Family stories

Other people's lives, fictional or biographical, are fascinating. Memoirs, it seems, blur the boundaries between fiction and biography and although not always completely truthful are still insightful.

This is certainly the case with Hidden lives by Margaret Forster, a writer whom I greatly admire. Knowing very little about the early life of her mother and grandmother, Forster researched, imagined and embellished their social and family circumstances. It is a compelling story. I remember when I read her earlier book The diary of an ordinary woman I was unsure whether it was fact or fiction - but that didn't really matter. It was true to time and place and was an excellent story.

Another prolific writer, Joyce Carol Oates, whose novels I have enjoyed, has recently written a memoir called A widow's story. The book is about becoming a widow and all the heartache and difficulties that come with the new status but it also explores, the unknown to her, parts of her husband's life by poignantly analysing the content of a novel that he had been writing for most of his life.

I found the combination of reality and imagination in these two memoirs perceptive and revealing.

Fantasy v reality?

or perhaps somewhere in between; let's call it allegory.

Reflecting on why I enjoyed The night circus by Erin Morgenstern when I am usually averse to out-of-this world experiences I examined the notion of allegory as a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. Usually the underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, but in this case meanings are related to the general social condition and the universal aspects of love, relationships, friendship, courage, perseverance and hope. And these are all readability factors for me.

The night circus has been created and exists by magic but the people who inhabit it are real and complex. Descriptions of circus decorations, activities, acts and food are vivid and inventive. The Edwardian setting gives an atmosphere of romance and possibility and the characterisation, especially of Celia and Poppet, is enchanting and credible.

There are some clever twists and elements of surprise and they all add up to a mesmerising read.

Books about books (and libraries)

I want to write about two recent books, one a novel and the other a reading memoir, that are book centric but I must begin with Book book by Fiona Farrell which is a novel framed by and immersed in books but is also a reading memoir describing the significance of books from Milly Molly Mandy to Owls do cry. If you missed this one (it was published in 2004) you are in for a treat!

A first novel, The Borrower, by a new young witer Rebecca Makkai, is all about books and reading and also includes amusing glances at libraries and librarians. The library borrower is ten year old Ian but then Lucy the Librarian turns borrower when she embarks on a road trip with Ian. Along the way are references to many well known children's books and even some rather clever paraphrasing of stories. The author admits to borrowing ideas from Lolita and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to move the plot along but she has created a unique character in Ian which makes for lively if not credible reading. There have been mixed reviews about this book but I think it is worth a try.

The memoir The Reading promise by another debut writer, Alice Ozma, is an exortation for reading aloud and comes complete with an appendix of good read-aloud titles. Alice's bedtime reading with her father lasted all through her childhood and continued until she left home for college at 18 years old. There are references in the text to many books and characters and also some links to the Library profession, but the main subject is parenting and the real content is the personal story of Alice and her father. Nearing sentimentality at times, it is nevertheless an interesting look at solo-parenting and an endorsement of the importance and significance of books and reading to the human condition. Oh yes, and libraries as well!

Art houses

I have surprised myself by not only reading but really enjoying a non-fiction book. My average is two non-fiction titles a year and I've reached that number already with a quarter of the year still to go.

At the top of my non-fiction list is this prize winning biography/history/social commentary The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal.

This book caused quite a stir in the UK earlier this year, winning the Galaxy new writer's award, the Costa Biography Award and the Ondaajte Prize for a work that "best evokes the spirit of a place". de Waal though is not writing about one place, his narrative, subtitled a family's century of art and loss, moves from Paris to Vienna to Tunbridge Wells to Tokyo to Odessa and finally to London. The story follows the family heirloom collection of Japanese netsuke as it moves from place to place with the tide of history.

A combination of family history, art history and social history and including the tragedy of war, the dehumanisation of the Jewish people and the horror of the Holocaust this book is perfectly pitched to be page-turningly readable. In the words of judge Ali Smith it is a work "whose lightness, when it comes to dealing with the weight of history, is almost miraculous" and poet Don Paterson said that the book "never slips into sentimantalism; it is as smooth and perfect as his own ceramic works".

Yes, de Waal is an artist, a potter, and describes the netsuke, the paintings and other aspects of art, design and architecture with understanding and love.

I found myself revisiting the Impressionists and the works of Klimt, searching for more images of the netsuke, reading more about Odessa and Vienna and finding out about de Waal's celadon cylinders.

Reading this book is an all-round experience; it is personal but universal, sad yet happy, interesting and enlightening. A perfect read!

