Sydney Writers Festival 2013

This was my first ever visit to the Sydney Writers Festival.

I had a blast.

My brain went into overdrive thanks to the ideas, the storytelling, the crowds and the gorgeous, gorgeous weather and views.

I was impressed by the diversity and surprised by the crowds.

 

 

Queuing was a feature of the two days, but with views like this, one couldn't complain too much! 

 

I successfully saw all but two of the events that I really want to catch by using no queuing-Nazi behaviour whatsoever (unlike like some folk who rudely raced out of sessions as soon as question time was announced so they could be the first in line at the next event!)

 

The two sessions I was 'unsuccessful' with turned out to my advantage as I used the opportunity to try something new both times (more of that later.)

 

Saturday was an extremely full day.

I began with 'Boys to Men' hosted by Richard Glover. He chatted with Dr Arne Rubinstein (I now have his book The Making of Men), Craig Silvey and Richard Beasley (both authors who have written coming of age stories about teenage boys in Australia.)
With two teenage boys in my home this talk was not only inspiring, funny and timely...it was also necessary, comforting and practical!
The main point I got out of this was that you can't tell a teenager how to live their life.
But you can share your stories with them.
Stories of how you grew up, your relationship with your own parents, your successes and failures, your experiences of grief and loss, your attitudes towards money, the opposite sex, dating, work etc.
 

 

'Love and Laughter' featured William McInnes (actor/author) and Graeme Simsion (author of the Rosie Project). They discussed how humour and warmth informed their writing.

I had been hearing a lot of good things about The Rosie Project; after listening to Simsion talk, reading his book has taken on a much higher priority for me.

 

'What the Classics Teach Us' was a more serious chat, although all three speakers - Robert Greene, David Brooks and Richard Gill managed to inject a lot humour into the hour.

I came away from this one with a desire to read more about the myth of Orpheus, Seneca and Stoicism. I also liked Brooks definition of the classics -

"classics embody the wisdom of the tribe as well as the stupidity of the tribe."

 

'Stella Prize Trivia' was a light-hearted break after the classics. Sipping a glass of wine, we all relaxed around a café type room as 14 women (authors, media personalities etc) participated in a fun quiz loosely based on the new Stella award for women and all things bookish. Audience participation was encouraged and rewarded by free books!

 

The final session of the day that I wanted to see was on 'Australian Character' but so did everyone else. I then joined the line for the 'Young Australian Writers' session and missed out by just three people!

Instead of feeling all forlorn, I decided to use this extra time to take the long walk back to the ferry. The long walk took me around Dawes Point and underneath the Harbour Bridge with magnificent views of the harbour, the Opera House and Circular Quay.

It was the perfect way to end a stimulating day.

(If you'd like to see more pics from my walk click here.)

 

 

Sunday began with an amazing storytelling performance by Daniel Morden of the Odyssey. It was a spellbinding experience that made me feel how it must have been in a pre-literate world. The experience would have been enhanced by comfortable seating around an open fire with a mulled wine in hand, but we can't have everything!

 

'Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice' was my only paid event for the whole weekend. Anyone who regularly stops by my blog will know just how much Austen love I have and how thrilled and excited I was to be going to the event.

I was not disappointed.

Amanda Hooton, Damon Young, Tegan Bennett Daylight and Susannah Fullerton love all things Austen as much as I do (if not more so since they all have published books on this endlessly engrossing topic!) Books, by the by, that I now have in my possession (so watch this space for reviews!!)

 

The next session started off with disappointment as I missed out of getting into the Art and Pleasure of Reading. After finding myself a coffee and a bite to eat I wandered into 'Dear Sugar Advice on Life and Love' instead. I had never heard of The Rumpus or Cheryl Strayed before...but a lot of people in that room had...and a lot of people were deeply affected by it.

 

My final session was 'Food: New Writing' where three authors read pieces from their work that were ...well...food related. I have to confess that a sudden weariness overtook me during this session. It may have been the warm afternoon sunshine streaming in through the large windows or simply the cumulative effect of a very full, busy weekend, but I only listened to one and a half readings before deciding to go home to have a little lie down!

