Theresa Smith's Blog, page 11
October 25, 2024
Book Review: By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.
In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.
Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centres two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.
My Thoughts:This week, I’ve been making my way through this new release by Jodi Picoult, By Any Other Name. It’s quite a massive read, and the chapters were beyond long, over 100 pages for most of the historical ones. It was hard to get through, so to lighten the load, I did a hybrid read of ebook and audio, which definitely made a difference in terms of reading progress.
I used to love Jodi Picoult’s books, but the last half dozen have not given me the same reading rush as her earlier ones. This one was quite the departure for her, a dual timeline historical, the connecting thread being two women playwrights whose voices are shouting into the void of a male dominated profession.
Overall, the premise was interesting, the underpinning themes of the story topical, the structure of the story clever, the research underpinning it immense, but ultimately, the execution was dull. It’s a very long and very boring book. This seems like a passion project for Jodi Picoult that may have best been served as a historical non-fiction biography.
As much as it pains me to bid farewell to a former favourite author, I can’t see myself picking up any more Picoult novels in the future. The author notes at the end, all twenty pages of it were more interesting than the 500 plus pages of the story that preceded it. I think this story would have worked better with less of the historical content and a more fully fleshed out contemporary story. And shorter chapters.
October 13, 2024
Book Review: We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Edi and Ash have been best friends for over forty years. Since childhood they have seen each other through life’s milestones: stealing vodka from their parents, REM concerts, marriages, infertility, children. As Ash notes, ‘Edi’s memory is like the back-up hard drive for mine.’
So when Edi is diagnosed with cancer, Ash’s world reshapes around the rhythms of Edi’s care, from making watermelon ice cubes and music therapy to snack smuggling and impromptu excursions into the frozen winter night.
Because life is about squeezing the joy out of every moment and building a powerhouse of memories, about learning when to hold on, and when to let go.
Deeply moving yet laugh-out-loud funny, We All Want Impossible Things is a jubilant celebration of life and friendship at its imperfect, radiant, and irreverent best.
Published by Penguin Books Australia
Released September 2023
My Thoughts:On the back of listening to and loving Sandwich, I immediately moved onto We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman, her debut novel.
This one is a story of friendship and grief, the indignities of death and the beauty of a life lived well. Ash and Edie have been friends for life, and now in their forties, Edie is in the last stages of cancer, seeing out her days in a hospice with Ash by her side. What could have been a depressing and sad story is actually life affirming, funny, real, so real, and yes, also a bit sad, but not in a consuming way.
The story is more about Ash and her grief and her responses to that rather than being about Edie and her death, which I feel worked really well. Ash is a bit of a mess, but she’s also very aware of this, seeing this stage of her life as a tumultuous reaction to Edie’s illness and imminent death. She’s selfless but doesn’t see herself as such, but in all honesty, I don’t know if I could do what Ash does for Edie in those final weeks. That’s real love right there.
Catherine Newman is a seriously good writer, up there with the Ann(e)’s – Patchett and Tyler – for me, and they are my go-to’s for premium life-lit. I just wish she had a greater backlist, but instead I’m playing the waiting game now for her next one.
October 7, 2024
Book Review: Sandwich by Catherine Newman
For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to the beach. The humble, quirky house they rent has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, shared mishaps and memories. It is a place where her family comes together, and Rocky wants to cling to every moment. But with her body in open revolt and surprises invading her peaceful haven, the seesaw of Rocky’s life is tipping towards change.
Published by Penguin Books Australia
Released June 2024
My Thoughts:
Sandwich by Catherine Newman has been my latest audio book read and I LOVED it. Perhaps I’m just the right age combined with the right stage of life, but this one hit all the right notes for me.
Rocky is on summer vacation with her grown children and her ageing parents, ‘sandwiched’ between two generations, both daughter and mother, also wife and for what’s leftover, self. Dealing with all the indignities that menopause and an ageing female body has to throw at her, particularly at the beach where one is expected to wear a swimsuit, she reflects back on her reproductive life, her children as babies, the other babies that weren’t born, and how all of it has converged into an emotional, menopausal avalanche that women are just expected to roll with.
