this peace...

MY GOODREADS REVIEW

this peace by Robyn Cairns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rob Cairns' this peace poetically highlights features of a journey we all take, either consciously or subconsciously...seeking that elusive, maybe utopian light we like to understand embodies our personal concept of peace...That peace maybe scrambled with grey and crossed wires. It may even be a little scarred with an industrial skyline or rust. But somewhere, if we take the time to notice, there is the zen glide of a pelican uplifting us and trees regenerating us. For me, Rob's journey is fragmented, halting...short poems connect loosely...The Mungo interlude seems stark, as if not quite the indulgence I expected for an ancient dreaming place...But this is Rob's journey...not mine...I borrow what is meaningful to me, and remember classrooms must have daydream windows. (After all, I am a teacher.)

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the earth may spin

through industrial skylines

but seashells

keep the ocean

in my pocket

trees

regenerate me

and

my whole world

lives

inside a drop of rain

as it should

but I wonder

is it time

to visit

Mungo

and dream

old dreams 

awhile

From Snow To Ash...

skinny, wiry-haired boy

window dreaming

of mountain music

yellow trail markers

Mt Baw Baw

Hotham

Benambra

Main Range

Munyang River

Granite Peak

Kosciusko

Perisher Valley

snow grass tussocks

sprinkled with charred leaves

Valentine Hut

With red timber walls

And in a fleeting moment

I am the man

And the child

I'm the dream

And the fulfilment

They call Mt Jagungal the crouching lion

But Jagungal looks worried

The fire is closing in

charred black leaves

twirling down

dotting the snow grass tussocks

like chocolate shards on cupcakes

walking is a workout for the senses

even if it is to 

somewhere

with no name

MY GOODREADS REVIEW

From Snow to Ash: Solitude, soul-searching and survival on Australia's toughest hiking trail by Anthony Sharwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In a digital age, when our thoughts pinball around, walking encourages the mind to drift rather than dart. And indeed, this book is a compelling, December 2019 walk on the wild side in many unexpected ways. The physical walk involves the challenges of the Australian Alps Walking Track. But other walks excitedly intersect - a walk with related geographical and historical contexts - 2003 fires and alpine huts + a special connection with Elynn Mitchell, author of Silver Brumby + a brief walk with Wordsworth. The book is a smorgasbord of wonder for the senses, enhanced by richly crafted expression, sprinkled with humour. Who would believe that the town of Guthega's name could easily become the author's word for a range of emotions. For the 2020 pandemic-riddled reader, it even has a final, wry pass at sanitisers and toilet rolls, ironically connected to this great walk. In short, this book offers a refreshing escape from routine. A great experience!

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EVERNOTE? REVIEW (appears with a Google search)

'From Snow to Ash' documents Anthony Sharwood's challenging trek in the Australian Alps. But it offers far more than the wonder of physical survival, combatting the odds of the environment and the whims of Mother Nature. A feast of sidetracks provides subplot entertainment - from a Wordsworth acknowledgment to an Elynn Mitchell perspective (she was a champion skier) to the quirky possibilities of the alpine town of Guthega's name. On the surface, we hear the plea to save the Australian Alps. But the plea is captivatingly garnished with the many windows on Sharwood's multi-faceted personality. A book to indulge the senses and come out refreshed...and maybe a little more knowledgable. 

BOOKTOPIA REVIEW

If you are seeking a personal detailed, 'smile-by-frown', solo physical survival experience, a trek successfully completed as planned, this book is not the answer. But if you seek the novelty of human distraction, detours, a little knowledge, whimsy and humour shaping and enhancing a tough survival experience, then this book ticks the boxes and more. Sharwood's trek in the Australian Alps is as much a learning curve for the human psyche as it is a confronting attempt to become immersed in the wildness of wilderness. Childhood mountain dreams become adult reality and leave room for another attempt at embracing the whole Australian Alp experience. Save and protect the Alps for others to indulge.

Reckless Paper Birds...

Reckless Paper Birds (2019)- John McCullough



what am I?


I am all
my day connives


I am yellow
and pink

I am jellyfish
and seashells

I am fizzing light
on
skeletons of Russian thistle

I am
the stone
rolled back
in the desert


I am a cup or a mug


I am
the infection
from a contact lens


I am Montaigne
on some days
and even Gaga


I am a dangerous minting
with my cloud of thorns


And beneath it all
I am the silent blanket
with its own agenda
unfinished



That is as close as you can get
to upgrade from

what I am

to

who am I?

