Winter Reading

This is the list of books I read over winter:

My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin.

Nine Gates - Entering the Mind of Poetry - essays by Jane Hirshfield.

Guantanamo, My Journey, by David Hicks.

In the Company of Rilke, by Stephanie Dowrick.

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte.

What I read this summer

Summer has come and gone, such as it was. Most people seem to agree that we've been cheated of a long, hot summer here in Victoria and the chill days of autumn, with winter to follow, have come too soon upon us. Books though, never fail, come heat or cold, and what follows is the list of books I've read this summer. With thirteen books on my list that makes it approximately four books each month for December, January and February, or one a week, if you like.

There are many ways one might organise a list like this: perhaps by the order in which they are read which is quite relevant and telling because my choice of books is often dictated by what I've been reading and would like to know more about, or by an author I've enjoyed and want to follow up on. This time I'm going to organise the list by categories, rather as they might go together on a library shelf, but even as I start to do this I see that there are not necessarily strict boundaries between the categories or genres of writing.

LIFE STORIES/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIRS/BIOGRAPHY

Sheila Fitzpatrick, My Father's Daughter: Memories of an Australian Childhood. (Melbourne University Press, 2010, paperback. pp. 260.) Borrowed from Bendigo Library.

A very interesting and moving account of growing up as the daughter of the Melbourne writer Brian Fitzpatrick. Sheila Fitzpatrick went on to become a historian. She is honest and courageous describing both her parents who were complicated people with plenty of human flaws. She's also honest about her own very independent character. The book provides plenty of fascinating social context in Melbourne from the 1950s til the late 1970s including many insights into the politics and career structures in academia.

Christine Wallace, Greer, Untamed Shrew.

I mentioned this book in my last blog entry. It's definitely worth reading for insights into one of Australia's most famous women who still makes people sit up and take notice. It's also interesting for the context of the times when Greer grew up (50s and 60s) and for the approaches to her life that Wallace takes. I purchased the book second-hand.

Jacqueline Kent, An Exacting Heart -The Story of Hephzibah Menuhin. (Viking, 2008. Borrowed from the Bendigo Library.)

Hephzibah Menuhin was an accomplished concert pianist who played all over the world with her famous brother, the violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Hephzibah left the world stage to marry the Australian heir to the 'Aspro' fortune and went to live in the backblocks of western Victoria. There were two children but eventually the marriage ended when Hephzibah fell in love with another man. She continued with her music throughout her life. Though the life and times described are interesting, this biography lacked a compelling theme and the writing was rather bland.

Cassandra Pybus, The Devil and James McAuley. (University of Queensland Press, 1999) Borrowed from the City Library.

An account of the life of the Australian poet, James McAuley. McAuley fell in with the Catholic conservative movement led by B. A. Santamaria, and also worked in Alf Conlon's intelligence unit during the second world war. Though often admired for his poetry, McAuley was unable to resist the allure of the culture wars. He was the editor of the conservative magazine Quadrant and became professor of English at the University of Tasmania. A great book for anyone interested in the Australian culture wars that still rear their heads from time to time; a book about political intrigue especially within cultural organisations and universities and a portrait of a troubled man.

Don Watson, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart - A Portrait of Paul Keating PM. (Knopf, 2002,pp. 756) Second-hand hardback.


It's taken me almost a decade to get around to reading this book. But now is a good time to read it if only because of the perspective it offers from the vantage point of a Labour government struggling to survive and get its message across to the electorate, when there is all din and noise on the airwaves and in the media drowning out the positive agendas that the government is trying to put forward. Seen from the Prime Minister's Office, the shouting takes its place as just one more element in the great game of politics. From 1992 until 1996 when the Labour government fell and John Howard became Prime Minister, Don Watson was Paul Keating's speechwriter and one of his political advisors. His account of the period describes Keatings successes and his failures and gives a sense of the complicated man and those who worked around him. It describes Australian society and the wider international context and places the business of politics in a wider historical context across time. Each chapter starts with a quote from a famous writer or activist and these quotes set the tone and focus for the chapter and the events described. In themselves they are something to be pondered and savoured, as is the quote from William Hazlitt that serves as the epigram to the book as a whole, suggesting the struggle that takes place in politics and in everyday life:

Man (sic) is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck
with the difference between what things are and what they might have been.

Watson is a wonderfully clear writer with an ear for the humorous, the ironic, the ridiculous, the serious, the tragic and the most moving in human affairs. The book explains the policy directions and achievements of Keating's time as Prime Minister in clear, detailed and readable prose. It suggests the drama of life on the big stage shaping the 'big picture' that was Keating's perspective in politics. This surely is a 'must read' for anyone interested in contemporary Australian politics, a 'must read' for anyone contemplating entering that arena and a very enjoyable and instructive read for anyone who likes good prose writing.