Newman’s writing is pitch perfect, the right balance of humour and wrenching feels. This is not for everyone, indeed, younger women and women without children will find less to relate to in it. But for me, I got it. Every bit of it. Standing on the precipice of watching your reproductive life take a curtain call whilst also seeing the fruits of it emerge as gorgeous new adults ready to take on the world has never been articulated in such a vivid and relatable way. Throw ageing parents into the mix and you have one very real mortality cocktail. Five stars.
October 6, 2024
Book Review: Into the Storm by Cecelia Ahern
A storm lies ahead of her. Freedom lies beyond it.
It is a wild night in the middle of December, and GP Enya is crouched over a teenage boy, performing CPR in the freezing rain. She found him on a mountain road near Dublin, the victim of a hit-and-run.
The boy survives, but Enya goes to pieces. She leaves her husband, her son, and everything she knows to start a new life in remote rural Ireland.
But even in the quiet of Abbeydooley, beneath the boughs of an ancient tree, Enya is still haunted by that night in the rain. Can the stories of strangers and a land steeped in legend lay the ghosts of her past to rest? Or will the storm she’s outrunning finally catch up with her?
Published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia
Released 10 October 2024
My Thoughts:Cecelia Ahern’s Into the Storm is a raw and emotional exploration of trauma, resilience, and the transformative power of nature. Enya, a GP, finds herself at the epicentre of a life-altering event when she saves the life of a teenage boy on a stormy night. This harrowing experience becomes a catalyst for her to break free from her unhappy marriage, seeking solace in the remote Irish countryside as a rural GP.
Cecelia Ahern masterfully weaves a tapestry of grief, guilt, and the search for meaning. From the beginning, it is apparent that Enya is hiding something, perhaps even more than one thing. She’s emotionally fraught, her reactions to the accident and the injured young man, whilst understandable, were also extreme. Her distress over what has happened and the subsequent move away from her family lead her to a prickly start in her new home, a tiny rural Irish village. I enjoyed this aspect of the story though, everything to do with the village and its inhabitants was so quaintly and wryly Irish, it was good reading and very entertaining.
The exploration of Irish folklore and mythology through the rag tree added and element of depth and intrigue, Enya’s initial rage at the tree giving way to an understanding of its deeper meaning, and in turn, an inner discovery of self and getting down to the bones of the grief she was carrying for her mother and its intertwining with her fears for her own mortality. I felt that Enya was an incredibly complex character and the unhinged and extreme volatility of her emotions and actions all slid into place as the novel progressed and I was left feeling an immense sense of compassion and understanding for her.
While the novel delves into profound themes, it never loses sight of its characters’ humanity. Enya’s vulnerability is both relatable and inspiring, making her a compelling protagonist. The supporting cast, though limited, is well-developed and contributes to the overall richness of the story.
Into the Storm is a poignant exploration of healing and rebirth. Cecelia Ahern’s evocative storytelling and richly drawn characters create a compelling narrative that lingers long after the final page.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
October 4, 2024
In Brief: Recommended Reads
Here’s a couple of recent terrific reads that I highly recommend.
From Now Until Forever by Rowan Coleman
Absolutely devoured the latest release by @rowanmcoleman From Now Until Forever. I adore this quote, which also encapsulates the heart of this gorgeous, uniquely brilliant story.
‘Leonardo hid so many of his secrets in his artwork. My very last hope is that he hid the secret to setting me free inside the image he painted of me, an immortal woman, looking for a way to die on the day she meets a dying man who only wants to live.’
Five stars to this one. Rowan is incomparable and I love everything she writes.
Would You Rather by Maggie Alderson
Another weekend spent with the right book! Would You Rather by Maggie Alderson is not out until December but I couldn’t resist sinking into my #arc sooner rather than later. Thanks so much to @harpercollinsaustralia for the #bookreviewer copy!
‘He destroyed me emotionally and then he got killed. So I don’t know what I am, Charlie. Am I an abandoned wife or am I a poor grieving widow?’
I really enjoyed this upcoming release by Maggie Alderson, it ticked all the right boxes for me. It’s a great big book about life, love, marriage, family, grief, anger, and new beginnings.
Highly recommended for book clubs as there is A LOT to dish about with this one.
