The Medusa Situation

The Medusa Situation / Gabiann Marin
Bittern, Australia: Clan Destine Press, c2024.
238 p.

This was another random discovery, this time on Hoopla. It's by an Australian author, set in Australia, featuring the classic Greek gods, now dethroned. It's imaginative and entertaining. 

In this world, the Greek gods are living on the edges of society, trying to survive while passing as regular people, not always successfully. They get existence credits by the fact of people believing in them -- in one scene Hera is a bit pissed that other gods ride the pop culture wave and have so many more credits than she does. It's snarky and funny and a pretty consistent set-up. 

The story gets rolling when Hera is approached by Medusa's two sisters to help with a problem; Medusa's head has gone missing again and they think Perseus may be behind it. This is dangerous as Medusa's head can be used as a weapon to turn enemies (and any random humans in the way) into stone. 

A feminist search ensues; Hera is only too glad to get a break from the slovenly, lazy Zeus who just hangs around the house all day watching Mystic TV (and is helpless without her). She and her step-daughter Athena put aside their differences to start investigating, wanting to recover Medusa's head for everyone's security, but also for Medusa's own dignity. 

The story is a romp, with sly nods at a lot of Greek mythology -- if you are familiar with the myths you might be quicker at making a list of suspects, but if you're not you will still be able to follow easily. In the end there is a reason that Medusa's sisters came to Hera and not one of the male gods, and it's Hera's well-known detective skills and slightly vindictive nature that solve the problem. There are discussions of how Medusa was treated, and some serious allegations against some of the characters, so it's not all light. But the story also contains a lot of feminist humour, highlighting how the women in Greek myth were often portrayed as simply decorative or as props to the male gods. Here they stand on their own, and for their own. 

This book might be a little hard to find but if you can get your hands on it, it's a fresh, funny read that I really enjoyed. Hurrah for the Goddesses! 

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret / Benjamin Stevenson
NY: Mariner Books, c2024.
174 p.

Another funny murder mystery, and this time seasonal too! This was a great way to kick off the holiday season for me, as it is set up like an advent calendar - if you start reading one chapter a day on Dec 1 you'll end up on Dec 24. Just like Stevenson's other books in this series, this one is really self-referential and meta. So entertaining, in all three takes so far!

When I got this, I thought, oh my this is quite short. Stevenson addresses that early in the book by announcing that this is the Christmas special, traditionally a shorter book with some of the characters off stage, so to speak. And he continues with his description of mystery fiction tropes as he tells his own mystery tale. Somehow, as with his other books, this still works. The humour is there, the suspense is there, and the Australian setting is definitely still part of the plot. 

In this one, Ern is heading to the Blue Mountains to look into the arrest of his ex-wife. Her rich new boyfriend has been murdered, and she knows that only Ern can save her now. But Ern's lack of judgement when it comes to his relationships arises again; he tells his new fiancee that he is going there to check out a stage magician who his uncle wants to book for their wedding entertainment. Yes, this is bonkers. 

What with stage magic, disgruntled theatre workers, a murder to kick things off and suspicious cops, and of course Ern's investigation, heads will roll. In this case quite literally. 

If you're a fan of this series, this is an entertaining addition to it. I found the Christmassy elements just right, not overdone, and an essential part of the story. The mystery makes sense, Ern is as talkative and expository as usual, and it's just good fun. With this series, it's probably best to start at the beginning and get to know these characters, although this can stand alone. It's more fun if you know Ern already though. Really enjoyed it. 

 

Jolley's The Well

 

The Well / Elizabeth Jolley
NY: Penguin, 1997, c1986.
192 p.

I picked this one up thanks to the nudge from #SpinsterSeptember on IG, a challenge hosted by @Pear.Jelly. I've read some Jolley before and thought this one sounded intriguing. 

