The Midnight Zoo

by Sonya Hartnett

Penguin. Australian, Young Adult. Hardcover RRP $24.95


Reviewer - Sandy Fussell
I review a lot of books. I read even more. Most I pass on to other readers and school libraries. This one I am keeping on my bookshelf.

The Midnight Zoo is a paradoxical telling – a gentle tale of violence. Two gypsy boys, Andrej and Tomas, carry their baby sister away through a war ravaged land. They are tired, hungry and have seen things no child should.

They stumble into a zoo with a motley assortment of animals trapped in their cages, without care and food. These animals can talk – the lioness, the wolf, the bear, the eagle, the chamois, the seal and even a kangaroo. And they don’t like humans much.

As the children and the animals share their stories, they find similarities in the loss of freedom and once enemies, man and animal, find a new trust.

The Midnight Zoo is a wonderful combination of beautiful, emotive writing and a compelling story. It teaches and entertains. There is always hope.

          … and in its cage, the eagle shook its wings and readied itself to fly.

The Midnight Zoo was shortlisted for the 2011 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year for Older Readers.

Matched

by Ally Condie

Penguin. Futuristic, romance. Paperback RRP $19.95


Reviewed by Barbara Brown

Reading Matched I found myself comparing it to the 1970’s movie Logan’s Run. When we think of the future we think we will go forward or completely back to the dark ages. What happens when we do both?

Cassia is turning 17 and she will be matched to her life partner. Who will that person be? Will he be handsome? They should get on as they have been perfectly matched. But when Cassia stands at the Matching Banquet to see her match up on the screen, something goes wrong and the screen remains blank.

Normally matches live in different Provence’s or sections and have never met, however on very rare occasions some people do know their match. When Cassia finds out her match is her best friend and childhood playmate, Xander, she is relieved (she knows him like a brother) and happy (Xander is the most handsome boy and she will not have to move away from her family).

However when Cassia goes home to look at the statistics and personality of her match another’s face displays. Only briefly, but long enough that Cassia recognises the face, her neighbour Ky. The Officials acknowledge the error and ensure Cassia that all is well, her match is still Xander.

Cassia’s life is dictated by the Officials. Everyone wears the same clothes, eats the same food and there is no difference in anyone’s life. Jobs are designated to what your family does and how well they do it.

Now matched to Xander, Cassia has what others would say is a perfect life. Everything will be happy and she will, if she hasn’t already, fall in love with her perfect man. They will live a disease free existence and die knowingly and happily on their 80th birthday. Perfect.

Except Cassia starts to question the mistake shown to her and everything now doesn’t seem right. What if the other boy was the right one? What if it wasn’t a mistake? Can Cassia do something that no-one has done for hundreds of years – choose?

Matched is a book I picked up and read in less than 24 hours. My problem is I want more and luckily it is the first of a trilogy so I can expect to continue on with Cassia’s story, hopefully soon. This is one book I will reread again and soon. The second book Crossed will be released in November 2011 in the US.

http://www.allysoncondie.com/

Fool’s Gold

by Margaret Clark


Penguin (Aussie Bites). Australian, Junior. Paperback rrp $12.95

Guest Reviewer Jo Burnell

Aussie Bites are always entertaining easy-reads, but Fool’s Gold is so much more. Margaret Clark has recreated the 19th century gold mining town of Ballarat, complete with its tent city. She’s covered the historical detail, and then overlaid a factional mystery. The kids in this story might not be real, but their lives and the difficulties they face are straight from the dusty streets of 150 years ago.

History books can be boring and difficult to understand, but Margaret Clark brings this part of the world to pulsating life. When you take best friends who are struggling to survive, a well-stocked local store and a legend about a hidden stash of gold, you have all the ingredients for an action-packed adventure. Add an interfering girl who wants the gold for herself and things get interesting.

Is there really a ghost guarding the hidden stash of gold? Does that gold really exist? Would you risk permanent bad luck in the hope of feeding your family? When does borrowing become stealing?

Get ready for a tale that moves so quickly, you will wonder where the pages went.

http://www.margaretclark.com/

Monkey Mountain

by Justin D’Ath

Penguin Australia. Junior, Australian, Paperback rrp $14.95

Monkey Mountain is the latest release in the Extreme Adventures series. I’ve read all the books and I have to admit up front, I’m a fan. Extreme Adventures books are packed full of action. Every chapter ending is a nail-biting cliff-hanger and even reluctant readers won’t want to stop there. Monkey Mountain is no exception to the Extreme Adventure rule.

