Palace of Tears in Aussie Readers

May 13, 2015 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: provided-by-publisher, aussie-author, arc-are

Set in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales Palace of Tears is a generational saga of family, passion, secrets and vengeance from debut author Julian Leatherdale.

The shifting third person narrative unfolds from the perspective of several characters, Angie and her mother Freya; Adam's wives, Adelina and Laura; Laura's daughter, Monika; and in the present day, Lisa, Monika's daughter. Only briefly do we hear from Adam Fox, the owner of the Palace and the man who connects these three generations o
Set in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales Palace of Tears is a generational saga of family, passion, secrets and vengeance from debut author Julian Leatherdale.

The shifting third person narrative unfolds from the perspective of several characters, Angie and her mother Freya; Adam's wives, Adelina and Laura; Laura's daughter, Monika; and in the present day, Lisa, Monika's daughter. Only briefly do we hear from Adam Fox, the owner of the Palace and the man who connects these three generations of women.

Lisa's interest in the past is triggered when, during a visit with her ailing mother, Monika laments the mysterious fate of Angie, the 'girl who broke Adam Fox's heart'. The name is unfamiliar to Lisa and curious she decides to investigate, contacting Palace historian Luke Davis. Over the course of the novel, Leatherdale unravels a family history marred by untimely death, adultery, betrayal, heartbreak and revenge. What became of Angie remains a mystery til the very end with a surprising twist.

Leatherdale firmly grounds his fictional characters in time and place. Adam Fox's Palace is modeled on the Hydro Majestic Hotel, opened in 1904 in the tiny township of Medlow Bath in the upper Blue Mountains and he ably describes the opulence of the hotel and the magnificence of the setting. The author also references several relevant historical events of the first half of the twentieth century from the wartime internment camps, to the deadly influenza outbreak that swept New South Wales, to Arthur Conan Doyle's Antipodean tour, enriching the story with intriguing detail.

The tale is well structured, despite shifting between multiple perspectives and time periods. The story is well paced, with plenty of twists and turns in the plot to maintain interest. Descriptions, particularly of the setting are vivid, and

Melding history and fiction, Palace of Tears is an entertaining novel and an impressive debut from Julian Leatherdale.

"Nothing was achieved without risk and cost. The allure of the mountains had taught Adam that lesson.... The mountains offered up vistas of inspiration, horizons of wonder where the mind dared to leap and the imagination to soar. It enriched the spirit, breathed hope back in to the wounded heart. Yet there was always that reminder of the fall: vertigo's strange seduction that dragged you down the bright waterfall into the shadow of the valley below. Mortality, failure, despair - all these must be acknowledged. Adam realised, over time, that his beloved mountains expressed the inner drama of his own soul." ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2017 Kathryn rated it liked it

Shelves: reading-list-2017, fiction, australian-authors, kathryns-aty-2017

I loved some of the description of this book, however the story itself, while mostly interesting, changed pace quite considerably, with some parts being riveting, and others being a bit too slow for my liking. This, combined with its length, has made me drop my rating a little. If it had been compelling for the whole length, that would have been great, and if it had been a slower read but about 200 pages shorter, then that wouldn’t probably have worried me either, but it did feel like it dragged I loved some of the description of this book, however the story itself, while mostly interesting, changed pace quite considerably, with some parts being riveting, and others being a bit too slow for my liking. This, combined with its length, has made me drop my rating a little. If it had been compelling for the whole length, that would have been great, and if it had been a slower read but about 200 pages shorter, then that wouldn’t probably have worried me either, but it did feel like it dragged a bit.

I also resented at times the amount that it chopped and changed periods in the recounting of the story. This is normally a story-telling device I enjoy, but I didn’t feel that it was seamless in this -it seemed a bit overdone and I frequently had to flip back to remember which time period I was in. I also got a bit confused with the different female characters - which is probably not so surprising because they were all revolving around Adam Fox, in various ways and at different times!

However, all that makes it sound as though I didn’t like it, which wasn’t the case at all. I did really enjoy it - and the ending was very clever (view spoiler) Perhaps it was disadvantaged by coming after a couple of fast-paced reads, and so I was expecting something similar from this one. But Julian Leatherdale’s description of Australian flora and fauna is fantastic, and the heat haze over the mountains, so all that was beautifully done.

It was also interesting to read information online about the Hydro Majestic Hotel, which is what Julian Leatherdale based Adam Fox’s Palace on. And I was just thinking, since the descriptions were so well done that you almost felt like you were there, and since I’ve never been to the Blue Mountains and don’t know the area at all, it might have been nice to have a little map in the front or the back, with the major locations marked on it so that you could picture everyone moving around even better. 3.5★ ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 19, 2017 Dzintra aka Ingrid rated it it was amazing

A wonderful read set in the Upper Blue Mountains with familiar places! Shocking happenings here in Australia during the war that I didn't know about and what a twist at the end! ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 15, 2018 Cathleen Ross rated it it was amazing

I love it when an author really knows their history as Leatherdale does and incorporates real life events in with fiction. This is a very engaging story about the Fox family who own a hotel, really the Hydro Majestic, but named the Palace.
I especially enjoyed the present intermingled with the past and watching it come to a climactic end, which I never would have guessed.
Wonderful book.

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 22, 2016 Kalliste rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: australian

I enjoyed this book a lot more than expected, although that's not surprising because I had forgotten I had it at all so it wasn't something I was eagerly waiting to read.

The book spans over more than a century and is based around the events of 3 generations of a family in the Blue Mountains. I learnt a lot of things about Australian history I didn't know. Most interestingly, that when being taught about the world wars in school they conveniently leave out the treatment of German "enemy aliens" d ...more

Like · see review

Sep 18, 2015 Tianne Shaw rated it it was amazing

I won this via Allen & Unwin on their spring clean. The cover had me drawn to it and I have found during the whole book it was a few mysteries intertwined around one much larger one. Flitting between present and past the Blue Mountains and Sydney come alive during the World Wars. If you enjoy Downton or A Place to Call home this will get you reading. Miss Fisher should have come into the case as well.

Like · see review