Category: Fiction

The fall colours this year have been beautiful with cold nights. Great weather for reading books. I have finished two books this week. I’ll mention them here:

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

Pachinko is a novel by Min Jin Lee, published in 2017. It’s a sweeping historical saga that follows four generations of a Korean family living in Japan, starting in the early 20th century.

The story begins in a small fishing village in Korea with a young woman named Sunja, who becomes pregnant by a wealthy married man. To save her honor, she marries a gentle minister who offers to take her to Japan. Once there, Sunja and her descendants struggle with poverty, discrimination, and questions of identity, as Koreans were (and often still are) treated as second-class citizens in Japan.

The title Pachinko refers to a type of Japanese pinball game — many Koreans in Japan ended up working in pachinko parlors because they were barred from other kinds of employment. The game also symbolizes chance, survival, and the unpredictability of life, all major themes in the novel.

Thoughts- I really enjoyed the first half of this book but by the second half I thought it became a bit repetitious and waffly. Everything was then nicely tied up at the end. What I did enjoy was learning about more history of Koreans escaping into Japan during the 40s and 50s. I don’t know much Korean History and this was just enough to put events into perspective. I also was interested in the Pachinko business of which I had no idea about.

Would I recommend it? I think so. If one wanted a quick, easy history of Korea and Japan during the mid 20th century without blood and gore of wars it is an interesting read. The stories within of the Pachinko business and the ways the Korean refugees in Japan survived was interesting too.

************

The second book I finished was much lighter. No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy by Mark Hodkinson.

It is a memoir of a working class family. It is a deeply personal and reflective story that explores the author’s journey from a bookless childhood in Rochdale, England, to becoming a passionate reader, journalist, and publisher. Published in February 2022, the book delves into themes of class, culture, and the transformative power of literature.

Growing up in a working-class household during the 1970s and 1980s, Hodkinson’s family owned just one book: Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain, which was kept atop a wardrobe alongside other prized possessions. Despite this limited exposure, Hodkinson developed an insatiable appetite for reading, eventually amassing a personal library of over 3,500 books. His memoir recounts this evolution, highlighting how literature became both a refuge and a means of understanding the world around him. 

Thoughts- I liked the personal aspects of this book especially as to his relationship with his bi-polar grandfather who has dementia. Their conversations were fun. I also felt how much he covets books and his desire to be a writer.

There are parts of the book that go on for too long. I think tighter editing would have made me happy but overall I enjoyed it.

Would I recommend it? Yes, if you enjoy books about books and bookish people. There is a lot to enjoy and when it gets over waffly you can skim a bit.

************

Photography event

Members of our photo club went into the Derwent valley for autumn photos one day. Only an hour or so southwest of Hobart had us trolling the fields for colours of fall. Here are three of my favourite photos. We then went to a small town, more like a village of Westerway to my favourite little restaurant, The Possum Shed for hot coffee and toasted sandwiches. It is situated on the river and the staff are very lovely.

We are going again to Mr Field National Park this coming week which is also in this area about 90 minutes away. Stay tuned.

This week is the national Australia Book Crawl. Book lovers are given a list of participating book stores for readers to visit during the week. I’ll explain…

Yesterday I walked into the city from South Hobart. It was a very dreary, showery day with big gray skies and rain. I knew if I stayed home I’d fall asleep so I packed the umbrella and hit the pavement.

Hobart has four participating shops. First up was Hobart Book shop in the historic district on the waterfront of Salamanca. Salamanca consists of many historic sandstone buildings from the 1800s.

I was given my ‘passport’ and after looking around the shop I had it stamped. There were quite a few people browsing.

I then passed the waterfront area as I headed towards the city centre.

Shop 2 had me heading up to the central business district to see Richard and Em who run Cracked and Spineless. It is a windowless shop, up some stairs and hidden away in an arcade. They sell a lot of new and used books, many to a young crowd. They successfully market books on Facebook. Everything from classic lit, fantasy, contemporary and outright weird. They are always busy.

From there I walked another block away to a shopping centre called Centerpoint to the more commercial shop, Dymocks. It too was busy and the young women behind the counter were busy with customers. Again I got my passport stamped.

I saved my favourite shop, Fullers until last as I needed to get the passport stamped. Then I had to sign the passport and turn it in.

The passports , once turned in will go into a competition random draw. The prize is a large book pack from Penguin/Random House. I was then given a voucher for a free coffee in their cafe. The store was teeming with customers. The line at the cashiers desk was winding back into the main part of the store. I had to wait a couple of minutes to get a seat in the cafe. I think everyone in Hobart was visiting book shops die to the rainy, dark weather.

I enjoyed my flat white and a heated up berry muffin.

I was told quite a few people are participating in the book crawl which is such a great idea. I watched a few videos of people crawling in Sydney on social. Their list of shops was a bit longer. Our population in Hobart is only 200,000 so to see four very busy shops is something to be happy about.

With a hot coffee and muffin, I put my hood up and headed for the bus. The 5 kms walk from South Hobart and around the city centre was a real mood lifter on such a mild, rainy day.

