Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

I love a book with a map, so I was excited to flip through the first few pages of Caleb’s Crossing and find a map of Martha’s Vineyard.  Better yet, there was also a reproduction of a historical document.  I love historical novels.  I love novels based on true stories.  I knew I was going to love this book before I got to chapter 1. 

I was not disappointed. 

Beautifully written in first person as the confessional of a young girl (in the first two parts at least, in the last she writes as an old woman), Caleb’s Crossing documents the journey of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.

Bethia is a smart girl, smarter than her older brother, Makepeace, and she wants to learn.  But she’s a girl, and girls in the American colonies in the 1660s had their place.  It was not in the schoolroom.  Much of Bethia’s education was gained by listening-in to the lessons Makepeace learnt from their father.  But she also received an entirely different education from her secret childhood friend, Caleb, a native of Martha’s Vineyard.

The earlier parts of the book give a sense of freedom through the wilderness of the island and Bethia’s roaming to gather food for the family.  As Bethia grows, her life becomes more and more restricted, especially when she moves to the mainland to work at her brother’s school and then as a buttery maid at Harvard.  The choices Bethia makes to improve her education and pursue her love of learning, reflect some of the sacrifices that Caleb must make to do the same.

If anything, the last portion of the novel could have had more romance, more immediacy like the earlier parts.  Instead, an old woman looks back and summarises the intervening years, including Caleb’s graduation and demise.  But as I enjoyed the beginning of the book so much I can forgive this small fault.

For a writer, this book is a study in how to use archaic language and phrasing in a modern and engaging way.  The words keep the reader firmly grounded in the past.  Not once did I have to stop and think, ‘Oh, that’s right, it’s 1660.’  I was there from the first line to the last.

Best Bit of Caleb’s Crossing: 

For with his name came an idea of who he truly was.  And with that knowledge came the venom of temptation that would inflame my blood. – Geraldine Brooks

50 years of Dr Who

As a kid, I loved watching Dr Who (predominately from the Jon Pertwe/Tom Baker era).  After an episode, my brother and I would run around the lounge room pretending to be the Doctor and Sarah Jane, until my brother would turn into a dalek, exterminate me and it would all end in tears.

I saw the movie in the nineties, though I can’t say I remember much of it, but I was thrilled when the series returned to television.  Christopher Eccleston, tough and modern, was a big change from the Tom Baker Doctor of my youth.  Billie Piper as Rose, the Doctor’s companion, was brilliant casting.  Then the Doctor regenerated into the body of David Tennant, my favourite Doctor so far.

As my babies got older, it became more difficult to get them into bed before Dr Who started, so I stopped watching for a while.  I’d miss most of an episode saying goodnight anyway, and if the kids weren't in bed, well, the modern Dr Who is far scarier for littlies than the old. 

Over the past few months, now that they're old enough for the scary bits, I started letting the kids watch repeats of the show for the first time.  My daughter is now Dr Who mad.  We spent all weekend watching the Dr Who 50^th anniversary specials together, and I was excited to show her the Doctors that I grew up with.   (Her favourite is the current Doctor, Matt Smith).

So how do I pick a best bit out of 50 years of Dr Who?  Is it the different personae of the Doctor, the companions, the villains, the time travel, the TARDIS?  No, for me the best bit of Dr Who is the memories of enjoying it with my families – old and new.

Marysville

With a voucher to fish at Buxton Trout Farm we decided to spend a night in Marysville over the school holidays.

Rebuilding in Marysville

The town is still rebuilding after the Black Saturday fires almost five years ago.  The mood seemed sombre, and Sunday nights had been so quiet no restaurants bothered opening.  We could get pizza for dinner but only before 5.30pm.  Otherwise we could drive to either the Black Spur or Buxton Inns.  We opted for the historic Black Spur Inn.