Sam Fox is on a school excursion to Borneo to visit a dormant volcano. Except the volcano decides to spit ash – with Sam caught on a ledge inside the crater while attempting to rescue a friend’s fallen backpack. With the help of his teacher, Mr Griffin, Sam scrambles to safety but his problems aren’t over. Falling molten rock, lava flows, aggressive monkeys, sharks and crocodiles. Did I mention the pirates? The pace is nerve-wracking and frantic but the story never sounds contrived or overdone.

Fast, furious and fun. Girls will enjoy Monkey Mountain but boys will love it and start asking for the rest of the series. The pacing will drag the readers in and the storytelling will keep them there. Particularly recommended for reluctant boy readers.
http://www.penguin.com.au/puffin/mini-sites/extreme/default.cfm
http://www.justindath.com/

Little Paradise

by Gabrielle Wang

Penguin. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $19.95

This is a story of wonderful scope and scale. It will take you deep into the streets of early 1940s wartime Melbourne then sweep you all the way to China and back.

When Lei An decides to change her name to Mirabel, her mother reluctantly takes her to consult the soothsayer because ‘changing your name will change your whole destiny’. Something Mirabel’s mother knows all too well.

The words of the oracle bones provide no clues as to whether Mirabel’s future will be a happy one but as they follow her through life, there is an eerie certainty to their telling.

Mirabel is ready to embrace change. Not only in her name, but to grow up, fall in love and travel. It is not easy when your life spans two cultures and the world is at war. Mirabel falls in love with a Chinese soldier stationed in Melbourne. Their relationship is a secret and after JJ leaves, Mirabel finds she is pregnant. Her family are horrified and ashamed but Mirabel refuses to give up her baby or her love. She fought for her name and she fights for the destiny it promised. Is love and courage enough to help her find her way across China in the midst of Civil War?

Lei An is a good daughter but Mirabel is much more - a true heroine – a friend, a sister, a daughter, a mother and wife. Her story is a journey that sometimes made me cry and other times had me turning the pages as fast as I could. Highly recommended as a book for readers from teenage to adult.

http://www.gabriellewang.com/

The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s

finger puppet book

by Eric Carle

Penguin Group. Picture, Young Reader. Board Book (with finger puppet) rrp $16.95

One of the most loved of all children’s books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has now been released as a board book for younger children.

Just like the original The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the finger puppet book has a hole through each of its pages for little eyes to peer in or little fingers to poke through. But this time there is even more fun to be had with a soft finger puppet that every child or adult can use to transform their finger into the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Along with the added novelty of the finger puppet, young children will learn to count to five and ooh and aah at the beautiful colours of the butterfly at the end.

A great addition to any young child’s library.

http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

The Unfinished Angel

by Sharon Creech

Puffin Books, Penguin Australia. Junior, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $14.95

Guest Reviewer – Sue Walker

The Unfinished Angel is the latest offering from Newbery and Carnegie Medal Winner, Sharon Creech. The story follows a confused angel who watches over an idyllic village in the Swiss Alps. Life has been easy for the angel for hundreds of years – a little ‘flishing’ in the minds of troubled locals here and there, and his job is done. Right? Wrong! A colourful girl named Zola enters his castle, and turns his world upside-down, inside-out.

After a shaky start, Zola and the angel unite to work magic on the sleepy Swiss village, and they find a home for a group of orphaned children. The story has a charming, naïve quality and one of the highlights is the angel’s unique voice. “Peoples are strange! The things they are doing and saying – sometimes they make no sense. Did their brains fall out of their heads?”

The Unfinished Angel is a warm-hearted story with appealing themes. It explores the power of kindness, and the idea that sometimes the solution to a problem can be right under your nose. I did feel there were a few things left unanswered in the story, but The Unfinished Angel didn’t disappoint. The angel’s innocence, and his quirky way with language make him one character that will stay with me for a very long time.

http://www.sharoncreech.com/

Sue Walker writes fiction for children of all ages. Her upcoming title Arnie Avery, is due for release mid 2010. Other books include Tilly’s Treasure, an Aussie Nibble, and Best Friends, a Children’s Book Council Notable Book.

http://www.suewalkerauthor.com/

A Ghost in my Suitcase

by Gabrielle Wang

Puffin Books (a subsidiary of Penguin). Australian, Junior, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $16.95

Guest Reviewer - Jo Burnell

When twelve-year-old Celeste travels to China to visit her grandmother, she carries her mother’s ashes. A feeling of expectation hovers. Is the ghost in the title of this story Celeste’s mother? Each turn of the page gives new information, but leaves me wanting to find out more. Nothing is as it seems, not even the fish in the pond.

