Sad to say goodbye.

The Beginner’s Goodbye

by Anne Tyler

Chatto & Windus, 2012

Pulitzer Prize winning author Anne Tyler has returned to her characteristic writing best in The Beginner’s Goodbye. Admittedly I was a little underwhelmed with her last offering Noah’s Compass, but she has returned with trademark stylish simplicity in The Beginner’s Goodbye. Having just turned the last page, I am already mourning the end of a marvellous read.

Tyler’s talent is to take the everyday and write about it in the most beautiful and unordinary fashion. In The Beginner’s Goodbye she introduces us to thirty-something Aaron Woolcott whose wife Dorothy dies in unexpected circumstances. As we live through Aaron’s initial shock and mind-numbing grief, Tyler gifts the reader with descriptions of simple beauty and clarity which perfectly depict his situation. For instance, upon returning to his empty house which only that morning he had shared with his wife, Aaron goes into the kitchen and see a cup left it in the sink, reacting with a simple yet painfully poignant thought: “Sometimes the most recent moments can seem so long, long ago”. Later, as he deals with the cocoon of goodwill which threatens to suffocate him, he thinks: “That was one of the worst things about losing your wife, I found: your wife is the very person you want to discuss it all with”.

As Aaron wanders somewhat aimlessly through his grief, he begins to experience occasions where Dorothy returns to him; he sees her, can feel her presence and he can converse with her. This is the crux of the The Beginner’s Goodbye: whether a dead spouse can return to a grieving spouse’s consciousness. We are left to make up our own minds about whether Aaron imagines Dorothy’s return, or if it tangibly occurs, but Tyler leaves us in no doubt as to the purpose of her return.

This novel is beautifully written in Tyler’s inimitable style. Aaron is a somewhat prickly protagonist, however it is difficult not to sympathise with him. The cast of supporting characters are intelligently drawn and all have their part to play in Aaron’s grief and recovery.  The ending will no doubt be passionately debated by book clubs far and wide, but I adored it.

A cracking thriller for teenage girls

The Industry

by Rose Foster

Harper Collins, 2012

Sixteen year old Kirra Hayward is extremely bright – so bright that she is accelerated into the higher maths classes at school. As a consequence of her perceived ‘bookishness’ and acceleration, she is very lonely.

Completing her homework in the school library one day, she stumbles across an internet site which invites her to crack a code. Kirra does so easily, enters her answer and thinks no more about the ‘crack a code’ website, unaware that she has just changed her whole existence.  For we learn that Kirra is one of very few people in the world who have the ability to decipher the code she unwittingly cracked. She is kidnapped by an organisation called “The Industry” and so begins an exciting  and fast-paced adventure thriller. Kirra initially resists The Industry and refuses to help the evil organisation but is manipulated, tortured and outwitted at every turn. The arrival of another code-breaker, Milo, creates an interesting tension and further complicates the plot.

Rose Foster is an Australian author, and it is refreshing to read about an Australian heroine in a young adult adventure thriller. Whilst the action begins in suburban Australia, it quickly becomes international in flavour adding an air of sophistication and authenticity to the criminal activity.

What I found disappointing is that this is the first book in a three-part series. For me, The Industry could have been a tight, action-packed one book story, however it seems these days publishers are keen to jump on the franchise bandwagon, especially with young adult fiction. It will be interesting to see what Foster can achieve in books two and three. Teenage girls especially will enjoy this book and appreciate seeing a tough, intelligent female protagonist in a gritty thriller.

Recommended for ages 13+

Crikey! A fun and quirky adventure for young teens.

Chomp

by Carl Hiaasen

Orion Books 2012

 

This is a quirky, fun read by the very witty Carl Hiaasen. Hiaasen always provides books full of adventure interspersed with dry humour, and Chomp is no exception.

Wahoo Cray is our protagonist. He lives among a menagerie of exotic animals because his father Mickey is an animal wrangler by trade. The story begins with a rather unfortunate incident in which Mickey is hit on the head by a dead iguana, making him rather unstable for a while. Wahoo and Mickey’s world is then turned upside down by the arrival of the Expedition Survival reality television show, hosted by the very strange Derek Badger.

Derek Badger (not his real name) has fashioned himself on the late Steve Irwin, complete with mock Australian accent. That is where the comparison ends! Mickey and Wahoo are hired to wrangle the animals on Derek’s latest television adventure, and in typical Derek fashion all hell breaks loose. With clever back stories and an interesting plot that moves at a rapid pace, this is an entertaining read for teens and adults alike.

Recommended for ages 12 +

On my reading list

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in my part of the world. In preparation for this, one of my children invited me to shop for my own gift – a truly wonderful invitation. Of course I headed straight for my local bookseller.

It didn’t take me long to choose. Firstly, I wanted a new release which has received some tantalising reviews:

The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler

Random House, 2012

 

Regular readers of bigbookcase will have noticed that I have long been a fan of Anne Tyler. She appears in my Top 10 favourite books of all time and my Top 10 book openings. What I most enjoy about Tyler’s writing is the way in which she manages to portray everyday life in the most sublime and beautiful language. In a Sydney Morning Herald review Kerryn Goldsworthy describes this as “Tyler’s trademark tenderness for her fellow human beings, a generosity unsullied by sentimentality”.