HISTORY

Two books on the history of one event, the sacking of Sydney Sparkes Orr from the University of Tasmania, Chair of Philosophy in 1956.

The first by W.C.Eddy, Orr, (Jacaranda, 1961) is a big mess of a book that goes on and on insisting on Orr's innocence, but valuable as a historical document and for the detail of reports, hearings, court cases, arguments and so on at the time. To get some perspective on Eddy's harping I read Cassandra Pybus's analysis of the case:

Cassandra Pybus, Gross Moral Turpitude, (William Heinemann, 1993, pp. 238). Secondhand paperback.

Pybus burrows into the character and circumstances of Orr and emerges with a stinking body of human corruption and folly. A good read.

POETRY

Clifford Pannam, Music From a Jade Flute - the Ci Poems of Li Qingzhao. (Hybrid Publishers, Melbourne, 2009, pp. 285). Hardback book borrowed from the Bendigo Library.

This is a beautifully produced book that features Li Qingzhao's poems, translated by Pannam, who also writes about the historical context in which each poem was written, the poetic references and traditions they draw on, and the challenges of translation.

Anne Carson, The Beauty of the Husband - a fictional essay in 29 tangos. (Vintage, 2001, paperback, pp. 147) Borrowed from City Library.

My first reading of the Canadian poet, Anne Carson. The poems sketch out the progress of a passionate and tumultuous relationship. At its nadir the wife of the beautiful husband is bereft:

A cold ship

moves out of harbour somewhere inside the wife
and slides off toward the gray horizon

not a bird not a breath in sight.

Natasha Trethewey, Native Guard, Poems. (Houghton Mifflin, New York, 2007, paperback).

This book was loaned to me by a friend who bought it from Square Books, a bookshop in Oxford, Mississippi. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize in poetry, the book explores a personal and national history in America's Deep South.

NOVELS

Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood. (Bloomsbury, 2009) Hardback borrowed from the Bendigo Library.

A post-apocalyptic world of corruption, social decay, environmental destruction and the struggle to survive a very messy endtime. Atwood's heroes use herbal lore and gritty skills to make their way in a dangerous environment.

Ian McEwan, Solar. (Jonathan Cape, 2010) Borrowed from a friend.

Here the threat of environmental destruction also serves as the background to the novel. In this case we see the corrupt heart of a man who struggles to make a big name for himself (and a lot of money) in the world of new technology meant to 'save' the planet. My first go at the popular McEwan, and one that I liked a lot. I laughed out loud many times at McEwan's descriptions of the mad things people get up to.

CRIME

Kerstin Ekman, Blackwater. (Vintage, 1996) Secondhand paperback.

This crime novel was translated from the Swedish. I first read it years ago when it first appeared in English and I was keen to read it again. A gruesome murder takes place in a wilderness setting where communities of loggers and hippies exist side by side in an uneasy balance. Red herrings multiply as Ekman trawls the landscape describing family power structures and community tensions.

Looking back on my summer reading today, on International Women's Day, I think I can say that I've held up my end for reading women writers, but the men were pretty good too.

Booklist 2008

This year I've managed to keep a list of the books I've read. Here it is with some annotations about the books and where I obtained them. I've set them out in the order in which I read them.

William Dalyrymple, The Age of Kali. Indian travel/history. Borrowed from a friend. My second reading.
Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky. Novel set in North Africa. Borrowed from a friend. Second reading.
Sarah Paretsky, Writing in an Age of Silence, Essays about writing in America post-9/11. Borrowed from a library.
Murray Bail, Notebooks 1970-2003. Australian writer's notebook. Library copy.
Sarah Hobson, Family Web- A Story of India. Anthropological study of village life in South India. Library copy.
Arthur Miller, Timebends. Autobiography by the great American playwright. Purchased at secondhand book sale.
Hannie Rayson, Inheritance. Play set in rural Australia. Secondhand copy.
Sophie Cunningham, Geography. Novel. From my own collection. Second reading.
Helen Garner, The Spare Room. New Australian novel which I bought this year.
Lawrence Wright, The Looming Towers. History of the background to the 9/11 attacks. Library copy.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden. Classic philosophical memoir. Secondhand.
Sophie Cunningham, Bird. New Australian novel. Free review copy.
TimeLife books, Russia Beseiged. History of Russia in world war two. Library copy.
Michelle de Kretser, The Lost Dog. New Australian novel. Library copy.
Maryanne Robinson, Gilead. Novel. Friend's copy.
Karen Joy Fowler, The Jane Austen Bookclub. Novel. Library copy.
Fiona Capp, Musk and Byrne. New Australian historical novel, set in Daylesford. Library copy.
Murray Bail, The Pages. New Australian novel. Bought new.
Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Nights. Detective novel. Library copy.
Amitav Ghosh, Field of Poppies. New Indian novel. Birthday gift.
Amitav Ghosh, The Calcutta Chromosone. Novel. Secondhand copy.
Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons. Play. Own collection. Re-reading.
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace. Novel/history/philosophical essay. New translation. Friend's copy. Second reading.
Heather Vicenti, Too Many Tears - An Autobiographical Account of Stolen Generations (Meme Media), new copy.
Bob Dylan, Chronicles. Autobiography, Secondhand copy. Second reading.
Joan Baez, And a Voice to Sing With. Autobiography. Secondhand.
William Shakespeare, King Lear. My collection. Re-reading.
Graham Greene, Journey Without Maps. Travel in Africa. Library copy.
Richard Greene (ed.), Graham Greene: A Life in Letters. Writer's letters. Library copy.
Shirley Hazzard, Greene on Capri. Memoir. Library copy.
Henning Mankell, Firewall. Detective novel. Secondhand.

