I am not Esther by Fleur Beale

I am not Esther by Fleur Beale was first published in 1998 and I am only just reading it now, despite purchasing it in early 2017.  The front cover has the line A bestselling New Zealand classic and I would agree and urge you to read it.

Here is the front cover:

Here is the back cover and blurb.

Now I've previously read a number of Fleur Beale's books, but I have a personal attachment.  Mrs Beale was a teacher at my high school when I was a student and she was a wonderful teacher who I have happy memories of, not because she was a teacher of a subject I liked as I never had her as a subject teacher, but because she took the time to talk to students and support them as they were transitioning from leaving school.  Mr Beale would also sometimes travel to school on the bus with us.  This is a link to Fleur Beale's Wikipedia page which has her biography and also contains a list of her books (I love Slide the Corner).

This book would resonate with many New Zealanders with the most famous cult in New Zealand, Gloriavale, receiving a lot of media attention and being the subject of several flattering documentaries over the last decade.

This would be a great book to read with Year 9 and 10s to encourage fabulous discussion for and against the lifestyle and beliefs and actions of the Children of the Faith and apply it to real life situations.

At 207 pages (in my copy anyway) it was a fast read and compelling as Kirby is abandoned by her mother into the care of her Uncle Caleb and his family, people Kirby knew nothing of, before supposedly going off to Africa to volunteer with refugees as a nurse.  Kirby is taken away from all she knows, her name is changed to Esther by her uncle and he refuses to give her access to her and her mother's possessions or let her read letters sent by her mother or give her her mother's address.

Kirby finds herself in a home with no radio, no television, no newspapers, no mirrors and no telephone.  There are six children (Daniel aged 17, the twins Rachel and Rebecca who are intermediate aged, Abraham and Luke who are primary school aged and Magdalene who has just turned five) and her Aunt Naomi is pregnant.  Kirby finds out that there is another sister, Miriam, the same age as her, fourteen, who has recently passed away.

Kirby fights against the situation she finds herself in, struggles to keep her identity as Kirby rather than becoming Esther.  She soon discovers that the situation with Miriam is not what it seems and that Daniel has no desire to stay in the faith.  Kirby finds help once she begins high school but it is with a heavy heart as she struggles with the thought of abandoning Magdalene.

To say anything else would be to give away too much about the story, but I am looking forward now to reading the sequels, I am Rebecca and Being Magdalene, which I purchased at the same time as I am not Esther.

The Last Secret of the Temple by Paul Sussman

There seems to be a formula for books set around the rim of the Mediterrean, because like the novel The Sacred Bones by Michael Byrnes, which I read and reviewed in the summer of 2016, The Last Secret of the Temple by Paul Sussman begins with an ancient sacking of Jeruselem - this time by the Crusaders.


I have not read any books by Paul Sussman previously, but as the line at the top of the front cover says, this novel is an action-packed thriller to keep you turning the pages.  But sadly there will be no new books by Sussman, who was also a journalist and archeologist, as he passed away at the end of May 2012 from a ruptured aneurysm at age 45.  He had published five novels and two non-fiction books.  You can read more about Paul Sussman here.


Here is the front cover and blurb for The Last Secret of the Temple:

This novel revolves around three main characters who are drawn together by the death of a man which at first looks suspicious, but turns out to be a rather unconventional accident.  It does however bring up uncomfortable memories for Inspector Yusaf Khalifa from the Luxor police of a murder supposedly solved years before.  This was the murder of an Israeli woman near an ancient ruin in Luxor.  It soon has Yusaf reaching out to Arieh Ben-Roi, a Jeruselum detective who is drinking himself to ruin due to grief, and this leads Ben-Roi to the Palestinian journalist Layla al-Madani who holds onto the death of her own father as a driving force.


Archeology and ancient relics are themes that run through this book, and like the author, Yusaf has an acheological background.  While this book touches lightly on some ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses, it delves into the sacredness of the mennorah for those of Jewish faith, some ancient Christian beliefs, and the depths the Nazi's went to in order to seize ancient Jewish relics.