MY GOODREADS REVIEW 

Reckless Paper Birds by John McCullough
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reckless Paper Birds by John McCullough grips the poetic microscope tightly and closes into the deepest recesses of body and soul in action... together, not separate. The body is no longer the frame, the encasing for the soul, but is the reality of the soul... McCullough's poems are a heaving sea of past and present pieces - colours, scenes, objects and people - all washed into tides of cresting and crashing waves riddled with sensual shock after sensual shock.
The 'I' figure emerges and fades and re-emerges through the poems, ensuring that all the physical experiences are overlaid with soulful introspection.
Varying poetic formats ensure that no one poem is quite the same as the last; no one wave can ever be the same in the sea that is life.
The energy in the poems is palpable, generated by a lively selection of verbs and tightly paralleled images e.g. Outside, the weather bludgeons photo ops... So many images are crunched together and overlaid, creating a richly mesmerising poetic experience.
This collection of poems dares to portray rarely visited (or even recognised or known) human experiences. And the impact is a pleasant surprise.


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Waiting for a Miracle...

Waiting for a Miracle (2018) - Helen (Wininger) Livnat


We didn’t know who was fighting who or why

we only knew
biting winds
snow
burnt homes
cramped trains
filthy
torn clothes

the smell of death

and a hunger
that stifled all sense of morality

but in our hands
we had a miracle
(or two)

waiting

an old Bible, the entire Torah on one scroll

and
I was about to make sounds
that would make a bird proud

I had
a violin

MY GOODREADS REVIEW
Waiting for a Miracle: Historical Novel by Helen (Wininger) Livnat
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Within the first few pages of Waiting for a Miracle we learn that All Jewish boys older than ten years of age, are to be taken from their families to be disappeared somewhere in the Russian prairies. And so the many shadows around being a Jew in Romania, threatened first by Russians, Germans and then Russians, from the eras of World War I to II, begin. Through several generations of one family, we feel what it is like to live in a borrowed country on borrowed time. But finally, one hope consistently emerges in an unexpected form...a violin, Feivel's violin. Feivel's playing opens what appear to be impossible doors. By the close of the novel, I felt a sense of incredible shock and admiration for the strength of these people. Somehow, the current 2020 suffering of covid-19 lockdowns tends to pale into frustrating discomfort by comparison. Even the epilogue stirs the spirit. The author returns to key places in the novel and tells of what she finds and how she feels there. A very moving, unforgettable novel.


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The Lost Diamonds of Killiecrankie...

The Lost Diamonds of Killiecrankie (1995) - Gary Crew and Peter Gouldthorpe


diamonds

a treasure map
secretly teasing on
a scrimshaw

diamonds
desired by
no less than
Queen Victoria

diamonds
tucked on
an island
a wind-stressed
island

diamonds
dancing in
the hungry soul
of
an obscure
painter

myth

legend

or history

yet
to be written

MY GOODREADS REVIEW

The Lost Diamonds of Killiecrankie by Gary Crew
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Lost Diamonds of Killiecrankie is a beautifully illustrated narrative of elusive treasure. It is a story that suggests it connects with an historical mystery surrounding green diamonds on Flinders Island, in the path of the Roaring Forties, off the east coast of Tasmania. Even the legendary Queen Victoria has a connection. I'll admit, however, that I was initially drawn to the book simply because I loved my brief life in Tasmania and longed to visit Flinders Island, a dream that was not fulfilled. So, in short, curiosity of place first drew me to this book. The opening combination of narrative and illustration I found most appealing, refreshing. However, as the narrative progressed, I felt it struggled to a rather melodramatic and abrupt tragedy. I could not but help wonder if that tragedy was really needed and, in fact, did it seem to slow and smudge the effect of the final scenes. I almost rated the book 2 stars, but felt that the beauty of the illustrations moved the rating to an actual 2.5 (but I could only rate 3).

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The Fig Tree...

The Fig Tree (2002) - Arnold Zable


to be Jewish
is to be
a wandering Jew

to sing
as a Jew
is to sing of lost worlds

and perhaps
seek the poetry
in new worlds

but always
there is

the question

where is home

can there ever be
a place

a lasting place

called

home

MY GOODREADS REVIEW
 The Fig Tree by Arnold Zable
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Fig Tree spins the unsung stories of Jewish people. The stories may initially centre in 1930's -1950's Carlton, Melbourne, the author's home base now, but they fan out to connections with Poland, Greece, Russia, Thessaloniki and Austria. There's a mother's story, a father's, a poet's story and the story of lovers - to name a few. Each one symbolises a picture of yearning, a limbo, a feeling that home is a question still waiting for an answer. Maintaining some semblance of allegiance to old values and adapting to new ones becomes a tension, a struggle and a hope to reach some kind of balance. Zable offers perspectives from a range of age groups. Each one has its own unique narrative, strength and view of life. The result is an intriguing insight into the life of wanderers, shunted out of their own worlds, by such as the Holocaust, and seeking a sense of place and value.