Did I buy a book? No, not this time. I’m too busy and committed to reading the books I own this year.

I hope my friends here have a chance to have some bookish fun of some sort.

I’ve had a mega busy week with books read and outdoor photography. I’ll start with the books.

BOOKS

First up is:

Childhood: The biography of a place by Harry Crews. It is a compelling memoir that delves into the author’s early life in rural Georgia during the Great Depression. Born in a one-room sharecropper’s cabin, Crews offers a vivid portrayal of the hardships and resilience of Southern life, (America), interweaving personal memories with tales from his community. The narrative captures the essence of a bygone era, highlighting themes of poverty, illness, and the indomitable human spirit. 

This memoir is lauded for its raw and unfiltered storytelling, providing readers with an intimate glimpse into the formative years of one of America’s notable writers. The New Yorker has described it as “one of the finest memoirs ever written,” underscoring its significance in American literature. 

Recommend it? Yes. I loved it. When younger I read many books that took place in the American south but haven’t for many years now.

2. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Loved it. New York city in the mid 20th century. It was published in 2011. Set against the backdrop of 1938 New York City, the story follows 25-year-old Katey Kontent, a sharp and ambitious woman navigating the city’s social strata. After a chance encounter with the charming banker Tinker Grey on New Year’s Eve, Katey’s life intertwines with Manhattan’s elite, leading her through a transformative year filled with love, ambition, and self-discovery. 

Towles’s narrative captures the essence of the late 1930s, highlighting themes of class, fate, and the pursuit of the American dream.

Recommended? Yes. I enjoy stories of NYC during this time period. I enjoyed the characters and the elite lifestyle is very similar to those in the Great Gatsby. The time frame was fun.

Next is our May book club read. Australian author Charlotte Wood’s Stone Yard Devotional. I read this when it first came out but it didn’t sink in. The mood was wrong. This time I really enjoyed it.

The unnamed narrator, once an endangered‑species conservation specialist in Sydney, finds herself hollowed out by the looming climate crisis. In despair, she leaves her career—and her husband—to retreat to a remote convent on the Monaro Plains in New South Wales. Initially adrift in the rhythms of monastic life, she gradually participates in daily duties. Her solitude is disrupted by two “visitations”: the arrival of Sister Jenny’s exhumed body (murdered in Thailand) escorted by Helen Parry—a childhood schoolmate turned prominent nun and activist—and a catastrophic mouse plague that overruns the convent, forcing the nuns to summon an excavator to bury the vermin.

Recommend? If mice don’t bother you then yes. I really enjoyed the quiet days following the daily life of the convent life. Throw in an old murder and all the thousands of mice I kept turning pages.

Last but not least I cannot recommend this book by Barbara Kingsolver enough. Demon Copperhead. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2023. It is a modern version of Dicken’s David Copperfield.

Demon Copperhead follows Damon Fields—nicknamed “Demon Copperhead” for his shock of red hair and fiery spirit—born to a teenage single mother in a trailer park in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. After his mother’s untimely death, Demon endures a series of foster homes, each more punishing than the last. Along the way, he forms a lifelong bond with fellow orphan “Maggot” Peggot, discovers solace in school sports, and confronts the opioid epidemic that ravages his community. Narrated in Demon’s own wry, resilient voice, the novel is both a coming‑of‑age tale and a searing social commentary. 

Recommend? Yes! It is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. I loved it.

As you can see three of the four books are based in America. I wanted to relive in America during a time before people heard about D Trump. I have very fond memories of living in the “old” America. It seemed a much simpler time but no doubt that isn’t true. We just didn’t have the net. The current America is not mine and I want little part of it. These books were a joy and I felt as though I had time travelled.

Now I’m back living my current life in Tasmania, I will tell you about what photography has been happening too.

PHOTOGRAPHY

A couple weeks ago three of us were invited to go to a Pony Club south of here to photograph the young people with their horses. I can only share a couple of horse photos with you as we are not allowed to share any faces on social media. The photos have been provided though for the kids.

It was an extremely bright sunny day, right smack in the middle of the day. The worst time of day and weather to get good photos. The light was blinding with little shade. But we had fun. Having had horses when I was younger I just loved being around them again and being able to stroke their lovely heads.

I also did a Derwent Valley day trip for fall colours but that will come later.

Extra-extra.

We had a Fullers event this past month and also an evening at the Theatre Royal to see the musical play, Come From Away. It is the story of the 200 airplanes that had to land in Newfoundland during the 9/11 terrorist attack on America’s World Trade centre when America closed all air space across the country. We really enjoyed the story and the Theatre Royal in Hobart is always a fun time in such a beautiful building.

There is more but I have rambled long enough. Let me know if you have enjoyed this play or any of the books I mentioned.

Coming up this next week….a local book crawl. Here’s the article from the paper with the owners of four local book stores participating in this event. (You’ll need to tap photo to enlarge enough to read)

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable Easter with friends and/or family.