Lovesong - Alex Miller

Lovesong is the love story of John and Sabiha.

John Pratterner is an Australian backpacker who enters a Parisian cafe to escape a rain storm. This is where he meets Sabiha and the pair instantly fall in love. 

The story gives us insight in to their early married life, then follows their desperate journey to conceive a child and the obstacles that stand in their way.

When I saw that this story had won the Age Book of the Year 2010, I was instantly intrigued.

This is the first novel I had read by Alex Miller, and I enjoyed his style of writing and found that he is capable of offering the perfect amount of detail, without being too over the top He provided enough detail to start the picture but allowing my own imagination to finish it off.

Overall the story itself is sweet. I felt for Sabiha and her desire for a child, but also in this respect I found the story quite monotonous in the middle. It seemed that it took 16 years for her to stop being depressed about her struggle to fall pregnant, and get the courage to actually do something about it.

At times I was frustrated as the story kept telling us how in love John and Sabiha were, but it was hard to see or feel the strong connection between them, we just had to trust the author that it was there.

All in all it was a good story and I enjoyed reading it, but it also is not one that I would probably read over again and again. (I don't know if this book would have been my pick for the winner of Book of the Year, but definitely a finalist.) While the story was nice, I finished wishing there was a bit more excitement and passion in the characters and their lives.

I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for a quick, light read that doesn't require much energy on the readers behalf.

The Sleeping Doll - Jeffery Deaver

This novel is based around the central character Kathryn Dance, an investigator with the California Bureau of Investigation. Dance is the lead cop handling the escape of psychopathic killer Daniel Pell, dubbed "Son of Manson" by the press for his "family" of young runaways and his most horrendous crime, the murders of computer engineer William Croyton, Croyton's wife and two of their three children. The only child left alive, nine-year-old Theresa, is known as the Sleeping Doll. Pell, charismatic and diabolically intelligent, continually eludes capture, but Dance, a specialist in interrogation and kinesics (or body language), is never more than a few suspenseful minutes behind.

Despite other reviews saying the book is too predictable and 'sags' in the storyline, I was hooked and got carried away with the twists and suspensful story. And true to his reputation (although admittedly this is the first book of Deaver's I have actually read), the twists keep coming right to the very end.

The characters are nicely detailed and while the story sounds quite gruesome, Deaver definitely insinuates violence but never goes in to too much uncomfortable detail.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are in the mood for an action packed crime thriller.

The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas

I had been recommended this book by several people, so I went in to reading this with pretty high expectations, and I was not disappointed.    

At a barbecue in a Melbourne suburb, a man loses his temper and slaps the child of the host’s friends. This incident unleashes a slew of divisive opinions, pitting friends and families against each other as the child’s parents take the man to court. Told from eight different viewpoints, the novel also deftly fills in disparate backstories encompassing young and old, single and married, gay and straight, as well as depicting how multiculturalism is increasingly impacting the traditional Aussie ethos. For good measure, the author also throws in male vanity, infidelity, and homophobia.

From the first page I was hooked. It was refreshing to read a book that strayed away from the usual "beginning: middle: twist: end" structure. It also offers a lot of depth with the characters in a subtle way, although some of the main characters are not very likeable, even when you see different sides of them.

This book has been praised for depicting a real-life modern family with real-life issues. While I don't have many (actually ANY) people in my family or close circle of friends who remind me of the characters in the book, they were well written and became more real the further in  to the story you went.

This is definitely a book I would recommend so you can loks at the issus for yourself and decide where you stand. A word of warning though before you pick this book up...it frequently uses colourful language and drug use, so this may not be for you if you are sensitive to these.