 

The Childhood of Jesus by J. M. Coetzee

I have no idea what I'm going to say about this book.

I finished it on Sunday night but I'm not sure if I can tell you what it was about, because I'm still trying to work it out for myself!

This book reminds me of Possession by A.S. Byatt in that I know enough to know that I missed half the allusions and references embedded in the story.

I felt like I got most of the Christian references - Coetzee's take on no room at the inn, the virgin birth, turn the other cheek, loaves and fishes, the trinity - were chortle out loud moments for me. 
But were they meant to be?

Were we in heaven? Maybe it was some kind of dystopian/utopian Spain? Or just some kind of literary made up novel world?

David was one of the most annoying children I've ever met. He was arrogant, petulant, naïve, attention-seeking and demanding. A spoilt brat.

Despite such oddness, or maybe because of it, I still found The Childhood of Jesus utterly compelling and thought provoking. I basically read it in three sittings.

The chaos and uncertainty of 'where are we, what's going on?' kept me riveted. 

The philosophising stevedores were adorable and annoying at the same time. The bland, passionless world became more frightening as the story progressed.

I give you one paragraph (from one of the philosophising stevedores) that for me sums up some of the layers of this story...about the nature of the novel, what is real and how we know if something is real or not...

Consider now history. If history, like climate were a higher reality, then history would have manifestations which we would be able to feel through our senses. But where are these manifestations?' He looks around. 'Which of us has ever had his cap blown off by history?' There is silence. 'No one. Because history has no manifestations. Because history is not real. Because history is just a made-up story.

This will no doubt become one of those love it or hate it books.
Curiously, it looks like I will be falling into the love camp.

(We now claim Coetzee as one of our own. He moved to Australia in 2002 and became an Australian citizen in 2006. We're cheeky buggers like that!)

Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier

I picked up my copy of book two in the Shadowfell series a little cautiously.

I enjoyed the first book, but was so disappointed with the cover and the marketing that I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest too much in continuing the series.

Fortunately Pan Macmillan have rethought the cover situation and have chosen an older looking jacket for Raven Flight.

But, of course, the cover has very little to do with what's going on inside. And once again, Marillier has swept me away into her world of little folk, evil kings and rebellion.

Neryn is a likeable, believable character. Her task as Caller to gain proficiency in her skills is the impetus for this novel as the rebels gather strength and develop their plans behind the scenes.

Some the events are a little predictable, but it's such an enjoyable, well-told story that it doesn't matter very much.

I will certainly read book three when it comes out.

Raven Flight is due for publication in Australia July 2013.

My First First Chapter, First Paragraph!

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesdays.

I'm also very excited about getting Tess of the D'Urbervilles as my Classics Club spin #2 book.

So I thought I would combine the two.

Chapter 1:

"On an evening in the latter part of May (how perfect!!!!) a middle-aged man was walking homeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore or Blackmoor. The pair of legs that carried him were rickety, and there was a bias in his gait which inclined him somewhat to the left of a straight line. He occasionally gave a smart nod, as if in confirmation of some opinion, though he was not thinking of anything in particular. An empty egg-basket was slung upon his arm, the nap of his hat was ruffled, a patch being quite worn away at its brim where his thumb came in taking it off. Presently he was met by an elderly person astride on a gray mare, who, as he rode, hummed a wandering tune."

Ahhhhhhh.

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

I've been wanting to read Olive Kitteridge for some time now.

It's still sitting in my TBR pile, but it's moved up to the top now that I've finished The Burgess Boys.

A tale of two brothers, a sister, a small country town in Maine and a pig's head. Relationships explored, exposed and analysed in the style of Anne Tyler or Alice Munro.

Issues of belonging, responsibility, truth and lies wrapped up in such a personal, compassionate package that you find yourself connecting to characters that initially repelled you.

Strout highlights how prejudice, love and duty affects individual, families and communities.

I really enjoyed the relationship between the three siblings in the end. Naturally, I had a favourite, but the other two were drawn with such empathy that I eventually came around to seeing their perspectives.

