Hard to believe that the story of a muddled woman retreating from the world to stay in a small convent in a bleak environment somewhere in Australia could be so absorbing. But there is it, this sparse and simple life laid out with an intense and highly attuned focus of attention on the minutiae of life and emotions in a totally seductive way.
South African author Helena Kriel is a Hollywood script writer whose lively, colourful and slightly eccentric family lives in Joburg. When her beloved brother Evan is diagnosed with HIV/aids she returns home to be with him in the family home on his final journey. This is not a morbid book, it is a beautifully and eloquently told story, radiating love and life. Vulnerable and real, Helena turns the family tragedy into the stuff of life. Her descriptions of Joburg, Los Angeles and India radiate sensitivity and poetry. I enjoyed this book way more than I expected.
I finished it and 300 pages later, in the last 30 pages, the story untangled. The plot didn’t work for me, it was not realistic, but what Mike Gayle does do well is give an excellent description of the agony experienced by fathers who, thanks to separation or divorce, no longer live with their children. He is a good writer and writes about ordinary people with empathy and insight. Though in my view not his best book he certainly opens up the possibility of interesting discussions about relationships.
Rutger Bergman, a prominent young Dutch thinker, explores three policies which are - as one critic said - “guaranteed to enrage right wingers”. A guaranteed universal basic income, a shorter 15 hour working week and open borders. Well argued, backed by research and easy to read, I found it fascinating.
I loved this historical novel set in Edinburgh in 1822. Against the backdrop of the Botanical Garden moving to a new location on the edge of the city, mature trees and all, it is the story of the friendship of two women. Both outsiders in their own way, an impoverished widow taken in by wealthy relatives and a high class courtesan, they weave their way through a mystery, a romance and all embellished with loads of historical detail. Lovely!