A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Book selected by Marty


















Comments by Lee :

"Just finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow.What a beautiful ending, very romantic and rather surprising.  I had expected that the defection would be arranged for Sofia, but expected Rostov to join her.  I am glad he didn’t and that they both went their own ways and I assume found their singular freedom.

The end was more mystery thriller than the major part of the book which was a touch of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (which I read recently) and Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day.  Rostov is a ‘gentleman’ in the tradition of Tolstoy’ characters and 19th century Russia.  And has the careful awareness of the butler in The Remains of the Day.  Both societies long gone but looked on with nostalgia as we visit museums and restored palaces and grand houses.   Although not too detailed, the outlines of modern Russian history are very informing and as I am so ancient, I remember the news in the days of Khrushchev and the Comintern and my father’s  stories of his visit to Moscow in the 60’s.  Quite different from my observations in modern capitalist Moscow this year.

While I was a little perturbed at first by the similarity in writing style to Tolstoy as if Towles was *emulating*  the great writer, I soon began to enjoy the book and Towles’ writing about the manners of society and the elegance of the Count.  Was he too good to be true?   The premise of ‘house arrest’ in such an elegant hotel and all the perks (food and wine) that went with it seemed somewhat unbelievable in Bolshevik times, (did Aun San Suu Kyi have such a lavish house arrest) and how did he pay for it over 23 years.  Niggling little things that for me spoiled the story in places.  Chateau Margaux and Chateau d’Yquem indeed.   But the many staff who populate the hotel are delightful characters although the Bishop is such a caricature he could come from Fawlty Towers.   I haven’t really formed an opinion yet of Sofia and would be interested to hear all your thoughts.

I savoured reading the events of the Count’s house arrest and his friendships and his gentlemanly observations and philosophy.  A little repetitive at times but the thrilling ending was such that I couldn’t put the book down and was relieved that it did have a happy resolution.

Thanks for a great recommendation."

We rated this book 10.12/10 (!!) Someone gave it 11/10 ....
It was described as : "delightful, engaging, gentlemanly, descriptive and layered"
I'd say that this book was a great finish to a year of reading!

Our next meeting is on Wednesday February 7th, 2018 at Jane's and the choice of book is The Better Son by Katherine Johnson

The Muse

The Muse by Jessie Burton

Blog written by Sarah

Not loved, but mostly enjoyed. The story of Trinidadian emigrants and Odelle was the most popular of the interwoven stories. Working out the link between 1930’s Spain and Odelle was an intriguing journey

A drawback was the feeling that too much was squeezed in, resulting in it taking too long to unfold each idea with its connections to the other characters and times, and consequently feeling contrived.

Everyone agreed The paintings were vividly described, and some liked the Spanish scenes very much . Some of the accents felt a bit awkward and at times the language was too forced or tried to hard to sound literary.

In parts the book was deeply moving and the idea of tracing the origins of a painting appealed to many.

Only Meredith had read Jessie Burton’s previous and highly acclaimed first novel, The Miniaturist.

Quick was a bit unlikely as a character
Was Robles real?Marty says yes

Themes - art, love, deceit, casual sexism and feminism in the 1930s and 60s, race and colonialism, partisanship in times of war, friendship, personal histories.

We rated this novel 7/10.  It was described as "mildly intriguing, Trinidadian experience refreshing, topical, curious, affected, enjoyable but not memorable".

Our next book is A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and we will be meeting at Marty's on Dec 13 Wednesday.

Picnic at Mount Disappointment

Picnic at Mount Disappointment by Melissa Bruce

Blog not written by Melissa !

We had a lovely meeting about this first novel at the home of the author herself where food offerings and music selections were themed from the book.

Our group all thought it was a great read with many interesting comments from everyone. We would like to post Lee's comments below as she was unable to attend the meeting.

Lee's comments : 
"I loved the book and read it as a very personal work no matter how much Melissa might describe it as fiction.   I feel that as my parents were divorced when I was older, about age 23, I can still relate to the feelings of Lucy towards her step mother and step siblings.  The resentment and efforts at reconciliation with her own parents.  No matter what age, divorce is a very confronting issue for children to accept.   The story rang so many bells for me.   But apart from the story, Melissafs use of the verse form was quite extraordinary and gave a wonderful lyrical feel to the reading of the book.  The wry comments/observations often at the end of a stanza was a very clever device to allow the reader a greater understanding of the resentment and confusion felt by Lucy as she adapted to her new life in the country.   I was so delighted to read Melissafs work, quite different from so many of the Australian novels I have read recently.  Her characters are drawn so clearly and the friends she makes among the students at her new school add to country atmosphere and help the reader to understand the conflict she feels in the move to Wandong. "

We are very proud to call Melissa a member of our book group!  Her accolades
since the book was published are many and here are a few :

WINNER 2017 - Woollahra Digital Literary Award for Fiction.

