Jerome Parisse's Blog, page 6

Phillip Island (Victoria – Australia)

I'm back on deck! The move from Hong Kong to Australia proved harder than I thought… Finding a place to live was a challenge, with lots of competition and a tight market. We have found a nice place though, in a suburb of Melbourne called South Yarra, probably the nicest suburb I have ever lived in. And it's only 1o minutes from work, which is a bonus (I hate commuting). The job's been full-on from day one, with projects all over Australia and a lot of flying around. I am enjoying it though. As you can imagine, the reading and writing have not been a priority,  but I am now dying to get back on track!

Before I started work, we went to visit Phillip Island, one and a half hour's drive from Central Melbourne. Phillip Island is roughly 15 kilometres by 9 kilometres. It is linked to the mainland by a bridge and is famous for hosting the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, which was being held while we were there. A beautiful coastline, pristine waters, protected bush and an abundance of wildlife: wallabies, rabbits, a large seal colony and many birds, including the amazing Muttonbirds (Shearwaters) which come here to reproduce after spending the Australian winter in Northeastern Russia, what a journey! The first seal we saw was dead. Its body was lying on the beach and it was missing a huge chunk of its backside… taken away by a shark, most probably one of the great whites which live in the area. We were not at risk: the water is very cold and we were not about to go swimming, or even put a toe in. I couldn't help wonder about the surfers though, but the ones we met said they are not fazed by sharks, which they encounter quite often. The most famous inhabitants of Phillip Island though, are not the seals and the sharks, but the Fairy Penguins! They are the highlight of a trip to the island. At dusk they swim back en masse to the shore to reach their burrow, in which a partner is sometimes waiting with an egg or two – or a baby penguin. They are very cute! The area is totally protected, but you can join a tour to observe the penguins at night. Most tourists gather in the main spot with a huge crowd. We decided to join what was called the "ultimate tour" and were not disappointed: a ranger led us to a secluded area on the beach, and we sat down on the sand to wait in silence for the little fellows. They turned up at the expected time and waddled their way to the shore. We saw about a hundred of them that night, walking around us, eyeing us with suspicion before moving on. Magic! As we made our way back to the main area we came across many of them having a chat in the bushes or getting ready for a good night's sleep before going back to sea before sunrise. Too cute for words!

 

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We need to talk about Kevin, by Lionel Shriver

I said in my previous post that you wouldn't hear from me in a while, but I was obviously wrong! The combination of a typhoon in Hong Kong on the day our removalists were supposed to turn up and masses of people wanting to leave Hong Kong at the occasion of the Chinese National Day holiday has left me stranded at the airport. I have finally managed to get a seat on a plane to Sydney tonight, but this means I will get there a good 48 hours after heading to the airport the first time…. As a consequence, I have stacks of time for reading (and of course, writing this banter). I finished We need to talk about Kevin, by Lionel Shriver. This book won the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction. It is a psychological, harrowing, disturbing exploration of several important topics which include responsibility and accountability, guilt, the "nature or nurture" question, innate evil, and – let's not forget the heart of the story – what it means to be a parent (or a child), as well as the why of mass shootings. Phew! Do you think that's enough? My sister-in-law gave me the book after reading it and warned me about the "difficult" ending chosen by Shriver. So of course, I was looking for that ending from the very start, but apart from one element, I missed it until it finally dawned on me about fifty pages from the word "End". The book is written in the form of letters addressed by Eva to her estranged husband Franklin; I thought it would annoy me, but it didn't, on the contrary. It provides a wonderful insight into what goes through Eva's mind as she initially refuses to have a child, then gives in, much to her husband's surprise and utmost joy. But things turn a little sour, as their son Kevin is nothing what they expect – and not someone they are able to understand. At all. The letters explore the relationship between Kevin and her mother, between Kevin and her father, but also between Eva and Franklin themselves. At times I found myself angry at one or the other, sad, happy or simply sympathetic, but never neutral. Having children is often not an easy (Read: natural) decision for women, unlike what many would like to believe, and this book is quite courageous in many ways. I am already thinking of quite a few friends to recommend it to. It's well written and clever. But what I loved about it is that even after finishing it, I keep thinking about what it means. It's not quite philosophical, but almost. It's definitely a great book, and I wish I had read it earlier. It's also a nice change from the crime novels I have been reading lately. Since reading We need to talk about Kevin, I have discovered that it was made into an eponymous movie this year. I think I'll go and see it if I can. It was directed by , and stars , and . We need to talk about Kevin, the book: five stars!

Back to Australia!

That's it, the time has come! Tomorrow we will be moving back from Hong Kong to Australia, not to Sydney where I normally live, but to Melbourne. It's an exciting time for us, and we're happy to settle in a new city. Of course, I have been to Melbourne many times for work, but never actually lived there. It was recently voted the Having said that, I have no idea when my next post will go up. With having to find somewhere to live, organising all the paperwork, meeting with friends, and last but not least starting a new job, I think my blog may suffer a bit. Bear with me!

I'm currently reading "We need to talk about Kevin", by Lionel Shriver. It's a difficult topic (a school shooting in the US) but so far I'm loving it, as it is well written. It actually won the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction. I have been told the ending is both unexpected and striking, so I can't wait. Of course I will write about it as soon as I can. The next three books on my list are "The Tiger" by John Vaillant, "The Colour of Death" by Michael Cordy, and – yes, I have never read it! – "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte.

