Snake by Kate Jennings

DATE FINISHED: July 25th, 2012 

RATED: **** (4.5)

SYNOPSIS:  This is the story of a marriage between polar opposites, dissatisfaction snaking through it from the start.  Rex is a solid man of earth, accepting of disappointments, and simply looking to settle into his own corner of land.  Irene is flighty as the air and soon resentful of the man and life she has tied herself to.  As the children grow up, Rex and Irene grow further apart under a scorching, suffocating sun.

THOUGHTS:  This deceptively simple story is built up through a chain of vividly realised images – the stark landscape, the hollow lives, the hope and the melancholy.

TBR – latest additions:

The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson

Has actually been sitting on my bookshelf for a while, but is in danger of being read before too long due to some new discoveries with similar themes/backgrounds that have recently caught my attention.  In this story, Bartholomew Fortuno is one of Barnum’s collection of sideshow ‘freaks’.

The Devil’s Footprints by John Burnside

Not really sure quite how much I want to read this one, but with A Summer of Drowning unexpectedly entering my list of all-time favourites it would be foolhardy not to at least try one of his earlier novels (with the exception of The Dumb House which I read and did not enjoy – despite a promising premise – about 15 years ago).

Among the Wonderful by Stacy Carlson

Another Barnum-based tale of personal transformation.

The Romance of the Thin Man and the Fat Lady by Robert Coover

One of Penguin’s recently issued Mini Modern Classics Series (£3 each), the title of this one says it all.

Dreamland by Tom Gilling

This looks completely different to Gilling’s last novel (Miles McGinty) but I loved that one so much that I must try this one, upon discovering it exists.  More of a thriller, but I’m always trying to find a crime novel that I might like so maybe this one will fit the bill…?

Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett

Another well-reviewed Australian discovery – sounds like a coming-of-age kind of story – this one is not published until the end of August.

Little People by Jane Sullivan

Along with three of the first four titles on this list, there is a Barnum connection in this story of General Tom Thumb as his troupe tours Australia (neatly dovetailing with another of my pet themes).

Mateship With Birds by Carrie Tiffany

From the reviews, I am not certain I will like this one, but I enjoyed Tiffany’s first novel Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living, so I am interested to see how she has developed.  And I loved the cover of this book, so had to splash out on the hardback.

The Habits of the House by Fay Weldon

This was released in June & I can’t believe I’ve only just heard of it!  But as I have a bit of a hit & miss relationship with her (review of Kehua) I will probably wait for the paperback.

The Hanging Garden by Patrick White
The Solid Mandala by Patrick White
The Vivisector by Patrick White

These are on the ‘maybe-maybe not’ pile, and will be largely dependent on how I get on with A Fringe of Leaves.  The Hanging Garden was unfinished at the time he died so already interesting from that perspective.

Neverendings e-zine #1: Antipodean fiction

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Click here for FREE neverendings e-zine of reviews ( titles as listed below) & further reading suggestions

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• Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey
• The Potato Factory – Bryce Courtenay
• Strandloper – Alan Garner
• Miles McGinty – Tom Gilling
• The Bone People – Keri Hulme
• Snake – Kate Jennings
• Sixty Lights – Gail Jones
• Remembering Babylon – David Malouf
• Pobby and Dingan – Ben Rice
• Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living – Carrie Tiffany

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Lists are not intended to be all-encompassing, but representative of books I have personally read and enjoyed.  Feel free to post further reading suggestions in the comments, as I will update the list with my future reading.  I will also link reviews as I re-read & they are added to the site.