I think what appealed to me most though, was Strout's ability to see the good side of people and situations. She didn't ignore or gloss over the bad stuff, she simply chose to see everything and everyone with kindness and goodwill. It was a heartening experience.

Classics Club Spin #2

It's on again - the Classic Spin.

It's a fun way to tick off another classic from our lists. It also encourages those of us who want to interact more to visit each others blogs and leave a friendly comment or two.

Click on the link above to check out what the spin is all about and how to join in.

I've spent a little time checking out everyone's lists to cross-match titles and authors as I like to read my book with someone else:-)

Last spin I read The Magnificent Amberson's with Cat.

Below is my list and a link to the clubbers sharing the book or author with me. If I've missed anyone, please let me know and I'll add your link too.

1. Possession by A.S. Byatt   -   Cat
2. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck   -   Tiny Library
3. Germinal by Emile Zola  -  Book Rhapsody, Cat, Several Four Many      (other Zola books - Books and Chocolate)
4. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier   -   Lakeside Musing
5. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson  -  Wandering in the Stacks
6. Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy  -   Lakeside Musing, Several Four Many
7. Ulysses by James Joyce  - The Club     (other Joyce books - Bibliographic Manifestations)
8. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte   -   Jayne's Books, Cat   (other Bronte books - Readinpleasure, Lakeside Musing, My Porch Blog)
9. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut   -    Howling Frog, From Isi     (other Vonnegut - Avid Reader's Musings)
10. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe  -  Under a Gray Sky, Several Four Many   (other Defoe books - Unscripted35)
11. Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe    -   Lost Generation Reader  
12. Beloved by Toni Morrison   -   Classic Vasilly
13. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen   -  Books Please
14. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf  -  From Isi
15. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath   -  Jackie Mania, What I Have in Mind Blog
16. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov   -   Wandering in the Stacks
17. Complete Poems of T.S. Eliot   -   Aquatique
18. Diary of Anne Frank  -  The Club, Surgabukuku
19. Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh   -  Roofbeam Reader
20. Parade's End by Ford Maddox Ford  -  Books Please

Needless to say, I'm dreading #7 coming up, but everything else I'm ready to tackle right here and now.

If you're on Instagram share your spinning winner with the hashtag #ccspin

Come in spinner!

Early Tuesday morning Australian EST - It's official!

The spin number is #6.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles is coming my way and I get to enjoy the company of Joann from Lakeside Musing and Several Four Many as we read it together. 

Tess is a reread for me. I first read it in my mid 20's and I loved all the bucolic angst and melancholy. I'm curious to see how I respond twenty years later.

Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier and Friday Memes

This week for Book Beginnings on Fridays and The Friday 56 I've selected Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier.

This is the second book in her YA Shadowfell series. I was pleasantly surprised by my love for the first book (although very disappointed in the cover choice). Raven Flight has been given a much better cover - far more suitable for its intended audience, so we're off to a good start!

Book Beginnings:
As the lone traveller approached, the five Enforcers spread out in a line across the path.

Page 56:
The five tiny folk came forward, bearing their wreath. It was about the size of a woman's wristlet. They stopped in front of Regan and held it up. 

Classics Club Catch-up

Except for my new-found love affair with Their Eyes Were Watching God, I haven't been focused on classics at all the past couple of months.

But I see a few clever clubbers have combined the April and May memes in one post. Great idea!

It's a chilly, overcast autumnal evening here, I'm trying hard not to develop a head cold and a night thinking cosy thoughts about books is just what the doctor ordered!

April - “Who is hands-down the best literary hero, in your opinion? Likewise, who is the best heroine?”

May - "Tell us about the classic book(s) you’re reading this month. You can post about what you’re looking forward to reading in May, or post thoughts-in-progress on your current read(s)."

I suspect the easiest way for me to answer April's question is with a list and sub-categories as I cannot settle on a hands-down winner!

Best Literary Parent Hero/ine: Atticus Finch and Marmee March (I feel like a better person just imagining them as my parents - enough said.)