Jervis Bay, Australia

As I'm about to move back home to Australia, I've just realised that I haven't posted that many photos of Australia. It's such a beautiful place that one has to wonder why. I suppose it's just because as with most places where you've lived, I actually don't have too many pictures of home. I have a few interesting ones though, and I will post them in the near future. I have a Christmas trip planned to some wonderful places in Tasmania this year, so I will make sure to get some snaps. Meanwhile, here are a few of Jervis Bay, a three-hour drive South of Sydney. Jervis Bay is a very natural place with a huge national park and many wild animals. You are bound to see lots of kangaroos, parrots but also seals and dolphins. The sand is said to be the whitest in the world, and truth be told, it almost hurts the eyes on a sunny day. I love it there, as I am sure you would too!

Visiting Pompeii, Italy

Every time I visit Pompeii near Naples, I can't help being amazed. Okay, this is a little pretentious, I have actually only been twice to Pompeii. But it did amaze me every time. On the contrary to many other archeological sites, in Pompeii you get a real feel for what the city was like. The ashes and the pumice that fell from Mount Vesuvius onto Pompeii (4 to 6 metres of it!) have actually protected it – well, so to speak, because they destroyed it first! The walls of many houses are still there, the cobblestone streets, the shops, the prostitute houses, the public squares, ovens, bedrooms etc. The bodies of some inhabitants have even been "preserved" by the ash, creating a mould which can be used to recreate the people in the positions they died in. A little scary when you think of it. Pompeii is big – it is estimated that the population at the time it disappeared was around 20,000 people. I would have loved to be there at that time to experience the way of life of Pompeiians. If you are visiting the site, I would suggest taking a guide – you will get so much more out of it. And make sure you have enough time. As I said before, it is big. Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Flowers in Lorraine, France

It's funny how sometimes you are so used to seeing things that your eyes just glaze over them. Going back to Lorraine in North East France last summer – which is where I grew up – I rode my bike everywhere and it allowed me to take the time to rediscover things. I remember that when I was little, the sides of the roads were covered with beautiful wild flowers. As I grew up, with the ever-increasing use of pesticides, they had all but disappeared. If anything, we had lost the variety of flowers that made the country so beautiful. I was therefore pleasantly surprised last summer to see that wild flowers seem to have made a come back, at least many of them, including poppies which, as kids, we were not allowed to cut because it meant it would rain the next day! I hope they are here to stay, and I also hope it means less chemicals are sprayed in the fields these days.

Sacrifice, by S.J. Bolton

I love this one from S.J. Bolton. As usual coming from her, a gripping, gruesome story of a hidden clinic in the Shetland Islands trafficking premature babies and murdering innocent women. The closer you get to the truth, the more horrifying the story. Tora Hamilton is a newcomer on the Islands. She has followed her husband, who was born and grew up there before leaving behind a murky past. It all starts when Tora wants to bury a dead horse and… finds the mummified body of a woman. Little does she know that her property hosts very dark secrets. And in fact, it's not just the property, but the islands themselves, and a well protected circle of murderers.  Of course, Tora has to find what happened, even it means working against the police, her boss and her own husband. Yes, it is not for the faint-hearted, but having said that, as in all Bolton novels, there are few graphic details, and it is more the topic and the atmosphere of the books that make them nail-biting. I really like that in Bolton. I know I've said it before, but I think she is a fantastic writer. I can't wait for the next one!

I have already reviewed Bolton's Now You See Me, The Awakening, and Blood Harvest. Sacrifice is Bolton's first novel. You can hear her talking about the novel here:

Ajaccio, Corsica, a jewel in the Mediterranean

I had been to Corsica before, but only to the Northern part of the island: Cap Corse, Calvi, Bastia, and the mountains inside the island, but never to the South. I spent a few hours in Ajaccio last summer and found it as beautiful as the rest of the island. Corsica is also called the "Isle of Beauty" and the name fits is very well. It has beaches and mountains, gorges and plains, bush and forests, rivers and smaller streams, beautifully protected villages, excellent food, nice people and a very interesting wildlife. What more do you want? Driving is usually challenging, especially if you don't like narrow, winding roads, but the drive is always worth the effort. As for Ajaccio, it lives all things Napoleon, since he was born there in 1769, at the end of the Corsican resistance which was it incorporated into France (It previously belonged to the Republic of Genoa) . There are statues of Bonaparte everywhere, his name is on everything, you can visit the house where he was born, and even sit on the rocks he used to sit on while dreaming of wider horizons. But the town itself remains extremely pretty and very pleasant. Don't hesitate to drop by!

The Awakening, by S.J. Bolton

Another great crime novel by S.J. Bolton, with an unusual theme: Clara is a veterinary surgeon but lives as a recluse because she was disfigured in a childhood accident. She saves the life of a baby sleeping next to a venomous snake. And it's only the first occurrence of snake biting or attacks in this little English village. A taipan (An extremely venomous snake from Australia) even appears on the scene. Where do all these snakes come from and who uses them to kill people? This is the mystery Clara has to solve, in company of a policeman and a weird snake expert. What Clara uncovers is a sinister ancient ritual, which makes use of snakes. This is a good novel, even if the ritual in question is somewhat far-fetched (whether true or not). Tension is good and characters interesting. Bolton has once again delivered a good thriller with a gothic theme and a fast-paced plot.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released in August this year (I can't believe I managed to see it the same year as it was released… I am usually years behind with films!) It was directed by and stars . If I had paid attention to the title, I would have realised that the film is about the RISE of the planet of the apes, and not about the planet of the apes itself, as I so expected! In other words, it depicts how the world was taken over by the apes in the very early stage. It's all about a researcher in San Francisco who thinks he has found a cure for Alzheimer but has in fact found a virus that makes apes very smart and kills people. Simple! The movie is okay, the story easy to follow and the apes are done well. Of course, it's very black and white, but so are many movies these days. Enjoyable enough…