 

A friendly local in Marysville

 

Before dinner, we made two stops.  First was Bruno’s Sculpture Garden – a testament to the resilience of humans and nature.  Bruno had remarkable stories to tell about the displays in the gallery that survived (or partially survived) the fire.  My favourite was the still-torn painting hanging on the wall.  Bruno had saved some of his paintings by putting them in the kiln, a few more he loaded into his car.  When he stopped to rescue a dog, the dog jumped straight on the painting, tearing the canvas.  Art tells a story and the ripped canvas is now part of the story; as is each lovingly restored piece of terracotta in the garden.

 

This restored hand-fountain was broken off at the wrist during the Black Saturday fires.

 

Next we visited Steavenson Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in Victoria.

 

Majestic Steavenson Falls

 

The next day, before driving over to Buxton, we wound up the track to Keppel Lookout.  It must have been 2 degrees up there.  I told the family to stop looking cold while I took a photo, but it was a feat they couldn’t achieve.  The view over Marysville was breathtaking, in-spite of the cold (and probably because of it too).

View of Marysville from Keppel Lookout

A picturesque drive brought us to Buxton and the trout farm where the kids caught three whoppers.  The kids were curious to watch the man gut and scale the fish, so he called them over to take a closer look.  He showed them the innards, pointed out the stomach and the spleen, then showed them the still-beating heart – ewwww!

Lunch!

It was a little early for lunch (and we were still full from breakfast at the bakery in Marysville), so we took the kids to the park for a play.  I wandered around the nature trail along the river, enjoying the peace of listening to the water gurgle by.

 

Steavenson River at Buxton

 

The Buxton Inn cooked up our trout for lunch, thankfully serving it with only a handful of chips and a salad.  We somehow managed to devour all three fish – yum – before heading home.

The best bit of Marysville:  Bruno and his indefatigable spirit in rebuilding, restoring and regenerating all that was broken and burned.  His garden is a celebration of survival.

 

La Sylphide

Recently, I took my ten-year-old to see the Australian Ballet perform Pequita and La Sylphide at the State Theatre.  We drove to the city, paid a fortune for parking and ate McDonalds for dinner.

Outside McDonalds on Swanston Street, there was a rank of horse drawn carriages.  We had an hour to kill, so I inquired the price.  The driver told me.  I smiled, nodded politely and we stood there admiring the horses.  A short time later a father and son came along and inquired the price.  The driver told him.  The father smiled, nodded politely and they stood admiring the horses. 

I knew my daughter would love the carriage ride, so I asked the father, ‘Do you want to go halves?’

Soon we were clopping through the streets of Melbourne, with blankets across our knees, admiring the lights and the fountains.  It’s a peaceful, if somewhat smelly, way to travel.  I could almost sense what it would have been like to travel to the ballet a century or more ago.  Okay, so perhaps the lights of the MCG wouldn’t have been glaring, cars wouldn’t clog St Kilda Road and the Eureka wouldn’t tower over everything, but it was a lovely experience to share with my daughter (and a couple of complete strangers).

At the theatre, we were amongst the first to take our seats.  We had cheap seats right up the back of the balcony.  With few people in the theatre it was a dizzying height, but the other seats were soon filled.

During the performance of Pequita, two rather tall ladies with large buns perched on top of their heads sat in front of my daughter.  I offered to swap seats but my daughter was happy where she was, peeking between the big hairdos.  We swapped during intermission but the tall ladies didn’t return, so we had a clear view of the two acts of La Sylphide.

Pequita was spectacular, showing the amazing technique that ballet is famous for.  But La Sylphide?  What an amazing production!   The sets were fabulous, the dancing divine and the story easy to follow:  A Scotsman is awakened by a sylph on his wedding day and falls in love with her.  Meanwhile, as wedding plans are underway, the best man is trying to win the heart of the bride.  The Scotsman insults the wrong wedding guest (a witch) and tragedy ensues, but despite the tragic end for the Scotsman and the sylph, the story is light-hearted and funny.