As Yusaf investigates, he discovers how much his superiors have covered up for the real killer years before when the Israeli woman was murdered.  It is revealed why Ben-Roi is so broken and layers of Layla are peeled back - but which one is the one who should not be trusted?


Throw in a militant Jewish strong man aiming to evict Palestinians from their homes within Israel and a militant Palestinian randomly targeting Israelis with suicide bombing contrasted against a peace process between the Israeli government and the Palestinian's hosted by the Egyptians under the cover of darkness in an isolated deserted hut in the Sinai, and this book will throw you a fair few curves and have you guessing about whose loyalties lay where.


After reading Sussman's details, I have discovered that two of his other novels also have Yusaf Khalifa as the main character, one before and one after this book.  I may go looking for these books in the library.....

Wildacre by Philippa Gregory

Wildacre was the first book I have read written by Philippa Gregory.  She is a widely aclaimed author of The Other Boleyn Girl (which was made into a movie I quite enjoyed) and other historical fiction based on the kings and queens of England.  You can find out more about Philippa Gregory's books here.  Wideacre is the first of a trilogy... but I won't be reading the sequels or any of Gregory's other books.  This one put me off her books completely.


Here is the cover and the blurb on the back of the book:

The central character is Beatrice Lacey.  She is the second child of what is essentially a loveless marriage  Her elder brother, Harry is sickly and mothered excessively by their mother, while Beatrice is strong and healthy.  Consequently, her father, the Squire, takes her out on the land, teaching her all he knows about farming and the land, growing within her a passion for the land, for Wildacre.


As Beatrice blooms into her early adolesence she begins to understand that she will not inherit Wildacre.  It will instead be entailed on Harry who is away at school.


This realisation ignites something within Beatrice that consequently makes the character not a character I loved or even liked.  The change in Beatrice and the actions she was to undertake and their consequences made her one of the most unlikable central characters to a book I have ever read.


Between the murder, debauchery, incest and deceit that the book descended into, I was left with a dissatisfied feeling reading this book.  I completed it, because I rarely leave a book incomplete, but I have no desire to read the sequels or any other Philipa Gregory book as a result.  It simply is not a book I would recommend.

The Other Woman by Jane Green

The title The Other Woman automatically makes you think there will be an affair involved, and there is.... just not who you expect, and the other woman referred to by the title is not referring to the affair.  It's actually referring to the mother-in-law, Linda.


I have not read anything by Jane Green previously.  However, Jane Green has published at least eighteen novels.  I may be hunting more out after reading this book.  You can read about Jane Green here.


This is the front and back covers and the blurb from inside:

As you read this book you can easily see that many of Linda's behaviours may appear helpful.... from her point of view.... but to Ellie, they are not.  To Ellie they are a threat to her identity as Dan's wife and Tom's mother.  Ellie has tried to be forgiving, has tried to be honest in what she wants, has tried bowing to Linda's whims and wishes... but no matter which tactic Ellie takes, Linda just barrels on through with her agenda.

When Ellie and Dan move to a new home and have their son Tom, Ellie and Dan make a new set of friends who they invite to go on holiday with them when Linda and Michael offer them a holiday home in France for a week while they go sailing with friends.  Things are already tense between Ellie and Linda, but this holiday accellerates the tension, especially when an accident occurs due to Linda's continual meddling, an affair is ignited, a friendship crashes and burns and events lead to Dan and Ellie's marriage reaching breaking point.

The theme of this book is something many young married couples could apply to their own marriages when it comes to mother-in-laws, or even father-in-laws.  Therefore most people reading this book will understand the points of views of Ellie and Dan, and even Linda and Michael.  I enjoyed the book and it kept me reading until I finished it... which took about two days on holiday I think.....



Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

This was my first furore into a book by British author Sophie Kinsella, although I have seen the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic based on her best selling series about the Shopaholic.  Just looking at the front cover of Remember Me? screams chick lit and humour, and I wasn't disappointed.  There is a little drama and mystery to this book too.


Anyhow, here is the front cover and blurb.

