The Swan Thieves

I have just finished reading The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova and it was a fantastic book - in fact I feel like I have just finished reading at least 4 books. The story involves several love stories, a couple of separate mysteries, stories in modern day time and stories from the 1800s all set in multiple locations including New York and Paris. Linking all these stories and settings is several artists and the art they either created, were influenced by or were attempting to destroy.

'Dr Andrew Marlow has a perfectly ordered life, full of devotion to his work and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when renowned artist Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery and becomes his patient. As Oliver refuses to speak, Marlow's only clue is the beautiful, haunted woman Oliver paints obsessively, day after day. Who is she, and what strange hold does she have over this tormented genius? Desperate to help, Marlow embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver, and to a dark story at the heart of the French Impressionism - a tragedy that ripples out to touch present-day lives.'

I loved this book and all the characters and never wanted the book to end. I am now inspired to go and visit art galleries again - something I have been meaning to do for ages and am especially inspired to go and see the Rupert Bunny exhibition currently on display at the Art Gallery of SA (I'm sure I could interest a couple of you in that outing?).

I think this would be a great discussion book for any book club - it's a very easy read but a fascinating history and mystery rolled into one. (Thank you Nikki for the recommendation - would love to hear of any others you have enjoyed as well.) I have only one complaint about the book (other than it had to finish) and that is the final treatment and the subsequent results for the patient, Robert - but I don't want to spoil the ending as I'm hoping you'll all read it and tell me your thoughts.....

American Wife

American wife by Curtis Sittenfeld follows its main character, Alice Blackwell, over her first sixty-one years.  We meet her where the end of the book leaves off, as the wife of The President of the United States but then Alice takes us back with her as she re-evaluates her life and remembers all of the colourful characters that have helped mold her into what she is today.  These events and people that cause her to question whether she really is deserving of the great pleasures and successes she experiences later in life.

American Wife consists of four parts which are titled with the addresses she lives her life at.  First is her parent’s house followed a few years later by the apartment where she resides when she first meets her future husband, Charlie Blackwell.  Her third home is the beautiful, cozy and sometimes too big but not quite big enough McMansion where Charlie and Alice start to raise their daughter Ella (who at times reminded me of what little I know about Chelsea Clinton) and begin to learn about each other in a way that changes them for good but also for better.  Of course the fourth part is titled 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of The White House.  

American Wife is a work of fiction, reportedly inspired by Laura Bush and her life. The first two parts of the book I really enjoyed as a an easy page turner. The third part of the book offered a fascinating insight into a life that may resemble the life of the Bush's or people of their social standing. I found the last part of the book to be very introspective, slow and lacking in plot and direction - there were some interesting bits from Alice in this part where she claims that all she ever did was marry Charlie, it was the American public that made him president and therefore they could not hold her accountable for his decisions and actions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the characters portrayed in it, but it does make you wonder who would want to be President (or more so, married to one)? I wonder whether Michelle Obama regrets the path that they have taken and wishes for her previous life back?

A Lamb feast

I have two books to recommend both written by the same author. My friends that know me, know that I love a bargain. Both these books were 'bargains' by virtue of their sheer size (number of pages) - I really felt I was getting my money's worth! I was also really fascinated by both these books but they are completely different stories - one I loved and one I was intrigued, repulsed and haunted by.

The first....Wally Lamb's 'I Know This Much is True'. It is a huge read and took a while to get into, but then I couldn't put it down and was completely absorbed by the characters and the interwoven stories.

Without giving too much away, I Know This Much is True centers on Dominick Birdsey's whose entire life has been ruled by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a split-and-polish ex-Navy man, and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious.


Searching for answers for the disfunctional relationships that exist in his family and his personal life, Dominick turns to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. 

Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confessional--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick leans that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, comparing with his current life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive his ancestors, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the shadow of his twin.


It is a mammoth book, but one I would highly recommend.

The second book...Wally Lamb's 'She's Come Undone'.

This book has stayed with me for a long time - and some bits of it I would rather I had forgotten. "Mine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered...."

Meet Dolores Price. She"s 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she"s determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.

The book covers many topics including the fact that her mother had a mental illness and her own abuse at the hands of a neighbour are taboo topics at that time and her family ignores it all.  I found it difficult to like Dolores and her obesity issues but it was a compelling read. The fact that this book was written by a male author is amazing as he writes so convincingly about the trauma and emotional battles facing this teenage girl.