The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella
The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella is a big, delicious sink into a whole new world and not want to emerge sort of novel. It’s funny, relatable, a bit swoony when it needs to be, sometimes sad, and utterly immersive. The audio book is perfection. I loved this one, a rare book that I actually didn’t want to end. This is the second Sophie Kinsella I’ve read and she’s now on my auto read list.
Book Review: We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida
For fans of THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES, THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS and SHE AND HER CAT, discover the award-winning bestselling Japanese novel that has become an international sensation in this utterly charming celebration of the healing power of cats.
A cat a day keeps the doctor away …
On the top floor of an old building at the end of a cobbled alley in Kyoto lies the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Only a select few – those who feel genuine emotional pain – can find it.
The mysterious centre offers a unique treatment for its troubled patients: it prescribes cats as medication.
Get ready to fall in love:
– Bee, an eight-year-old female, mixed breed helps a disheartened businessman as he finds unexpected joy in physical labour;
– Margot, muscly like a lightweight boxer, helps a middle-aged callcentre worker stay relevant at work and at home;
– Koyuki, an exquisite white cat brings closure to a young mother troubled by the memory of the rescue kitten she was forced to abandon;
– Tank and Tangerine bring peace to a hardened handbag designer, as she learns to be kinder to herself;
– Mimita, the Scottish Fold kitten helps a broken-hearted Geisha to stop blaming herself for the cat she lost years ago;
As the clinic’s patients navigate their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them towards healing, self-discovery and newfound hope.
Published by Penguin Books Australia
Released September 2024
My Thoughts:We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida is a Japanese best-seller that is now available in an English translation. It’s a set of interconnected short to medium length stories that revolve around a mysterious and hard to find clinic in Kyoto called the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Only those who need the clinic can find it, enter it, and receive ‘treatment’ within.
This is no ordinary clinic though. The doctor barely listens to his ‘patients’, yet still seems to see beyond what’s bothering them to zero in on the real issue. With each patient, he prescribes a cat, for a set amount of time, with a set of specific instructions, that are given to each patient by the somewhat rude receptionist.
As the stories progress and we get closer to the end of the book, disturbing truths come out about the apartment the clinic is located within, and it becomes more and more apparent that the clinic doesn’t exactly exist, despite certain people accessing it and coming and going with cats, and that the doctor and his receptionist are not entirely human.
In the end, the semantics of the clinic matter less than the results those going there see within their lives. This quirky, charming book is above all uplifting as those who take their ‘prescriptions’ discover much about themselves and how to fix their lives through the care, love, and amusement of owning a cat.
I enjoyed the insights into Japanese culture and the sheer adoration for cats that shone through each and every story. Another gorgeous and entirely clever #japaneseliterature read.
Thanks to the lovely peeps at @penguinbooksaus for the #bookreviewer copy.
September 23, 2024
Book Review: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.
I’ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me.
Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: If you know how, and when, to deal with life’s challenges – how to get relative with the inevitable – you can enjoy a state of success I call “catching greenlights.”
So, I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops.
Hopefully, it’s medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot’s license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears.
It’s a love letter. To life.
It’s also a guide to catching more greenlights – and to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.
Good luck.
Published by Penguin Random House
Released October 2020
My Thoughts:Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey has been keeping me company each time I’ve gotten into the car this week. It’s his memoir, narrated by himself, which adds to the overall listening experience immensely – the dulcet tones of his familiar Southern drawl are more than alright, alright, alright.
This is his life story from childhood through to the age of 50. It’s entertaining, so much more so for his narration, as an actor, he’s all over the drama and comic value in the retelling. Interspersed with the reminiscing are his ‘greenlight’ moments, those experiences that he deems life shaping. There’s also ‘bumper stickers’, ‘prescriptions’, ‘notes to self’, and three wet dreams he claims guided him to life-changing experiences, giving this memoir a sort of self-help feel that at times is profound, at others, absurd. But always, above all, entertaining.
From a regular 1970s/1980s childhood in a ‘blue collar’ family in Texas, to a year after finishing high school in a small town in Australia, to university back in Texas for a law degree swapped out for film school in New York, at every step, Matthew applies a determination and optimism that is solid and inspiring. There are moments along the way of being lost, unsure of his path, deep searches for meaning.