State of wonder

It's hard not to compare Ann Patchett's latest book to her prize-winning novel Bel Canto but it's not really helpful. State of wonder is another unique book from a good storyteller with a positive approach to her characters. Most of the people in this book want to make the world a better place but they also want to preserve what is good about the current world. The setting, deep in the Amazon jungle, and the more than difficult way of getting there, gives the book an exotic flavour but the struggles of each character with their own feelings, memories and desires provides a more urbane contemporary feel. Aspects of science, medicine, anthropology and tourism inform this novel but it is the way the characters blend and resolve their situations that is so enjoyable.
Ann Patchett says State of wonder is like all her other books in that it is about "a pocket of the world just before that pocket disappears". I really enjoyed discovering this particular pocket and thinking about its disappearance.
Hope you find it satisfying and thought-provoking too.

Caleb's crossing

Geraldine Brooks provided readings, discussion and interviews about Caleb's crossing during her visit to New Zealand in June. She was very forthcoming about the historical background to her latest book, the research that she had done and the reasons for creating a female fictional narrator. Kim Hill's interview was revealing and local reviews were mostly favourable.

I found the book well-paced, full of interesting characters and fascinating details. Bethia was portrayed as a child of her time but with such spirit and intellect and humanity that she became a vital part of the story and made me want to keep on reading.

Geraldine Brooks is certainly able to take a historical idea and create a novel experience for readers, always leaving us with something new to think about. Try also People of the Book and March.

Commonplace

A word usually understood to mean general or ordinary but in association with the word book, as in commonplace book, it turns into meaning noticeable or perhaps even special. Elizabeth Smither's latest book The Commonplace Book is out-of-the ordinary and very interesting.


Elizabeth Smither has always kept notes of what she reads and hears; extracts from poems, overheard conversations, headlines from newspapers and intersperses these in her notebooks with her own thoughts and memories. In the preface she calls this "a miscellany of profound or light or provocative items...form the linkages of a life as it is lived. Particularly the life of a writer as it is affected by the writings of others". This commonplace book is not a diary but it does give insight into the thoughts and creative processes of a writer.

Charming, interesting, motivating - I have started my own commonplace book!

Festival highlights

Fiona Farrell's Quake story at the Gala Night

Gail Jones' articulate analysis of her writing process

Michelle Leggott's wedding poem

Barbara Strauch saying that logical reasoning is at its peak by age 60 but you still won't know where the car keys are!

Best round up of events as usual is from Christchurch City Libraries

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival 2011

The 2011 Auckland Writers and Readers Festival is bigger then ever with a schools programme, the Wordy Day Out, a series of workshops, special foody events, a free Poets Laureate event, words and music with the APO and lots of "meet the author" sessions.
I'm looking forward to hearing Aminata Forna, Fiona Farrell, Meg Rosoff, Madhur Jaffrey, Emma Neale, Charlotte Randall, Gail Jones, Elizabeth Smither, Tea Orbreht, and as many others as I can fit in to the packed weekend.
Hope to see you there!

A bird house

I think I've got it! Several of my previous posts have questioned memoirs as a literary genre but I now realise that adding a memoir to a book title is the publisher's construct. Authors writing about important parts of their life are not confined by genres - they are telling their own story. Annie Proulx in her latest book Bird Cloud is telling the story of her dream house and woven into that story are many strands of history, genealogy, zoology, geology, ecology, philosophy and literature, in wonderful crystal clear writing. Penelope Lively in A House unlocked described her childhood house through its many generations of residents discussing the relevant social conditions of the day and the psychology of families and relationships.

These books are more than memoirs, wider than biography and deserve not to be pigeon-holed into any particular genre. They do deserve wide reading!

5 bells

Character studies of four people who visit Sydney's Circular Quay one bright sunny day are carefully created, echoes from their past are carefully constructed into their present preoccupations, while hints about their future are carefully implied in their musings in the latest novel by Gail Jones. Five bells is a novel about individuals but it explores connections: personal, social, historic and literary. It is accurate, evocative writing and includes four different brilliant descriptions of the Sydney Opera House.

I enjoyed reading this book, becoming fully involved in the lives of the characters. The entry of the fifth person and the impact of the ending have kept me thinking about the story ever since I put it down with a sigh.

Gail Jones, who has written four previous novels, will feature in the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival in May. I am looking forward to finding out more about her and reading the other novels.

Navigating memories

Another example of how memoir is becoming the preferred genre to autobiography. When approached to write her autobiography Joy Cowley was reluctant but by putting together her memoirs, she has created in Navigation a set of stories on the main themes of her life that combine description, analysis and insight. A writer for children, teenagers and adults, Joy Cowley has produced hundreds of readers for schools and is a founding member of Storylines, the Children's Literature foundation of New Zealand. Her literary life is extremely interesting and it is fascinating and enlightening to read about the background to Mrs Wishy-Washy and The Silent One to name just a couple of outstanding examples of her story making.



I like the title as it suggests navigating through life to reach a destination but I found myself wanting to know more; how did she manage to write Nest in a falling tree while raising four children and helping to run the family farm? Joy Cowley is an amazing woman - what is it that shapes such creativity and output?


