January 2024
Wellness, by Nathan Hill (November, 2023)
A good one for the Gen-Xers: it moves between a groovy young pair in the underground art scene of 1990s Chicago and their married-with-child life 15 years later in the 'burbs. Both hold trauma; both are concerned about how this impacts their child. It's also fun and familiar territory. Hill's scope of topics in this novel is broad -- Facebook algorithms; attachment parenting; the placebo effect; prairie burn-offs -- and his bibliography affirms this. Ultimately, the theme is family and what holds us together, or not.
Hill was widely acclaimed for his debut novel, The Nix, in 2016
Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett (October, 2023)
Another family with history, but with less trauma than Hill's characters in Wellness. Patchett reliably weaves a wonderful tale in Michigan via her protagonist and her three loving daughters amidst the cherry trees they're harvesting from. It all sounds very idyllic, but of course there are layers and consequences. Patchett's tale moves effortlessly between the past and present; she's a skilled storyteller.
Patchett won the then Orange Prize (now the Women's Prize) for fiction with Bel Canto in 2001. She's written four novels in between that and Tom Lake along with some non-fiction works.
Jacqui:
Fair Rosaline, by Natasha Solomons (August, 2023)
The story of Romeo and Juliet with a completely new perspective: from the character of Rosaline, a young woman who falls prey to Romeo's advances. Rich in historical detail, this is a great read for lovers of historical fiction like Hamnet and A Marriage Portrait. A wonderful feminine tale with a twist on the well known events of the story we all know!
Sorrow and Bliss, by Meg Mason (September, 2020)
What a read! A beautifully written novel. The main character, Martha, lives with a mental health condition and all the complications that brings to her relationships and her view of herself. She is not always likeable and she often behaves badly, but she is also struggling to navigate the world. It is funny, devastating, poignant, heartfelt, and very thought-provoking.
Meg Mason was born in New Zealand and is based in Australia. Sorrow and Bliss was shortlisted for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction.
Robin P:
The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese (May, 2023)
If you have ever wanted to visit the backwaters of Kerala,
or been there and hunger to go back …
If you loved The God of Small Things and the world it evoked …
If you like baggy, intergenerational saga spanning 77 years,
stories of people in worlds different from here …
If you like tragedy with humour, compassion with obsession
and can tolerate sorrow …
then read The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.
This a compelling and fascinating evocation of people from different parts of Kerala, South India, woven through the eyes of family, medicine and the unpredictable stories of human lives. The characters are rich and compelling; the narrative has the flow of a river.
John S:
From the Pilot's Seat: Kiwi Adventurers in the Sky, by Fletcher McKenzie (August, 2023)
A good one for the Gen-Xers: it moves between a groovy young pair in the underground art scene of 1990s Chicago and their married-with-child life 15 years later in the 'burbs. Both hold trauma; both are concerned about how this impacts their child. It's also fun and familiar territory. Hill's scope of topics in this novel is broad -- Facebook algorithms; attachment parenting; the placebo effect; prairie burn-offs -- and his bibliography affirms this. Ultimately, the theme is family and what holds us together, or not.
Hill was widely acclaimed for his debut novel, The Nix, in 2016
Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett (October, 2023)
Another family with history, but with less trauma than Hill's characters in Wellness. Patchett reliably weaves a wonderful tale in Michigan via her protagonist and her three loving daughters amidst the cherry trees they're harvesting from. It all sounds very idyllic, but of course there are layers and consequences. Patchett's tale moves effortlessly between the past and present; she's a skilled storyteller.
Patchett won the then Orange Prize (now the Women's Prize) for fiction with Bel Canto in 2001. She's written four novels in between that and Tom Lake along with some non-fiction works.
Jacqui:
Fair Rosaline, by Natasha Solomons (August, 2023)
The story of Romeo and Juliet with a completely new perspective: from the character of Rosaline, a young woman who falls prey to Romeo's advances. Rich in historical detail, this is a great read for lovers of historical fiction like Hamnet and A Marriage Portrait. A wonderful feminine tale with a twist on the well known events of the story we all know!
Sorrow and Bliss, by Meg Mason (September, 2020)
What a read! A beautifully written novel. The main character, Martha, lives with a mental health condition and all the complications that brings to her relationships and her view of herself. She is not always likeable and she often behaves badly, but she is also struggling to navigate the world. It is funny, devastating, poignant, heartfelt, and very thought-provoking.
Meg Mason was born in New Zealand and is based in Australia. Sorrow and Bliss was shortlisted for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction.
Robin P:
The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese (May, 2023)
If you have ever wanted to visit the backwaters of Kerala,
or been there and hunger to go back …
If you loved The God of Small Things and the world it evoked …
If you like baggy, intergenerational saga spanning 77 years,
stories of people in worlds different from here …
If you like tragedy with humour, compassion with obsession
and can tolerate sorrow …
then read The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.
This a compelling and fascinating evocation of people from different parts of Kerala, South India, woven through the eyes of family, medicine and the unpredictable stories of human lives. The characters are rich and compelling; the narrative has the flow of a river.
John S:
From the Pilot's Seat: Kiwi Adventurers in the Sky, by Fletcher McKenzie (August, 2023)
The varied and interesting aircraft highlighted in the book involve gliders, fighter jets, private aircraft, top-dressing planes, helicopters, and many military aircraft, including the famous F-18 Hornet as flown by the RAAF.
Find out how it feels to be the last in line to land your Harrier jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier, or the moments before (and after) your Cessna crashes in flames into rugged farmland.
Enthralling tales that put you in the cockpit experiencing the thrills of flight!
Find out how it feels to be the last in line to land your Harrier jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier, or the moments before (and after) your Cessna crashes in flames into rugged farmland.
Enthralling tales that put you in the cockpit experiencing the thrills of flight!