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