Thursday 31 October 2013

Secrets of the Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford

Old houses in remote places always have a tale to tell in fiction and it is no different with Secrets of the Sea House, Elisabeth Gifford’s debut novel.

When Ruth and her husband Michael take on an old Presbyterian manse on the Scottish island of Harris, they plan to turn it into a B and B. Renovations turn up a grim discovery – the tiny body of a baby buried over a century before, with its legs joined together like a mermaid child. Ruth has had to put behind her a terrible childhood involving foster care and children’s homes, but with her inquiring mind is determined to find out what happened at the manse many years ago.

The story turns back to 1860, when the manse was occupied by the handsome Reverend Alexander Ferguson. He has a fascination with the ideas of Darwin and reported sightings of mermaids. Can there be a link between man and a more aquatic species?

While Alexander is lost in his books, small holders are being cleared from the island to make way for sheep. Young Moira has seen her family perish because of this heartless policy. For each character, their time at the Sea House will change their life for ever.

This is a terrific first novel, with its dramatic setting, troubled characters and a thought provoking blend of history, science and folklore.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue Link: Secrets of the Sea House

Thursday 24 October 2013

Legacy of the Dead by Charles Todd

Charles Todd's excellent mystery series featuring Inspector Rutledge is a must for lovers of historical whodunits. In Legacy of the Dead, Inspector Rutledge is sent to Scotland to investigate the discovery of a skeleton found on a remote hillside to see if it is that of missing society girl, Eleanor Gray.

Since the war, World War One that is, Rutledge has been avoiding Scotland for two reasons: he will firstly be obliged to visit his godfather in Edinburgh, and this will rekindle feelings of grief for both of them over the death of his godfather’s son, Rutledge’s boyhood friend, who went down with his ship.

The second reason is because the ghost of a fellow officer, Hamish MacLeod, shot by firing squad for disobeying an order, is a constant presence in his mind, an affliction that is Rutledge’s own wartime legacy. Hamish and Rutledge were comrades in arms, and Hamish will be even more disturbing on a visit to his home country.

The journey will take them to the small town of Duncarrick, where a young woman is accused of murdering the victim in order to steal her baby. This Fiona MacDonald turns out to be none other than Hamish’s fiancée and Rutledge must work against the locals’ prejudices and Fiona’s unaccountable silence if he is to save her life.

Legacy of the Dead is packed with interesting period detail, solid characters and a gripping plot that builds to an exciting ending. What is particularly refreshing about this series is that you can read the books in any order. You can find the Ian Rutledge books on ePukapuka as well as our physical library shelves.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue Link: Legacy of the Dead

About the Author

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Sandberg was CEO of Google for 5 years before becoming the COO of Facebook. She is passionate about women being represented at the highest levels of business and society, and has increasingly become vocal about her fears that women’s career progress has stalled. This book was written as a call to action and draws on her own experience of getting to the top, as well as recent research in this area.

Throughout the book, Sandberg provides data to show that women have still not effectively broken through the glass ceiling, with comparison figures for the US, Australia, and New Zealand. She explores why this might be so and provides practical advice on what women, collectively and individually, need to do to get on the executive board. Her advice, if you want a corporate career, you need to make it a priority in your life. An important step towards this means making sure your prospective partner will accept this from the very first date – well, it worked for her.

Sandberg was advised by a number of people against writing a book on this topic and you can see why. Criticism has been strong and it has come from multiple fronts. On one hand, she has been accused of blaming women for organisational and social barriers that work against them, and on the other, her book has been slammed for being largely a product of Stanford University’s Gender Studies department (feminism still being a slur in the 21st century).

Despite these criticisms, Lean In fills an important gap. It is the mixture of personal experience connecting with the broader social trends that works well, and Sandberg’s enthusiasm for the subject shines clearly throughout. Some of the lifestyle choices she has made may not be your cup of tea, but reading this book will help you weigh up what choices might be best for you. A good read for those contemplating a career in business or wanting to work their way up the organisational ladder.

Reviewed by Spot

Catalogue Link:  Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In website

Monday 21 October 2013

Staff Favourites - escape to the bush

As summer beckons, so do the great outdoors.  Escape to the bush and the mountains with these ePukapuka eBooks, all set in New Zealand. 

A Life on Gorge River by Robert Long
Can you imagine living self sufficiently in complete isolation, in a hut two day's walk from Haast in South Westland, visiting the outside world twice a year?  Robert Long and his family have achieved this. 

