There was much discussion about the bleakness of the physical environment of the Denniston coal mine and the determination needed to survive in these conditions. There was a lot of talk about how the three women Totty Hanratty, Mary Scobie and Bella Rasmussen were the strength and really the founding mothers of the Denniston community. Many mining stories focus on the men but this one seemed focussed on the strength of the women and how the men made the decisions but it was the women who had to somehow ensure that things actually happened.
Rose's mother while coming under fire for her rather hands off approach to mothering could be seen as a survivor of her time who considered her only means of existence was under the wing of a man whether he hurt her (and Rose) or not. She certainly understood men and where they were concerned she generally got her way in the big picture even though in the detail she was somewhat less particular and certainly did not consider collateral damage.
There was a lot of discussion about the community knowing how Billy Genesis was treating Rose but how not one adult spoke in her defence: "No one liked to admit that a child's voice is always harder to hear than an adult's." There was also the excuse that 'Billy's skills were necessary to the community.' Despite being a small child, Rose was very much on her own. There was much talk about whether this was still the case today.
There seemed to be much discussion about many facets of the novel but while Rose's situation merited opinions, the character Rose did not engender a great deal of discussion.
Most of our readers seemed to enjoy the read. One of our readers particularly enjoys books based in historical fact and followed up her read with quite a bit of internet research on Denniston, the coal mining industry there and the incline. One can even experience a virtual ride on the incline which was eventually closed in 1967.
Looking forward to our next discussion on Sofie Laguna's book The Eye of the Sheep on Thursday 3 September at 6.00pm.
Monday, 10 August 2015
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Cityside meets this Thursday!
Hello folks,
Just a reminder that it's the first Thursday of the month and that means Cityside Book Club meets to discuss Jenny Pattrick's The Denniston Rose at 6.00pm in the Community Venue room at Mackay City Library!
See you there!
Just a reminder that it's the first Thursday of the month and that means Cityside Book Club meets to discuss Jenny Pattrick's The Denniston Rose at 6.00pm in the Community Venue room at Mackay City Library!
See you there!
Thursday, 2 July 2015
July's read is Jenny Pattrick's 'The Denniston Rose'
We're off to the wilds of early settlement on the inhospitable coal fields of Denniston on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. This novel follows the slow painful development of community in this pioneer settlement.
To find a few images to set the scene pop onto Google Images and type in 'Denniston'. I tried to upload a couple of them for you but computer is not playing the game - it didn't say 'No' exactly, it just ignored my instruction! There are archive photos of the incline and the break head which are really illuminating. I'd certainly prettied things up in my imagination so it was a good reality check.
Here is a brief precise of the book from Random House.
Certainly a book that needs to be read with a hot chocolate or a mulled wine.
Looking forward to hearing about your experience of this popular New Zealand novel.
'The Girl Who Couldn't Read' discussed in detail by girls who like reading!
John Harding's Gothic mystery stimulated much discussion among our avid readers. One of our regulars due to work commitments had not read the novel so the rest of the group had to very carefully circumvent discussing the novel's conclusion. Discussion was sufficient to encourage her to take a copy to catch up this read.
Our readers generally felt that Harding had created a dark, bleak menacing atmosphere well. There was much discussion about how asylums have been used to confine people, especially women, who did not conform to the social norms of the time and how these people appeared to have no basic human rights whatsoever. There was also much mention of the recency and even in some cases, the contemporary continuation, of this practice of isolation in the case of refugee boat arrivals. One of our readers who is associated with today's health industry and thus accustomed to processes and guidelines of accountability and duty of care was horrified by how people could be just 'disappeared' into an asylum. There was was much discussion about the cruelty of the 'modern methods of rehabilitation' espoused in the novel.
As The Girl Who Couldn't Read had a prequel, there was much discussion about whether reading it would have cleared some of the mystery surrounding Jane Dove but possibly ruined the twist in the tale's tail. Our readers are still keen to read Florence & Giles and there was much animated conjecture about what dastardly deeds Jane Dove concealed in her past thus resulting in her 'hiding' in the asylum.
