Kassabova, Kapka (2023) Elixir: In the Valley at the End of Time. J.Cape.
Kassabova’s spellbinding pilgrimage to the lush valleys of the upper Mesta river, and its tributaries, in her ancestral Bulgaria is rich with connections between people, plants and place. The syncretic and wretched communities she visits have been traumatised by invasion, persecution, and exploitation for centuries, however their folk traditions remain unchallenged and the practise of plant medicine, and worshiping of shamans and the natural landscape persist. Whilst Kassabova immerses herself in the life and culture of her territory we are lead through the rare healing properties of the region. The third volume of her planned “Balkan quartet”. All at once harrowing, radiant, mesmerising, and mystical. Wonderful alchemical and mediative prose. Revelatory.
Rating: 5/5
Benge, Alie (2023) Ithaca. Te Herenga Waka University Press.
Alie Benge’s 19 essays explore her nomadic life from an early childhood spent with her missionary parents in Ethiopa, as an Australian army recruit, a Bible school student, to trekking the Camino. The prevailing quest is a meditation on her searching and longing for home. Her nostalgic pilgrimage to Ethiopa in The new Jerusalem is perhaps her most compelling essay where she uncovers the delusion of early memories. A wonderful first book by talented storyteller. Thought-provoking.
Rating: 5/5
Swanson, Peter (2023) The Kind Worth Saving. Faber.
Former high school teacher-turned police officer-turned private eye Henry Kimball, from The Kind Worth Killing, is hired to investigate a former student’s cheating husband. But things are not what they seem, unbeknown to Henry he is being manipulated by a psychopath. Wondering who he can trust he calls on his old adversary Lily Kintner. Normally a fan of Swanson I found this book wanting in so many ways. Disappointing.
Rating: 2/5
Wilson, Ruth (2022) The Jane Austen Remedy: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a book can change a life. Allen & Unwin.
Ruth Wilson set about carefully re-examining her life by re-reading Jane Austen’s six novels. At sixty she identified with Elizabeth Bennet’s message, “The more I see of the world, the more I am dissatisfied with it.” So she left her husband and family and bought a small cottage in the highlands of NSW to have a room of her own. In her memoir she claims that by exploring her own identity, dispositions and values she transformed her life leading to a rejuvenation of spirit and energy in her latter years (she is now 90 years old). Congenial ode to reading.
Rating: 3/5
Finlay, Victoria (2021) Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World. Profile Books.
Finlay brings together both a technical and a personal narrative in this often emotional look at the complex history of textiles. It is as much a personal memoir and a travelogue as an unravelling of the origins, traditions and cultural secrets of fabric. Each of the book’s eleven chapters focuses on a different fabric and chronicles, amongst others, the mysteries of barkcloth, tapa, patchwork and “imagined” (synthetic) fabrics. A call to action for more ethical and sustainable practices regarding textile waste is a theme. A book for textile arts enthusiasts.
Rating: 4/5
Spencer, Matthew (2022) Black River. Allen & Unwin.
The Blue Moon Killer (BMK) has been killing young women along Sydney’s Parramatta River when the moon is full. DS Rose Riley is trying to find the killer before he strikes again. Then, another young woman is murdered in the school grounds of a prestigious private school with a similar MO. Enter journalist Adam Bowman with a troubled past who had lived at the school as a child. He may be the only person who can uncover the links between the school murder and the ‘BMK. A thriller with lots of forensics and suspects. Gritty and fast paced.
Rating: 4/5
7:30 Bookclub 