Elma Turner book chat - October
Bookchat is a place where we get together to talk about books we have recently read. Come along and tell us about what you have been reading, or just come to hear what titles other people have enjoyed. We meet on the second Tuesday of the month from 10:30am in Rūma Mānuka.
Here's a roundup of what we discussed last month.
Clare Dederer Monsters: A fan's dilemma
What do we do with the art of artists who were/are 'monsters?' eg Roman Polanski, Hemingway, Woody Allen. She writes of the metaphor of the stain that works itself over their work. Not heavy, more like a conversation in the author's head. This generated a lot of discussion in the group. The only weakness is the author's reference to Doris Lessing as a 'monster' for not following the motherhood role with all of her children, by leaving two of them in Rhodesia when she moved to London to write
Zoe Rankin The vanishing place
Based on the West Coast of NZ which feels like the Haast area. A young woman emerges from the bush with blood on her hands. She resembles a girl who has been missing for some time. Addictive pacy writing by this Scottish writer based in NZ - Many twists and a brooding atmosphere. Good quick and easy to read.
Jacinda Ardern A different kind of power: a memoir
I loved this. It's not too political and doesn't criticise others. Much honesty and insight. Some fascinating facts revealed like Jacinda finding out on the day she was made PM, that she was pregnant and suffered morning sickness for the first 100 days of her term. Talks about her Mormon childhood. Family tragedies. Covers the time she was PM dealing with the Mosque shootings, Covid epidemic and White Island eruption.
Psychological thriller. The body of Nell Abbott is found in the river near her home. There is a cliff nearby . The question is whether she was pushed or did she fall. Of the ten characters associated with Nell, all of them have a secret. Short chapters with the device of a reveal or a cliff-hanger at the end of each. Well-crafted except credibility is stretched at times
The sequel to Gabriel’s Moon which features Gabriel Dax as a travel writer/Spy M16 agent. But while the first novel covers the mystery of a house fire in his childhood ( not fully resolved), this one only focuses on his spy career. Gabriel goes to Columbia to interview a charismatic priest who is a likely winner for upcoming elections ( 1960s). The US is fearful of this as thought there is a connection with Fidel Castro. A few days later the priest is shot. Faith Green still a love interest. Not as interesting as the first book.
Beautiful writing with vivid descriptive passages. Set in rural Ireland in county Wexford. A young girl is sent to live with a couple on a farm. Made into a film called The quiet girl.
Donna Leon The temptation of forgiveness
Great escape reading. Another one of the Commissariat Guido Brunetti series. When important information is leaked from inside the Venetian Questura, Guido investigates his colleagues.
Richard Osman The impossible fortune
The fifth in the series The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth is still recovering from the death of Steven, so the Club hasn’t convened for some time. At the wedding of Joyce’s daughter, the Best Man tells Joyce he needs to talk to her urgently and requires the services of the Thursday Murder Club. He had found a bomb under his car and appears to be linked to the payment he’s received in Bitcoin 10 years earlier which is now worth $350,000. Elizabeth emerges from her grief and there is discussion about safe storage for such data
The Detection club started in 1929 by writers such as Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh. This is a great collection with stories by PD James, Lindsey Davis, Colin Dexter, Claire Francis and more
I listened to this on audiobook and love the lyrical writing of this author enhanced by the reader. Set in rural Malaysia in the 20th century this is about family, desire, and what we inherit. When his grandfather dies, a boy named Jay travels south with his family to the property he left them, a once flourishing farm that has fallen into disrepair. The trees are diseased, the fields parched from months of drought. Still, Jay's father, Jack, sends him out to work the land, or whatever land is left. Over the course of these hot, dense days, Jay finds himself drawn to Chuan, the local son of the farm's manager. This is the first book in a quartet planned by the author.
Peter James They thought I was dead: Sandy’s story
I had never read any of this prolific crime detective writer’s oeuvre but was intrigued by the story. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is the protagonist in 22 of James’ novels to date. Until this book written in 2024, there was always a mystery surrounding the disappearance of his wife Sandy, many years earlier. This is the story of what really happened and through Sandy’s eyes. Her disappearance caused a nationwide search. Even the best detective on the force couldn't find her and we find out why in this book. Lots of fun!