"A verse novel that charmed in a matter of stanzas.  Surprising character development, witty and original observations, honest representation of a prickly teen trying to find her place between worlds.  A very enjoyable read."          Judges Comments


"It is rare to find a story that takes us into that liminal territory of adolescence with such force and such heart. Desire, disappointment, betrayal and forgiveness written in libretto, an ode to the tumult of coming of age."           Gabrielle Carey, Author (Co-author, Puberty Blues)

"Melissa Bruce has created an astonishing poem that sustains its voice from the first lines to the very last. Like her fictional heroine Sybylla Melville, the narrator Lucy is wilful, passionate, intelligent and totally charming. She's going to compel her readers for years to come."
Debra Adelaide, Author


"The writing was gorgeous: a beautiful, poetic, sad, insightful, sharp and funny novel. Themes of divorce and infidelity, family life, anger, first love, disappointment and growing up - all so strong. I also adored the depiction of rural 70's-80's Victoria in its beauty and banality."
Pip Harry, Author

In this witty, wise and moving story, fifteen-year-old Lucy arrives from inner-city Melbourne to live on a farm at the foot of Mount Disappointment. Wandong hosts the second largest truck and country music festival in the southern hemisphere…and nothing else.  This engaging story explores important contemporary themes in an original 'verse style' that is especially appealing to the text-message-Twitter generation.


2017 Woollahra Digital Literary Award – Fiction   http://bit.ly/2tQOCcK

Wentworth Courier Articles July 5th 2017  Pg10   http://bit.ly/2tZY7q5   Pg32  http://bit.ly/2tEt2st

Melissa winning the Digital Literary Award

We are not going to rate this novel but highly recommend it !

Our next meeting is on Wed Nov 8th at Sarah's and the book selection is The Muse by Jessica Burton

This House of Grief

The House of Grief by Helen Garner

Book chosen by Robyn

Comments by Sharon :
Tragic story of real life events. Even though I found some of the court cross examination scenes laboured and tedious, I can't help but need to finish the book to find out what happened. But in the end, I don't think anyone really can be sure what happened even though Robert Farquharson was found guilty of the 3 murders twice.

I wouldn't say that I actually enjoyed reading the book but I do appreciate Helen Garner's attempt to portray this trial truthfully giving us insights into the courtroom personalities. I found the second trial to be more fascinating not least because of Cindy Gambino's change in her belief in Rob's innocence but the extent of the toll all the years since the drownings have had on their lives.


I rate this book 7/10.



Our next meeting is on Wednesday Oct 11th at Melissa's and we will be discussing Picnic at Mount Disappointment by none other than Melissa Bruce herself !!

The Japanese Lover

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

Book chosen by Megan

















Our next meeting will be at Robyn's on Sept 6 and the book is The House of Grief by Helen Garner

Where My Heart Used To Beat

Where My Heart Used To Beat by Sebastian Faulks

Blog written by Sally

Where my heart used to beat by Sebastian Falks is narrated by Robert Hendricks, a recently retired psychiatrist in his early sixties, World War II veteran, and son of a World War I veteran who never returned home. Robert opens with a tale of self-regret over a recent bleak encounter with a hooker while away at a medical conference. Somewhat wryly retold, the story is tangled with reminisces about his youth, war time experience, and the painful memory of the 'shimmering' experience of his first love.

Once back at home in London, things seem even worse. An anonymous angry phone call puts him on edge, he is an awkward guest at a housewarming party in his building, gets lumbered with looking after a drunk woman in his flat, which inflames the breakup with his girlfriend, who also is two timing him. There is also an intriguing letter from an elderly man living on an island off the south of France who may have known his father who offers an invitation to visit. So Robert leaves London and this leads to an exploration of his past.

The writing is wonderful. It gives a feeling of discovery as if reading a true personal history. But it is a harsh and bleak history. A new discovery brings a very moving end to this tale of reminiscence.
Most of us read the book and were impressed by the writing, including how well the war experiences were captured. However, the depressing theme makes it quite a challenging read.

The Tennyson poem of the title reflects the profound sense of loss this novel conveys.

Our average rating for this novel is 7.2 out of 10.  It is described as :
"Rich writing, enjoyable reading but may not recommend it "
"Insightful"
"Plot had holes - good writing but Birdsong was amazing at the time"
"War stories were well woven"

Our next meeting is on Wednesday July 26th at Megan's and our choice is The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Blog written by Sharon

This is a very unusual story which unfolds in the graveyard where President Lincoln's young son was interred, narrated by many voices.  Bardo is a Tibetan term for the intermediate state between just after death and the afterlife. These voices are ghosts who don't realise that they are dead !  The audible version of this book is highly recommended as these dazzling voices are brilliantly performed by a huge cast (166) which includes Ben Stiller, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle as well as the author George Saunders himself !