Por Por, Celeste’s grandmother, seems like any other nice old lady. Ting Ting, a girl about Celeste’s age lives with Por Por, but their relationship is unusual. Ting Ting wanders the busy streets of Shanghai alone and travels long distances without support.

Ting Ting and Por Por’s lives are entwined with Celeste’s in ways none of them fully understand. Por Por’s past holds tragic secrets that have more to do with ghosts than anyone expects. Can terrible wrongs be made right? Ting Ting seems determined to make Celeste feel unwelcome, but that will have to change. Ting Ting and Celeste must work together if the three are to survive. There is no other way.

Gabrielle Wang lets me taste Por Por’s delicate homemade dishes, and feel the mist on a poorly lit Shanghai street. I hear the thumps and bangs of unseen foes, and delight at open umbrellas in the old bus when it rains. Gently flowing, easy-to-read prose sets me floating down the river in a water taxi, yet the pulse beats faster as dangers are revealed.

My questions are answered, but I’m not sure I want to read on. I can’t hide behind Por Por when things get complicated. What will happen if Por Por’s powers aren’t enough? Can Celeste save the day with her newly found gifts? You’ll have to read this treasure yourself if you want to find out.

http://www.gabriellewang.com/

My Nine Lives

by Diane Cilento

Penguin Books. Australian, Biographical, Adult Non-Fiction. Softcover rrp $26.95

Diane Cilento is a wellknown Australian actress of the 1950s and 1960s. She married Sean Connery before he became famous as James Bond. Then left it all to move to Far North Queensland (or FNQ as she calls it) where she built the Karnak Playhouse, a centre for the arts.

The book, My Nine Lives, is about her fascinating life - all nine of them! She was brought up in Queensland, the daughter of two famous doctors, travelled at the age of 15 to London to study ballet but ended up taking acting classes. She married an Italian actor , performed in many plays in London and Broadway, and gave birth to a baby girl. She later married Sean Connery and had a son. After leaving Sean, she moved around England. Eventually to Queensland. She settled in Mossman, north of Cairns, where she built her own outdoor theatre — named "Karnak" — in the rainforest. The venture allowed her to participate in experimental drama and music. Around this time she married the playwright, Anthony Shaffer.

During her many lives Diane searched for her spiritual fulfilment, finally studying under the British mystic and spiritual teacher John G Bennett. From Gurdjieff to Sufism, Diane's journey has been deep, long and amazing.

Diane Cilento is one of those rare people who has followed her heart, in love, in her profession, and in her spiritual life. The journey has led her ever forward into new territory, even to Mecca as a Sufi pilgrim.

I expected to read about an actress who had married a famous actor and lived a glamorous life but I found much more - learning about mysticism and ultimately seeing inside myself.

http://www.karnakplayhouse.com.au/Home.11.0.html

The Story of Danny Dunn

by Bryce Courtenay

Penguin. Australian, History, Adult Other. Hardback rrp $49.95

Danny Dunn was born in 1920 on the shirt tails of the great depression. His parents run a pub in Balmain and Danny is the local boy who might just get out of the slum and go places. By the time he is eighteen he has everything - good looks, brains, a beautiful and intelligent girlfriend, Helen, and the possibility he might play football for Australia or go to the Olympics representing water polo.

Then World War 2 comes.

Danny’s mother comes from hard working Irish stock and wants to see her son get a University degree. The first in the family. Danny is torn between fighting for his country and finishing his degree to ensure his mother’s dream is fulfilled. To keep his mother happy Danny agrees to finish his degree. But with only a few months left, Danny follows his heart and signs up.

Life for Danny changes dramatically when he is captured at the Fall of Singapore and becomes a prisoner of war working on the Burma Railway. He must constantly fight for his mates’ welfare and his own life. When the war ends Danny returns to Balmain a very different man, both physically and mentally.