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A Room Made of Leaves

 A Room Made of Leaves (July, 2020) - Kate Grenville


what if
official history
only shares
threads
of an iconic Australian story

what if
that iconic Australian story
omits and
twists
vital
threads
for no reasons other than
social limitations
meeting the standards of official scrutiny
and acceptable public mannerisms
especially if you happen to be
female

what if
we ask
John Macarthur's wife Elizabeth

what did you see
what did you hear
what did you understand
how did you feel
about beginning
a new life
in a new world
and how did you adapt

would that
kickstart
a new edition
of old history

and finally

what if
the real
pioneer of wool in Australia
should really be
not John

but Elizabeth

what if
ultimately
the story is a caution for today's world

take care
what you believe
take care
what you claim
is truth

MY GOODREADS REVIEW 

A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Room Made of Leaves rumbles round in official records of migrants to early Sydney, and suggests that perhaps the historical light may be shining too brightly on particular places and people, blind-siding others who played significant roles in the unfolding of Australia's colonial era. The world of John Macarthur, the official wool pioneer, seems to have some interesting gaps. Perhaps the biggest gap is an understanding of Elizabeth, his wife. Who was she? How did she interact with her husband? Was there a business and a personal connection? Was it maintained? How did she adapt to a new life far from England? Questions abound. But while the questions may not offer substantial answers (this is a novel), more importantly, the fact that these questions exist demonstrates that Kate Grenville has successfully wooed us into re-thinking the historical record and perhaps stimulating further research and question of our own. Grenville's Elizabeth sounds like a woman of strength, not satisfied with the decorums and mannerisms of her time. She was not satisfied with being a woman of needlepoint in a parlour, but a woman who liked to listen, watch, learn and act with a measure of understanding consequences. She knew how to handle sheep (from her upbringing in England). Grenville suggests that Elizabeth gathered her sense of belonging, her energy, her identity, in a sanctuary, 'a room made of leaves'. By contrast, John leaned to an interest in business deals to his advantage and enjoyed the hype of city life. To what extent, then could John claim to be the pioneer of the wool industry? The novel offers an exciting exploration of who this Elizabeth really could be. In fact, there is a strong connection with the present times...who we all really could be if we dare to step away from the stereotypes and cliches, and have the will and drive to find our own place in the world.

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A Life in Stitches...

A Life in Stitches (2011) - Rachael Herron

I'm a memoirist with a shabby memory
My life can be measured in lengths of yarn - p.10


casting on
slip knot
wrap and turn
back stitch

my yarn world 
returned to
Ashburton

double crochet
circular knitting
pick up and knit
whip stitch

a sweater on display
was a life
on display but
nothing I did
felt authentic
till I found
true love

and in the room

the women come and go

chatting still

of ebbs and flows

tree of life
knit two together
basket weave stitch
stockinette stitch

growing up
was all about
bossing sisters
and knitting
a wedding dress

and in the room

the women come and go

chatting still

of ebbs and flows

maidens and flyers
duplicate stitch
blanket stitch
chain stitch

yarn stashes 
and the internet
find each other

and in the room

the women come and go

chatting still

of ebbs and flows

negative ease
join in the round
drafting triangle
repeat to end

just write
what the story needs
and try again

and in the room

the women come and go

chatting still

of ebbs and flows

MY GOODREADS REVIEW

A Life in Stitches by Rachael Herron
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A Life in Stitches is a bubbly, chit-chatty memoir that would be great in girl groupies and girl huddles. Each 'chapter', or memory snapshot, represents a knitting stitch, all symbolically ordered from casting on to knit two together and more. Notably, there is no 'casting off', but rather 'repeat to end'. No, you don't need to be a knitter to appreciate the different stitches. They are simply a platform to bring a closeted knitting scenario into the modern world beyond the lounge room and TV; beyond the older generation leisure. Knitting becomes a social prop for passing narrative. The concept is interesting. Perhaps more interesting to those who closely follow Rachael Herron's website Yarnagogo.com., and seek to know the life of the creator a little more. For those who have only tumbled into this book from the outside, perhaps consistent audience engagement could be a little limited. At first, I enjoyed the knitting life, but, toward the last 50 or so pages of the memoir, I felt that thoughts were stuck on circular needles... same pattern, new row. I struggled to keep going.
Would a male be inspired by this memoir? I feel the answer would be 'no'... There is too much female rant for a male to handle and the male character that appears seems to be casually flicked away into oblivion. I doubt many teenagers would be attracted to the memoir, unless, of course, they have a penchant for knitting. Audience age group almost seems to be narrowed down to the 20-40's female audience.
I'm glad I've read the memoir, just so I can say that I have tried something different. (And I am a knitter, too.) But I can't say that the experience will linger favourably.