Our readers spoke of Doctor John Shepherd's strong sense of intellectual superiority and how this smugness led to his downfall. Several readers commented on a variety of situations where, despite his cleverness, he left himself vulnerable. These 'mistakes' lulled our readers into a false sense of security about him leaving them ripe for a nasty surprise. Our readers talked about how, despite the fact they knew Shepherd was a 'bad egg', his treatment of his 'fiance' had taken them completely unawares and physically shocked them.
Our book clubbers spoke of how maybe the staff running these asylums were probably more qualified to be inmates than many of their patients. Both Dr Morgan and Nurse O'Reilly were considered as prime candidates for institutionalisation. There was talk about how particular personality types were attracted to organisations where they were encouraged to indulge their unhealthy appetites.
Jane Dove despite having dark secrets still seemed to have the support of our readers who were quite satisfied with the book's conclusion. Readers felt that there were sufficient clues as to her reading competency and that staff just often ignored the simple obvious by accepting a less credible explanation. John Shepherd utilised this concept in his deception - 'I had always found that the extraordinary lie is the one most likely to be believed.'
Overall despite this novel not being the preferred genre of our book clubbers, they had enjoyed the read and it proved a good stimulus for discussion.
Our next read takes us back to the 1880s and the bleak coalfields of New Zealand's West Coast settlement at Denniston. It'll be interesting to hear about our readers' experiences of this book. The damp wintery conditions we experienced recently could prove a fertile background to reading this novel by Jenny Pattrick if they return as predicted.
We'll meet to discuss The Denniston Rose on Thursday 6 August at 6.00pm at Mackay City Library.
Our readers generally felt that Harding had created a dark, bleak menacing atmosphere well. There was much discussion about how asylums have been used to confine people, especially women, who did not conform to the social norms of the time and how these people appeared to have no basic human rights whatsoever. There was also much mention of the recency and even in some cases, the contemporary continuation, of this practice of isolation in the case of refugee boat arrivals. One of our readers who is associated with today's health industry and thus accustomed to processes and guidelines of accountability and duty of care was horrified by how people could be just 'disappeared' into an asylum. There was was much discussion about the cruelty of the 'modern methods of rehabilitation' espoused in the novel.
As The Girl Who Couldn't Read had a prequel, there was much discussion about whether reading it would have cleared some of the mystery surrounding Jane Dove but possibly ruined the twist in the tale's tail. Our readers are still keen to read Florence & Giles and there was much animated conjecture about what dastardly deeds Jane Dove concealed in her past thus resulting in her 'hiding' in the asylum.
Our readers spoke of Doctor John Shepherd's strong sense of intellectual superiority and how this smugness led to his downfall. Several readers commented on a variety of situations where, despite his cleverness, he left himself vulnerable. These 'mistakes' lulled our readers into a false sense of security about him leaving them ripe for a nasty surprise. Our readers talked about how, despite the fact they knew Shepherd was a 'bad egg', his treatment of his 'fiance' had taken them completely unawares and physically shocked them.
Our book clubbers spoke of how maybe the staff running these asylums were probably more qualified to be inmates than many of their patients. Both Dr Morgan and Nurse O'Reilly were considered as prime candidates for institutionalisation. There was talk about how particular personality types were attracted to organisations where they were encouraged to indulge their unhealthy appetites.
Jane Dove despite having dark secrets still seemed to have the support of our readers who were quite satisfied with the book's conclusion. Readers felt that there were sufficient clues as to her reading competency and that staff just often ignored the simple obvious by accepting a less credible explanation. John Shepherd utilised this concept in his deception - 'I had always found that the extraordinary lie is the one most likely to be believed.'
Overall despite this novel not being the preferred genre of our book clubbers, they had enjoyed the read and it proved a good stimulus for discussion.
Our next read takes us back to the 1880s and the bleak coalfields of New Zealand's West Coast settlement at Denniston. It'll be interesting to hear about our readers' experiences of this book. The damp wintery conditions we experienced recently could prove a fertile background to reading this novel by Jenny Pattrick if they return as predicted.
We'll meet to discuss The Denniston Rose on Thursday 6 August at 6.00pm at Mackay City Library.
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Gothic mysteries under the spotlight this Thursday at City!
Just a reminder to mark your diaries for our Cityside Book Club meeting at Mackay City Library at 6.00pm on Thursday 2 July!
We'll be discussing John Harding's The Girl Who Couldn't Read.
Looking forward to hearing about your experience of this Gothic mystery this Thursday!
