Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant

This book has been on my radar for quite a while, a few years infact, but I just haven’t gotten around to reading it until now.  I recall receiving the Scribe Publications e-newsletter and seeing the great reviews it attracted and I think it also sold out for a time.  So, although I’m on a mission to read all the un-read books on my shelf before I buy more, I lapsed a couple of weeks ago on a trip to Borders.  It was on the 3 for 2 table with a couple of other books I sought. 

Joe Bageant was born in the small American town of Winchester and after being away for a couple of decades or so returns to his roots.  His story of rediscovering the people he grew up with (beer-drinking, church-going, gun-loving, low wage workers) provides the most interesting current day commentary of middle (low?) America.  The subtitle – Dispatches From America’s Class War - is spot on.  As someone who was born into this life, Bageant is able to comment on the attitudes and lifestyles of these people without sounding patronising and holier than thou.  He uses humour and empathy to tell this story and what results is an eminently readable book that at moments made me laugh out loud, but at other moments filled me with sadness.  The way his subjects are completely uninformed and misguided about their attitudes to government, guns and mortgages and the acceptance ‘dumbing down’ is both a social and political commentary.  This is the America we rarely hear about.

The edition I read was recently released with a new foreword which brought the book right up to the post-GFC climate.  This is an essential read for anyone interested in American current affairs.

Disgrace by J.M Coetzee

I bought this book literally years ago but just never got around to reading it, even with all the awards it’s collected along the way – including the Booker Prize.  It’s a story that has achieved much fanfare and considering that now it’s been made into a movie starring John Malkovich, I thought I best take the plunge. 

It’s a short read, I knocked it over in a couple of days and have to admit my key motivation for reading it just now, was to do so before I went to see the film.  It’s excellent writing and the pages flew by – I can see why it’s collected recognition along the way.

The story is a little disturbing and I’ve heard someone promoting the film on ABC 774 say that you’re not expected to like David Lurie, the protagonist.  And I don’t like him which has unfortunately influenced my opinion of the book.  It’s set in post apartheid Africa so there’s themes of racism and sexism throughout which I didn’t mind so much, but also there’s an underlying level of cruelty, which didn’t work for me. 

I’m glad I read it, but I no longer care to see the movie adaptation.

QE34: Stop at Nothing the Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull by Annabel Crabb

I picked this up the other morning in Readings.  I must say I don’t mind a bit of Annabel Crabb on Insiders or the occasional column of hers that I come across – I even read her book on the Labor party a few years back.  Her writing has a dry sense of humour and she has an ability to pick up on particular themes quite incisively.

The essay itself is quite readable, but it didn’t strike me as a particularly wonderful piece of writing – most of the information about MT is already in the public domain so there wasn’t anything new about the subject.  I’d knew nothing of ‘The Cat’ and found that episode quite amusing but beyond that I found it a little bland.  I think I was seeking more analysis – a little more detail but by the sound of it, the essay was formed around spending a few days following MT around Tasmania.  And no doubt there’s a word limit in this format of writing. 

Since I finished  reading this about a week ago, Peter Costello has resigned thereby leaving MT to lead the way but it seems the eruption of Ute-Gate might swing public opinion against him.  Almost ironic that what started as potentially one of the best week’s in his political career might end as one of worst.

The Last Supper by Charles McCarry

I don’t know how much more I can brag about Charles McCarry’s Paul Christopher series without annoying readers, so I’ll keep this brief. 

The Last Supper rivals The Tears of Autumn for page turning quality.  I couldn’t put this book down.  A fair dose of it is Christopher’s backstory – his parentage, how he entered the world of tradecraft, what makes him a successful spook etc. 

Again it’s multi-layered, touching on wartime Germany, the Cold War, Burma, Vietnam and Mao’s China.  I won’t give away any more – just make sure you read it – definitely worthwhile the time.

The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry

This is the first in the series of Paul Christopher novels which I’ve been reading in the wrong order, but now that I’ve finished the first, I’m glad that I have.  The Miernik Dossier is an immensely exciting read.   

This novel is written in a different style to the others – it’s the case file of suspected KGB agent Miernik and detailed entirely through retrospective agent reports, telephone transcripts, diary entries and letters.  It’s quite original.  Whereas the subsequent novels are written in a narrative style and centred around Paul Christopher, this is less so, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. 

Throughout the entire story it’s difficult to work out who are the goodies and the baddies, which makes it an even more convincing story.  All in all, it’s not my favourite Charles McCarry, but still an excellent read.

