Tag Archives: new release

Book Review: Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell

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I’ve read a spate of Irish authors in the last couple of years and here is another one to add to the list.

It’s a powerful story and if you’re looking for a tension packed novel then this one is for you.

Ciara, a mother with two small children lives with a controlling and emotionally abusive husband. In one impulsive moment of desperation, she hastily grabs some clothes, puts her children in the car and escapes from the family home. With no money, no home and no job she is adrift in a system difficult to navigate during Ireland’s housing crisis.

The themes of abuse, coercive control as well as systemic issues where women face an uphill battle just to feel safe and secure is played out well in this story.

There are a range of emotions from sympathy to outrage to helplessness. And while this may be set in Ireland these issues are certainly not isolated to that country. I’d suggest it’s endemic across the world where patriarchal systems fail to cater adequately for women who need help. The author has put this front and centre which is why this is a powerful novel, shortlisted for a number of prizes.

It’s not all doom and gloom though as Ciara finds support not just from her family but also friends who provide a crutch for her, emotional as well as physical. Heart-wrenching at times, it’s  a hopeful read.

Book Review: Ghost Cities by Siang Lu

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What a crazy wild ride this book took me on. It was fantastical as it was imaginative, absurd yet amusing. Ghost Cities also won the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

This is a dual timeline, dual character novel where one time line is set in ancient Chinese times where a powerful and dictatorial Emperor governs with cruelty. The other timeline is present day centered on Xiang ,a Chinese translator who is fired from his job because he doesn’t speak or read Chinese. He is then known as #BadChinese and becomes an humiliating internet sensation. He attracts the attention of an eccentric film director known as Baby Bao and offered a media role at his giant movie set in a Chinese empty city.

Each timeline parallels the ruthlessness of the emperor/director who without any accountability do whatever they please for their own self-satisfaction.

Ghost Cities reminded me of the Truman show while the ancient times explored the cruelty of dictators. Indeed, the petulance of the emperor reminded me of American politics while other aspects were reminiscent of numerous dictators around the world who have and continue to create havoc for their hapless citizens.

There are stories within stories about master manipulators, chess games, mountains, architectural beauty and decadence along with undercurrents of subversion, both small and large.

It’s a truly interesting book which has multiple levels, and I found myself drawn into the ancient world a little more than the present day. There were times where I devoured sections and some parts which dragged, namely the present day which meandered a little too slowly for my liking.

Overall, however, this one is worth trying if only for the bizarre and bold telling.

Book Review: A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan

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Set during a summer holiday on a New Zealand beach, a family of two adults, a ten-year old Alix and her fifteen year old sister Vanessa spend their summer enjoying the beach. This is a summer that will impact each of them.

The holiday house, the heat, the beach and the feel of summer are beautifully described all told through the eyes of the Alix who is smart and observant of everything going on around her. And there is plenty.

She meets a young boy Kahu who tells her about a missing nine-year-old girl who was thought to have been swept out to sea a few years earlier and they set about to solve the mystery of her disappearance. But as children do, they become distracted and explore only to stumble on things they don’t understand.

This is a story with mystery as well as tension as the author explores family relationships, teenage angst and creepy neighbours.

This isn’t an overly long book but it packs in a lot. It seems slow paced in the beginning but it all serves a purpose to build and distract for when we look away for a second something else comes into focus. The second half of the book ramps right up as the tension escalates and we fear for Alix when she walks headlong into  a few difficult  situations, we’re not sure she can get herself out of.

The ending is quite satisfactory leaving the reader to bring together the loose ends without the need to be told. Yes we can draw all of our own conclusions.

I really enjoyed this one. The writing is tight, the characters from a child’s point of view, have depth and it draws you right in.

This is so much more than a who done it. Check this one out.

Book Review: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

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This is a breathtaking and moving novel about a family of four who live on a remote island called Shearwater, which houses the world’s precious seed bank. The island, close to Antarctica is eroding rapidly and climate change is well and truly wreaking havoc. The island was once host to research scientists who have since gone leaving only the caretaker family, a man and his three children. They are to save the seed bank from the rising ocean until a ship comes for them. To complicate matters, the teenage daughter, Fen finds a woman, Rowan washed ashore during a storm and herein lies the mystery of why and how she got there.

Sound intriguing? It is and it’s a page-turner you won’t want to put down. Quite apart from the exquisite writing which is evocative of a harsh landscape, McConaghy provides depth with each character and a tension packed mystery.