It certainly was. It follows the life of spinster Hester Harper, living on a fairly isolated farm in Australia, caring for her aging father. She decides she needs some help around the house so takes in a teenage orphan from a home, Katherine. They get on together very well, with Hester becoming enamored of the young girl, deciding to give her an education and treat her like family. Katherine does what's required of her, caring for "Miss Harper dear" and learning to sew - she's a natural. But living this "old ladies' life" begins to wear as she gets older.

Once Hester's father dies, they move into a small house on her property, just the two of them. Katherine wants to learn to drive, so despite Hester's misgivings (Katherine might be able to leave her!) she teaches her. But Katherine is always a bit wild, and driving home late from a party in town one night, she hits something on the road. Hester won't let her get out to check, but tells her to drive slowly into the yard, right up to their old abandoned well, and takes care of it. 

But this changes everything. Katherine begins to hear a voice from the well, and begins to tell Miss Harper all about the way she's going to get married and sew baby clothes and more. Meanwhile, there is an impending visit from a friend of Katherine's from the orphanage, another young woman who is planning on going to America - Miss Harper imagines her rapidly changing future with all these changes, and it's not what she'd planned.

This story is dark and quite creepy in its own way. What exactly is real, and what may be delusion? We're not 100% sure which interpretation is right. Katherine can seem dangerous and sly, and then in a moment, it's Miss Harper we aren't quite sure of. This story looks at isolation and repression, and the limited roles for women at this time and how it affected their behaviours. And at money, and poverty, and class, and potential. Really fascinating themes and also a bit of a psychological thriller going on. I didn't know much about it when I picked it up, but it was well worth reading! 

Everyone On This Train is a Suspect

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect / Benjamin Stevenson
New York : Mariner Books, ©2023
320 p.

The second book in the Ernest Cunningham series, this follows the same basic outline as the first one: it's a locked room mystery, with a murder and multiple suspects. Stevenson is once again playing with Golden Age mystery tropes in a modern way, and I thought it was clever and very amusing too. 

Just like the first book, this one has Ernest talking to the reader and apparently writing the book as we are reading it. He throws out tons of references to mystery writing norms, the events of the past book (on the strength of which he has been invited as a speaker on this crime writing train festival), and, gentle reader, also to Goodreads. It was hilarious and snarky and I laughed at it a lot. 

As the story begins, Ernest and his girlfriend Julia (the ski resort owner from the last book) are boarding a train for a crime writing festival being held aboard, featuring 6 writers. Unfortunately for them, the keynote speaker shortly bites it, and they are all suspects. But they are also all crime writers who should be expected to know how to get away with murder. 

Ernest digs up dark secrets from everyone's pasts, suspects the wrong people, makes blunders, gets into a car chase across the outback, once again nearly dies, and finds out that he might not have the Main Character energy that he thinks he does. 

So many threads in this one, so many potential unravellings, but it ends with one I didn't see coming. Mystery readers who love black humour, and a narrator who is breaking all sorts of narrative rules while reflecting on the mystery genre itself, plus unusual and entertaining Australian settings, are strongly suggested to give this series a go. Lots of fun with tangled clues to try to figure out before Ernest does. 

Thread Me A Button for Poetry Month

 

Thread Me a Button / Jude Aquilina & Joan Fenney
Port Adelaide: Ginninderra Press, c2012.
73 p.

It's poetry month! So I thought I might share a little bit of poetry today. I discovered this book of poetry in a library collection online, and the adorable cover and title drew me in. It really is a collection of poems all centred on buttons! It's written by two Australian women, and it's surprising how much they can wring from a button. 

The book is set up in 6 sections, each with an average of 9 poems, ranging from haiku length to full page poems. There are some that are straightforward, some quite funny, and a few that are more serious and moving. 

There is a poem about a woman who lost her lover in the war, and for the rest of her life she wore one of his buttons stitched to a petticoat. There are some celebrating beauty, or relationships. In the section "In the Sewing Drawer" I found some of my favourite pieces, lots about the act of sewing. And this section includes what I think was the most memorable poem, for me, called "In the Light"; it's about the closing down of Mrs. Pearl Morris' haberdashery shop, and I found it evocative and bittersweet. 

