Our September chat began with a biography ‘Woman in a Wig: Joan Rosanove QC’. In Melbourne in 1920 Joan was the first woman admitted to the Bar. Being a Hebrew she endured a great deal of prejudice but persevered to become a QC. Whilst on the topic of strong women, Gail Kelly, the retired CEO of Westpac bank, was discussed, a difficult career for a woman in the corporate world. The Birdman’s Wife by Melissa Ashley, the wife of John Gould, describes how she illustrated 650 hand lithographs of birds and plants obtained by her husband. Also enjoyed was Under the Southern Cross by Judy Nunn, a well known Australian author.
A fun book was tabled `My Mother Always Used to Say’. A book that wasn’t well known by Bryce Courtenay,The Family Frying Pan, is a collection of stories about migrant families and the recipes they carried with them.
The Nobel Prize for Literature author Naguib Fahfouz wrote Love in the Rain, set in Cairo. This is a story about Patriotism and the struggle between old and new, highly recommended. Also recommended with intrigue and forgery was The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, by Dominic Smith. A different style of writing with no punctuation and written in the style of the day was the Peter Carey book The True History of the Kelly Gang.
A book purchased in the Redb4 bookshop was Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote the popular Gone Girl. The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout played on the interaction of siblings and the integration of Somali migrants in a small town in America, perhaps relevant at this time.
Nancy Wake by Peter Fitzsimmons was not enjoyed so much, but the biography of Phyllis Frost was well written.
Our next meeting is 2nd October.
Enjoy your reading.
Geraldine McCorkell
A fun book was tabled `My Mother Always Used to Say’. A book that wasn’t well known by Bryce Courtenay,The Family Frying Pan, is a collection of stories about migrant families and the recipes they carried with them.
The Nobel Prize for Literature author Naguib Fahfouz wrote Love in the Rain, set in Cairo. This is a story about Patriotism and the struggle between old and new, highly recommended. Also recommended with intrigue and forgery was The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, by Dominic Smith. A different style of writing with no punctuation and written in the style of the day was the Peter Carey book The True History of the Kelly Gang.
A book purchased in the Redb4 bookshop was Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote the popular Gone Girl. The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout played on the interaction of siblings and the integration of Somali migrants in a small town in America, perhaps relevant at this time.
Nancy Wake by Peter Fitzsimmons was not enjoyed so much, but the biography of Phyllis Frost was well written.
Our next meeting is 2nd October.
Enjoy your reading.
Geraldine McCorkell