Arawata Bill by Ian Dougherty
William O'Leary, known as Arawata Bill, was a bushman and prospector, who became a legend after his death in 1947.  Did he find the lost ruby mine in the Red Hill area in South Westland? 

New Boots in New Zealand by Gillian Orrell
On her first visit to our country and never having tramped in our bush before, accountant Gillian Orrell decided to tackle solo the nine Great Walks of New Zealand.  A life changing adventure told with humor. 

A day by day account covering all nine : Milford, Routeburn, Abel Tasman, Kepler, Heaphy, Whanganui River, Lake Waikaremoana, Tongariro and Rakiura.

 Borrow eBooks and audiobooks at ePukapuka Overdrive

Posted by Poppy

Thursday 17 October 2013

A Perfectly Good Man by Patrick Gale

The perfectly good man of this novel is Barnaby Johnson, a vicar who witnesses a young paraplegic commit suicide and is unable to do anything to stop it. This gives the novel a strong, dramatic opening, but it is the events and coincidences leading up to this that are the heart of the story, painting a picture of one man and his family.

As a vicar, Barnaby must be seen to be good and certainly he tries very hard. But sometimes life gets in the way and we realise that what makes him a better man is that he has the same feelings and weaknesses as the rest of us.

The characters around Barnaby are also carefully drawn. We get to know his wife Dorothy, who is determinedly practical in order to deal with several miscarriages. Carrie, their daughter has a passion for carpentry, and Jim, their adopted Vietnamese son, has to learn to deal with his past. Meanwhile, Modest Carlsson, who is both fascinating and repulsive, manages to be a catalyst for disaster on more than one occasion.

The organisation of chapters and plot is unusual, jumping not only from character to character, but also from decade to decade, taking us for instance from ‘Barnaby at 52’ to ‘Dorothy at 34’. This can take a bit of getting used but the author feeds out just enough information to keep us interested, while making the connections between events and people.

I have enjoyed a number of novels by Patrick Gale, particularly The Whole Day Through and Notes from an Exhibition. He is an author of immense sympathy and humanity, describing people’s frailties without being judgemental.  A Perfectly Good Man is another fine example of his work.

Reveiewed by JAM

Catalogue Link: A Perfectly Good Man

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Eleanor Catton wins the Man Booker Prize

Congratulations to New Zealand author Eleanor Catton whose Victorian murder mystery The Luminaries has won the Man Booker Prize 2013, beating 151 other novels entered this year.

The chief judge Robert Macfarlane has described the book as a "dazzling work, luminous, vast". Read more at www.themanbookerprize.com/news/and-winner

Congratulations also to her publishers Victoria University Press, who have been "shaking with excitement all morning here at VUP at the news that Eleanor Catton has won the Man Booker Prize 2013. The Luminaries is a book we are proud to have published and we wish Ellie all the best for the next few, we imagine, dizzying months ahead. You can hear her speaking with Nine to Noon's Kathryn Ryan here. Tim Wilson of Seven Sharp talked to Ellie before she left for the UK and you can watch that story here."
 Read the VUP press statement here:
http://booksellers.co.nz/book-news/victoria-university-graduate-wins-man-booker-prize
 
The NZ Herald has published Eleanor's Man Booker acceptance speech:  
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11140777

This talented author's first book The Rehearsal has also been a prize winner.  It was named in the 2009 Montana Awards as best first book of fiction, along with many other prizes.

Catalogue Link:  The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton 

Monday 14 October 2013

Nobel Prize in Literature 2013

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2013 was awarded to Alice Munro, "master of the contemporary short story".

Alice Munro was born on the 10th of July, 1931 in Wingham, which is in the Canadian province of Ontario. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was a fox farmer. After finishing high school, she began studying journalism and English at the University of Western Ontario, but broke off her studies when she got married in 1951. Together with her husband, she settled in Victoria, British Columbia, where the couple opened a bookstore. Munro started writing stories in her teens, but published her first book-length work in 1968, the story collection Dance of the Happy Shades, which received considerable attention in Canada. She had begun publishing in various magazines from the beginning of the 1950's. In 1971 she published a collection of stories entitled Lives of Girls and Women, which critics have described as a Bildungsroman.

Munro is primarily known for her short stories and has published many collections over the years. Her works include Who Do You Think You Are? (1978), The Moons of Jupiter (1982), Runaway (2004), The View from Castle Rock (2006) and Too Much Happiness (2009). The collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage (2001) became the basis of the film Away from Her from 2006, directed by Sarah Polley. Her most recent collection is Dear Life (2012).

