Elma Turner Book Chat January
There is no set book or need to register, just come along and chat to others about what you've been reading lately.
We meet at the Elma Turner Library on the second Tuesday of each month, 10.30am.
Sonia Purnell Kingmaker: Pamela Churchill Harriman’s astonishing life of seduction, intrigue and power
Churchill’s daughter-in-law was originally married to Rudolph, a drunkard but she remained close to the Churchill’s after divorcing him. She was engaged as a ‘secret weapon’ by Winston Churchill during WW11, wining dining and seducing Americans over to the British cause against Hitler. Over five decades and two continents, Pamela influenced the Kennedys, Nelson Mandela, Truman Capote, Frank Sinatra, the Rothschilds, Clinton Aga Khan and later married W Averell Harriman, a diplomat and Governor of New York. Her sexist and scathing obituaries in 1997 overshadowed her true legacy in 20th century politics, culture and fashion.
Terence O’BrienConsolations of insignificance : a New Zealand diplomatic memoir
Terence spent 50 years with foreign affairs from the 1960s, in Asia, Europe and the South Pacific. He established the first embassy in China, secured trade agreements with the UK after it joined the EEC and was chair of the UN Security Council during the 1990s. Many funny incidents. For readers interested in politics.
Leo Vardiashvili Hard by a great forest
The story of a family escaping Georgia after Soviet occupation and the later return and disappearance of family members. A frightening picture of police and corruption.
John Grisham The client
A boy observes a suicide, employs a lawyer for $1 and she helps him through a court case for compensation Gives insight to jury practises in the US & Witness protection.
John Boyne A history of loneliness
A denunciation of the Catholic church by Father Ordran Yates, a good man who trained for the seminary at 17 and has lived through betrayal, controversy and public condemnation of some of his closest friends. As years pass he begins to wonder whether he is blameless in choosing to ignore warning signs.
Carl Nixon The waters
The story of the Waters children who lost their mother when they were young and have a hopeless father who loses the family money in a property development. An intriguing story covering 40 years of a family that has faced challenges.
Roxanne de BastionThe piano player of Budapest : a true story of Holocaust survival, music and hope
The author inherited a piano when her father died. She learns the history of the piano through a cassette recording of her grandfather, Stephen, playing one of his compositions, memoirs, letters and documents. He had survived concentration camps and survived along with his piano.
Taylor Jenkins ReidThe seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Fourteen-year-old Cuban American Evelyn meets a 20-year-old man about to leave for Hollywood to work on a set – she marries him ( 1950s) and moves to LA. She gets known and does well, divorces her abusive husband, marries a ‘star’ but he’s also violent and when she ends the marriage she is blacklisted as he’s a ‘star’. A French director takes her on in Paris where she becomes a star. Her life story was given to a magazine reporter when Evelyn Hugo is an ageing and reclusive woman living in NYC. The fictional story was based on the real lives of Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner.
Dov Alfon A long night in Paris
Written by an Israeli who has lived in Paris for 20 years. Translated from the Hebrew.. Subject is the Israel intelligence arm of the Israeli Defence Force ( the author was an intelligence officer).Very well-written espionage. Won the CWA International Dagger award 2019
Kate Alcott The dressmaker
Fluffy romance, soppy love story about a girl who is one of the last to escape the Titanic in a lifeboat.
Claire Keegan Walk the blue fields
A collection of short stories set-in modern-day Ireland. The landscape and yearnings of the heart are beautifully described in spare prose which I find very moving ( read also her Small things like these). Absolutely perfect.
Tina Makereti The mires
Three women give birth in different countries and different decades. One is Keri, a Māori woman who escapes an abusive husband in Australia to move to a coastal town in Aotearoa New Zealand, another is Sera who along with her family are refugees from Ecological devastation in Europe and there’s Janet who has also escaped a violent marriage and troubled son Conor who has just returned to live with her. They are all now neighbours and slowly make a connection with each other. Themes of xenophobia, violence, immigration, terrorism, and loss but most of all the challenge to the natural environment their homes live on, formerly a swamp. Set near Pukerua Bay north of Wellington.
John le Carre The constant gardener
Set in Kenya, a young woman married to a diplomat is found dead. Her husband is the narrator as he tries to make sense of what happens, he uncovers corruption with ( drugs trials) and puts himself in danger as well.
Jenny Tough Solo: what running across mountains taught me about life
The memoir of a Canadian woman who finds solace in the wilderness & sets out to run 5 endurance runs of several days each. She runs in Kyrgyzstan, the Atlas Mountains, The Southern Alps, NZ, THE Canadian Rockies and the Transylvanian Alps. She finances her feats by sports journalism and running gear promotion.