Best Literary Romantic Hero/ine: Mr Knightley (he loves Emma unreservedly. He guides her to reflect on her behaviour and allows her to make mistakes and learn from them. He is gentle, forgiving and honourable.)

Jane Eyre and Elinor Dashwood (they both have strong inner compasses, they make tough decisions for honourable reasons, they curb their strong emotions in public and they hold out for a true love they can respect and trust.)

Best Literary Children's Hero/ine: Huck Finn and Anne Shirley (for staying true to themselves at all times.)

Best Literary Action Hero/ine: Frodo Baggins (for continuing on against all hope, in the face of unbelievable danger and with little chance of success.) 

Lisbeth Salander (you may dispute her literary credentials, but it is impossible to deny her kick-ass attitude, her strength and determination.)

Best Literary Animal Hero/ine: Hazel from Watership Down (for shouldering the role of leader in times of trouble with intelligence, sensitivity and strength.)

Lassie (for loyalty and for always finding her way home!)

As for the May meme (insert a shoulder shrug here) "I don't know".

I don't plan my reading.

The only exceptions are holidays where I try to find a book or two set in the country or area that I'm visiting.

Usually my reading flows from the mood I'm in as I finish one book and move to the next.

If I've just finished something 'heavy', I might choose something 'lighter' next. Sometimes it's because of a review I've read or a suggestion from a friend.
Sometimes I get hooked on a genre or theme and read several things at once about France, the holocaust, New York, WW1 etc. Sometimes I feel compelled to read something specific for work (a new release or an award winning book so I can discuss it with customers).
Sometimes I need a comfort read and sometimes I want to be challenged.

If this cold develops, I suspect some comfort in the shape of Maisie Dobbs will be required to see me through.

Book Beginnings Friday and The Friday 56

This week for Book Beginnings on Fridays and The Friday 56 I've selected The Childhood of Jesus by J. M. Coetzee

Beginning:
The man at the gate points them towards a low, sprawling building in the middle distance. 'If you hurry,' he says, 'you can check in before they close their doors for the day.'

Page 56:
'He didn't steal the money. He didn't steal the bicycle. Stealing means taking what doesn't belong to you while no one is looking. We were all looking while he took the money. We could have stopped him, but we didn't. We chose not to fight with him. We chose to let him go. Surely you approve. You are the one who says we shouldn't fight.'

This book is getting some fabulous reviews and I can't wait to get into it.
Coetzee received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003 and has won the Booker Prize twice.

Pure by Andrew Miller

I'm trying to work out what I think and feel about this book.

I've been left feeling somewhat perplexed - what was the purpose? What was pure? Why were we left with the elephant in the room?

I subconsciously picked this book up from my TBR pile because I needed the title to weave some magic. I wanted to be purified by this story.

Instead I was submerged into a world of death and decay. Putrid was the word that stayed with the whole time I read this book (and as I think about it again now!) - certainly not pure!

Murky, chaotic, dark, unsettling images ran through my mind.
The pits full of decomposing bones, Jean-Baptiste's head wound, the procession of bones to their new resting place, Dr Guillotin's fascination with the mummified Charlotte.

The smells caused me to wrinkle my nose in disgust - the pit full of decomposing bones, the residents bad breath, the market stall selling cheese the old priests lair.

Reading this book was such a visceral experience that I didn't have time to think "but what is it about" until I got to the elephant at the end.

I still don't know "why the elephant" and I may never understand what made Ziguette attempt to kill the engineer or why Lecoeur suddenly went mad or why Jean-Baptiste had so little control of events.

But the historical stuff was fascinating. The streets of old Paris, the markets, the build up to the Revolution, the walk through Versailles, the mines of Valenciennes, the destruction of the cemetery, the politics and socio-economic observations.

Maybe, like me, Andrew Miller and Jean-Baptiste were looking for 'pure' too. And all we need to do is crawl through some more muck to get there!

Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville

I loved The Secret River.

The combination of family history, fiction, culture and historical revisionism was mesmorising. I enjoyed Grenville's blending of Aboriginal and colonial perspectives. She did so without judging or taking sides. She exposed the flaws and virtues of the various players equally.