The love of his life, Helen, is still waiting and Danny begins to reshape himself. With twin daughters, Sam and Gabby, the Dunn family is complete. But Danny’s demons are always near the surface.
To date I haven’t been a big fan of Bryce Courtenay but the 600 plus pages of The Story of Danny Dunn was something that I could not put down. Three generations through three wars, dramas, ambitions, politics, religion, racism, love. This is a story that will keep you turning the pages long after you want to shut your eyes and go to sleep.
If you have trouble buying a present for a parent, grandparent or great grandparent (or in my case father-in-law), this is perfect. The story contains so much wonderful graphic detail that sometimes I had to remind myself I was reading a fictional story and not a biography. Brilliant!

http://www.brycecourtenay.com/

The Australian Book of Lists

by Steve Barnett

Penguin. Australian, Adult Non-Fiction, Adult Other. Paperback rrp $24.95

Guest Reviewer – Ian Brown

The Australian Book of Lists is an excellent choice for trivia lovers or anyone who wants to know a few interesting facts about Australia. Some are well known; others more obscure.

Lists include famous television deaths, unusual festivals (from Tuna tossing to Silo kicking), top 20 grocery brands (Coca-Cola is not number 1) and even the final resting place of 12 famous Australians.

A great reference book to pull out and solve arguments, assist if you are heading out for a night of trivia or learn something you can quote at the next office party.

Juliet, Naked

by Nick Hornby

Penguin Australia. Adult Other. Paperback rrp $32.95

Two people. Annie, lives in a small seaside village in England, works in the local history museum and has just realised her 15 year relationship with Duncan has really been a waste of time. Tucker, lives in America with his fifth child and is slowly realising that his last 20 years hiatus from being a great rock singer hasn’t done him any good. Duncan is one of Tucker Crowe’s biggest fans and Annie has been tagging along.

When Tucker’s famous song Juliet, is re-released 20 odd years after it was first played, his fan site on the internet buzzes with stories, thoughts and opinions. What his fans don’t realise is that the singer who disappeared still listens to his fans and when Duncan posts a review hailing the song as a masterpiece, Annie can’t resist posting her own scathing response.

Tucker agrees with one of them.

When Annie and Duncan finally go their separate ways, Annie learns that her ex-partner has influenced her more than she realised – especially when it comes to the famous Tucker Crowe.

A wonderful book about relationships and what they do and don’t bring to the party.

http://www.nicksbooks.com/

Mao’s Last Dancer

by Li Cunxin

Penguin Books. Australian, Biographical. Softcover rrp $29.95

The autobiography of Li Cinxin, a poor Chinese farmer’s son, became an internationally world renowned ballet dancer, I didn’t think this was going to be an exciting read. I was wrong.

Li Cunxin was born the same year as me, but that’s where the similarities ended. Whereas I was a child who stopped ballet at the age of 11 because I chose to, Cunxin grew up under the restrictions of Chairman Mao’s Great Leap Forward - communism . At the age of 11 Li Cunxin was chosen by chance from the country’s millions of rural children, based only on his physique and flexibility, to dance in Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy.

“Do you know what your chances of being chosen were? One in a billion! That’s right, one in a billion! You are the lucky and proud children of the workers, peasants and soldiers of China! You will carry Chairman Mao’s artistic flag into the bright future.” Director Wang of Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy.

Mao’s Last Dancer propelled me into Cunxin’s incredible life. My stomach ached as I read about his hunger and poverty in rural China in the 60’s. I felt tired and exhausted as he persevered to perfect his dance routines. A terrible overwhelming sadness went through me when I read about his homesickness. I gripped the book tightly, as he did with Elizabeth Mackey’s hand, when he was defecting to the US. When I read about him finally meeting up with his family again, I smiled and felt jubilant inside.

It takes a talented writer and a truly amazing story to bring out all these emotions in a reader. I thoroughly recommend Li Cunxin’s memoirs to all – even those that hate the ballet!

http://www.licunxin.com/  

This book was reviewed in 2007 for our Issue 1. Due to the recent release of the movie, we thought it timely to post our review.

The Moment You Were Gone

by Nicci Gerrard

Penguin Books. Adult Fiction. Paperback rrp $24.95

The Moment You Were Gone is an intriguing book. There are six main characters, each with a story to tell in their respective chapters but the one that does most of the narrating is Gaby. A wonderful woman many readers will identify with or recognise in their friends.

Gaby is a wife and a mother. Her husband Connor is a well respected doctor studying pain management. Ethan, their son, is off to university, which leaves Gaby and Connor alone. Just the two of them.

Upset by the departure of her only child, Gaby decides to find her childhood best friend, Nancy. Nancy was living with Gaby’s brother, Stefan. She was Ethan’s non-god mother and Gaby, Connor, Stefan and Nancy were inseparable. Then one day, nearly 20 years ago, Nancy left. No explanation, no forwarding address, no phone number, nothing. She disappeared from the face of the earth. Why didn’t Nancy tell Gaby why she was leaving? Was it because of Stefan? Stefan refuses to discuss it and so does Connor.