The central character is Lexi, who has been in a car accident.  She wakes up in hospital thinking it is 2004, the last thing she remembers is being out for a night with the girls from work the evening before her father's funeral.  However, she is actually in 2007 with designer clothes, straight teeth, a flash hair do, a fabulous job and a husband she doesn't remember.  And no friends - well, at least not the friends she used to have.


Lexi has post-traumatic amnesia.  No one can tell her when - or even if - her memories will return.  Lexi has to learn her life all over again.


After being introduced to most of the main characters while Lexi is still in hospital - her mother, younger sister Amy and husband Eric - Lexi goes home to the appartment she shares with Eric, who is a property developer.  Gradually Lexi understands that her house keeper is scared of her, she eats practically nothing, her clothes are all very corporate and her friends are high-maintenance.  When Lexi makes it to work she discovers all her old workmates/friends hate her and that she is a golden girl to management.


However there are three sticky factors: she feels no connection to her husband, she can not figure out how Jon (her husband's colleague) is connected to her, and something is not right at work.


There are some amusing and embarrassing experiences.  Lexi realising she does know how to drive is one.  Lexi trying to fake her way through a senior management meeting without remembering what they are all referring to is another.  Lexi figuring out why her friends are no longer her friends and how Jon fits into her life as well as what a Mont Blanc is are also quite noteworthy.


This is chick lit through and through.  It demonstrates how a flaky girl turns into an ambitious take no prisoners woman who then realises what she truly wants in life.  A good summer read.

Poldark: Demelza by Winston Graham

Demelza is the second book in the Poldark series by Winston Graham.  The events in this book are also covered in the 2015 BBC tv series.  It carries on from the first book, Ross Poldark, taking up where that one left off.

This is the cover and blurb for the book.

This book covers how Demelza grows into the role of wife of a gentleman and mother.  Julia is born in May and become the focus of the Poldark household as Demelza and Ross adjust to being parents.  They hold a chiristening party for their daughter which Demelza's father and new step mother unexpectedly attend and put the neighbours and guests at odds with her background.


Demelza's adjustment to society as a gentleman's wife, her relationship with Ross and his wider family are a running theme throughout this book.  But Demelza's beauty, charm and warmness endear her to not only the people who rely on Ross for their livelihoods, but the neighbours of his class.  Ross' relationship with authority, his cousin Francis and the Warleggan's, which could cause his downfall in a variety of ways is another constant theme.


Ross' friends Mark and Dwight (the doctor) also feature strongly in this book and befall their own scandals.  Tragedy befalls the Poldarks and pushes Ross to be careless, which puts his freedom and everything he has at risk.

Despite having watched a large part of the action of this book during the first television series, I could barely put this book down and was very keen to read the following book.  This book is followed by Jeremy Poldark.

Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez

Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul is a sequel to the book The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul which was an international best seller written by Deborah Rodriguez which I have not read.  However, I can now say I have read the sequel and I will be hunting out the original book over the summer to read.

My friend lent this to me to read after I had completed some very full on Master's level assignments and she knew I needed to escape to another reality.  Mission completed.

Here is the front cover and the blurb:

Apparently most of the characters from the original are back, except for one main exception, and there are some new characters introduced.

The book essentially centres around six women and girls in Afganistan and the United States.

Sunny is struggling to readjust to life back in the US after leaving her coffee shop behind in Kabul, the capital city of Afganistan.  Her life takes another dramatic twist in adjustment from losing her soulmate and then dealing with his affairs, taking her to the Screaming Peacock Vineyard, his dream property.  There Sunny meets a trio of men, Sky, Joe and Rick, who will take her life, and those of some of her friends, in new directions.

Yazmina is now runing the coffee shop in Kabul and is bamboozled by her mother-in-law's absences with her young daughter.  Halajan and Yazmina's daughter Najama are having adventures all over Kabul, some that would be frowned upon by her son and the wider community.  Meanwhile her son and Yazmina's husband, Ahmet, is opening up his mind to new possibilities for Afganistan at the university while also looking forward to the birth of their first child together.