I'm drawn to literary biography for answers to such questions but it seems that currently I will only find such information from authors themselves through their selective memoirs.

a novel idea

With all the recent discussions about book stores and book selling, here is a timely fictional tribute to the knowledge and helpfulness of the independent bookseller that is a novel read. In fact it is a novel about novels. Some reviewers describe the book as a mystery, some a love story, some a fairytale but all agree that it is amusing, intriguing and enchanting.

Translated from French by Alison Anderson, who also translated The elegance of the hedgehog, another book about books, The Novel Bookstore is essentially a list of the best novels ever written. How these books are selected, sourced, organised, promoted and sold to readers is fascinating reading but the descriptions and explanations of how the book world reacts provide some wonderful quotable comments on writers, readers, publishers and reviewers.

At the book's website you can peruse a list of the good novels. I'd choose this list above The torchlight list any day!

Comfort stops

A comfy chair, a view of the sea and a good book - what more could I need?

The book is the catalogue to headland Sculpture on the Gulf 2011 and worth reading from start to finish as well as using as a guide around the exhibition. An excellent collection this year. Recycling and sustainability were common themes; seen in the plastic flags along the walkway and the data cables in the bush and emphasised by the group of nesting boxes around a pond that listed New Zealand endangered bird species.

The selectors have chosen thoughtful, humourous and questioning installations that fit perfectly with the environment: the figures in Barebottomland cascading down the hillside, the Comfort Stops at viewpoints, French knitting in the pohutakawa tree, Throwaway Fix by the water's edge.

Take the ferry to Waiheke soon, the scultpures are only there for 2 more weeks.

The hand that first held mine

I love composite titles whose meanings are revealed by the conclusion of the novel. Maggie O'Farrell is good at this; her previous novel was The vanishing act of Esme Lennox .

In The hand that once held mine two stories run parallel to each other finally converging to make sense of all the previous problems and misunderstandings. Admittedly I was aware of the solution before it was actually revealed but I was captivated by way the action developed and the characters interacted and still satisfied by the ending.

At first I thought that the stories were about the two women, Lexie in the Fifties and Elina in the present; in fact the second story is about Ted, Elina's partner and father of her new son. Jonah's birth is the starting point for Ted's reconsideration of his life so far. Lexie is a great character; clever, independent, wise and a wonderful mother. Elina is an inexperienced new mother and she is poignantly drawn. The other characters are well-rounded and credible and along with the plot structure make this novel a compelling read.

Ooooby

Move over Annabel Langbein and Barbara Kingsolver, here comes Fionna Hill!

A Green granny's garden: a year of the good life in Grey Lynn is a charming, readable book by Fionna Hill subtitled The confessions of a novice urban gardener. Covering similar territory to the big names mentioned above: produce from the garden to the table, month by month descriptions of planting and harvesting, and comments on the benefits of locally grown food, Fionna Hill writes however with a refreshing realism about her venture. We hear about her gardening problems and failures; we hear about the differences in her approach to the idealist organic ethos and we hear about far more gardens than her little patch in Grey Lynn.

Ooooby (Out of our own backyard) is an organisation connecting growers and eaters in communities. Fionna Hill took her microgreens to exchange there but didn't have many takers, but that's another story. I loved this book for its gardening and cooking tips, its wry comments on people and society and isms and its personalised information. I just wish that it had an index so that I can quickly find again the recipes for preserved green figs and pickled olives; my post-it notes keep dropping out of the well turned pages.

Beach reads

What wonderful weather for sitting and relaxing with a book. If you like a varied cast of characters, some interesting back stories and a satisfactory ending then The Widower's tale and The good daughters fit the type very well.




Novels by Julia Glass, including The Three Junes and I see you everywhere, have been described as "panoramic multi dimensional stories". The plots unfold from several points of view and explore the complexity of family and social relationships. There is always someone or something to relate to. In this latest novel Glass turns usual or expected events upside down with life-changing results.







The good daughters in Joyce Maynard's latest novel actually refer to the propogation of strawberry plants but the metaphor holds thoughout the novel as it describes the lives of Ruth and Dana who were born on the same day in the same place. Spanning a whole life time and ultimately revealing destiny-determining secrets this is an absorbing read.

Words chosen carefully

What a good title for my first post of the new year; I hope that is what I will be able to do in 2011.

Also a very apt title for an edited book of interviews with writers about their art and their inspiration. Three of my favourite New Zealand authors are included in this book: Elizabeth Smither, Kate De Goldi and Fiona Farrell and their interviews by David Hill, Kim Hill and Iain Sharpe respectively are considered, articulate, insightful and enlightening. Siobhan Harvey's introduction is well worth the read too for its discussion of literature as part of a nation's heritage.

Her revival in this book of the literary interview should appeal to all who like to attend literary events and book festivals.