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The Marble Collector...

The Marble Collector (2015) - Cecelia Ahern


the marble world

a candy army

advancing
challenging

self
against
self

MY GOODREADS REVIEW

 The Marble Collector by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Marble Collector is not a gripping, linear narrative; it is a mysterious collection of circumstances that loosely connect and hopefully find a more meaningful connection. The novel represents a metronome comparison of father Fergus' and daughter Sabrina's memoirs which evolve separately and then finally connect. It does not delve into a range of individual characters, but looks at a tapestry of characters influencing the 2 central characters and their mini memoirs. And the secrets all evolve around the unexpected presence of marbles - their competition and their art. In a sense, the novel is a uniquely unfolding mystery where there is no visible crime, but rather a crime of the spirit. Father Fergus has 2 identities that need resolving and daughter Sabrina feels that she hasn't found her identity. It takes a dementia crisis to find answers, to find resolutions. If you lay aside expectations of what a novel should be, then this novel is a refreshing detour into other possibilities.


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We are all made of Stars...

We are all made of stars (2015) - Rowan Coleman


7 nights

Sarah is a night-shift nurse
at a hospice
facing transitions

transitions back into the world

her own transition
between worlds

and those who face
the ultimate transition

7 nights

7 phases

intertwined
with many stories

in the moment

in the past

and some
only glimpsed in

the letter
of truth

NOTE: I almost did not buy this book...The title sounded a little 'artificial'...
But then, I always seek books that are out of my comfort zone, so finally the decision was
'Why not?' 

I'm glad I followed that decision...


MY GOODREADS REVIEW
 We Are All Made Of Stars by Rowan Coleman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I admit, at first, the title seemed a bit 'syrupy'. My first thought - a loaded, inspirational book, in the guise of a novel, that offers heavy-handed guidance for leading a 'good life'. But I am one who likes to at least give a book a chance - (without resorting to reviews for answers). I'm so glad that I did. Perhaps a hospice setting sounds a little intimidating. But this book only uses that setting as a connection with lives that were, that are and could be. Sarah is the night shift hospice nurse, the connecting character with the stories, and her own story becomes part of the narrative fabric. Even a little furball - of multiple personalities and attitudes - Jake, Ninja or Shadow- becomes an interesting 'sub-thread' in the stories. And then there are the letters - the truth-tellers - that offer intriguing insights into the lives of those who wait for their final transition. Far from being a depressing narrative, we feel the inner journeys, the challenges of ordinary people and admire their bravery. Yes. This is indeed an inspirational book.


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One Hundred Great Books in Haiku...

MY GOODREADS REVIEW
 One Hundred Great Books in Haiku by David M. Bader
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One Hundred Books in Haiku is an entertaining read in a short time. Whether you know the legendary writers - from Herodotus to Isaac Newton to Tolstoy to T.S.Eliot - does not matter. Each haiku sparks a flame of interest, a core spirit. The flame may be serious or playful, witty, or verging on a little crazy. If you are needing a short, 'no pressure' read and your time is short, this book is a wonderful diversion. For me, the occasional haiku seemed a little irreverent, a little dismissive of some great writing. But that really, I guess, boils down to my own personal preferences and values. Ultimately, the book is a fun romp through selected literature - and done so poetically in the 3 line haiku.

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A lively little book offering snippet impressions of great writers and their writings. Some are serious, some witty and some a little crazy... But all are entertaining...
Examples + my response in haiku: https://t.co/7C2uVDCCHw pic.twitter.com/Tv3vlyMcdV

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) June 25, 2020

'A Blade of Grass'...