They are the books I have on my list so far this year.

And now - drum roll please Maestro!
I am pleased to announce the inaugural Gold Camel Award for the best book read by me in 2008.
The award goes to -
Count Leo Tolstoy for War and Peace.
Congratulations Count Leo!
Round of applause.

In making this award I would like to thank the sponsors: friends, op shops, garage sales. bookfairs, public libraries, schools etc

What have others been reading in 2008?

Reading

How do you like to read? I'd love to hear how different people go about their reading lives.

For the last ten days or so my main activity and preoccupation has been reading War and Peace, the great Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy. It became the centrepiece of my days; it dominated my thoughts, dreams and moods. I first read it many years ago in an old Penguin edition but recently a friend loaned me a new translation of the work which came out in 2007. Published by Viking, this edition is translated, introduced and annotated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. The book is long, more than 1200 big pages. Except for the last section of the Epilogue, I found it a thrilling and profound page-turner.

I feel its effect is still filtering down into my mind. I want to think about it more before I say too much about it. One thing's for sure though: it's put me off all other novels for the time being at least. (That's not counting the odd bit of crime fiction which I put into another category.)

Tolstoy has blown away the cute little plan I had going for reading books on the Man Booker Prize list. I'd managed to reserve the Booker Prize books from my local libraries but when I went to collect them I just couldn't face them any more. I'll read a thousand pages of Tolstoy with glee but please, don't ask me to read a big modern door stopper - not now, not any more.

Novels were once considered dangerous, immoral, a device of the devil and there's still a touch of that around in the sense that reading a novel all day, day in and day out, week in and week out, is regarded as being idle, being lazy, doing nothing. When, as we all know, wisdom and moral strength is found in being busy (but not busy reading novels). Yet for me the best way to read is to go about it seriously, get right into the book and make it the centre of daily life. This also goes for non-fiction reading.

Booker Prize

I was caught on the hop when my sister-in-law offered to buy me a book for my birthday a few weeks back. What did I want? I really didn't know but said, 'Something off the Booker Prize list would be good.' She sent two books from the 2008 list: 'Sea of Poppies' by the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh and 'The Secret Scripture' by the Irish writer, Sebastian Barry.

Both books are on the longlist for the 2008 Man Booker prize. In all there are thirteen books on the longlist. The shortlist of five books will be announced in London on September 9.

I'd already read one of the books on the list for this year's prize. That's 'The Lost Dog' by Michelle de Kretser, the only Australian writer on the list. (Michelle is Sri Lankan born but she lives and works in Melbourne.) I loved her book; it contains some wonderful passages of writing and subtle insights about human behaviour; it's witty and also profound and I loved the descriptions of landscape especially urban landscapes around Melbourne. It's great to see 'The Lost Dog' receiving favourable attention with Booker readers and I hope it makes it onto the shortlist.

'Sea of Poppies' really turned me on. It revived my dreams of visiting Calcutta (now Kolkata) in India. The novel is the first part of a trilogy that Amitav Ghosh has planned. The Ibis Trilogy will tell the stories of a bunch of characters associated with a ship, a schooner called the Ibis, that sails to and from India in the years around 1840, at the time of the Opium Wars between England and China. The Ibis is tied up in these wars, in opium shipments and in the transport of indentured labourers and convicts.

One of the pleasures of reading this great rollicking and hair-raising historical novel is the language used. New words spring from the page, like this:'one ungainly gordower even had a choola going with a halwai frying up fresh jalebis'. Ghosh is describing a small vessel that has pulled up next to the Ibis as it takes on fresh provisions before it sails from India down the Bay of Bengal and on towards the the island of Mauitius off the east coast of the African continent. Ghosh has written elsewhere about the origins of some of the fabulous words he uses from Indian, Lascar and other languages.

'Sea of Poppies' fulfils one of my criteria for a good novel; it creates a whole other world full of characters I can believe in and places I can almost feel and smell and taste. Its language excites me; the history it portrays appalls me and educates me; its wit entertains me. I'm on the Ibis journey and I look forward to the next port of call.