Black Mamba Boy - Nadifa Mohamed

Black Mamba Boy is a novel set in 1930s Somalia spanning a decade of war and upheaval, all seen through the eyes of a small boy alone in the world. Aden,1935; a city vibrant, alive, and full of hidden dangers. And home to Jama, a ten year-old boy. But then his mother dies unexpectedly and he finds himself alone in the world. Jama is forced home to his native Somalia, the land of his nomadic ancestors. War is on the horizon and the fascist Italian forces who control parts of east Africa are preparing for battle. Yet Jama cannot rest until he discovers whether his father, who has been absent from his life since he was a baby, is alive somewhere. And so begins an epic journey which will take Jama north through Djibouti, war-torn Eritrea and Sudan, to Egypt and beyond. This story of one boy's long walk to freedom is also the story of how the Second World War affected Africa and its people; a story of displacement and family.

From the description on the back cover, this book sounds like it promises rich tale full of adventure and excitement. While the story definitely has the foundation for a book that can't be put down, for some reason I found I couldn't quite get into the story. 

Parts of the book are so well described that I can imagine I am a 10 year old sitting in Aden in 1935. At the beginning of the book the main characters are vivid and well written, but I find that once I get halfway through the book I feel like the later part of Jama's life has been rushed past.

This book has all the elements needed for a gripping story: love, grief, humour, war and history. I still recommend this story but would have preferred the first half of the book to be as well written as the first.

Water for elephants - Sara Gruen

Stripped of everything after his parents' untimely death, twenty-three-year old Jacob Jankowski has failed to sit for his veterinary exams at Cornell, left with no home and no future, the country struggling through the Great Depression. Hopping a train that by chance belongs to The Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, Jacob is hired on to care for the menagerie.

The story is related in the somber tones of the Depression, the hardscrabble and often unscrupulous business of a traveling circus and the heartless despots who make their fortunes on the backs of men who must do anything to survive. With his advanced training in veterinary medicine, Jacob does his best to protect the animals from their harsh existence, especially Rosie, an elephant purchased to replace star performer Marlena's lead horse. Jacob and Rosie share an affinity for one another, the huge creature at times almost human.

This novel had everything I look for in a great summer read - strong storyline featuring revenge, love, humour, twists, and there definitely isn't a shortage of colourful characters.

This book definitely goes in the pile that I will be able to read over and over again.

Hidden - Paul Jaskunas

In a rural Indiana farmhouse, Maggie Duke is living with the aftermath of a late-night assault that shattered her health, her peace of mind, and her marriage. Narrating in Maggie's somber, poetic voice, Jaskunas fills in the details slowly: Maggie is young, the match was ill-considered. Her husband, Nate Duke, was abusive. Maggie identified Nate as the man who came to the door with a rock in his hand. Nate was freed from prison after another man confessed to the crime, making Maggie doubt everything she believed. 

I found this book very slow moving and it just kept following the same patterns again and again, with no new revelations to make it interesting.

The characters were annoying to say the least - The husband was abusive and arrogant and Maggie came across as pathetic and weak. I found it irritating to read about their lives, especially once I realised  it wasn't even going to have a great ending to wrap it all up.

I wouldn't recommend reading this book, unless you're in the mood for a little self-pity.

The Brethren - John Grisham

The Brethren is in many respects John Grisham's most daring book yet.
The novel grows from two separate subplots. In the first, three imprisoned ex-judges (the "brethren" in the title), frustrated by their loss of power and influence, concoct an elaborate blackmail scheme that preys on wealthy, closeted gay men. The second story traces the rise of presidential candidate Aaron Lake, a puppet essentially created by CIA director Teddy Maynard to fulfill Maynard's plans for restoring the power of his beleaguered agency.

John Grisham has a proven track record of excellent writing and this novel is no exception. The story moves at a great pace - slow enough to keep you enthralled and quick enough to excite you.

The characters are believable which I think is an important factor if a book going to achieve 'can't put it down' status.

A spoiler alert for those who may want to read the book after reading this review - the ending is not your typical  action thriller to the end. It leads you on and keeps you thinking, but in a subtle way rather than a massive climatic event.

Either way I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a good read.