After almost twenty years of being pigeon-holed into rom-coms, a genre that made his career but also led him to much discontent, he tells of refusing every offer for two years until at last, different scripts began coming his way and he was able to reshape himself into the serious actor he’d thought he was going to be when he originally became famous from A Time to Kill.
It’s not all about the career though. Meeting his wife, having his children, trips to far flung places to find himself. This is a terrifically well-rounded memoir. There’s no deep dark scandals being aired, people being outed for bad behaviour or any trashing of fellow Hollywood peeps. Rather, as Matthew himself says, this book is about his life, a transcribing of thirty-two years of journals, a book that bears witness to his first fifty years and holds him accountable for his own destiny. It’s good reading and thoroughly entertaining.
September 21, 2024
Book Review: The Wedding Forecast by Nina Kenwood
Anna was never going to have an easy time at her best friend’s wedding. She’s the bridesmaid; her ex, Joel, is a groomsman. But she’s determined to get through the festivities with a smile on her face. Despite the fact that Joel is bringing his new partner, Bianca. Despite the fact she’s stuck sharing a house with the newly in-love couple. And despite the fact Anna has just turned thirty and her life is not exactly where she thought it would be by now. Anna has all her feelings completely under control—right up until the moment Joel drops a bombshell that rocks her to her core.
She needs a distraction, and Patrick, the wedding photographer, just might be the solution. Everyone has decided he is perfect for her. He is perfect for her. But the arrival of Mac, a not-quite-famous actor who has flown in from New York, complicates everything.
Much-loved YA author Nina Kenwood hits the spot with her first novel for adults. Laugh-out-loud funny with chemistry that jumps off the page, The Wedding Forecast will be the feel-good romcom of the summer.
Released September 2024
My Thoughts:Nina Kenwood’s The Wedding Forecast is a delightful blend of humour, romance, and self-discovery. This novel offers a fresh perspective on love and life, going beyond the typical tropes to explore deeper themes of friendship, family, and personal fulfilment.
With its smart and engaging plot, the story is well-paced and full of twists and turns that keep the reader engaged. Kenwood’s witty writing style and relatable characters make the novel a joy to read. The main character, Anna, is a strong, independent woman who is navigating both her career and personal life, both of which are at a crisis point. I loved Anna and really enjoyed her story arc.
For book lovers, this novel is a real treat. Kenwood’s passion for books and bookstores shines through, creating a warm and nostalgic atmosphere. Not only is Anna an author, but she’s a reader, and a lover of books. I adored the Brooklyn book tour that Patrick takes her on while she’s in New York, and of course, the bookstore that ultimately features heavily within the story is a place I wish really existed. In my own neighbourhood, of course.
“Ideas are easy, but reality is this. We have separate lives. Right people, wrong time. We will love each other in the best ways we can, while each following our own dreams. It’s messy, it’s painful, but that’s what we have.”
If you’re looking for a swoon worthy romance that is also smart and funny, The Wedding Forecast is a must-read. This novel is perfect for fans of contemporary fiction, chick lit, and books about finding your place in the world. It hit all the right notes for me and made for a wonderful weekend of reading.
“This is like a tease of the happiness I could have but won’t. This is like watching the best trailer I’ve ever seen for a movie that will never be released.”
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
September 20, 2024
Book Review: Rapture by Emily Maguire
The motherless child of an English priest living in ninth-century Mainz, Agnes is a wild and brilliant girl with a deep, visceral love of God. At eighteen, to avoid a future as a wife or nun, Agnes enlists the help of a lovesick Benedictine monk to disguise herself as a man and devote her life to the study she is denied as a woman.
So begins the life of John the Englishman: a matchless scholar and scribe of the revered Fulda monastery, then a charismatic heretic in an Athens commune and, by her middle years, a celebrated teacher in Rome. There, Agnes (as John) dazzles the Church hierarchy with her knowledge and wisdom and finds herself at the heart of political intrigue in a city where gossip is a powerful—and deadly—currency.
And when the only person who knows her identity arrives in Rome, she will risk everything to once again feel what it is to be known—and loved.
