“Questions of Travel” by Michelle de Kretser (Sri Lanka) Review Members of our Summer Reading Group liked the differences in writing styles and themes of this year’s four shortlisted books finding most of the stories highly enjoyable. “Questions of Travel” has two parallel narratives, one set in Sri Lanka, the other in Australia. With over 500 pages, readers found the book a bit long and … Continue reading Questions of Travel
“The Solemn Lantern Maker” by Merlinda Bobis (Philippines) Favourite Quote Foolish men. Not for a moment do they think of their wives who will be widows or their mothers who will be childless, but about country and integrity, the bigger picture. Always the home is too small. The heroic resides somewhere else. If not the streets, the halls of government, or a war. Would they … Continue reading The Solemn Lantern Maker
“Reef” by Romesh Gunesekera (Sri Lanka) Favourite Quotes ‘It’s not what you do every day, but the thoughts that you live with that matter,’ he would tell me, tapping his head with his finger. ‘That, after all, is the sum total of your life in the end.’ At times of intense pressure I sometimes suddenly feel there is nothing more I can do; everything will … Continue reading Reef
“Narcopolis” by Jeet Thayil (India) Favourite Extract Instead of solving one problem he found another, he became an addict and he got lost in Bombay. But even in the lost years, or decades, he was reading. What did he read? Whatever came his way, he was unsystematic. He had no discipline and he could afford not to, after all he was not aiming to be … Continue reading Narcopolis
“Burnt Shadows” by Kamila Shamsie (Pakistan) Favourite Extract She walked past the vegetable patches on the slopes a few days ago and saw the earth itself furrowing in mystification: why potatoes where once there were azaleas? What prompted this falling-off of love? How to explain to the earth that it was more functional as a vegetable patch than a flower garden, just as factories were … Continue reading Burnt Shadows
The four shortlisted books for this year’s Summer Reading Group varied greatly in length, style of writing, and author’s experience from the seasoned writer to the relative newcomer. Our summer readers also noticed the recurrent presence in all four books of evil in its many forms! When it came time for voting, the choice for Best Summer Read 2013 was unanimous: “The Devil I Know” … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2013 – The Devil I Know
“The Sickness” by Alberto Barrera Tyszka (Venezuela) Review Most readers liked this book saying that they found it easy to read, more so because of the style of writing and its length (150 pages) than its subject matter. They felt that the story had some universal themes (obsession, communication, death) and that it could have been set anywhere. A lot of the readers found the … Continue reading The Sickness
“The Lake” by Banana Yoshimoto (Japan) Review Mystical and mysterious were some of the words readers used to describe this book that they thoroughly enjoyed. Most were familiar with the author having read other of her books and they liked her writing style, which they found captured the atmosphere well. They were drawn to the two protagonists feeling a mixture of sympathy and interest for … Continue reading The Lake
Nicola's Book Club 