When Gaby sees Nancy briefly on a news report, she goes in search of her. But does Nancy want to be found?

Gaby and Connor’s relationship is tested, as is Connor’s and Stefan’s and Connor’s and Ethan’s. And if you have been counting – who is the sixth character? That’s the secret that you will have to read the book to find out.

I loved this book. Each character is very real and the story believable. So much so, I am sure, there are some people who will read this and think it was based on them! A great read and impossible to put down, even when the eyelids were fighting to shut!

Smalltown

by Martin Mischkulnig and Tim Winton

Penguin. Australian, Adult Non-Fiction. Hardback rrp $75.00

There is a saying ‘Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder’. Martin Mischkulnig has found beauty where others would never look.

I have braved the harshness and beauty of the Australia, truly ‘a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains…’ Dorothea Mackellar recognised and described it perfectly and so too do Mischkulnig and Winton.

I have seen many of these places, or scenes eerily similar, travelling through the outback. I would love to have a selection of photographs from the books to hang on my walls. And I can! Each 35x28cm photo is displayed on its own page – easy to tear out and frame.

But then the book is a work of art in itself and it’s hard to imagine pulling apart. perhaps the best place to display these photos is on my coffee table.

Each photograph is accompanied by Tim Winton’s wonderful verbal interpretation of the places and people in the photographs. Listen to what he had to say about his own town:

‘The scope of this unloveliness is so heroic as to transcend mere ugliness. It exalts the place, elevates it to the windswept plateau of the truly fugly.’

Brave and bold, poetic and beautiful, the text translates the spirit of Mischkulnig’s photographs. Smalltown is a masterful merger of the visual and graphic with language and words.

I suggested to my husband that Smalltown would be a great Christmas present for his brother and he looked at me and said softly, “No. I think we will keep this book.”

martinmischkulnig.com

http://breath.timwinton.com.au/

The Brightest Star in the Sky

by Marian Keyes


Penguin. Romance. Paperback rrp $32.95


One address. Four flats. Seven occupants. At 66 Star Street Dublin there seems to be a lot happening and someone is watching them all. We start off at Day 61 and as we turn another page and pass another chapter we also are counting down to Day 1. But what will happen on Day 1? And why is the “watcher” counting the days and picking and choosing?

Of the seven occupants at 66 Star Street, the “watcher” is trying to decide who to choose. There are some obvious choices and some not so easy. Jemima is in her 80’s and can sense a presence but she isn’t ready … just yet. Matt and Maeve are married who live on the bottom floor only seem like the perfect couple. Young Lydia, stuck living with two unfunny Poles, has a lover but much anger and hatred. And then there is Katie on the top floor. She has a perfect man in Conall, she is turning 40. Could she be the one?


Love, lust, passion, death, tragedy, friendship, endings and beginnings; it is all happening at 66 Star Street. When secrets are uncovered the “watcher” knows it is time to choose.

The Brightest Star in the Sky kept me entranced. How could so much happen in one tiny block of units? How many endings could one book have? And not tied with neat bows either. This is a book with wide general appeal. Buy it for yourself and give it as a gift. You won’t regret either decision.

This Charming Man by Marion Keyes was reviewed in Issue 7 of The Reading Stack.

http://www.mariankeyes.com/

The Fete Escape

by Christina Miesen

An Aussie Bites book by Penguin. Australian, Junior. Paperback RRP $12.95

Guest Reviewer Jo Burnell

Susie Murphy (also known as Sooz) loves the Peppercorn Primary School fete. She spends the year dreaming of all the fun she’ll have there. Her mum is on the Committee to organise it. Correction. Her Mum is the Committee. It never bothered Sooz before, but this year is different.
The reason for Mum’s panic and Suzie’s meltdown is inside a large cardboard box. The school Mascot, Pepper the Rat comes in two varieties: a living pet and a costume that smells worse than dead. Suzie can’t stand either.

A rollercoaster of mishaps and dilemmas follow. Will Pepper ever be found? (Does Sooz actually want to find him?) Can Gramps manage to save the day, or is Sooz doomed to watch all the fun from behind giant whiskers? No fete is complete without hair-raising rides, lots of yummy food and a cake competition, but things will go wrong when you’re stuck inside a stinky rat costume.

