Archive for the 'Books' Category

Book review: Graeme Clark

Graeme Clark: the man who invented the bionic ear by Mark Worthing, 2015, Sydney, Allen & Unwin.

Graeme Clark grew up with a powerful and compelling vision.

He wanted to develop some way of helping his father regain his hearing. In a simple way this encapsulates the driving force behind why he became a doctor, surgeon, and later an inventor. Along the way he developed many other skills necessary for his dream to be realised. The road to success was, at times, a very bumpy one. One of the many skills Clark had to learn was fund-raising to support the development of the bionic ear. Bizarre – yes – but often that is the way with visionary people; nothing can stop them, even if the road takes some unexpected twists.

Worthing has resisted the temptation to dwell primarily on the technical side of the development of the bionic ear. Sure, there is enough scientific detail for readers who would like to know. Instead, the author has let his focus be on the man himself, what motivated him and the role of Clark’s Christian beliefs and values in the whole process. This comes through very strongly throughout the book. The author has successfully portrayed an ordinary Australian man, with a uncomplicated values but with an extraordinary vision driving him.

Probably the one thing that most impressed me about the portrayal of Clark the man was his uncomplicated reliance on prayer. Whenever the going got tough, whenever obstacles faced him, whenever he was perplexed, and whenever he faced criticism or outright opposition, Clark prayed. The development of the bionic ear was technically, electronically and medically very complex. Clark’s almost child-like faith in God and his simple, uncomplicated prayers carried him forward.

Now hundreds of thousands of profoundly deaf people all over the world are thankful to this man.

It is a truly inspirational book and highly recommended.

My Privilege:

I had the privilege of reading early drafts of this work. This came about through my involvement in a writers’ group run by the author. Dr Mark Worthing was one of my lecturers and mentors at Tabor Adelaide when I was completing my Master of Arts Creative Writing. Later we became friends and lecturing colleagues at Tabor.

You can read more reviews I have written here.

Good writing. Good reading.

Trevor

Films featuring writers and writing

I always find it interesting and somewhat enlightening when I see a film which features a writer or someone writing. I have seen quite a few over the years and even have a few in my own collection of DVDs.

I get a weekly newsletter from the Australian Writers’ Centre. It is usually both informative and entertaining. Their blog recently featured a list of movies which feature writers or something about writing. You can access the article here.

This is quite a long list and some of my favourite movies are featured on the list, including:

  • Miss Potter
  • Finding Neverland
  • Iris

I must admit that there are many on the list which I have never seen. Perhaps I need to reactivate my membership of the local video hire shop – if it is still operating. I haven’t darkened its doorstep in many years. Too many books to read – and write!

There is also a lingering feeling that this list is far from complete. I have just quickly skimmed over my own collection of DVDs and can add the following:

  • Moulin Rouge
  • As Time Goes By (okay – this is a television series)
  • MASH (okay – another television series and only occasionally features a writer or writing)
  • Jewel of the Nile

Books into movies

Now – if we extend the list to include books which have been made into movies, the list would be enormous. The latest one I have experienced is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2 which I just happened to see yesterday. Good movie, and a satisfactory ending to the series. I don’t think I will get around to reading the books; I have too many other piles of books and magazines waiting to be read.

Good writing. Good reading. Good viewing.

Trevor

Avoid Vanity Publishers

Vanity publishers do nothing but rip you off.

Avoid them at all costs – or it will cost you dearly.

For those of my readers who may be looking desperately for a publisher for their writing, but have never heard of “Vanity Publishers”, here is a quick introduction. There are plenty of genuine publishers, some which still accept manuscripts from total newbies. They may take ages to respond but once your manuscript is accepted for publication, they pay you a percentage of the proceeds of the sales (known as royalties).

Vanity Publishers operate in a quite different manner. They rarely edit your book, nor do they promote sales in any way. You are expected to make payments up front, then you are expected to buy a minimum number of copies of your book. Many who go this way end up unable to sell more than a handful of copies – if any – and finish with a shed full of books they cannot sell. Meanwhile, the author is left several thousand dollars poorer.

Fortunately I have never ventured down this slippery slope. I was warned early on in my writing career to avoid such scams.

For an in-depth discussion on this topic have a read of this article: How to identify a Vanity Press  Publisher and avoid being ripped off.

 

Book review: The Truth About Peacock Blue

Hawke, Rosanne, 2015, The Truth About Peacock Blue, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest.

