• No amount of justice can bring back a loved one. My heart goes out to her husband, parents, relatives and everyone else who knew and loved her. They are on a very sad journey and I hope it will have many happy moments along the way. How sick has our society become, that it is no longer safe even for men to walk along a street at night. - MicheleS
  • Defending in the indefensible ... I certainly couldn't do it. Shame on you QC. - Jane
  • perhaps a large size poster can be made of this and sent to Ms Collier to assist her in overcoming her issue with cleavage. - Kathy
  • Evil is as evil does. I pray he is never let out. Tom and Jill's family got a life sentence. I send them positive thoughts and love to get through this day and those to follow. - Margaret
  • In the midst of the crap that has been floating (excuse the pun) around in relation to politicians of late, this is a breath of fresh air. I wish I could clone Tony Windsor and spread him throughout all Australian Electorates and then maybe, just maybe we would return to a time when the wishes of the Electorate were mirrored in the Parliament. Tony Windsor you are a gem! - Kathy
  • Barnaby Joyce does not only have the Liberal Party machine behind him, he also has Murdoch and Gina Rinehart. I suspect Barnaby's backers will throw huge amounts of money at professional muck rakers (the PR propagandist) to discredit the decent, honest and honourable, hard working Tony Windsor. If the people of New England are stupid enough to believe the propaganda (and I suspect they are) they will 'choose' Barnaby Joyce as their MP. I for one LOVE Tony Windsor. He is our sage, the wise man of Parliament. We are so much better for having him. - Sheila
  • Saul Holt QC - do you have a wife, sister, daughter? How could you utter these words in relation to this criminal. Shame on you. - Kathy
  • Oh, you are a naughty girl, Carole/m! - Carole
  • Gabrielle - You are on a roll. (This & the "Beyond the Crap" article. Please keep them coming!!) Great to see positive stories & celebrations of integrity - in this current dismal political environment. Tony Windsor's (& Rob Oakeshott's) dignity and strength of character in consistently standing up for better outcomes, keeping the bastards honest & succinctly cutting through the political & media white noise - should be celebrated. - JaneS
  • I was hoping that I'd find a tribute to Trish Crossin here. Her impassioned speech and those of her supporters warrants further comment from the feminist media. Hopefully it's been covered elsewhere. - Captain's Pick
 
Categories:  The Book Shelf

THE HOOPLA LITERARY SOCIETY

Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.” Nora Ephron, I Feel Bad About My Neck And Other Thoughts on Being A Woman

 Nora Ephron photograph via Vanity Fair.

Filmmaker, novelist, journalist, playwright, essayist, blogger and a considerable talent sadly missed.

My introduction to Nora Ephron was her loosely autobiographical novel Heartburn, followed by the movie that introduced a whole new generation of women to Jack Nicholson. But for many, she will be remembered for that wonderful scene between Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally – “I’ll have what’s she’s having.”

However, the scene indelibly etched in my memory is of Meryl Streep being scrubbed red raw after exposure to radiation the 1983 movie, Silkwood. In between writing movies, Ephron wrote wry, dot-on-the-spot commentary about being a woman, including this gem “…the amount of maintenance involving hair is genuinely overwhelming. Sometimes I think that not having to worry about your hair anymore is the secret upside of death.” Hard to know if she still thinks so.

This week has seen me dip back into crime fiction and drag up all the questions about why I don’t read crime anymore as well as introduced me to a new writer (or at least new to me) Charity Norman.

Lastly, did you notice the beautiful cake in this photo? It was made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Victoria’s Mill Park Library’. Opened in 2002 at a cost of $8 million, the library was the first in Victoria to be designed on the concept of a hybrid digital/print library. I forgot to ask what flavour the cake was but I think I can honestly say – these books look good enough to eat!

 

 

Second Chances, Charity Norman

“‘Your predecessor claimed to love it here,’ he said seriously. ‘She was English too. Came out with a husband and a baby. Guess how long she lasted?’

‘I don’t think I’m going to like the answer to that question.’

‘You’re not.’ He leaned hefty forearms on the door. ‘Six weeks, from landing to take off.’

‘Six weeks!’

‘Turned their container around in Napier port. It never got off the dock.’

‘Blimey. What did you do to her, Keith?’

He rubbed his chins. ‘They were homesick. It was too big a change, and it wasn’t necessary. They weren’t running from anything, or to anything.’

‘Neither are we,’ I said as he shut my door.”

