Travellers

Travellers by American author, Helon Habila, has been shortlisted for the James Tait Black prize awarded for a book published in 2019.

The novel recounts experiences of those attempting to migrate to Europe from Africa.

The unnamed male protagonist, originally from Nigeria, spends time in Berlin while his African American wife completes an art asignment. He is meant to be completing his thesis but increasingly becomes involved in meeting and listening to the stories of other Africans attempting to make a new life in Europe.

We therefore learn not only of the danger and challenges of making the trip from Africa to Europe plus the struggle of trying to make a new life in a new country very different from the one left behind, but also of the experiences in the home country causing the new arrivals to make the decision to leave.

The author provides the reader with a greater understanding of lives of new migrants and asylum seekers as they attempt to create a new existence in a strange land. The book is divided into six sections with each section telling a different story. There are often connections between the stories, usually provided by the narrator.

 

The characters in his novel are individuals coming from different parts of Africa and encountering different experiences. They also have different levels of command of English or other Europen languages. The book also illustrates horrific situations occurring in some countries forcing people to flee their homeland. 

 

It would be hard for a reader not to be moved by the experiences faced by the characters in this book as it encourages them to reconsider their ideas about asylum seekers.

Friends & Rivals

In this book Brenda Niall has written about four Australian female authors whose work was published at the end of the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century. The writers are Ethel Turner, Henry Handel Richardson, Nettie Palmer and Barbara Baynton.

There was a growing interest in Australian writing and identity in this period, particularly through the work of Banjo Patterson and Henry Lawson plus publications such as The Bulletin which promoted Australian authors and poets. But it was still a difficult time for the work of Australian female writers to be accepted on its own merit. The four authors in this book tried to break the mould.

Elthel Turner is best known as a writer of children's books, the most famous being Seven Little Australians. Unlike most of the Australian fiction written at the time, Ethel Turner wrote about children living and playing in the streets of Sydney. She was a very popular children's author but became frustrated when publishers would not accept that she could also write for adults.

Henry Handle Richardson is perhaps best known for her book, The Getting of Wisdom (1910), as well as success with other works including Maurice Guest (1908), and the novels in the Fortunes of Richard Mahony series. Born Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, Ettie used the male name Henry so her books would be accepted on their own merit and not dismissed as a book written only by a woman.

Barbara Baynron wrote a number of adult novels, the best received being Bush Studies. Her writing style was more forthright than other writers, especially female authors, and she felt that she did not get the recognition that she deserved. Niall dwells on the mystery of Barbara Baynton's past and her reputation for recreating her own story.

Nettie Palmer wrote an autobiography of her uncle, Henry Bourne Higgins: a memoir (1931), but is perhaps better known as a writer of articles in newspapers and magazines, a critic and promoter of Australian literature. In 1924 she wrote the book, Modern Australian Fiction. Nettie Palmer was married to the author, Vance Palmer, and spent much time helping him promote his writing.

Themes of the book include the contribution to Australian literature made by these writers, the difficulties of female authors to be acknowledged as equal to male authors and the challenges of Australian writers having their work published and recognised in Australia and overseas (Britain).

Although the book is divided into separate sections for each author the connections between the four women is also explained. Reading about the lives of these women who helped pioneer the wealth of Australian literature we enjoy today, especially books written by women, is most interesting. However there is a lot of unecessary repetition in the book which can become annoying after a while.

HRT Husband Replacement Therapy

This title has caused discussion in our male dominated house resulting in a post on my husband's Facebook page asking should he be concerned that I was reading this book. The post caused some amusement among his Facebook friends, including one whose wife had already read it.

Ruby thought that her marriage was fine until the day of her 50th birthday when she discovered that her husband was having an affair. Then she received communication from her doctor's surgery informing her that she had terminal cancer. Consequently after consuming too much alcohol she caused a stir at her birthday party when she told her friends and family what she thought of them. All in all it was not a good day.

To say that Ruby's extended family is dysfunctional would be an understatement. Her two older sisters, Emerald and Amber do not talk to each other and their mother is demanding and seems determined to extend the rift between her daughters. When Ruby first received the medical diagnosis (she later discovered there was an error) she booked three passages on the first cruise ship leaving Sydney so that she and her sisters could have a holiday away from their families and reconcile their differences. Ruby also decided that she needed some husband replacement therapy. The sisters eventually all agree to go but when on board they discovered that their three week relaxing holiday was a Cougar Cruise. This was when the fun started.

Kathy Lette has created a career writing quirky, over the top, but humourous books about women and female issues and I have enjoyed three other titles in the past. In recent interviews the author has described the characters in this novel as 'women ageing disgracefully'.

All in all the book provides many laughs and is a good way to escape for an hour or two, especially during the challenging times of 2020.

Dymock's Chapter One - Kathy Lette talking about her new book, Husband Replacement Therapy 22 May 2020 - video

Kathy Lette also launched HRT Husband Replacement Therapy from London on the Better Reading Facebook page on 6 May.

Why Women Read Fiction: the stories of our lives

English academic, Helen Taylor, has written this account of the reasons why women enjoy reading and why they tend to read fiction as opposed to non-fiction books.

Having worked in public libraries for many years the theory proposed in this book that women generally tend to read fiction rather than non-fiction is correct for many readers. Women and men also tend to read different genres of fiction or, more precisely, men do not read certain genres. Some prople of course read all types of books depending on their mood.

