Australian Fiction - Peter Temple

I've just finished my first book for 2011, and I really enjoyed this holiday read. My reading life really only commenced in the past 10 years, and I've not included alot of Australian fiction in my reading list. I remember getting very excited early in my reading life about Australian Authors Lilly Brett and Belinda Alexandra, and more recently Cate Kennedy and Monica McInerney. However Peter Temple has a been able to communicate some of the complexities of Australian life in the country.

Initially I found his writing style, a lot of short bursts of dialogue and quite changing scenes, and very blunt Australian slang, off putting. However, after about 100 pages I got into and couldn't wait to find out what more the story would uncover.

Peter Temple, has won four Ned Kelly awards for crime fiction. The eighth novel from this South African-born, Ballarat-based Australian writer is called The Broken Shore. Unlike his celebrated crime series, the Jack Irish novels; you might remember Bad Debts, Black Tide, Dead Point, and White Dog...those books are set in Melbourne and they feature his lawyer-gambler protagonist. The Broken Shore though is set in a small coastal community which in summer is a holiday village and in winter reverts to its bare bones. This spells development money, old rivalries, small town intrigues, and a turf war. The poor Aboriginal community in the vicinity provides a background setting for racism, blame and breakouts of violence. [quote from an interview with Peter Temple]

From another review I found on line which helps me describe what I found....

The main themes in this book are big issues such as police corruption, Aboriginal politics and the over-development of the coastal regions. There are others, but to name them would be to give away an important plot move. What brings Temple's world so vividly alive is the accumulation of detail in the evocation of the complex social networks through which the character of Cashin moves.

Take the itinerant swaggie, Rebb, one of the finest cameos in the book. Called upon to investigate a trespass, Cashin discovers Rebb sleeping in an outhouse, offering him first a lift out of town and then a job. Men of few words, Cashin and Rebb reveal themselves and their relationship through their actions, looking out for each other, taking care of the dogs, and rebuilding Cashin's ruined house blown up by his great-grandfather's brother in a fit of depression that Cashin fears is genetic. Temple sometimes makes me think I understand men.

In then end, it's all about family: the one you're born with and the one you make. But most of all it's about the writing, and in that regard The Broken Shore might just be a great Australian novel, irrespective of genre. Read it for what Temple does with words.

For me - it was a good book to pick up after some reading challenges - I know I do enjoy a little crime and forensics. I'm now returning to Madame Bovary with renewed vigour, and will keep my eyes open for the next Peter Temple.

New Years Gardening

Christmas Garden Books

I'm enjoying another week of lazy 'Stay-cation' (staying at home for vacation) and a few hours of pleasant sunshine amidst a strange wet Aussie Summer. While the rest of the country is experiencing extremes of rain (in the North) and heat (in the south), it seems my town is enjoying the middle ground. We've had overcast mornings, with threatening rain, and very pleasant days reaching about 33 deg C. Perfect for a little backyard maintenance and planning.

For Christmas, my partner and I got some great books to help with this years planning.

• The Transition Timeline for a local, resilient future. Transition timelines provides an invaluable set of innovative approaches, new narratives and creative thinking tools that will prove vital in enabling us to shape a new kind of society....
• Keeping Chickens: An Australian Guide
• Companion Gardening in Australia: working with Mother Nature
• The Permaculture Home Garden -how to grow great tasting fruit and vegetables the organic way, free of pesticides and chemicals

While home, I am spending a few hours out in the garden each day. For the first few days I was tidying up, pulling out plants that have almost finished seeding such as the lettuce, celery and bok choy. (I like to let them seed and see which ones come up and where). Then I reconditioned the soil with a blood n bone mixture and home grown compost.

While spending time out in the gardens space, I talk to it, and listen. I'm interested in learning how to make the garden a healthy living community, So it's important to listen. I listen and watch for insect life - the ones I want to encourage and the ones I want to discourage, and I look for sun, wind and shade developments. This all helps me with planning what should go where.