This was a chance find, and a gem. I enjoyed reading through this accessible collection, which will appeal to anyone fond of buttons as part of sewing history, memorabilia or domesticity. Easy to read a few of these each night before bed to relax and enjoy some whimsical poems! 

(this review first appeared in slightly different format at Following The Thread)

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone / Benjamin Stevenson
NY: Mariner, 2023, c2022
371 p.

I've been reading a rash of recent books lately! There are a bunch in my library that have been coming across the counter and are tempting me, even if they aren't on my to-read list already. 

The first one I checked out was this buzzy title. Everyone who read it that I talked to said they enjoyed it, and I was in the mood for a quirky mystery so I picked it up. It was a quick read and really fun. It's based on classic Golden Age novels; the narrator, Ernest, is a writer instructor who teaches people to write mystery fiction (despite not actually writing it himself). 

He's also the younger brother in a mixed up family, whose testimony sent his older brother to jail for murder, for which his mother has never forgiven him. But now they are having a family reunion of sorts, at an Australian ski resort, to celebrate Michael's release from prison. But as the title indicates, this is no easy family to gather with.

There are all sorts of issues with the characters, most hidden and slowly revealed as the story progresses. There are relationship issues, money issues, drugs, personalities and family history to reckon with. The story turns into a classic sort of  'locked room' mystery once a snowstorm hits, stranding them all at the resort along with a few staff members, and a dead body or two.

But the story is also self-aware; the book opens with the 1929 Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction from Ronald Knox, which Ern refers to during the narrative. The asides to the reader, and the dark humour, add to the entertainment value of this one -- it's a lot of fun to read. The author plays with the tropes of mystery fiction even as he is using them, and his character is commenting on them. It's a cleverly plotted and enjoyable read, even if there are some dark bits and some dark secrets revealed. 

Definitely recommended for the mystery fan who is familiar with Golden Age books. You'll get a lot out of this one! 

The Getting of Wisdom

The Getting of Wisdom / Henry Handel Richardson
Read by Justine Eyre
Ashland, OR: Blackstone Audio, 2018, c1910.

Now moving back a century to visit the schooldays of Laura Rambotham, in this Australian classic. Laura is the eldest in her family, living in a remote area of Australia at the beginning of the 20th century. It's time for her to be sent away to school. Now, while she is admired by her younger siblings for her storytelling and spirit, these don't serve her so well in a city school of other girls either her own age or older. 

Laura finds it difficult to settle in; she's awkward and prickly, and isn't quite sure of the right way to act in her new setting. She's from a middle class family, with a widowed mother who actually works -- she's a needlewoman making clothing for her own family and others, to support her children. Laura's fellow pupils are from wealthy families, and one of the scandals she must suffer early on is having others find out that her mother works. (And of course, having to wear the out of fashion clothing her mother made for her. Horrors!)

Trying to make a place for herself, Laura falls back on her gift for storytelling, but her 'stories' get out of hand and she's punished officially and socially for lying. She's artistic and creative, and so this structured educational system with both direct and unspoken rules is tough for her to adjust to.

She does eventually find her place -- the book covers a few years of school and holidays -- but the book is a realistic and pointed examination of the way girls were educated at that time in middle/upper class Australia. She particularly skewers the efforts of all education to keep these young women completely ignorant of anything to do with sex. The book ends with Laura and the girls she had finally befriended all finishing their education and heading out into their own life journeys. Laura leaves still uncertain about what she's going to next and what she might do in her future. It's clear that her years at school were just a way to get through some time and the 'education' there was of no use to someone clever or creative. 

The book is an important text in Australian literature, and is said to be semi-autobiographical. I liked it for its social realism and the examination of characters. Some of the other pupils have distressing things happen to them, mainly because of social norms at the time, and I think this hothouse setting highlights that society. 