Yazmima's younger sister Layla has gone to the US to learn English and is unhappy.  She is brought to the Screaming Peacock Vineyard by Candace for Sunny to look after.  Sunny employs Kat, a girl who had immigrated to the US with her mother as a child, to teach Layla English.  This is confronting to Kat, who, for dramatic reasons, has been trying to leave her Afgani past far behind her.

Then there is Zara, who is in love with Omar, a friend of Ahmet's, but her family has been asked to consent to Zara's hand in marriage with a powerful man who will not take no for an answer.  This will have a devasting affect on Zara's family and the future of Yazmina's family too.

While I have labelled this book as chick lit for the post, it is not a simpering love story that plays for laughs or soppiness.  It is a book more aimed at women than men, but it brings up some challenging themes such as how do you carry on when you lose the one you love the most, arranged marriages, the conflict of cultures, and day-to-day life in what is pretty much still a war zone.

I enjoyed the book and will definitely be searching out the first one to read so that I understand how these characters got to where they are now.

Poldark: Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

Ross Poldark is the first book of the Poldark series by Winston Graham.  In the 1970s there was a tv series based on the book, and in 2015 the BBC released a new tv series that covered the events covered in the first two books of the series.

This is the cover and the blurb for the first book:

The book naturally introduces the major characters, the places, tensions and themes of this series in the opening chapters.  Ross Poldark, a young man who had run ins with the law in his youth, has returned from the American colonies after the English armies were defeated in the American Independence War to find his father is deceased, his servants are drunken and his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth, is married to his cousin, Francis.

Ross sets about putting his house, farm and servants to rights, and then turns his attention to his derelict mines.  During this time he also rescues a young girl, Demelza, from a brawl.  He then takes her home to be his scullery maid.  His cousin Verity complicates Ross' life when she falls in love with Captain Blamey, who her father and brother consider to be an unsuitable match for Verity and ban her from associating with him.

Ross discovers that his cousin Francis is poor at business and is more inclined to gamble and drink his time away with his friends the Warleggans.  The Warleggans, originally blacksmiths, have become money lenders, and the majority of the landed upper classes and mine owners seem to be indebted to the Warleggans at various levels.  The Warleggans have become wealthy from their business dealings and use this wealth to elevate their status in society.  However, Ross takes an instant dislike to George and his uncle Cary, and does not trust them in business either.

This book is followed by the book Demelza in the series.  There are eleven books in the series.

It is a delightful look into the Georgian era, post the loss of the American colonies and for those who have read a wide range of Jane Austen books, you will be able to contrast the two eras and compare and contrast the manners and social expectations of the times.  And you always find the book better than the movie or tv programme based on it.

The Sacred Bones by Michael Byrnes

I dug this 2007 novel out of my Dad's bookshelf over the summer to read.  I had never heard of Michael Byrnes, and I believe this may be his only novel.  It was a book that captured my attention and I had to read to the end - and it was raining at the beach, but I couldn't put it down on the sunny day either, so I finished it as I lay on the lawn and sat on the deck soaking up the sunny day.

Here is the cover and blurb for you to read:

This book begins in the days of the Crusades to the Holy Land.  The Knights have lost their fortress to the ways of Egyptian Mamluks who overwhelmed them in a six week long siege.  This particular Knight is in a jail, at the mercy of the Pope and those loyal to him.

The next chapter opens with a daring raid on a secret room in a mosque in the heart of Jerusalem's Temple Mount complex.  The artefact taken has implications for the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths, and the reader would benefit from having a good working knowledge of the history of Christianity, but also the beliefs and traditions of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.

Chaos erupts in Jerusalem and there is conflict between Israeli security officials and the Palestinians responsible for the Temple Mount.  A high ranking mediator of the Islamic world, Razak bin al-Tahini, is brought in to facilitate communications between the two, and a British archaeologist, Graham Barton, is also engaged to verify what was taken from this secret room and why.  The two must rely on each other to uncover what happened and why.

