Last October, I reviewed a book by Ros Collins titled Rosa: Memories with licence. As the title suggests, this book is not quite memoir, but neither is it really fiction. My post generated quite some discussion from commenters, which resulted in my saying "Maybe Ros will comment here and answer the questions". Unfortunately, just as … Continue reading Ros Collins, Rosa: Memories with licence (Author’s response)
Jewish literature
Ros Collins, Rosa: Memories with licence (#BookReview)
Memoirs are tricky things. There are readers who love them, readers who hate them, and readers like wishy-washy me who sit in the middle. I sit in the middle because, for a start, I don't like to say "never" when it comes to reading. I sit in the middle because I couldn't cope with a … Continue reading Ros Collins, Rosa: Memories with licence (#BookReview)
Sara Dowse, As the lonely fly (#BookReview)
Some books grow out of their author's desire to engage the reader in an issue they feel passionate about, such as Jane Rawson on climate change in A wrong turn at the Office of Unmade Lists (my review) and Charlotte Wood on the scapegoating of women in The natural way of things (my review). Sara Dowse's … Continue reading Sara Dowse, As the lonely fly (#BookReview)
Susan Varga, Heddy and me (Review)
Susan Varga's biography-cum-memoir, Heddy and me, was first published back in 1994, so why am I reading it now? By a rather circuitous route, as it happens. Lesley Lebkowicz, whose The Petrov poems I've reviewed, read my post on Anna Rosner Blay's Sister, sister, and suggested to Susan Varga that she might like to send me her book to … Continue reading Susan Varga, Heddy and me (Review)
Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Some of the most vivid memories of my Sydney-based late teens and early twenties relate to spending time with Jewish people, business friends of my father. We went to parties in their homes, to weddings and bar mitzvahs. These were always happy, family-oriented occasions. I had crushes on the sons. I knew that most of these people had come … Continue reading Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Halina Rubin, Journeys with my mother (Review)
I've read a lot of World War 2 literature over the years, but very little from the Polish point of view, so I was more than willing to read Halina Rubin's Journeys with my mother when it was offered to me a few months ago. Rubin was born in Warsaw on 27 August 1939. Note the date: her mother, … Continue reading Halina Rubin, Journeys with my mother (Review)
Gabrielle Gouch, Once, only the swallows were free (Review)
Do you differentiate memoir from autobiography? I do. For me, a memoir, such as Gabrielle Gouch's Once, only the swallows were free, deals with a specific aspect of a person's life, such as a sportsman writing about his career when he retires from it or a person writing about her growing up, like, say, Alice … Continue reading Gabrielle Gouch, Once, only the swallows were free (Review)
Howard Jacobson, The Finkler question
Whispering Gums, as you would expect, writes erudite marginalia and so you'd be in for a treat if you ever obtained my copy of Howard Jacobson's 2010 Booker award winning novel, The Finkler question. The margins are peppered with my reactions, like, you know, "Ha!" and "Oh dear". Riveting stuff ... and yet, what comments … Continue reading Howard Jacobson, The Finkler question
Imre Kertèsz, Fateless (or Fatelessness)
[WARNING: SPOILERS, of sorts] Let's get the first thing clear. I like holocaust literature - not because I enjoy the subject matter but because in it I find the most elemental, universal truths about humanity. Depending on the book, this literature contains various combinations of bravery and cowardice, cruelty and kindness, love and hate, self-sacrifice, … Continue reading Imre Kertèsz, Fateless (or Fatelessness)
Whispering Gums 