Historical



Brooks has mastered the speech of the time (17th century US) and this has meant that there are beautiful turns of phrase that add a rich texture to an intriguing story that gives great insight into the times and conditions.. Having read this, //The Help// and //The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul// in quick succession and seen the plight of women in all, I'm glad I live when and where I do! (BB) Now to read her Pulitizer Prize book //March.// || Terry C. cwilliams1 Shan K Barbara B || ruth_skerricks || The year is 1945. Claire Randall is traveling with her husband when she touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is hurled back in time to a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord 1743. Catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, she soon realizes that an alliance with James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, might be the only way to survive. Thus begins a work of unrivaled storytelling that has become a modern classic. || ruth_skerricks cwilliams1 || I admit it took 80 pages to get going, but the blurbs on the cover were not wrong; Perlman has episodes of great writing and some of them will leave you in tears. The concept of "six degrees of separation" is a constant throughout the novel, and the detail Perlman provides creates a spellbinding story mixing fact and fiction. || exsandgroper Neil D || This year's best read, IMO -BB || Sonja F Barbara B || Could not put this down and could not make a decision about what I would do in this situation. ABsoultely intriguing and engaging. || Barbara B ||
 * **Title** || **Author** || **Synopsis** || **Recommended by ...** ||
 * **Caleb's Crossing** || Geraldine Brooks || Set in Martha's Vineyard, it's based on the first Native American who attended Harvard College. Has received many rave reviews from book clubs I know of.
 * ====**Gold! Off To The Diggings**==== || ====**[|Geoff Hocking]**==== || I have just bought this rather expensive book because I want my own copy, not one that has to go back to the library. The sub-subtitle is "A Pictorial History of the Australian Gold Rush, and that's exactly what it is. It is also a beautiful book and a superb argument for paper books over e-books. This book covers my main period of interest, so I am finding a lot of old friends among the images, but I am also seeing a lot of excellent new visual material. This would make a fine present for anybody who loves Australiana, but it is hard to track down: the publisher is New Chum Press and the ISBN is 978 0 9578972 3 6. || McManly ||
 * The Dovekeeprs || Alice Hoffman || A powerful story narrated by four fascinating Jewish women, set during the Roman invasion and after the fall of Jerusalem. Has been compared to Anita Diamant's //Red Tent//. || Heather S ||
 * A civil contract || Georgette Heyer || Adam Linton is facing having to sell Fontley, the family manor, to pay his father's debts. He has to renounce his engagement to Julia Oversley and somehow provide dowries for his sisters and a jointure for his mother out of the ruin of the family finances. Lord Oversley and Jonathon Chawleigh put their heads together to come up with a plan... and Adam has no choice but to marry an heiress. One of my favourite Georgette Heyers. || Lyndy C.
 * Suite Francaise || Irene Nemirovsky || Written as France was falling to Germany in World War II, an eyewitness account of the surrender of France and the dire consequences for the Jewish people in France. The author, a celebrated French writer, died in a concentration camp. This book was kept in a suitcase for many years after the war until one of Irene's daughters who survived the war decided to publish it posthumously. SMH billed it as a "lost masterpiece". || Lyndy C ||
 * Cross Stitch (known as Outlander in its US editions) || Diana Gabaldon || The first in what is my favourite book series, combining history and romance and adventure and characters that seem real. The Amazon summary:
 * All that I am || Anna Funder || Funder is better known for her non-fiction, Stasiland, an in depth look at the machinations of the former East Germany's Stasi or secret police and the courage some people found to withstand the dictatorship. In All that I am, Funder continues a fascination with Germany, this time looking at dissidents during Hitler's rise to power who moved to Britain. Trust, betrayal, friendship are themes. Based on real historical characters and solid research but still fiction. Strong female characters. || exsandgroper ||
 * The street sweeper || Elliot Perlman || Ranges back and forth between America's civil rights movement and the Holocaust. The stories of Adam Zignelik, a Columbia university historian and Lamont Williams, an African American janitor just released from prison intersect. Explores the nature of history and memory and the untold story of African American soldiers of WW2 witnessing the Holocaust and linking it to the civil rights movement. Still reading and enjoying.
 * The Help || Kathryn Stockett || Kathryn Stockett, by telling the story of black maids, paints a full and vivid picture of life in a small Southern town that is just on the cusp of civil rights and great change and is caught up in all of the controversy and heat that go with it.
 * Parisians || Graham Robb || A collection of stories about the inhabitants of Paris from 1750 to the present day. I found this book to be absolutely fascinating, very readable and a must for anyone interested in the City of Light. || Heather M ||
 * Remarkable Creatures || Tracy Chevalier || A great story of the friendship between women and a fascinating view into the world of early fossil hunting, when the church didn't want to acknowledge that there might once have existed creatures that were now extinct. Did God make a mistake? Remarkable Creatures follows the true story of Mary Anning, a young fossil hunter from the lower classes, her relationship with an 'eccentric spinster' (i.e. smart, thoughtful woman) from the upper classes, and their battle for recognition in a man's world. A very enjoyable book which will add Lyme Regis to your travel wishlist. || Penny Szentkuti ||
 * The Stranger's Child || Alan Hollinghurst || English upper class setting crossing over to contemporary timesextremely well written, to be savoured, the story revolves around a lesser known poet of WW1 and one of his first loves. Covers the period 1913 to the present. || Neil D ||
 * [|Tamar] || [|Mal Peet] || A window into the daily life and love life of British secret service agents working behind the lines in Holland during World War II. We discover how the romantic and traumatic aftermath reverberates down the generations, as two stories are intertwined; Nazi occupied Holland and 50 years later the grandaughter of the spy. The author seems to have done much research, interviewing undercover agents, to provide a convincing background. || Elli Klajn ||
 * [| The Divine Wind] || [|Garry Disher] || Growing up, love, prejudice and snobbery in Broome duing WW2. I found it a compelling read and learned alot about the fate of Japanese in Australia duing WW2. The book has won various awards. || Elli Klajn ||
 * The Light Between Oceans || M.L. Stedman || Tom Sherbourne is a young, decorated soldier just returned from the horrors of the Western Front of World War 1, horrified by the things he has seen and done, and guilty because he has survived relatively whole when so many have not. He seeks refuge by becoming a lighthouse keeper on some of Australia’s most remote lighthouses, which, in those days were not automated as they are now. In a tiny town in remote south-western Australia, he meets and marries the love of his life and they live a cocooned life on a tiny island 100 miles offshore, their days only interrupted by the once-every-three-months visit of the supply boat. Until one day, a boat washes ashore carrying a dead man and a crying infant and a choice is made that changes and shapes their lives forever.