Following some of the principles outlined in the permaculture book, and basic organic gardening principles, I've spent time in the last few days drafting this garden plan.



So tomorrows plans include planting snow pea's, beetroot, beans and radishes from seed, and planting out seedlings I have been preparing like broccoli, lettuce, bok choy and spinach. I also have this seasons Yacon to plant out into the garden as it's started to shoot even in it's spring time hibernation box under the house.

But the greatest joy I've had this week has been the result of some garden planning and increased vigilance over the past 4 months. My Peach tree... last year didn't produce anything at all, the previous year the two fruits that developed were attacked by fruit fly. So I declared the tree on the threatened species list - produce or go.

After much research into possible problems for the tree here in Newcastle, I embarked on frequent feeding with Seasol and potassium supplements, maintained a regular watering program, and when the fruit started to show, I took extreme precautions against fruit fly (baits and full tree netting). So as you can see I was able to produce, from the first fruit showing, real, edible and VERY DELICIOUS Peaches (about 30 of them!!).

First Fruit showing............................................the most delicious fruit!!

Other pickings from the garden this week have included

• cherry tomatoes (self seeded)
  
• roma tomatoes (self seeded)
• celery
• rhubarb
• spinach
• radishes
• strawberries

As for Chooks - the plan will be to get the chooks in Spring, after we've come home from our France Holiday.

What happened in 2010

Australian Floods - Nrothern NSW

In an attempt to wind up on 2010 and move on to 2011, I thought I would review my blogging experiences in 2010. But first, I want to celebrate that I have achieved 150 posts since my blog commenced in 2008. I'm not a prolific blogger, (I'm generally not prolific at anything), but I have tried to be constant and regular. I feel it is an achievement to reach 150 posts, so I will celebrate!

So, in January last year, I posted on my guilt for not blogging enough - I've moved on from that now - but also about the flooding in Northern NSW. It's now flooding again, this time in Queensland.

In February I posted on a few ramblings, thoughts from what I had read in other peoples blogs, newspapers and things from my own head.

In March and April I did a few book reviews, but also posted on a short holiday experience, and something about a tea towel.

In May I started doing Friday Fill-ins more regularly. These seem to give me a bit of inspiration, because I also had other posts about movies, gardening and reading.

June was a turning point for my blogging slump in 2010 - when Karen [Bookbath] and I announced our Paris in July event. It also seems that I continued with my blogging inspiration with some book reviews too.

July was our Paris in July event - which we loved doing, and our participants enjoyed also. I have to say this was one of the highlights of my blogging year.

In August, I started by reviews for the Japanese Literature Challenge 4. Again, this challenge has been the highlight of my reading and blogging year.

September, October and November saw a few regular Friday Fill-ins, books reviews, holiday reviews, gardening reviews - and yet again - some reflective posts about blogging.

So what happened in 2010?
I read 16.5 books, noted 11 movies, I participated in the Japanese Literature Challenge 4, and tried to do the Madame Bovary Read a long, and co-facilitated the Paris in July event.

I also carried on with other personal goals such as growing my own veggies and fruit, studying French, increased my cycling (to join with my partner), attended a vegan yoga retreat, continued my voluntary roles in emergency services and increased my commitment to supporting and promoting the small not-for-profit girls school in India.

Again, I am reminded, blogging is a useful tool to facilitate my ongoing learning. I just love to visit many blogs of different varieties - bookish blogs, travel reviews, social justice developments, gardening, green and frugal living etc...

What happened in 2010? A Lot!
I got to 150 posts in blogging world, I made new friends, I had a virtual trip to Paris in July, and I learnt so much..... new and amazing authors are introduced to me each month, I learn new recipes every time I visit another gardener, I started drinking white tea and green sencha because of a fellow tea loving blogger, I planted Yakon and Artichoke, and I've preserved Parsley and spinach for another season. The list is endless what you can learn in blogging world..... I am soooooo looking forward to 2011.

