 when Joseph, a young writer, has the chance to spend time with and interview the reclusive artist Edouard Tarttuffe at his studio in Provence. This is Joseph's chance to make his name as a journalist.

Joseph lives with his family in England but relishes the chance to escape from a family environment where his father constantly shows his displeasure that his son chose not to enlist to serve in the British Army during World War One. His older brother, who did serve, is still in hospital struggling to return to 'normal life'.

In Provence he meets not only Tartuffe but also Tartuffe's niece, Ettie, who lives with her uncle as his housekeeper and general dogsbody. Ettie wants to be an artist but receives no encouragement from her uncle or from his agent who appears when a painting is ready for sale. Ettie desperately wants to escape her present existence.

Joseph soon discovers many secrets concerning the artist and his chosen life in seclusion. He and Ettie also gradually share their own secrets and concerns as they plan life when Joseph has to leave Provence.

The novel is beautifully written and at times the writing flows like a poem as we gradually learn more about the three main characters, their lives and inspiration. The power of Art is constantly felt throughout the novel.

Reading Magic

Reading Magic: how your child can learn to read before school - and other read aloud miracles by Australian children's author, Mem Fox, outlines the importance of reading to your children from a very young age and how this can help your child enjoy reading. The copy of the book that I read was published in 2005 and added two additional chapters to the first edition.

As the author discusses the advantages of reading aloud to children she provides lots of examples of how many parents doing this have found it successful. Mem Fox stresses that both parents should be involved with reading to children, not just Mum. She provides lots of practical advice on how to make reading an entertaining experience for all the family.

Young children often like listening to and 'reading' one book over and over again. Keeping a collection of children's favourite books in the house encourages most children to pick up their favourite book to 'read' or ask an adult to read to them. 

Introducing reading to children from an early age means that by the time they start school they are used to books and other printed material, they are familiar and confident with language and have begun to develop good general knowledge. 

Mem Fox also stresses the important of singing to children and teaching them rhymes as a means of helping them gain confidence in acquiring language skills. Rereading books is a major way that many children learn to read before going to school. Mem Fox also includes chapters on various teaching processes used to teach children to read.

The Cicada House

When Caitlin inherits a large sum of money she takes the opportunity to leave England and travel back to Australia where she was born. Her husband is leaving her for another woman so she needs time to rethink about her life and also to try to find information about her mother who had travelled to Australia with a band before Caitlin was born.

Caitlin finds herself living in an old house, The Cicada House, by the beach on the Victorian coast. Here she has the chance to reflect on her life so far and consider what the future may hold. As she encounters many of the locals Caitlin finds the need to reconsider how she has approached people in the past. Gradually she begins to enjoy the new life she is encountering in Australia, especially the weather and being able to swim in the sea, a short walk from the house.

Then one day Caitlin meets David who makes some of the repairs that the house badly needs. David also encourages Caitlin to assist him in some of the tasks. Caitlin looks forward to David's visits but then begins to discover that all is not as she would expect.

The Cicada House by Ella Ward is a story about how a lonely woman reconstructs her life when she encounters new opportunities in a different environment. The novel also incorporates time travel into the plot, adding another dimension to Caitlin's story.

A Matter of Taste

A Matter of Taste: the Australian Women's Weekly and its Influence on Australian Food Culture by Lauren Samuelsson will take the reader on an adventure into the world of family cooking and how it changed during the first fifty years of the publication of The Australian Women's Weekly.

As a child I can remember being sent to the local newsagent each week to collect a copy of The Australian Women's Weekly for my mother. This magazine became an institution in Australian households. It was first published in 1933 and, although it is now published monthly, is still a popular Australian women's magazine.

Although the magazine was a general publication for women, it is the food section that was not only particularly popular but provides an aspect of history of this country through changes in the preparation and taste of food. As well as articles with recipes in each issue of the magazine, many cookery books under the Australian Women's Weekly banner were published.

The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook and The New The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook were both books I regularly referred to in the past and still treasure with my cookery books. Also on the shelves is The Australian Women's Weekly 100 Delicious Biscuits and Slices from which my sons used to choose recipes. I still refer to The Australian Women's Weekly The Complete Book of Cake Decorating and the most popular book of all was The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book. I can still remember spending hours making the train on the cover of that book for one birthday.

The book has six main chapters - Triple Tested discussing the types of recipes published, some submitted by the readers and others by the cookery editors; An Exhaustible Appetite discussing how meat has been used in recipes during scarcity as in the 1930s Depression and the Second World War as well as in times of plenty; Let Them Eat Cake showing changes in the culture of baking cakes; Crash! discussing various trends in recipes for slimming and dieting as published in the magazine; Dinner Parties and Barbecues discussing the role of men in cooking and types of home entertaining; 'It Was Taken Up With Cries of Delight' discusses the arrival of foreign foods in family cooking.

 A Matter of Taste contributes to the social history of Australia as well as recreating many memories for readers.

Gunnawah

It is 1974 and in the Riverina in southern New South Wales we visit Gunnawah, a town with 989 residents. It is a small farming community on the banks of the Murray River where everyone knows everybody else, or do they? 

The local newspaper, the Gunnawah Gazette, is run by Valdene (Val) Bullark. Val has arranged to interview local girl. nineteen year old Adelaide Hoffman, for the role of cadet reporter. Adelaide hopes to escape from the area as soon as possible and getting a job on the newspaper could be the first step for escaping from the town.

Gunnawah by Ronni Salt, is very much a character driven crime novel. The town is populated by a range of sometimes eccentric characters who need to know everything that is happening in their community. When it is announced that a new irrigation scheme is to be introduced to the area there is divided opinion in the community. 

When Val and Adelaide go on a promotional tour of the proposed the irrigation scheme Adelaide begins to suspect that all is not as it should be. Her investigations prove to be correct. When Michael Di Rossi, the local federal politician disappears police converge on the area, especially when a body is found in a lagoon. 

There is a slow buildup as we meet and get to know the characters and the area where they live. The author also incorporates political events into the story that occurred in 1974. Gunnawah is a very Australian crime novel where the reader will enjoy exploring what is really happening in this country town.

The Mademoiselle Alliance

1940s France and Marie-Madeleine finds herself in charge of a resistance network against Nazi Germany called The Alliance. Being a woman there are additional challenges however she soon has the full support of the Alliance membership.

The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester is an account of the work of resistance groups from mid May 1940 until the Germans are defeated in France in September 1944. The end of the Second World War in Europe was declared on 8 May 1945. 

This work of historical fiction is based on a number of actual events and provides a human overlay to the valuable work undertaken by resistance members, often in harsh conditions. For Marie-Madeleine there are additional challenges as she is a mother of three children who she cannot have contact with. Towards the end of the novel she also faces the knowledge that Leon, her lover, has disappeared and she does not know if he is alive or dead.

The Mademoiselle Alliance is a compassionate telling of the horrors that war brings to all people and how people respond respond. 

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade - Wikipedia 

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade - Spartus Educational  

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade - Chemins de memoire