Released October 2024
My Thoughts:Emily Maguire’s Rapture is captivating historical fiction that reimagines the legend of Pope Joan, a woman who infiltrated the Vatican and ascended to the papacy. With a powerful feminist narrative that explores themes of resilience, determination, and faith, Maguire delivers a compelling and fearless story of remarkable brilliance. I adored this novel, absolutely loved it. The stunning cover is just the beginning with this beautiful novel.
Agnes, disguised as John, is a woman of extraordinary intellect and ambition. Her dedication to her chosen path and her unwavering faith in God’s will were truly inspiring. Maguire’s portrayal of Agnes is both nuanced and sympathetic, allowing readers to connect with her on a deep level.
Set in the tumultuous mid-800s, Rapture is meticulously researched and written with a remarkable balance of accessibility and authenticity. Maguire’s ability to transport readers to a world in chaos, so far back in history, is truly impressive. The novel is filled with vivid descriptions, historical details, and compelling characters that bring the story to life.
Rapture is a must-read for fans of historical fiction and feminist literature. It is a powerful and thought-provoking novel, one that has stayed with me and that I highly recommend.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
September 13, 2024
Book Review: The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore
Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling: to take care of her three younger siblings, to find herself, to make ends meet. She’s just about at the end of her rope when she stumbles across a rare edition of a book from the 1960s at the local flea market. Deciding it’s a sign of her luck turning, she takes it home with her—only to be shocked when her cranky hermit of a neighbor swoops in and offers to buy it for an exorbitant price. Intrigued, Chloe takes a closer look at the book only to find notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers back when the book was new…one of whom is almost definitely Jasper Holmes, the curmudgeon next door.
When she begins following the clues left behind, she discovers this isn’t the only old book in town filled with romantic marginalia. This kickstarts a literary scavenger hunt that Chloe is determined to see through to the end. What happened to the two tragic lovers who corresponded in the margins of so many different library books? And what does it have to do with the old, sad man next door—who only now has begun to open his home and heart to Chloe and her siblings?
In a romantic tale that spans the decades, Chloe discovers that there’s much more to her grouchy old neighbour than meets the eye. And in allowing herself to accept the unexpected friendship he offers; she learns that some love stories begin in the unlikeliest of places.
Published by Sourcebooks
Released 30 April 2024
My Thoughts:After recently reading The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore, I was keen to read her latest release, and to my delight, it delivered just as much as its predecessor. It even had a little Easter egg in it referencing The Lonely Hearts Book Club, which was definitely cute! I’ve listened to both of these, and I have to say, there’s something lovely about Lucy Gilmore’s books that makes for a wonderful listening experience.
The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a delightful blend of romance, mystery, and literary passion. Set against the backdrop of a small town in the far north of Washington State, this novel introduces us to Chloe, a young woman with a deep love for books, and Jasper, her grumpy, elderly neighbour. The story unfolds as Chloe discovers a classic banned novel adorned with enigmatic inscriptions. As one book leads to another, she delves into the books, unravelling a captivating love story that she can’t resist digging deeper into.
Beneath his gruff exterior, Jasper hides a painful past that has left him guarded and reluctant to trust. Chloe’s unwavering kindness and genuine interest slowly chip away at his defences, revealing a gentle soul longing for companionship. The author skilfully explores the complexities of loneliness, ageing, responsibility and obligation, and the importance of community. Despite Jasper’s determination to remain lonely and isolated, Chloe and her siblings slowly ingratiate themselves into his life as a series of crises hit the struggling family of siblings.
One of the novel’s most intriguing aspects is the mystery surrounding Jasper’s past love, Catherine. Her character is multifaceted and morally ambiguous, adding depth and complexity to the story. While her actions may have been questionable – over and over – her presence served as a catalyst for Jasper’s emotional journey and forced him to confront the ghosts of his past. Beyond the romance and mystery, The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a celebration of the power of literature. Books act as a bridge between characters, connecting them through shared experiences and emotions. The novel beautifully captures the transformative nature of storytelling, demonstrating how words can heal wounds, inspire hope, and bring people together.
Ultimately, this is a heartwarming tale about family, both the one we’re born into and the one we create for ourselves. Gilmore’s evocative writing and well-developed characters make this a truly enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