Time to reflect

Christmas is both a time of celebration and a time of reflection for me - as I have to good fortune to have been born in Australia, to be able to choose my faith, and many other things, I like to take the time to be thankful for what I have and to consider what I do not need.

For me this Christmas has been lovely as I was able to visit my parents interstate earlier, and to have my sister and her family at my place for christmas day. There's so much to be thankful for when you have family.

But hand in hand with the joys of christmas, comes time to consider stuff. I wont go into my thinking too much right now, but I wanted to share with you these links. One of my New Years Resolutions will be to increase the capacity for Australians to be able to support my favourite charity - the girls school and hostel in India where I have lived and worked and fallen in love with girls who once had no hope. So

1. Watch this clip from TED Global and then.....
2. Visit this website - and find out how you too can sponsor the girls who live and learn in Thirichuli, Tamil Nadu.

Thank you so much...
Tamara

Dance Dance Dance - Murakami

I finished this book about a month ago, but life has been hectic and I haven’t had the time that’s necessary to reflect on this awesome novel. This is one of my Japanese Literature Challenge 4 novels, and I am so glad I choose it. It’s true to Murakami’s style and, at the same time as being chaotic, bizarre and surreal, I felt that there was a message in it for me.

There are many excellent reviews about the content of this novel, some include:

Alcottandearheart

Booksandtheuniverse

Oatmeal for breakfast

Ben, who review it at GoodRead, states that the novel is “set in Japan in the 1980s, at the height of the country's economic rise, it tells of a solitary magazine writer who suddenly has a strong urge to search for his old girlfriend”. So, given the story is set in a profiting Japanese Economy, where this journalist could have anything he wanted, I have taken away these messages from the story.

The narrator tells us he’s ‘over’ his job, he describes it as just like ‘shovelling snow’, repetative, boring and anything he produces will eventually just disappear anyway. He’s discontent with his lot in life, although not able to put his finger on it, unable to actually say he’s discontent. Other reviewers noted that he was represented as a happy go lucky kind of guy, able to take what came his way with relative ease. However, I still pictured him as discontent. I think that’s why he had dreams that were focused on ‘searching’ – for the girlfriend, for the mysterious floor at the hotel, for the sheepman...

I wondered if the narrator was in fact searching for a deeper meaning to life. He’s divorced, lost his girlfriend (in Wild Sheep Chase) and doesn’t get a great deal of meaning from his work. He is amused by the lack of meaning and substance in his movie star friends life, but envious of the opportunities that his friend gets.

He spends most of the story in search of something, which I think is meaning, by fostering a ‘big brother’ relationship with a young girl – perhaps trying to see if ‘family’ is what he wants. He reconnects with his movie start high school friend, and searchers for meaning through pleasure – driving the Ferrari, seeing call girls, and drinking at fancy places. He wonders if there’s meaning in building a new relationship and looks towards the hotel receptionist for company.

If, as Ben says, the novel is set in an economically strong Japan, then perhaps money isn’t providing the narrator with what he’s longing for. Perhaps there’s something very familiar to us about his journey?? Have we not been persuaded to think that with money we will be happy? That our job is our identity? That we’re of no value if we’re not in a relationship? Even with these things, the Narrator was not content – he was driven in search of the real meaning in his life.

Perhaps the message is Dance, Dance and keep on Dancing until you find what it is your looking for.

Christmas Thoughts

I have recently been reacquainted with this work and I thought I would share it with all who may find themselves reflective during this season. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a special time of connection with all that's important to you.

Desiderata - Max Ehrmann, 1928
Go Placidly amid the noise & haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. as far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others you may become vain and bitter: for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is. Many persons strive for higher idea;s and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune - but do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome disciple be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less that the tress and stars.
You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, what ever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with the soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

I'll be back soon

Hello dear friends, I just wanted to say I'll be back soon. I've just popped out for a few things, but they wont take me long to do, so please come back and visit soon. I look forward to seeing you then.

Regards Tamara