When Martha and Kit McNamara decide to pick up the family and move to the other end of the world, they think they are solving their problems. After all, things have been tough since Kit’s advertising business was swallowed by the recession and Martha’s salary as an Occupational Therapist is not enough to cover the mortgage let alone the private school fees. Somehow it just seems easier to pick up the twin boys and sixteen year old Sacha and start a new life in Hawkes Bay New Zealand. And whilst they never presumed the move would be trouble free, none of them predicts how quickly paradise can turn into hell.

One of the twins, Finn falls from an upstairs balcony whilst sleepwalking. His spleen is ruptured, arm broken and pieces of his skull have to be removed from his brain. But it’s once the doctors have stabilised him that questions start to be asked and Martha is in no position to tell them the truth.

It’s inevitable to draw some parallels between Charity Norman’s real life and Martha’s story. After all, Norman worked as a barrister specialising in crime and family law in northeast England before, like Martha, she chucked it all in to move to New Zealand with her family. The laws loss is writing’s gain. Norman spins a cracker yarn, balancing family loyalty against truth, weighing up what love means in a real, tangible way and what it takes to find some kind of forgiveness when you get it all wrong.

Second Chances is emotionally astute and Norman writes with razor sharp perception and deep compassion. This book was worth every hour I spent reading it. BUY THE BOOK

 

Byron Bay Writers’ Festival

Time to book tickets for the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival folks. Running from August 3 to 5, the program promises an action-packed weekend for writers and readers alike – as if anyone needs an excuse to escape the winter blues and head to Byron Bay!

Share matters literary with the likes of the ABC’s Fran Kelly and Sally Neighbour or foodie and author Charlotte Wood. Perhaps you’d prefer a workshop on writing crime with Shane Maloney, comedy for kids with Andy Griffiths or surf writing with Tim Bailey?

Amongst the book launches and stand-up comedy, there is a veritable anthology of authors to see. You can catch keynote speaker, former Federal leader of the greens Bob Brown, or catch up on a chat with the likes of Michael Kirby or round-the-world-sailor Jessica Watson. The program is 32 pages of reading and writing treasures and many events are free. Find your weekend fill here.

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5 Responses to this article

  1. Keziah Hill July 6, 2012 Reply
     
     

    If you want to read more crime, read some Tana French. A wonderful Irish crime novelist.

     
    • Meredith July 6, 2012 Reply
       
       

      What type of crime does he/she write? I like thrillers and mysteries or is she is she lots of gore and strange new uses for cheese graters :-)

       
  2. Lizabelle July 6, 2012 Reply
     
     

    It’s great to see Asa Larsson recommended right at the end there – her novels are dark and engrossing and the main character (a woman) is brilliant.

    I’m not really a fan of crime that sensationalises violence against women for the purpose of entertainment, but it’s interesting to see Slaughter’s comments on that. Thanks for providing her perspective.

    On the other hand, I find the cosy crime genre a little frustrating as well*, because there’s still violence but nothing seems to matter. I enjoy writers who tread a middle ground – like Reginald Hill, or closer to home Peter Temple, PM Newton and Malla Nunn – where the emphasis is on the characters and their storylines rather than on violence for the sake of it.

    *with the exception of Kerry Greenwood, who I guess fits into the cosy crime genre but seems to have her eye on a lot of social issues as well has writing books with kick-ass female heroines. She’s my ultimate comfort read.

     
    • Meredith July 6, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Some really great points here Lizabelle. I agree whole heartedly with you about the great Australian talents in this area (and indeed Kerry Greenwood).
      This is the problem with labels too. The crime genre is a broad church and whilst I am totally over shows like Midsomer Murders and Miss Marple, I know I’m in the minority as that type of cosy crime is very popular.
      Dare I say that I am also over Scandi crime? So I’d love to know more about Larsson. Is it a case of characters over plot perhaps?
      I do wonder though, whether is is okay to continue to write overtly gruesome crime against women and children, regardless of the sex of the writer? In one sense, acts of brutality against the powerless is a universal theme but in another sense does it perpetuate that role? Mmm, time to hear someone else’s thoughts on this I think. Mx

       
  3. Keziah Hill July 7, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Tana French could be described as police procedurals but they are much more than that. Have the same literary feeling as Australians PM Newton or Peter Temple.

     

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Comments

  • MicheleS: No amount of justice can bring back a loved one. My heart goes out to her husband, parents, relatives and everyone else ...

  • Jane: Defending in the indefensible ... I certainly couldn't do it. Shame on you QC.

  • Kathy: perhaps a large size poster can be made of this and sent to Ms Collier to assist her in overcoming her issue with cleava...

  • Margaret: Evil is as evil does. I pray he is never let out. Tom and Jill's family got a life sentence. I send them positive...

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