The best bit according to my daughter:  When the best man does an impression of the sylph, then tries to sit on a chair that’s been moved.  That was my favourite bit too.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

A year or two ago I read the unabridged version of The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley.  It was a hard slog.  The rambling asides drove me mad, and it was so preachy (Charles Kingsley was a reverend).  But somewhere in there was a story that seems to have influenced many others (people who were smart enough to read the abridged version, no doubt).

For example, one of the characters (either Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby or Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid) grew more beautiful as naughty children learned to behave themselves, reminiscent of Nanny McPhee.  I’m now reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, which features characters named Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which.  They also remind me of the ladies from The Water-Babies.

A Wrinkle in Time influenced Rebecca Stead to write When You Reach Me, a novel about a young girl who receives mysterious notes that seem to predict the future.  Out of the three books mentioned in this post, this is my favourite by far.  I managed to predict much of the ending from the clues and hints throughout the book, but I didn’t feel disappointed (I felt quite clever actually), and I really enjoyed the believable characters.  I can relate to Miranda’s Mom in the following quote from the book.

Best bit of When You Reach Me:

She shook her head slowly.  ‘I don’t know.  I just feel stuck, like I’m afraid to take any steps, in case they’re the wrong ones.  I need a little more time to think.’  She stood up.  ‘The water’s probably boiling by now.  Spaghetti in ten minutes.’

Spaghetti again.  We were kind of stuck, I realised.  In a lot of ways. – Rebecca Stead

 

 

That Was Then, This Is Now

I first read SE Hinton’s second novel as a teen.  I recall that I finished reading it on the train between Caulfield and Glenhuntly on the way to school one morning.  The ending made me feel as though I was under the train instead of in it.

When I re-read books now that had an emotional impact on me when I was younger, I find I have quite a different response.  Here are a couple of examples:

EB White’s The Trumpet of the Swan

Child: ‘NO! Don’t cut your webbing.’ Profuse tears.
Adult: ‘Is that all?  All those tears over one sentence?’

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

YA: ‘You go girl, stick to your morals.’
Adult:  ‘Are you insane?  Go to France with the love of your life you silly girl.’

SE Hinton’s That Was Then, This Is Now

YA: ‘NO! It can’t end that way.’
Adult:  I was expecting the impact, so it didn't hurt as much, but I still wish it didn’t end that way.

Best bit of That Was Then, This Is Now:  The brutal ending that makes you question everything you believe about right and wrong.

 

The Ink Bridge by Neil Grant

The Ink Bridge follows the separate but intersecting journeys of two kids who don’t speak.  One can’t (his tongue was removed by the Taliban); one chooses not to. 

 

Omed’s journey is gruelling and traumatic as he travels from Afghanistan to Australia with the dubious help of a nefarious people-smuggler.  He ends up working in a candle factory in Dandenong, where he befriends Hector.  Omed’s courage and bravery help Hector deal with his own trauma.  I enjoyed reading this section about places that I’m familiar with.  The descriptions of the ominous atmosphere surrounding the West Gate Bridge were spot on.

 

Many years later Hector travels to Afghanistan to find out what became of Omed.  The descriptions of Afghanistan detail a beauty that I never knew existed in that country.  The third part of the book is a great travelogue.  The book as a whole is not perfect, but an interesting and thought provoking read nonetheless.

 

Best Bit of The Ink Bridge: Her head is now on my chest and I can feel the words inside me. – Neil Grant

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

There have been a handful of books I’ve read over recent years that, upon reading the final page, I have wanted to flip back over and read again.  Some I’ve been able to (if I own them and don’t have another book waiting in the wings), and some I haven’t (if they are due back at the library or I have a deadline for another book). 

The first of these books was Twilight.  I know there are some who may turn their noses up at such an unliterary choice, but this book made me fall in love with reading again.  I’d always loved reading but I was thoroughly bored with grown-up books.  More and more often I was choosing to read magazines instead.  It had never occurred to me, until I had children of my own, that an adult could still enjoy children and YA literature.  I decided to read Twilight, not out of any real interest in the subject, but to find out what all the fuss was about.  I hadn’t read a teen love story since I was a teen and I loved Twilight despite its flaws.  It reacquainted me with the girl I used to be, the one who believed in true love and possibilities.