Meanwhile, at the Vatican, Charlotte Hennesey, an American genetic scientist, has arrived and is introduced to an Italian anthropologist, Giovanni Bersei, is a well equipped, high tech laboratory.  The Vatican cleric then rushes off to meet Salvatore Conte, mastermind of the Jerusalem raid, who has the artefact for Charlotte and Giovanni to examine.  Conte watches their every move as they examine, photograph, sample and test the artefact to ascertain its origin.  Neither Charlotte, Giovanni nor the cleric realise that their lives are in danger when they confirm the artefact to be what they suspect it to be.

The book has plenty of action, double crossing, mystery, subterfuge and thrilling mind challenging ideas to keep a reader coming back to the end of the book.

I found this book to be quite fascinating because it gave me a lot more knowledge about the Temple Mount and early Christian practices and how these relate to Islamic and Jewish beliefs.  I read another book with a similar theme not long after, and viewed a number of documentaries on Constantine, the life of Jesus and early Christian practices, and it created a lot of thought for me about how Christianity works, and religions world wide.  I've come to the conclusion that organised religion just is too corrupt for my tastes.

If you like your beliefs to be challenged and you are open to expanding what you know, books like this can be a catalyst to viewing or reading material you otherwise would consider boring and not worth your time.  While this is a book of fiction, it did open my mind to further reading and viewing on the topic to help me further crystallise my personal beliefs on religion.  It is also a rollicking good adventure with thrills, chills, murders and action a plenty.

Wonder by RJ Palacio

Teachers often ask for books that others recommend to read to children in their classes.  One book that has often been favourably recommended over the last year was RJ Palacio's novel Wonder.  Teachers spoke of it being written from a the point of view of the central character, as well as other children in his life.  They also spoke of the content being very valuable for children.

Currently I am a relief teacher, and one class I was in recently was having this book read to them.  I certainly wasn't going to spoil it for the teacher by reading it to the class, but while the class did their silent reading I started dipping into this book (good teachers model the behaviours of reading).  I enjoyed the first 50 pages so much that the next time I was in town I searched the book out in the Paper Plus I was in and purchased my own copy to read.

So hear is the front cover, and the ever so brief blurb:

The book is written mostly from the point of view of a boy called August Pullman.  August is 10 years old.  He has never been to school because he was born with a serious cleft pallet issue as well as another facio cranial issue.  As a result, August was home schooled due to medical issues, numerous surgeries and to protect him from the reactions of others.  However, at age 10, his parents decide it is time that August start school, in 5th grade, the beginning of Middle School.

Beecher Prep's Middle School Director, Mr Tushman, arranges for three students to give August a tour around the school during the summer break and so August will know three students on his first day of school.  The reactions of these students vary, but August is used to reactions to his appearance and tries to put on a good front to these fellow students, the staff and his family.

The book covers the journey August has during his fifth grade year.  It covers how he forms relationships with other students, deals with rejection, bullying, ignorance and fear - some of it from parents of other children. 

Occasionally the point of view switches.  His older sister Via, his friends Summer and Jack, and his sister's friends Justin and Miranda talk about their own journeys and their journey with August during this time, as they also face the challenges of forming new relationships, rejection, bullying, ignorance and fear.

I think this would be a brilliant book for instigating discussion with students, or your own children, on people who are different due to an accident or by birth in appearance.  It would be a great read to for a class, but I would then make it available to students afterwards to read at their own leisure because I think a 10 year old child and up would be able to handle this book as an independent reader.

Vicious Circle by Wilbur Smith

I love reading Wilbur Smith books.  They are an indulgence into a worlds and places I am never likely to go.  He has a superb knack of describing the environment and transporting you there, and can write some raunchy scenes with heroes who are manly yet romantic the next.  I love getting his books in hardback too because it is so much more of a decadent read too.  So often these are the books I give my Dad for Christmas, to spoil him.  It helps that our reading tastes often cross over for my benefit.

Vicious Circle is the second book in what I assume will at least be a trilogy.  The book this follows on from is called Those in Peril, and I have not read that, so I guess I will need to track it down.  The third book, Predator, is being released now in 2016.

Below is the cover and the blurb.

As you can tell from the blurb, this is a rollicking adventure.  It is violent and, at times, vile to read, but with moments of desolation, tenderness and adoration.