Topics included in the book include reasons why women like to read;  real books versus e-books; the influence of reading as a child and / or teenager on adult reading; how women choose reading material; romance and erotica written by women for women; crime novels preferred by women as opposed to crime novels read by men; science fiction and fantasy; the effects of literary blogs on women's choice of reading material; the opinions of women writers on their reading and readers; book clubs and literary festivals; sites in England associated with literature; bookshops and libraries; under representation of women in nominations for book awards; attitudes towards men's writing and women's writing.

The author also looks at the two book titles that most frequently appear on lists of the most popular titles read by women - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Both of these books, as well as becoming films and television programs, have many spin-offs either based on the titles, characters within the novels, parodies etc. These include the Bridget Jones Diary series and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

Information gathered for this book was based on a survey undertaken by the author as to how and why women read books and what they read.Quotes from respondants to the survey questions are used to illustrate theories.

Crudo

Kathy is about to be married. She is 40 and her future husband is 69. This short novel covers three months of the Northern Hemisphere summer of 2017 when uncertainty reigned with Brexit, Trump, threat of nuclear war with North Korea, rise of Fascism, climate change debates .... Kathy's hopes, fears and insecurities are interspersed with  reports of world and local events constantly being reported on social media of all kinds.

Olivia Laing has created aspects of Kathy based on herown  life experiences but also on the experiences of the punk writer Kathy Acker (1947-1997). Sometimes the book is written in the first person or in the third person, often making the reader uncertain of which aspect of the character, Kathy, is currently involved. The book is largely written as a stream of consciousness. Sections of the book read fluently however other sections are confusing (in my opinion). I suspect that more than one reading of the book would be required to fully appreciate it. Crudo means 'raw' in Italian (often referring to raw fish) which explains the picture on the cover of the edition of the book that I read. Raw adequately describes Kathy's feelings about contemporary life and love in this book.

Crudo won the James Tait Black prize in 2019.

Olivia Laing splits James Tait Black prize win with fellow short listees - The Guardian 19 August 2019

Crudo by Olvia Laing review - a shimmering experimental novel - Guardian 18 June 2018

Kathy Acker - Britannica.com

The James Tait Black Prize

The James Tait Black prize has been awarded to a book of fiction since 1919. Awards are also made for a biographical works and since 2013 there has also been an award for drama. The James Tait Black prizes are awarded by the University of Edinburgh's School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Staff and post grad students choose the winners of the prize, sometimes from 400 entries. The awards are made for books published the previous year.

In January 2019 I did a Future Learn course, How to read a novel, which was run by the University of Edinburgh. Among other titles, we looked at the four works of fiction shortlisted for the 2018 James Tait Black Award.

The winner of the award that year was a collection of short stories - Attrib. and other stories by Eley Williams.

The other titles on the short list were:

First Love by Gwendoline Riley

American War: a novel by Omar El Akkad

White Tears by Hari Kunzru

The winner of the award for a book published in 2019 was Crudo by Olivia Laing.

The other titles listed on the shortlist were:

Heads of Coloured People by Nafrissa Thompson-Spores

Murmur by Will Eaves

Sight by Jessie Greengrass

The winner of the Fiction Award announced in August 2020 was Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann.

Other items on the shortlist for the 2020 award:

Girl by Edna O'Brien

Travellers by Helon Habila

Sudden Traveler: stories by Sarah Hall

So far the awards have introduced me to books that I would not normally encounter and it has been interesting, and sometimes challenging, to read a collection of different fiction compared with my normal choices.

Some of the novels are definitely relevant for our life in 2020. When watching CNN on TV, fictional events portrayed in American War often come to mind. Issues discussed in White Tears in regard to music are also very relevant today especially with the Black Lives Matter movement.

I am gradually reading the books shortlisted for recent awards and will add reviews for them to this blog.

The winner of the Fiction Award announced in August 2021 was Lote by Shola von Reinhold.

Other items on the shortlist for the 2021 award:

Alligator & Other Stories by Dima Alzeyat

The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet

 

The winner of the Fiction Award announced in August 2022 was A Shock by Keith Ridgway.

Other items on the shortlist for the 2022 award:

English Magic by Uschi Gatward

Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge

Memorial by Bryan Washington

 

The winner of the Fiction Award announced in July 2023 was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

Other items on the shortlist for the 2023 award: 

Bitter Orange Tree by Jokha Alharthi and translated by Marilyn Booth 

After Sappho by Selby Wynn SchwartzBolia by Pajtim Statovci 

Bolla by Pajtim Statovci, translated from Finnish by David Hackston

 

The winner of the Fiction Award, announced in May 2024, was Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright

Other items on the shortlist for the 2024 award: 

Lori & Joe by Amy Arnold

Open Throat by by Henry Hoke

Though the Bodies Fall by by Noel O’Regan

Who did you tell?

Astrid has returned to Flinstead to live with her mother. She has nowhere else to go. Astrid is a recovering alcoholic and is struggling to restart her life. But she has a past that still haunts her and she soon realises that someone else also knows of this past.

English author, Lesley Kara has written an often chilling novel portraying Astrid's emotions as she endeavours to resist the urge to have just one drink. Life looks as it may improve when she meets Josh but how can she explain to him what she is really like? Then the threatening mail concerning her past begins to arrive and Astrid realises that she is being stalked. How can she live a normal life when the past continues to consume her?