The Secret Lovers by Charles McCarry

It’s no secret that I’m a Charles McCarry fan – refer to my previous post on The Tears of Autumn.  When I read that book I didn’t realise that it was actually the third in a series of Paul Christopher novels.  I made the decision to go back and read them in order so that I could get the full backstory of the protagonist.  I was wandering through Borders with one of their 20% discount vouchers and when I saw The Secret Lovers on the shelf, I picked myself up a copy and headed to the register. 

The Secret Lovers kept me glued to the page; classic espionage that’s just gripping.  The parallels between Christopher’s personal and professional lives are beautifully articulated, he is such a compelling character.  Just love him.  I love the way McCarry builds characters around Christopher; his ally Patchen is described with detail that makes him feel so real; Wilson, Maria, Cerutti – all utterly believable. 

So I got to the end and realised that this was the second in the series of Paul Christopher novels.  Turns out there is one before.  Last Friday with a 30% of three fiction books discount voucher from Borders I picked myself up The Miernik Dossier (the first in the series), The Last Supper and Christopher’s Ghosts.  There’s a couple more in between that I’m still to find (Second Sight and The Old Boys) but I’m getting on to The Miernik Dossier next.

Death of a River Guide by Richard Flanagan

I was on the train and had just started this book when another passenger sat down next to me and burst out “that’s a fantastic book”.  Taken aback a little, I replied with “it’s ok so far” (3 pages in) and she glared at me as though I was mad. 

Having now finished the story, I must admit, yes the book is an excellent read.  Although it was published over a decade ago, it hasn’t really dated – or at least I don’t feel that it has.  It follows the life of Aljaz Cosini a river guide who lays dying and watches his life and those in it, flash by.  It’s a layered backstory that really is an inspiring read.  I can see why Richard Flanagan achieved critical acclaim and picked up the Australian Fiction Award 1996.

The descriptions of the Tasmanian landscape are beautiful and terrifying; the characters are incisive and the way relationships are detailed is both stirring and ambiguous at the same time.  This book has been touted as one of the finest books of our time – it is a compelling read.

Love Like Water by Meme McDonald

The thing I loved most about this book was the detail of the characters; Margie the party girl, Jay the indigenous DJ, Sarah the vegetarian with the misguided conscience and Cathy the protaganist stumbling from one thing to the next.  The book has no real pressing plot it’s more of a running narrative that documents a particular chapter in the lives of the individual characters. 

Set in Alice Springs, it touches on many of the themes that I imagine affect the area; racism, heat, tourism, indigenous culture and escapism.  The country mentality is portrayed with accuracy.   

McDonald has a really nice writing style which makes the book quite powerful.  A great read.

Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson

I had bought this book intending to read it before the JB and I headed o/s.  Unfortunately it was not to be.  Doesn’t matter because I’ve since read it and still enjoyed it, particularly Bryson’s notes on places I’ve visited. 

Although a US native, Bryson lived in the UK for a couple of decades, marrying and having kids there, but had decided to return to the US and wanted to undertake one last trip throughout the UK.  So it’s really a travel narrative. 

Bryson has such a dry and humourous writing style, it’s just great to read through.  Although the book was published in the mid 1990’s it’s still rather amusing today.  Just goes to show that good writing doesn’t date.  A few of the locations he visits have changed, but observations about the British way still ring true. 

A nice comfortable read with a few laugh out loud moments.

The Tall Man by Chloe Hooper

I don’t often read a book knowing how it’s going to end.  Because this is an account of a case that attracted much in the way of media attention, I waited a long while before I bought it.  I still always knew what the outcome was going to be, but I wanted to dull the memory a little so that when I did read the book, it was also a refresher.   

Aboriginal deaths in custody has been an issue for as long as I can remember.  So much so, that I suspect when it occurs these days it’s often not even picked up by the broadsheets.  But the death of Cameron Doomadgee was one that could not be avoided simply because of the basic facts.  A fit and healthy Aboriginal male in his 30’s is arrested and within 40 minutes of his arrest he is found dead on the floor of his cell.  Fit and healthy yet dead 40 minutes later. 

Hooper won a Walkley for her reportage of this case and went on to write a further detailed account in The Tall Man.  She meets with the Doomadgee family, attends the protracted legal sittings and using her own opinions puts together a great story.  It’s a little Helen Garner-esque and I’m clearly not the first person to think of this, as my copy features a cover line attributed to Garner.  Think Joe Cinque’s Consolation.   

This book really got me thinking and I recommend it.