Hector is devastated by the loss of his wife Hazel, and soon realises that his baby daughter Catherine is at continued sustained risk from an enemy that just won't quit.  He has to secure her safety first, and turns to those he trusts the most to secure that safety, before he and his team work to identify who is targeting him and his daughter.

Along the way a family secret from Hazel's first late husband's past is found to be the catalyst to this violence and explains the, until then, background to the actions in Those in Peril.  And I am picking that because you know that there is a third book, that the threat is not totally annihilated at the end of Vicious Circle.

There is an aspect of 'as if' as you read parts of this book, but that is the decadence of reading such a book.  And it is why I keep reading Wilbur Smith books because I am transported to a world that is definitely not mine.

A Tattooed Heart by Deborah Challinor

A Tattooed Heart is the fourth and final book by Deborah Challinor in her series about four convicts deported from Newgate Gaol to Sydney in the early 1830s.  I had been hanging out for the release of this book in late 2015 since I polished off The Silk Thief in December 2014.  So I pounced on it when I first saw it in store in November, and I tried eking this book out over a number weeks, but once a weekend came I just devoured it.

So check out the cover and blurb here below.

Each book has covered the story of all the girls, but a little more focus is placed on one girl in each book.  The initial book, Behind the Sun, focuses on all four girls, introducing the characters and exploring their growing bond.  In Girl of Shadows the focus was more on Sarah; in The Silk Thief it was Harriet that was the focus.  So if you have read the previous three books, it stands to reason that Friday is more of the focus in A Tattooed Heart.

This book picks up where the previous, The Silk Thief, leaves off.  Harriet seems to be over the demons that afflicted her in the previous book.  Although still fragile, she has realised the love and support she has from her husband and friends and endeavours to live her life.  Her husband, James, plots to ensure Harriet has even more to live for, surprising her with a reunion that bolsters Harriet and brings fresh characters into the series that impact on the story lines.

Friday mopes about until a surprise return by Aria and a new direction in her career proposed by Mrs Hislop give her a much needed boost.  Despite these events, the blackmail still weighs heavily upon her and her weakness for the booze threatens to lose both Aria and the dedication of Mrs Hislop from her life.  Friday also finds that Bella Jackson throws a curve ball into her life as well as a possible solution for a problem Mrs Hislop has long kept secret.

Aria also has revenge against Bella Jackson on her mind, after the theft of her uncle's tattooed head.  But her mother and father and fiancée also come looking for her in an effort to drag her away from Friday.

Sarah continues to use her unique talents to help the group figure out Bella Jackson's secrets and hold over them.  While she tries to keep the blackmail secret from her husband, Adam, he actually knows more than she realises and in the end gets the story more or less out of Sarah. 

Meanwhile, Jonah O'Leary lurks ominously around, convinced Harriet is the key to finding his brother and thinks baby Charlotte is the leverage he needs.  Leo makes a deal with Bella to protect young Walter who has returned despite the danger to his life.  Matthew is heartbroken by one young lady, but James' surprise for Harriet opens up new opportunities for Matthew.  And when the worst comes to the worst, Mrs Hislop's assistance is required and it brings back Captain Rian Farrell and his crew (from The Smuggler's Wife series and Girl of Shadows) back into the story to help Harriet, Sarah and Friday to save baby Charlotte.

Once again the book submerges you into the life of 1830s Sydney with apt description, a story line that sucks you in and then some twists and turns and a conclusion that rounds up the stories of these characters.  While you are sad to leave these characters, as it is the end of the series, the storylines are completed and it is the end.

Jack of Diamonds by Bryce Courtenay

Bryce Courtenay is a legendary writer.  South African born and raised, Courtenay was a married man and father well established in the advertising world in Australia (he is credited with Louie the Fly and the Milky Bar Kid) when he began getting his writing published.  A quick glance through the titles he has had published, starting with The Power of One in 1989, shows me I only have a handful left to read.

Sadly, Bryce Courtenay passed away from gastric cancer in 2012 and his final book was Jack of Diamonds.  Here is the cover and blurb from the cover flap.