A few of the other books I’ve wanted to reread immediately:  The Changeover by Margaret Mahy, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan and The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. 

This past week I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  It’s a book about kids with cancer.  It will make you laugh.  It will make you cry.  It will make you hug your loved ones tighter.  You’ve got to love a book that can do all that without being sappy and that’s why I’m reading it again.

Best bit of The Fault in Our Stars:  “That’s the thing about pain,” Augustus said, and then glanced back at me.  “It demands to be felt.” – John Green.

Chilly Melbourne mornings

Best Bit of chilly Melbourne mornings: Glorious winter days.

Best Bit of Jasper Jones

This year I’ve been working my way through the list of Top Ten Aussie Books to Read Before You Die - http://www.abc.net.au/arts/aussiebooks/.  I had read several of the titles already and Jasper Jones was my final one.  Had it not been on the list, I may have given up on it – something I rarely do. 

It’s about a couple of boys who discover a dead body then hide it.  When a dead body is involved you expect a murder mystery or detective novel, but it doesn’t read like that.  A lot of the time I kept thinking ‘Get on with the story’. The characters spend a lot of time talking about stuff that doesn’t move the story forward.  Charlie Bucktin was more observer than main character.  Had he been more proactive, the story would have been stronger.  I think it was worth sticking with though for the secrets revealed in the second half of the book.

Best bit of Jasper Jone:  Sorry means you feel the pulse of other people’s pain, as well as your own, and saying it means you take a share of it. – Craig Silvey.

 

Best Bits of the Universe

This week my six year old declared I was the best thing in the whole entire universe (and no he didn’t want anything, he still genuinely thinks I’m awesome).  So take that shooting stars, supernovas and ice-cream – I’m better ’n you. 
 
At times kids can make us feel old, worn-out and incompetent but there are those incredible moments that make every headache, backache and heartache worthwhile. 
 
Some other gems from my kids this week:

‘And if you put poo on it, it will be even stinkier.’

‘Summer is my least favourite [season] because it’s too hot and I can’t smoke.’ (Because cold mornings and condensation are much more fun than warmth.)

‘Mum, do you even know how to use a steering wheel?’ (Lesson: take the correct freeway exit unless you want folk in the back seat to question your driving ability.)

My vote for the best thing in the universe: warm, scrumptious, sleepy-head, just-got-out-of-bed hugs from my kids.

The Best Book I've Never Read

Realising that I don’t have enough time to read every great book ever written, I’ve recently started listening to audio books in the car.  The first two books I’ve listened to were ideal for this format; atmospheric novels that transformed my aging sedan into an imaginary world.

The first was The Gathering by Isobelle Carmody, read by Peter Hardy.  Carmody’s dark fantasy tackles the theme of good versus evil in fictional Cheshunt.  Strong characters drew me into their feeling of dread as darkness closed in around them.  I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story but it didn’t retain the title of ‘Best Book I’ve Never Read’ for long.

The winner is… The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack, read by Dennis Olsen.  Set in Germany during WWII, it’s a book that gets away with breaking the rules.  The narrator, Death, reveals the ending in the first few chapters, but then why shouldn’t he?  We all know our own ending after all.  Death says it himself in the opening chapter when he tells us we are going to die.  This story, like life, is a journey with one destination.  But it is an exquisite journey full of beauty, loss, humanity, horror and every subtle variance in between.  One of the best bits of listening to Dennis Olsen’s superb reading of the story is that now I know how to pronounce all those German swear words!

It’s hard to pick a best bit from this story, but here is one of my many favourite quotes from Death:  ‘I am not violent. I am not malicious.  I am a result.’

Post script: I loved the gorgeous words in this story so much that I requested a copy of the novel for my birthday.  I’m sure it won’t take long to win my Best Book I’ve Ever Read Award.  It’s great to see that The Book Thief has made it onto the REAL awards Children’s Choice Book Awards Shortlist for 2013 too.