Munro is acclaimed for her finely tuned storytelling, which is characterized by clarity and psychological realism. Some critics consider her a Canadian Chekhov. Her stories are often set in small town environments, where the struggle for a socially acceptable existence often results in strained relationships and moral conflicts – problems that stem from generational differences and colliding life ambitions. Her texts often feature depictions of everyday but decisive events, epiphanies of a kind, that illuminate the surrounding story and let existential questions appear in a flash of lightning.

Alice Munro currently resides in Clinton, near her childhood home in southwestern Ontario.

From:  www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2013

Awards and Prizes
Alice Munro has received many awards and prizes, including
  • Canada's Governor General's Literary Awards (three times)
  • Giller Prize (twice)
  • Marian Engel Award
  • Rea Award for the Short Story
  • Lannan Literary Award
  • WH Smith Book Award in the UK
  • National Book Critics Circle Award in the US
  • Shortlisted for the Booker Prize for The Beggar Maid (1980)
  • Man Booker International Prize 2009 for her overall contribution to fiction on the world stage
  • Nobel Prize in Literature 2013

Catalogue Link:   Books by Alice Munro at Hastings District Libraries

Thursday 10 October 2013

An Uncertain Place by Fred Vargas

French author, Fred Vargas, writes wonderfully quirky police procedurals featuring her scruffy detective, Commissaire Adamsberg. In this novel, Adamsberg attends a London conference with his fastidious sidekick, Danglard, and they’re on the spot when a grisly discovery is made outside Hyde Park Cemetery – a collection of shoes containing severed feet.

Back in Paris, another terrible crime occurs – an elderly man is murdered and his body reduced to pulp. While his odd-job man has a history of GBH, the victim’s son also has good reason to loathe his father. However Adamsberg’s intuition kicks in and soon he is looking elsewhere for links to similar murders in Europe. Danglard’s recollection of a distant uncle soon makes a connection to the mysterious shoes.

The case will take Adamsberg to a village in Eastern Europe in search of the history behind a family named Plog, and here he almost loses his life. But nothing can stop this ebullient detective, who manages to draw out the most surprising links and motives for the string of crimes.

While An Uncertain Place takes us to one of the darker places possible in literature – Vargas offers a new take on the vampire story – it is peppered with brilliant dialogue and a cast of hilarious characters, including one or two cats and dogs. If you are looking for a refreshingly different type of mystery novel, Fred Vargas is well worth a look.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue Link: An Uncertain Place

Thursday 3 October 2013

Mouse and the Cossacks by Paul Wilson

When young Mouse moves into a remote farmhouse with her grief-stricken mother, she discovers a cache of letters and memorabilia left by William, the elderly owner of the property. Struggling to manage her own feelings over the death of her brother, Mouse takes on the running of the home, cooking and gardening, as well as taking an interest in the story of William and his family.

William has written a sequence of letters to his daughter that have never been posted, describing how he met her mother at the end of the war - events that have turned him into a sad and bitter man. As a promising officer in the army, William was ordered to take care of housing the Cossacks, a large group of displaced Russians who no longer belong in the Soviet Republic, and are living in an encampment in Austria.

The narrative switches from Mouse, unable to speak, yet determined to look after her mother, and the letters of William, a story of love and tragedy in the aftermath of the war. Both characters are plagued by guilt, and are cut off from important members of their family.

The book has a surprising ending, but really it is a very unique story altogether. Mouse is a wonderful character – a gutsy kid who has to cope with far more than a child should have to. William’s letters are poignantly honest. This is a very intense story, moving and beautifully written, and carries a lot of thought beyond its slim covers.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue Link: Mouse and the Cossacks

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson

A young woman wakes up in a strange bed with an older man that she has no memory of. She quickly goes to the bathroom and finds a photo of him taped to the mirror, ‘Your husband’ is written underneath. This will happen again the next day, and the next….

Christine has a severe memory deficit and must begin her life anew each morning, relearning both her history and the circumstances of her daily life. As this tense psychological thriller unfolds, we share the daily waking nightmare of Christine’s very small world; one where she is totally reliant on her protective husband.

As Christine’s memory slowly starts to improve, she struggles to piece together information that will answer questions about both her past and her fears.  But, are there some things that are best not remembered?   And, who are we, if we do not know our own history? This is a gripping and suspenseful read that will leave you satisfied.

Reviewed by Katrina H

Catalogue Link:  Before I Go To Sleep