This book begins in the depressed slum of Toronto, Canada, in the Great Depression.  The title character, Jack Spayd, is lucky enough to catch the ear of a jazz pianist while playing a harmonica his father gave him out the back of a piano club and so begins his education thanks to a benefactor.  Jack serves a short apprenticeship playing piano in a prairie city out west before becoming a media and army entertainer in WWII Europe. 

On his return from war, Jack moves to Las Vegas after being prompted by an old war friend, who is from a mob family.  This is an exciting time, when Las Vegas rapidly developed from a small desert town into the neon flashing, 24 hour entertainment and gambling capital of the US.  Alas, another old war time friend is a constant threat to all who Jack holds dear in Las Vegas and finally an event tips the balance and Jack is left to contemplate his future without his dearest passion and the woman he loves.

This takes Jack to Africa, to a new adventure, where his talents with the cards win him friends and enemies, but his colour blind attitude to race causes him greater problems again.

At the end of the book, there is a footnote from Courtenay claiming he had material for a second book about Jack.... but he had run out of life to write it.  Instead his second book was squished into 13 page Epilogue which ties up the lose ends of the story of Jack Spayd.

What I love about Bryce Courtenay is that he is a great thinker of stories.  His novels have an epic quality.  However, they all have a degree of waffle that get on my goat.  The detail that Courtenay goes to his books can be a bit monotonous and longwinded.  It is as consistent in each of his novel as his voice is in the story telling.  I can picture Courtenay and his editor battling out how much waffle could be trimmed from each novel.  As much as the waffle irritates me, his epic story telling engulfs me in each of his novels every time.... and Jack of Diamonds is no exception.

I think this meme below sums up me as a reader and how easy it is to be enveloped into the world of story telling by Bryce Courtenay.

Heartland by Jenny Pattrick

I love reading books by New Zealand authors.  I think it is important to support our authors, so I prefer to purchase their books when I can rather than borrow from the library, that way I am financially supporting writing in New Zealand (the little they do get!).  Jenny Pattrick is a celebrated New Zealand author.  She is well known for The Denniston Rose, Heart of Coal, and Catching the Current as well as Landings and Inheritance, Pattrick keeps putting out books that encapsulate great story telling from many different eras and points of view of uniquely New Zealand characters.

 

Here is the front cover and back blurb for Heartland:

 

Heartland is set in the central North Island on the Central Plateau in a small, nowhere town called Manawa somewhere off the beaten track.  Once a bustling forestry town, it's been years and years since its hey day.  The local community is tight knit on one hand, but very private on another, all keeping their own business but curious about each other.

Many houses in the town are owned by city folk who come down for the weekends during the ski season to take advantage of Mt Ruapehu's ski fields and party at night.

The story centres on a young man, Donny Mac, who is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  He was abandoned by his parents to his grandfather at a young age, and after his grandfather passed on two of the older members of the town have kept an eye on him and supported him.

He comes home from a short stint in jail (engineered by the dastardly matriarch of the nearby big smoke of Raetihi) to find a girl, Nightshade, who no one likes, in his home claiming he is the father of her expected child.

Meanwhile, camping out in an abandoned house across the way is another young girl, known as the Virgin, with her baby.

Due to events that unfold due to the untimely disappearance of Nightshade not long after her baby is born, Donny Mac and the Virgin have to join forces to care for each other and their children.  As the story unfolds, each of the town's permanent residents become more entangled in each other's lives in more ways than one and they come to rely on each other more and more.  The strange elderly ladies living over the back fence of Donny Mac's house are also drawn into their lives and the lives of other long term residents of Manawa.

When a film crew comes to town to film a movie, a secret is threatened to be revealed and all are on edge.  But the tight knit community draws together to protect each other and consolidate their reliance on one another.

It is a dark sort of novel.  With the setting being in one of the coldest places in New Zealand, you can't help but feel the cold creep into you as you read.  Events and connections unfold as you become more engrossed in the characters and the secrets they and the town have concealed for so long.

It is indeed very clever story telling.