Christina’s characters are quirky, but realistic. That’s why The Fete Escape is so much fun. Emily Snell is an aspiring actor who plays dress-ups for practice. Little brother Ben scours the fete grounds with a metal detector, hoping to get rich; Mum is at her frantic best while Dad tries his best to soothe Mum’s nerves.

The Fete Escape is a perfect read for anyone who has ever had fun at a fete. It’s also an invitation to come along for those who have never been.

We Don’t Live Here Anymore

by Matt Nable

Penguin Australia. Australian, Adult Other. Paperback rrp $32.95

We Don’t Live Here Anymore is all about relationships. Real, normal, down-to-earth relationships! But that doesn’t mean the story is boring or mundane, in fact, the drama behind these relationships kept me rapidly turning page over page.

Charlie Hudson is a bit weird and as a young awkward teenager he gets beaten by some local bullies whilst on the annual family holiday at the beach. When Tess Bailey comes to his rescue his life is set on a course that he never seems to be able to control… until he is older and wiser. And Tess’s kiss is what lingers in his thoughts every day, subtle, just wavering on the surface of his conscious.

Every character has their own chapters within this book and every chapter has a story to tell. All are touched by Charlie in some way or other. The stories jump from past to present to future and back again with a great ease. With each chapter under my belt, my knowledge of why the characters have been shaped the way they have gradually and tantalisingly increases.

Charlie’s father, brother, mother, next-door-neighbours, the boy that bashes him, his father’s boss and Tess are all entwined. Their stories could be about everyday people. The famous ex-footballer whose son just doesn’t have the same calibre; the man that spends half his life trying to forget a teenager’s mistake; or the girl that leaves the small town to make it big in the city.

If you like real-life puzzles and want a book to draw you in, then We Don’t Live Here Anymore will live up to your expectations. I loved it and look forward to more of Nable’s writing.

Half Way to Good

by Kirsten Murphy

Penguin. Australian, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $19.95

Half Way to Good is the story of 17 year-old Luke, your typical Australian Year 11 high school student. It is also about Anna, a graduate teacher beginning her career at a Catholic school. Their stories are intertwined together in a way that would cause most kids and teachers to cringe. Anna is one of Luke’s teachers and also the sister of his older brother’s girlfriend. They see each other outside of school!

Luke is suffering bouts of unease and depression because his father is ill, his mother sad and his older brother always around. Anna is suffering from being the “new” teacher, being just a bit older than her students, having another teacher determined to make her life difficult and on top of all that, her ex boyfriend, whom she vowed never to be hurt by ever again, wants her back.

Anna and Luke help each other with their problems but can they help themselves?

Half Way to Good isn’t about being on your best behaviour but about getting to know yourself. Anna and Luke are familiar characters which makes them very easy to relate to. This is a universal story of a teenager and his teacher. Told in dual narrative format it is an entertaining book that your average adolescent and beyond will love.

Murphy’s second novel The King of Whatever won the 2006 Children’s Peace Prize for Literature and was named a notable book in the 2006 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award. I can see Half Way to Good up there too.

My two husbands

by Kathy Golski

Penguin Group. Australian, Biographical. Paperback rrp $32.95

Kathy Golski is an Australian artist who fell in love and married a young Polish migrant, Olek. They had three children and their life was interesting and full. The story could end right there with the words “and they lived happily ever after”, but a different ending was about to be written.

Kathy lost Olek when she was in her 30’s. He was killed instantly when the bike he was riding to a friend’s place in Canberra, collided with a car. Kathy later married the friend, Voy and had a fourth child with him.

Now in her 60’s, My two husbands is Kathy’s story of her life with the two men that together influenced her from her late teenage years until now.

Kathy came from an Australian middle class suburban family and ended up becoming Katush, Katya and Kot, a woman integrated into the Polish migrant way of life.

From the moment she fell in love with Olek, Kathy’s life was transformed . His parents were old fashioned Polish people and his pushy mother taught Kathy how to cook and keep Olek happy. For Olek, life was an adventure and he passed this attitude to his three young children and his wife.

Olek and his parents escaped two Nazi concentration camps and lived out the Hitler regime in the forests of Europe with a Partisan camp. Olek’s father was a dentist and this special skill saved the families life time after time during these years.

My two husbands is not just the story of Kathy and her two husbands but her family and the interesting tales their lives have to tell. Kathy relates her life as though she is talking with Olek, letting him know what is happening. This is a comfortable book. One to be enjoyed with a cup of tea, some polish food and gypsy music playing in the background.