Compelling

This latest novel for young people written by South Australian author Rosanne Hawke is compelling reading. It is one of those stories you can’t put down, but you know that to go on reading will be confronting, challenging, and even infuriating. I say ‘infuriating’ because many readers will want to jump into the story personally and put right some terrible injustices. The caption under the title on the cover encapsulates the story so well: A powerful story about one girl’s fight for justice in Pakistan.

Contemporary

This story deals with real issues in the real world in the lives of real people today. While it is fiction Hawke has been inspired by the true story of Pakistani woman Asia Bibi who has been accused of blasphemy. She has been in prison for five years and remains there as I write this. I read this novel shortly after finishing the autobiography of I Am Malala – you can read my review here. That was confronting enough, but on the very next morning after reading Hawke’s novel our guest speaker at our church was Bishop Patrick Sookhdeo, founder of the Barnabas Fund. He spoke graphically of the growing crisis in Syria and surrounding countries, as well as issues in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Challenging

The brother of the protagonist Aster dies due to an illness. She is then thrust into the limelight as the hope of the family. She is enrolled in the high school where her brother was to attend. She is at first excited and keenly looking forward to the opportunity of an education, something denied many girls in Pakistan.

Life quickly turns sour for Aster in her new school. Being a Christian in a predominantly Muslim community has many challenges for her. When one of her teachers takes a strong dislike to her, life becomes very challenging and potentially dangerous. In the midst of the anxiety of exams, Aster is suddenly arrested in front of her fellow students because of something she wrote in her paper.  She is accused of blasphemy, a serious crime which leads to the death penalty in Pakistan.

Confronting

The remainder of the story documents the struggle Aster has to come to terms with life in prison. The conditions are confronting to readers like myself: atrocious, inhumane and downright filthy, not to mention dangerous. Her trial is rescheduled a number of times and her challenges mount daily. Throughout all of this she never loses her faith which shines through the darkness and evil all around. I had to personally face the question: ‘How would I react and cope if faced with similar persecution?’ In my sheltered life here in Australia I have never been confronted by such issues.

Campaign

Aster’s Australian cousin Maryam takes up the challenge of helping her. She starts an online campaign in the form of a blog and a worldwide petition on behalf of Aster. Hawke has cleverly used fictional quotes from the blog to debate some of the issues surrounding this terrible law of blasphemy. Similar real-life, heart-wrenching campaigns are becoming far too common place today.

Conclusion

Once again Rosanne Hawke has written an emotive, fast moving and insightful novel. The reader gets an in-depth view of life in a repressed country with all the cultural, social and religious  nuances at play in the lives of her characters. By the end of the book the reader has a strong sense of the utter hopelessness of her fellow prisoners but also of Aster’s hope under-girded by her strong Christian faith.

Highly recommended.

Further reading:

  • I am Malala
  • Kerenza – my review of Rosanne Hawke’s novel (this article has several other links to reviews of her works)
  • Shahana – my review of another of Hawke’s novels

Rosanne Hawke talking to fans at the launch of “Marrying Ameera”

 

Book review: Kerenza: a New Australian

 

Kerenza: A New Australian

 

South Australian author Rosanne Hawke recently published another fast moving and interesting novel for children. Karenza – a New Australian is the story of a young girl growing up in Cornwall who is suddenly taken by her family in the early 1900s to a strange new land on the other side of the globe – South Australia. The family boards a steamship for Port Adelaide, and after a short sojourn in suburban Adelaide the family sets off out into the bush.

The Mallee region of the eastern parts of South Australia is at that time sparsely populated by new settlers. The Aboriginal people, however, have lived in this area for millennia, but for the Europeans it is strange, foreboding and harsh. Kerenza and her family take some time to adapt to being farmers the new environment, and living is difficult, challenging and often dangerous. How they cope, adopt new ways of living and grow to love this new country is the backbone of this new novel by one of our Australia’s foremost authors.

On a personal note I strongly identified with this story. In fact, I grew up within about 20 kilometres of where this story is set. My own grandparents were early settlers in this area, so I know it well. In fact, I have long had the desire to tell a fictional version of my own family’s story. They migrated from Silesia in Germany (now part of Poland) in the 1840s due to religious persecution, and came to the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Later, in the early 1900s, about the same time as the setting of Rosanne’s book, they moved to the Loxton area. Together with his sons, my nephew still works the family farm.

Publication details:

Hawke, Rosanne, Kerenza: a New Australian, 2015, Omnibus Books, Parkside, South Australia.

Further reading:

 

About Rosanne

Rosanne Hawke