The family don’t know why Rowan is there and she equally mistrusts them despite the fact that they nurse her back to health. Dominic, the father has raised his teenagers, Raff and Fen and nine-year-old, Orly for the last eight years. Their mother is there with them in spirit and we learn later what happened to her. Rowan is herself a victim of a devastating bushfire and there are secrets everywhere. However, Rowan provides a connection with compassion and is a conduit to heal not just for her but for each member of the family.

Orly is an unusual child who feels the weight of the job to save the seeds. The idea of how important they are is portrayed from his point of view which at times is a bit of an information dump. Despite his intelligence it takes a leap to see him as a nine-year old voice and this is the only minor downside.

The family live in a lighthouse in a place as inhospitable as it comes. As a reader, I felt the howling wind, the horizontal rain and the bitter cold. I was also moved by the plight of the penguins, seals and whales once brutally hunted but now thriving in the remoteness despite the ticking time-bomb of a rapidly vanishing land.

McConaghy doesn’t allow us to read lightly and we can’t avoid the picture she paints of what could and will be in all of our futures. Mixed with this though, is hope for the family and Rowan as they prepare the move to the mainland leaving behind the ghosts which have haunted them.

This is McConaghy’s third novel and I think her best yet. I loved it.

Check this one out.

Book Review: The Valley by Chris Hammer

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This is the fourth book in the series about Detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic. Not that I’ve read the entire series but I have read The Tilt so I must catch up on the others. It doesn’t make much difference if you have or haven’t read them.

This one is still a page-turner about the murder of a local entrepreneur in a place called The Valley and so sets the scene for the two detectives’ investigation. However, Nell discovers that the victim is a close relative, that her birth mother had lived there and had known the local policeman. This sets the stage for more intrigue not to mention a bit of conflict of interest which doesn’t seem to matter all that much. You have to take a leap of faith with the connection to make it all believable.

There is graft and corruption as well as greed, of course, theft and robbery all rolled in with twisted family ties.

I enjoyed the writing, the description of the place (the map in the front sort of helped) and the dual narrative. Sometimes the detail around gold-mining lost me.

It all makes for a thrilling and adventurous tale which is difficult to put down. Give up your weekend for this one.

Book Review: Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

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If you’re concerned about the large social media companies whose presence invades our lives every day distracting, preaching, selling and influencing us in more ways than we realise, then read this book. It’s much worse than we thought.

Bad corporate behaviour has been on show for years from tax avoidance, influencing politics and elections, raking in billions without much of a moral compass. We probably shouldn’t be surprised by this because we see it and read it about it enough. Wynn-Williams who worked for Facebook at a senior level saw it all and was part of it and despite legal constraints by Facebook to stop the publication, this memoir is eye-opening.

We know Facebook was started by Zuckerberg in Harvard with a few other mates to connect and talk about the attractiveness of people.  It then evolved into a platform for bringing people together and it has. Wynn-Williams thought this was what she was getting into back in 2011. Facebook then began spreading world-wide like some form of digital colonialist power. Morals and ethics fell by the wayside as the numbers of connections grew across the globe where internet was still unavailable. The only problem was that some countries began using it for dissent and disruption, racist and fake information. Facebook on the surface according to Wynn-Williams began to take down some posts but ignorance of countries cultures and politics such as Myanmar created a platform for political upheaval with dramatic consequences.

This is a book which explains in detail, Wynn-Williams role, the part she played and how she tried to subvert the culture of white Harvard men in the leadership whose rise in power made them untouchable.

“he (Zuckerberg) has politicians from around the world wanting to come see him and kiss the ring… he could buy all the politicians of a country or many countries if he chose to wield this power freely.”

This one truly is enlightening about what global tech power looks like. Facebook is not alone. The only thing that stops them in their tracks is us, the user.

We are privvy to Wynn-Williams day to day struggles, sexual harassment and her own personal life. I did wonder why on earth she didn’t leave the toxic environment sooner and how big a part she really did play.

This book is easy to read and well written. Check this one out and see why everyone is talking about it.

Book Review: Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko

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The latest book by Lucashenko is powerful, humorous but most of all is filled with raw honesty about our past and present.

It opens in present day with elderly Granny Eddie who has a fall along a Brisbane footpath. White people steer clear believing her to be drunk but it is a young Asian person who helps and gets her to hospital. It’s there that we meet her activist granddaughter Winona who rails against the establishment.

We are then taken back in time  to 1855 and introduced to Mulanyin a young man who’s life is deeply affected by white English occupation.

The story takes us well and truly away from the fake history so many of us have been fed and it’s stories like these that educate and explains and puts us right in the seat of injustice to give us a great understanding of the land we occupy.

It’s an insightful and riveting read full of beautiful yet colourful characters who can make us laugh and cry. Lucashenko is truly the master of the written word and it’s no wonder she’s raking in the prizes with her latest.