Elma Turner Library Book Chat
The shadow of the windby Carlos Ruiz Zafon 5
Translated from the Spanish into 40 languages, this is a book for book lovers. Mystery, intrigue, gorgeous writing. Set in Barcelona after the Civil war and written through the eyes of Daniel Sempere, who at the start of our story is taken by his father to a place called the Cemetery of Forgotten books. Here he is asked to choose one. The shadow of the wind by Julian Carax takes his eye and he spends the next ten years trying to find out about the author and his life. Magical realism, murder, madness, lost love . Historical mystery and a homage to the power of books and storytelling.
Time after time by Jackie Cook5
Found this so interesting with lots of reminiscing about the past for example learning about hand signals during a driving test.
Yak on Track by Heather McNeice 5
Read a lot of travel books and this one is interesting. Expedition at high altitudes with yaks (5500m) with friend Krista and guide Norbu in the mountains of Bhutan researching educational opportunities for girls and raising money for this. Warm, witty
Bird in the bamboo cageby Hazel Gaynor 5
Historical fiction about the Japanese invasion of China. Inspired by true events about the life-changing bonds formed between a young girl and her teacher when soldiers take control of their missionary school.
Re-food by Emily King 4.5
Environmental lawyer who has worked with food producers overseas , returned to NZ in 2017 and started Spira to educate companies on how to avoid food wastage.
Grand : becoming my mother’s daughter by Noelle McCarthy 4.5
Radio journalist who was for a time on Radio NZ and now writes for Irish Times and makes podcasts for Bird of Paradise productions. Now lives north of Auckland with partner and daughter. Her mother was an alcoholic and Noelle also struggled with alcohol for a time. Difficult to read. 4.5
Look who’s backby Timur Vermes 4 for comedy - 3.5 for subject matter!
Hitler wakes up on a grassy patch in the middle of Berlin in 2014 and can’t work out why there are so many immigrants and that the country is run by a woman. People think he’s a great impersonator and he gets Social media coverage, but when he starts talking about the holocaust and going into politics he’s not so popular. The author was criticised for the book
The deck by Fiona Farrell 5
At a bach designed by an architect, a group of friends are escaping an unnamed plague in the City to experience lockdown together, eat and tell stories, often ones never heard before
More than I love my life by David Grossman 5
Based on a real woman Vera who in 2018 is celebrating her 90th birthday on a kibbutz in Israel but this is a fictionalised account of three generations starting with the gulags of Yugoslavia during the time of Tito. Very well written. Translated from the Hebrew
The Penguin NZ anthology : 50 stories for 50 years in Aotearoa 4.5
All very readable
Bookshop dogsby Ruth Shaw 4
About Ruth’s bookshop in Manapouri and her time as a youth worker in Invercargill
Good dogs don’t make it to the South Pole by Hans Olav Thyvold 4.5
A funny and wise story of a friendship between a man and his dog. Black humour.
Frank Worsley: Shackleton’s fearless captainby John Thomson 5
Shackleton appointed Frank Worsley as Captain of the Endurance which was crushed by ice in the Weddell Sea. He displayed amazing seamanship and got every man to a South Georgian whaling station with no deaths. Later given 2 DSOs and an OBE.
All that I amby Anna Funder 4.5
Set in pre-WW2 times with the rise of Hitler and Nazi party. Written from two perspectives, the playwright Ernst Toller, and his lover Dora. Based on real characters. Borrow the audio book via Borrowbox
The zone of interest by Martin Amis 4
A recent movie made of this about a family living over the fence from Auschwitz. Difficult to read but a very good exploration of dehumanisation.
