Patchett, Ann (2023) Tom Lake. Bloomsbury.
During lockdown Lara’s three adult daughters return to the family’s Michigan fruit orchard. To lighten the weary work as they help with the cherry harvest Lara shares daily reminiscences of her youthful romance with Peter Duke. Duke later went on to become a mega-movie star (think Brad Pitt). This is a dual-timeline narrative. Lara in her early 20s landed a summer season at Tom Lake in the role of Emily in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Whilst Lara is a quintessential Emily she recognises she does not have the talent nor drive to pursue a career as an actor. Duke however has charisma, talent and ambition. A wistful and bittersweet tale of lost love, destiny and choice. Beautifully told. Loved it.
Rating: 5/5
Ware, Ruth (2023) Zero Days. Simon & Schuster.
Jack Cross and her husband Gabe are business security penetration specialists but one evening in the middle of an assignment something goes terribly wrong. Jack returns home to find her husband murdered. The police view Jack as their chief suspect. To prove her innocence and find Gabe’s killer Jack goes on the run. This is suspenseful mystery full of thrills and spills with a courageous and resilient hero(ine). Ruth Ware is going from strength to strength – her best yet! Hard to put down!
Rating: 4/5
Schama, Simon (2023) Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations. Simon & Schuster.
This topical book explores the history of pandemics and vaccines. Pandemics spread panic and undermines trust in science and governments. Politicians throughout history have tended to blame “foreign others”, such as in Victorian times referencing cholera as the “yellow peril” and more recently Donald Trump calling coronavirus the “kung flu”. But the one group that has suffered more from the consequences of racial calumnies have been the Jews, however, they have been the leaders in the development of microbiology and vaccinology. Schama delves deep into the work of the Jewish miracle workers Élie Metchnikoff and Waldemar Haffkine. An excellent study into the fragility of the natural world and zoonotic disease transmission, the geopolitical realities of disease, and the ongoing suspicion of inoculations.
Rating: 4/5
Heath, Rebecca (2023) The Summer Party. Head of Zeus.
Twenty years ago sixteen year old Lucy witnessed something she shouldn’t at the fabulous Whitlams’ summer party. Over the summer she had become fast friends with the three Whitlam children, whom she idolised. Now she is back in the small South Australian coastal town of Queens Point to close up her late Nan’s cottage. When human remains are washed up on the beach she finds her long ago memories rekindled and she is forced to confront the past. But at what cost? Is she about to be framed for murder? Told in flashbacks Lucy is somewhat of an unreliable narrator in her naivety, but none the less a good suspenseful yarn.
Rating: 3/5
Walls Jeannette (2023) Hang the Moon. Scribner.
Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of much-married Duke Kincaid, who has controlled Claiborne County for decades. To placate her stepmother, after a childhood exploit, Sallie is exiled by her father only returning to the family home at seventeen. She is determined to reclaim her place in her dynastic family. This is the 1920s in Prohibition-era Virginia and women are still second-class citizens but Sallie seeks to forge her own way after the chaos of Duke’s death. Sallie must navigate lots of illegal activity, border-crossings, bootleg night runs, family feuds, racial tension and corruption, whilst championing the needs of her poor rural community. A rip-roaring succession family saga.
Rating: 3/5
Joyce, Steven (2023) On the Record. Allen & Unwin.
Prior entering NZ politics Steven Joyce had a successful career managing radio networks. He entered parliament in 2008 and became a leading powerbroker in the government of John Key, acquiring the nickname “Minister of Everything”. A revelatory insider memoir on National’s strategy, campaigning and governing during the near decade it was in government. Initially I thought it would be a dry read but it became increasingly a fascinating anatomy of the inner workings of government, and of leading issues and projects of the Key era. Candid and highly readable. Perfect pre-election nudge.
Rating: 4/5
Dunst, Charles (2023) Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman. Hodder & Stoughton.
Is democracy is under threat as autocracy rises? Dunst explores the eroding of democratic values and institutions and challenges whether authoritarianism can deliver better outcomes. He advocates that we stand up for democracy by better long-term thinking, boosting human capital by making our systems more meritocratic, investing in infrastructure, re-establishing trust in government, and reforming our stance on immigration. In this era of disillusionment if we are to defeat the dictators at home and abroad we have no choice but to improve our own governance and deliver on promise. Thought-provoking call to action.
Rating: 5/5
Margolyes, Miriam (2023) Oh Miriam! Stories from an Extraordinary Life. John Murray.
Eccentric and larger-than-life Miriam Margolyes once again regales us with her credo and stories from her life. Part memoir, part advice column, she covers her family story and talks plain on about everything from her hatred of the Tories, and sex and bodily functions, to showbiz tales. She has been described as “a national trinket”, a moniker she now accepts, but as she claims still not good enough for a damehood. Unruly and outrageous as always, but left me wondering how many more Miriam narratives I can take.
Rating: 3/5
7:30 Bookclub 