Our book group was lucky in the timing of our meeting on this novel as it was during the Sydney Writers' Festival and George Saunders was one of the featured authors. We went to listen to him discuss his writing style, his background, his teaching methods etc at City Recital Hall Angel Place and our discussion afterwards was over a lovely dinner at a nearby restaurant.

I took a chance at choosing this book, not having read it beforehand.  For those of us who finished the book, most loved it.  It is a very moving story of grief and a love letter from father to son.  For further background on the novel, we recommend listening to the interview by Richard Fidler on ABC Conversations : http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-george-saunders/8535100

This novel was described by our members as a "totally original outstanding piece of work", "interesting and provocative" and George Saunders as a "brilliantly inventive compassionate genius".

We rated this book 9.5 to 10/10 with the exception of one who rated it a 6.

Our next book is Where My Heart Used to Be by Sebastian Faulks and we are meeting on Wednesday June 29th at Sally's.


Our book group dinner at Mercado

The Dry

The Dry by Jane Harper

Blog written by Lee

At our meeting there was only one reader who did not thoroughly enjoy The Dry by Jane Harper. Everyone else, those attending and those who couldn’t, all gave very positive feedback and ranked it one of the most easy and enjoyable reads we have chosen.

A good novel from a first time novelist, The Dry is set in the bush a few hours drive from Melbourne where the local famers have been enduring a drought for many years.  The first pages set the scene in the dry yellowing bush, where cattle and sheep are dying and the farmers are all on edge.   A perfect scenario for a tragic event.  What seems to be a murder-suicide by a local farmer has brought back vivid and unhappy memories when Aaron Falk returns at the request of Luke Hadler’s father to attend the funeral.  Tensions grow amongst the locals as Aaron investigates the deaths, he being a Federal Police Officer if only in the forensic accounting department.  All the elements of a good thriller are there, domestic violence, gambling, alcohol abuse, financial problems and the local rednecks, plus the blistering heat.

Jane Harper writes some compelling scenes through flash backs to explain the animosity felt towards Aaron as he goes about trying to piece together what had happened to cause this unexpected act of despair - suicide, or crime - murder.  While not being overly lavish with descriptions of the landscapes, her depictions of the townspeople is well managed and leads to several red herrings as the investigation continues.    Some readers spotted the perpetrator quickly, but others like myself were led astray and were surprised as all was revealed in the dramatic climax.   A page turner which rated well with our members, something a little different from our usual choices, that brings together too many tragic real life events that happen in our farming communities.


Jane Harper won the Indie Prize Book Award for 2017 for The Dry. She was born in England but moved to Australia at the age of eight and lived in country Victoria.

We rated The Dry an average of 8.7 out of 10.  It was also described as easy, suspenseful and enjoyable.  Our next book selection is Lincoln and The Bardo by George Saunders and will be at Sharon's on Wednesday May 31st.

Song of a War Boy

Song of a War Boy by Deng Thiak Adut

Blog written by Meredith

Songs of a War Boy by Deng Adut made for a very animated Bookclub meet up.
The extraordinary memoir of a 7 year old Sudanese boy taken from his village, trained to kill,  saved by his brother, eventually arriving in Australia to become a lawyer, a subject for the Archibald Prize  and NSW Australian of the Year 2017.

A truly remarkable journey, chronicling the history of Sudan along the way, raising critical issues faced today as the world grapples with the refugee crisis and increasingly displaced peoples around the globe.


Any book that raises awareness and inspires discussion with such depth is a sure Bookclub winner.

Our rating for the book averaged at 7.3 out of 10 with a range from 7 to 10 !
It is described as important, disturbing, unengaging.
Marty highly recommends that this book should be listened to.
Also that his Australia Day address is very powerful : http://www.smh.com.au/national/transcript-deng-thiak-aduts-australia-day-speech-20160121-gmau63.html


Our next meeting is on Thursday April 27 at Lee's and the book choice is The Dry by Jane Harper.
Lee tells us that Jane Harper has just won the Indie Book Award for 2017. Please read an article from the March 21 issue of The Sydney Morning Herald Digital Edition.

Please note that Megan's book choice for 2017 is The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende.

The Good People

The Good People by Hannah Kent

Blog by Jane
















Our rating for this book averages 7.7 out of 10 and it was described as "atmospheric".

Our next meeting is on Wed March 22 at Meredith's and the book choice is "Song of a War Boy" by Deng Thiak Adut