I would definitely recommend this book as it tells an amazing story and is brilliantly written, but I can't say that I loved all the topics or felt too much compassion for the main character - maybe that's just me?

A quirky tale

I loved this book!

It was the perfect suggestion from Kate - something uplifting, different and beautiful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society intrigued me from the title alone. The book did not disappoint.

The book starts in 1946 at a time when London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Whilst she is contemplating subjects, she receives a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.

As Juliet and he exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and its a great eccentric and fascinating world. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—created on the spur of the moment as an alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—provides a wonderful and funny cast of characters and gorgeous stories from all of them.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

What I loved about the book was also all the other correspondence between Juliet and her London based friends - very clever, witty and engaging. What I didn't enjoy was the fact that there were no chapters - and therefore it was impossible to put this book down - I loved it (I think I may have already alluded to this!).


One thought for you - prompted by this quote in the book: 'Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers' - do you think sometimes you choose books by your choice or is it fate that guides you to read them? I just think there have been occasions that I have picked up a book (seemingly randomly) in a shop, and it has spoken perfectly to me at that particular time or need. Just a thought...

Cheap books!

Image from http://www.flickr.com

I realise I am probably the last person in Australia to know about this, but I have just been introduced to  http://www.bookdepository.co.uk . 

I have heard feedback from a couple of people that have already purchased books from the site and have been really happy with the speed of the delivery (free delivery!!) and the service from the website. The books are considerably cheaper that buying them here and considering how many books my household goes through, I can't believe I haven't heard of them before. 

Thanks girls for the tip.

Still Alice

Still Alice by Lisa Genova is the account of a woman's discovery that she has early onset Alzheimer's disease and her story as her health and mental ability declines.

Lisa Genova, a Ph.D. in neuroscience who writes extensively about Alzheimer’s, has written a beautiful story, Still Alice, about a woman, Alice,  in her early 50s who learns she has early-onset Alzheimer’s. Somewhat ironically, Alice lives by words and how the brain works or doesn’t: she is a professor at Harvard in cognitive psychology and presents at a conferences around the world annually. The novel details how Alice discovers the disease, how she deals with telling her family and, most difficult, her colleagues, and how she pares down her daily activities to accommodate her diagnosis and increasing limitations.


Through the book Alice finds it increasingly difficult to imagine who she is without her ability to hold down a job or go for a run. When she starts not to recognize her children – or calls her daughter by her long-dead mother’s name – she puts a plan of action in place. She gives herself mental tests on a daily basis, and she decides that when she can no longer answer these fairly straightforward questions, she will pull her own plug.


Although this is a extremely sad topic about a disease with no cure, it was a lovely book to read and to once again make me appreciate how lucky I am to have good health, family and friends. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the topic or to book clubs as there are many issues worthy of discussion. 

Once, Then and Now

I have a 10 year old son who has an insatiable appetite for books.

It was his birthday.

I thought a new book would be good. It is in the 'I love kid's top 50', it has won 'The children's book council of Australia Honour Book' award and the main character is a boy. Terrific! Bought and wrapped.

It wasn't till he was half way through it that I read the blurb for 'Once' by Morris Gleitzman:

'Once I escaped from an orphanage to find Mum and Dad. Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house. Once I made a Nazi with a toothache laugh. My name is Felix. This is my story.'

Oh oh - Nazi.... 'Um, Sam is this book sad?' 'Yes Mum - you would probably cry'. So I thought I'd better read them to see what he was digesting and whether it was appropriate.

So by this point, he is onto the next book in the series called 'Then'.

'Once' is based on the views and experiences of a jewish boy called Felix who is around ten years old and living in an orphanage in Poland that his parents sent him to in 1939. Three years and eight months later, he receives a whole carrot in his soup, which he thinks is a sign from his Mum and Dad (jewish booksellers), and that they are finally coming back for him. This inspires him to escape from the orphanage, and journey across Poland in the hope of finding his parents.


Felix naivety and innocence means that he often assumes some of the most horrific things that he encounters are mistakes or accidents. These assumptions make some of the more harrowing scenes and themes less so (for children readers) but still gut wrenching for the poor adult readers that know exactly what is going on. I still can't believe these terrible things happened and to see the horror through the eyes of a child the same age as my son was almost unbearable.


The book was brilliant but terrible - very much like 'The boy in the striped pyjamas'. Of course, I then had to read 'Then' and 'Now' which were both equally harrowing but amazing.

If you feel like being moved and encouraged by what must have been amazing human spirit during the war, I highly recommend these books - but read them before your children!