A Blade of Grass (2003) - Lewis DeSoto


 first she must wash the seeds

she will grow
what she does not as yet grow

this is a land of separations
between veldt and cultivated
between wild and domestic
between black and white

in this unknown country
this wild place
she is nobody
she is unknown

Nobody knows me
Marit thinks
I am lost

in that image 
behind the glass 
Tembi sees something 
she has not yet become

she remembers the rules being broken

something to wear
something that is appropriate
to her new self
all her clothes are from another time
suitable only for a different person

only the women in the fields wore clothes like this

Marit stands taller now
but thinks
I could disappear
because I am made from something insubstantial
but Tembi is made from  the soil
she is this land


and there are soldiers
a confusion of friends
and enemies

betrayal
theft
sabotage

social shunning

murder

and a plague of locusts


Tembi watches a blade of grass arrow into the current

no longer her farm
no longer anybody's farm

it is futile to call Marit's name

she will grow
that which does not as yet grow

but first 
she must plant the seeds


*Like an overlay of soliloquies
but only one
survives

MY GOODREADS REVIEW

A Blade of Grass by Lewis DeSoto
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'A Blade of Grass' by Lewis DeSoto is an extraordinary novel set in the 1970's Boer white v. black conflicts of Africa. The novel is a sensitive insight into the lives of those trapped in the vague chaos of war; those whose lives really do not want to be branded black or white and those who revel in the branding, perhaps out of fear. This conflict fringes an attempt to maintain a semblance of farm life in the veldt lands; a semblance ultimately driven by 2 very different women - Marit and Tembi -from 2 very different worlds. And DeSoto's writing, his expression, has a particular appeal. Characters' thoughts are mulled over, explored, compared, remembered. The 3 parts of the novel - farm, land and river - each symbolise a time frame, getting closer to what really matters in life. Even a tiny blade of grass has a character role. By the close of the novel, the reader not only learns more about a troubled Africa, but hopefully feels more too.

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'The Rain Heron'...

some say
there's
a huge heron
of legend
the colour of rain

grab the plumage
grab cold liquid
running ice
and
mid autumn
could turn to a furnace
of barren fields
dust
and sun-bleached bones

some know
a huge heron
the colour of rain
and an oak tree

enter
soldiers
a coup
hunting
the wild ones
the ones who chose to be running wild
and the ones
who simply
became wild

a huge heron
the colour of rain
and an oak tree
or a cave

hungers unfold
criss-cross
attack
defend
relentless hungers
with wills of their own
smudging
reason
and soul

but there is always
the heron
of legend
the huge heron
the colour of rain
needing
demanding
protecting
the oak
or a cave

on a mountain

the rain heron's
mountain

'The Rain Heron' was born on this mountain - Mount Wellington in Tasmania
For more detail on the connection see Robbie Arnott's comments HERE


MY BOOKTOPIA REVIEW 19th June 2020 
A delicious read. Robbie Arnott bakes a tantalising narrative with lots of intriguing layers of mystery, all set in a descriptive series of landscapes. The rain heron could almost be related to the phoenix legend. Toward the end, however, it seems that all the questions and pain need closure. In some ways, it seems the 'baking' is a little overdone. But still, the book stands as a most enjoyable experience.


MY GOODREADS REVIEW
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'The Rain Heron' is a whirl of intimate stories of people under stress. Any connection with the relief of the rain heron depends on how these people value the bird as a life-giver of rain. They can't own the heron - though some try. They can only respect its contribution to their personal lives and their community. To ignore this wonder bird is to do so at your peril. It means ignoring Mother Nature herself. Robbie Arnott creates a tantalising narrative with multiple layers of mystery, all set in a descriptive series of interchanging verdant and barren landscapes. Ultimately, the rain heron element could almost be related to the phoenix legend.
Toward the end of the tale, however, it seems that all the characters' questions and pain need closure. For me, I felt a small weakness, believing that some of that closure could have been left to the reader's imagination. Overall, the novel is a fresh, exhilarating ride swinging through many genres, challenging social and personal attitudes of our times.

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'World Without End'...

World Without End (2007) - Ken Follett


medieval Kingsbridge
1327-1361

thirty years
of cathedral and priory mayhem
thirty years
of  peasant and noble frictions
of building and tearing down

of dreams and nightmares

and
in between
there was the lurking shadow
of the relentless plague

but
there were waves of characters
buoying life along
some weak but dangerous
like Ralph and Philemon
some strong
very strong
like Merthin and Caris

and eventually
the final joy
of a life-size
stone angel
seems a fitting symbol of
being at the top

of a world
without end


P.S. On Saturday 11th April, 2020, I first posted about this book HERE

5 of 5 stars to World Without End by Ken Follett https://t.co/dKpNiG1p2Y

— Gemma Wiseman (@AuraGem) June 18, 2020