However, the structure is a bit weak; I wasn't always sure how time was passing and where we were in Laura's story. It's also quite episodic, with no overarching message or narrative conclusion. It just kind of stops. There's no message to take away, it sort of fizzles out with Laura leaving this community. But I found the story readable and the setting really interesting. It has relevance to some issues of being female even today, 110 years after being published. Isn't that scary. 

My Career Goes Bung

My Career Goes Bung / Miles Franklin
London: Virago, 1981, c1946.
234 p.

I just finished this book, after reading My Brilliant Career,the first one in this set, nearly three years ago. This second book was finally published in 1946, but it was written in 1902, shortly after the first book had made such a splash. I am counting it for 1902 in my Century of Books reading, as the theme and context is so much of its written era -- in the intro, Franklin says that she has not altered or updated her original manuscript but has left it in its original state. 

She also says that the reason it was not published in 1902 was because the publisher balked at the feminist and irreligious nature of the text. And those threads run throughout the whole book, in what was to me the most delightful part of this story. As she notes:

I hung on secretly to my faith that the greatest nations would always be those where women were freest.

This book is a fairly complicated piece of metafiction, too -- after the first book was published, there was a furor, with many readers thinking that the novel was autobiography. Franklin eventually withdrew publication, so bothered by this assumption she didn't want any more notoriety. But this second book, written hard on that experience, relates the character Sybylla's career after her first book: Sybylla withdraws publication and tells the 'truth' about her life and what this sudden literary success meant for her. It's a marvellous mix of biography and a fictional character's standing in for it, very postmodern indeed. 

While the plot is a little meandering and the ending quite unsatisfying in some respects, the writing is as lively and amusing as ever. Sybylla is a little less naive but she still has a clear eye on Australian society. She goes into wider society in Sydney for a while so has a bigger scope for her commentary as well. A lot of her asides deal with the way that men assume they are better than women, or the way in which religion has created an old man god to supplement these feelings of male superiority. She has no time for all that. 

I can never understand why men are so terrified of women having special talents. They have no consistency in argument. They are as sure as the Rock of Gibraltar that they have all the mental superiority and that women are weak-minded, feeble conies; then why do they get in such a mad-bull panic at any attempt on the part of women to express themselves? Men strut and blow about themselves all the time without shame. In the matter of women's brain power they organise conditions comparable to a foot race in which they have all the training and the proper shoes and little running pants, while women are taken out of the plough, so to speak, with harness and winkers still on them, and are lucky if they are allowed to start at scratch. Then men bellow that they have won the race, that women never could, it would be against NATURE if they did.

This book is fascinating in form, powerful in statement, and enjoyable as an entertaining read that is still terrifyingly relevant in its social commentary even today, after more than 100 years. 

Midnight Dress

The Midnight Dress / Karen Foxlee
NY: Knopf, c2013.
288 p.

This is an Australian YA novel that I read recently; I picked it up mostly because of the title ;) 

As the story opens, Rose and her nomadic father are stopping off in the small town of Leonora (think Cairns, along the coast in the north of Australia). She's used to moving on whenever her father decides they've had enough of any one place. But Leonora gets under her skin -- she starts school, and meets Pearl Kelly, one of the popular girls, who inexplicably becomes her friend. Pearl is one of those girls who makes things happen, and she organizes the Harvest Festival float for the school. She ropes Rose in to be her fellow planner of this major event in the life of their small town.

But as part of the festival, there's also a dance and Pearl convinces Rose that they should visit Edie Baker, a recluse and rumoured witch who was also one of the best dressmakers around in the past. They want to stitch up a midnight blue dress to wear to the festival, to outshine everyone.