I should have been satisfied with my new Anne Tyler novel. However, my local  bookseller had a ‘three for the price of two’ sale on literary and modern classics. Clearly this was a not-to-be-missed offer, so I chose the following three titles:

1. Atonement by Ian McEwan – because I’ve seen the movie but have not yet read the book.
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – because whilst I’ve read it a couple of times, I have never actually owned this novel and decided my book collection would not be complete without this classic. This means of course that I will be revisiting the world of Atticus, Jem and Scout in the near future.
3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. As a schoolgirl I devoured many classics, including this one. Some, like Austen, I have re-read many times over the years and I am always delighted to see how my interpretation changes according to my own life experience. As a woman who has faced all the joy and pain of life, the passion and the love, the grief and the sorrow, I am keen to measure my adult response to Anna Karenina compared to that of my teenage self.

Mother’s Day is about so much more than gift giving of course, but a little part of me is secretly delighted to be receiving four beautiful books as my Mother’s Day present. I’ll be back when I’m finished reading……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 10 book openings

Some time ago I wrote about the Top 10 book endings. Recently I’ve been thinking about the Top 10 book openings; a ‘top 10′ which I found particularly difficult. I used the following criteria: the top 10 lines would be those I easily recalled, (meaning they were especially memorable), or they would be the lines which had most made me want to keep reading.

After much thought, I eventually came up with the following list:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moylek/3070836317/

1. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

 

2. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

 

3. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

 

4. In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

5. “Call me Ishmael”

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

 

6. Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the riverbank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book’, thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversation?’

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

 

7. Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler (2001)

 

8. All children, except one, grow up

Peter Pan by J.M.Barrie

 

9. In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

 

10. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K.Rowling

Words can’t change my face

Wonder

R.J. Palacio

The Bodley Head (Random House), 2012

This is the book of the year, and if Hollywood doesn’t pick this story up and make a beautiful movie out of it, I will be very, very surprised.

August Pullman is a little boy living a hugely complicated life. Ten years old, he was born with extensive facial deformities which numerous surgeries have somewhat improved, but failed to fully correct. His loving family have surrounded him in a protective cocoon until now, at age ten, they think it is time for Auggie to go to school.

Thus he begins life in the middle school at Beecher Prep. The novel follows his journey as he tries to fit in as an ordinary kid, and find acceptance from his peers. Predictably, this is no easy task but what is unpredictable is the beauty of Palacio’s narrative, such as at the end of Auggie’s first traumatic day: “(Mum) said soft words that I know were meant to help me, but words can’t change my face”.

Cleverly structured and narrated from various perspectives: Auggie, his older sister Via and their acquaintances; the reader gains insight not only into August’s emotional journey, but also that of those sourrounding him. By choosing children and teenagers as the only narrators, Palacio is able to describe human reaction to disfigurement with honesty and clarity, often with brilliant humour.

This debut novel is funny, frank and incredibly heart-warming with an ending that moved me to tears. Whilst suitable for older children, I think most adults will embrace Wonder and like me, will find it very difficult to put down.

Recommended for ages 10+

Top 10 movie adaptations from children’s books

With the current hype about The Hunger Games movie, I’ve been thinking a great deal about the best movies made from books. As such, I’ve compiled this list of my Top 10 movie adaptations from children’s books. I’ve used very unspecific criteria such as entertainment factor, quality of story-telling, and overall translation from the printed page to the big screen.

Here are my Top 10 movie adaptations from children’s books:

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) based on the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

This is a standout as far as I’m concerned, though Hollywood’s translation of the flying monkeys terrified me as a child.

 

2. The Harry Potter movies based on the books by J. K Rowling.

Unlike others, I cannot separate or rank the movies. The casting for the Harry Potter movies remain their greatest strength; I can no longer re-read a Harry Potter book without seeing Daniel Radcliff roaming the halls of Hogwarts.

 

3. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971 film) based on the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

The original movie captures the essence of Dahl’s work, however, no-one can deny the brilliance of Tim Burton’s 2005 adaptation.

 

4. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962 film) based on the book of the same name by Harper Lee.

I debated whether to include this in the Top 10 children’s list. However, as so many secondary students study Mockingbird as a text and Scout and Jem are children, I believe this adaptation belongs on this list.

 

5. The Jungle Book (1967 animated film) based on the 1894 book by Rudyard Kipling.

This animation may not be as true to the book as many would like, but Disney films have a way of making great stories accessible to children and that is the genius of the Jungle Book. And who doesn’t love “The Bare Necessities”?

 

6. Charlotte’s Web (1973 animated film) based on the book by E.B. White.

Whilst I really enjoyed the 2006 film, the original adaptation remains my favourite.

 

7. Mary Poppins (1964 film) based on the the book series of the same name by P. L. Travers.

Disney knows how to make children’s movies and how to adapt a book to the big screen. This film remains a firm favourite in my house and is trans-generational in its appeal.

 

8. Bambi (1942 animated film) based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten.

A beautiful animation, with one of the saddest cinematic scenes ever.

 

9. Oliver Twist (1948 film) based on the novel by Charles Dickens.

The original and the best, with Sir Alec Guinness as Fagin. Classic Dickens, classic movie making.

 

10. James and the Giant Peach (1996 film) based on the book of the same name by Roald Dahl.

Tim Burton’s film-making genius shines in this excellent adaptation.

 

With nods to: Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Disney’s Alice in Wonderland and, of course, The Hunger Games.