We'll be discussing John Harding's The Girl Who Couldn't Read.
Looking forward to hearing about your experience of this Gothic mystery this Thursday!
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Is it a rook or a raven?
John Harding's enigmatic Jane Dove has her views on the answer to this question in the novel The Girl Who Couldn't Read. This is a gothic thriller from its cover to the final twist of the tale. You may have to leave your lights on.
For a selection of reviews of this book, try Goodreads.
We'll be meeting to discuss this novel at Mackay City Library on Thursday 2 July at 6.00pm with the lights on.
For a selection of reviews of this book, try Goodreads.
We'll be meeting to discuss this novel at Mackay City Library on Thursday 2 July at 6.00pm with the lights on.
Skyping with Rebecca Mascull - Awesome!
We had half an hour to chat about The Visitors before we went online to chat with the author who currently lives in Cleethorpes on the Humber Estuary in eastern England. It's certainly a wonderful way to make a book come alive!
Prior to chatting with Rebecca the group had been discussing why the novel had been called The Visitors when The Visitors were for most of the book rather peripheral characters. Rebecca explained how much of the storyline was involved with characters either visiting or being visited. The choice of title then just made so much sense. Discussion after the Skype session contemplated the philosophical notion that we are all just visitors.
It was wonderful to hear how characters in a novel have the ability to determine their own fate despite what the author thinks is going to happen. Originally Rebecca had expected Liza and Caleb to make a match of it. As the author was starting to have misgivings about the success of this relationship Caleb goes off to South Africa and finds Maria, a woman who sees him for what he is, thus providing more fertile grounds for a successful relationship. Rebecca spoke about authors ignoring the will and development of their characters at their own peril.
It was enlightening to hear how much research Rebecca put into The Visitors and then how an author after putting in so much effort has to overcome the temptation of letting the audience know how much they now know about a topic. Rebecca spoke of the delight of uncovering the specialised words associated with the hop industry. There was much discussion of the Boer War which features in The Visitors. Rebecca was able to access uncensored letters from the men who had gone to South Africa and thus ensure an authentic understanding of the various attitudes to this largely unforgotten war.
Hearing how many variations a book experiences before the final version emerges was also fascinating. It was also informative as to how an author gathers bits and pieces from all sorts of places and experiences and then knits them all together into a novel.
Overall our Skype conversation with Rebecca was a delightful success. When reading so many books it is easy to forget the amount of effort and persistence an author invests to develop a novel. Speaking with Rebecca was a gentle reminder for readers to be more mindful and appreciative of an author's effort.
I'll include more details about our next book club selection in the next blog.
Happy reading!
Prior to chatting with Rebecca the group had been discussing why the novel had been called The Visitors when The Visitors were for most of the book rather peripheral characters. Rebecca explained how much of the storyline was involved with characters either visiting or being visited. The choice of title then just made so much sense. Discussion after the Skype session contemplated the philosophical notion that we are all just visitors.
It was wonderful to hear how characters in a novel have the ability to determine their own fate despite what the author thinks is going to happen. Originally Rebecca had expected Liza and Caleb to make a match of it. As the author was starting to have misgivings about the success of this relationship Caleb goes off to South Africa and finds Maria, a woman who sees him for what he is, thus providing more fertile grounds for a successful relationship. Rebecca spoke about authors ignoring the will and development of their characters at their own peril.
It was enlightening to hear how much research Rebecca put into The Visitors and then how an author after putting in so much effort has to overcome the temptation of letting the audience know how much they now know about a topic. Rebecca spoke of the delight of uncovering the specialised words associated with the hop industry. There was much discussion of the Boer War which features in The Visitors. Rebecca was able to access uncensored letters from the men who had gone to South Africa and thus ensure an authentic understanding of the various attitudes to this largely unforgotten war.
Hearing how many variations a book experiences before the final version emerges was also fascinating. It was also informative as to how an author gathers bits and pieces from all sorts of places and experiences and then knits them all together into a novel.
Overall our Skype conversation with Rebecca was a delightful success. When reading so many books it is easy to forget the amount of effort and persistence an author invests to develop a novel. Speaking with Rebecca was a gentle reminder for readers to be more mindful and appreciative of an author's effort.
I'll include more details about our next book club selection in the next blog.
Happy reading!
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