Here is where the story got really interesting for me. Edie is a cranky old woman who doesn't want much to do with these young girls. But she sees something in Rose, another misfit, and offers not to make a dress but to teach Rose to make it herself. Her house is full of old materials and supplies, and she starts Rose off on the work. While the amount of work and skill required is a bit condensed here, Rose does learn and the details of her hours with Edie are wonderful. There is a tinge of magical realism in the story as well, mainly centred around Edie and sewing, which is lovely. 

The book starts with the dramatic event that the whole story is leading up to, and then goes back to trace how the characters got there. I had figured out the twist by halfway through, but the descriptions both of Edie's house, sewing, and the landscape around Leonora were so fascinating that I didn't really care that the mystery wasn't all that mysterious. 

The emotional arc is quite tumultuous, and I had some problems with it. Why are there always dead girls, for example? There are some elements of the 'romance' plot that I didn't feel comfortable with, and the tragic opening scene seemed to be avoidable by the end. But the story is rich and grounded in its place, and had some great characters to follow. 

It was an absorbing story, and the magic of stitching was the thread I loved following. 

(this review first appeared at FollowingTheThread)

The Women in Black

The Women in Black / Madeleine St John   
Melbourne, Australia: Text Classics, 2012, c1993.
234 p.

Finally, a new discovery that was a true gem: romantic, comic, clever, and a keeper! This book was recommended to me by Nancy Pearl back at the end of the summer, but only now have I found a copy via the magic of interlibrary loan. However, after quickly finishing it, I'll be searching for my own copy, since this is a book I know I'll be rereading often.

It's set in Sydney, Australia in the summer of 1959; young Lesley (who changes her name to Lisa) gets a temporary job helping out at Goode's Department store in the weeks before Christmas, while waiting for her test results to see if she'll be able to go to university. She ends up in Ladies' Cocktail Frocks, mainly, with Mrs. Patty Williams and Miss Fay Baines as her fellow saleswomen; Miss Jones is their alterationist; and Magda is the glamorous Continental refugee who runs the inner sanctum, Model Gowns. But they all wear a uniform: black dresses.

All these women (well, except perhaps Miss Jones) have their own lives that are slowly expanded upon in the short chapters that follow. And they begin to cross over into one another's lives, too, once Magda takes an interest in Lisa. Most of the story revolves around romance in one way or another, but it's utterly charming -- full of female relationships, and of course frocks. Oh, those dresses!

The writing is exquisite: it's clever and quick, with wonderful characterizations and settings. Goode's Department Store is a great canvas for this story. And it's quite seasonal: it opens 6 weeks before Christmas, and the retail setting and the chaos of big sales reminded me of the opening of a recent read, House of Windows (1912) in the depiction of a group of salesgirls cleaning up after an annual sale. I do love store novels!

I hadn't known what this book was about before picking it up, but when I get a recommendation from someone who knows my reading tastes, I try to follow it. I loved this book. It's a fairy tale in which all goes well and everyone ends up happy, but it isn't saccharine. There are jabs, there are clear-eyed observations of the characters, and there is a lot of witty humour. And there are really some lovely bits. One of the highlights for me was when the mysterious Miss Jones speaks to Lisa near the end, after everyone has heard that she has aced her leaving exams and will be heading to university. She says:

"Well, it's no surprise to me at all. I don't expect it's a surprise to you either. You're a clever girl, I could see that... A clever girl is the most wonderful thing in all Creation you know; you must never forget that. People expect men to be clever. They expect girls to be stupid or at least silly, which very few girls really are, but most girls oblige them by acting like it. So you just go away and be as clever as ever you can; put their noses out of joint for them. It's the best thing you could possibly do, you and all the clever girls in this city and the world."

If you love clever stories about clever girls, and beautiful dresses, and women and men together, pick this one up as soon as you can. What a delight.


*I discovered while writing this up that there is a new movie (Sept 2018) based on this book - filmed by the author's friend Bruce Beresford, who wrote the introduction to the copy which I read. I can only find the trailer so far but hope to see it someday. Hopefully that means there will be a new edition of this book released so that it can be more easily found!