One of the most memorable characters though was the Hawkesbury River itself. Grenville brought this area to life and I finished the book with this crazy urge to kayak the length of the river from mouth to source one day!

Sarah's story didn't capture me as completely as did The Secret River, however it was a marvellous and engaging read from start to finish.

Sarah Thornhill attempted to resolve the horror enacted in the first book as well as such horrors can ever be resolved. Grenville showed us how these horrors continue to reverberate through to modern times.

Sarah Thornhill shows us how the knowledge of what happened changes everything. Although Sarah had no involvement in the earlier horrors, her ignorance didn't spare her from the festering after effects. But with knowledge came the opportunity to repair, resolve and move forward.

Regardless of personal participation or knowledge we all share the history of what happened (and continues to happen) in our country. In light of the ongoing reconciliation process in our country and the current refugee debate, these are important ideas we should explore in our politics, our media and in our literature.

Pamela Allen - Bertie and Mr McGee

Bertie is the latest offering from Pamela Allen.

Bertie is a 2-sided book; one side shows a happy Bertie. Flip the book over to see a grumpy Bertie.
Bertie's mood influences that of his family and dog in a simple story about the impact our emotions have on those around us.

The illustrations and family of Bertie will be familiar to those fans of 'A Lion in the Night' and 'Bertie and the Bear'. (As an aside, I wonder if 'Ordinary Albert' is the story of grown-up Bertie, or if Allen just has a thing for the name?)

Mr McGee was first published in 1989 and is a fine example of Allen's fun, rhyming style that has the won over the hearts and minds of so many Australian children.

This book demands to be read aloud. It delights young children from start to finish. I've had groups shriek out loud as Mr McGee floats away. Then clap their hands with joy when he lands on his head in his bed!

I mentioned in an earlier post about this year's CBCA shortlist how books can change and blossom in a way not predicted as soon as you read them out loud to a group of young children.

All of Pamela Allen's books fall into this category.

Perhaps it's her trademark cause and effect device that is so powerful.
Combined with her dance-like language, it's difficult not to add your own sound effects and actions, to create a storytelling experience that is highly personal and individual.
I guess that is why so many of her stories have been converted into stage productions and plays.

Mr McGee has been such a popular character, that he has spawned another 7 picture books.

Friday Flashback hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies is a new meme that encourages us to remember a book we read over 5 years ago that is still in print and that we haven't blogged about previously.

Wondrous Words Wednesday - Pure by Andrew Miller

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a lovely meme hosted by Bermuda Onion each week to highlight new (to us) words that we come across in our daily reading.

This week I'm reading the winner of the 2011 Costa Novel Award, Pure by Andrew Miller.

It's set in Paris just prior to the Revolution and I have a number of new words to check out.


Definitions come from the free dictionary.





Escritoire - "He glides to the gleaming walnut of the escritoire, removes from one of its drawers a little picture in a frame..."
 
 

Obviously it's a piece of furniture, but I like to have a picture in my mind.

1. A writing table; a desk.

2. A desk with a top section for books.


A WILLIAM AND MARY WALNUT ESCRITOIRE ON STAND  CIRCA 1700



Charnel - "They start with the south charnel, a gallery of blackened stone adjacent to the rue de la Ferronnerie." 

n.

A repository for the bones or bodies of the dead; a charnel house.

adj.

Resembling, suggesting, or suitable for receiving the dead.

 

Baroques - "What baroques even a mind like his is capable of."

 

I know this word from it's art, music and architecture usage, but I've never seen it used like this before.

 

n.

1. Anything extravagantly ornamented, especially something so ornate as to be in bad taste.

2. Characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity, or flamboyance.

 

Lucency - "The cloak, the height, that steady gaze lit by the mist's own odd lucency, a faint blue-like light radiating from everywhere and nowhere."

 

The sentence basically gives us the definition in context and I'm assuming a relationship with translucent...

 

1. Giving off light; luminous.

2. Translucent; clear.