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Reviews by Cloggie Downunder

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The Storyteller
by Jodi Picoult
brilliant and inspired (1/20/2013)
The Storyteller is the twenty-first novel by award-winning American author, Jodi Picoult. In this thought-provoking novel, Picoult follows her usual format of narration by different voices, but adds an allegorical story written by one of her characters. Reclusive baker,more
The Last Dragonslayer: The Chronicles of Kazam
by Jasper Fforde
wizards & dragons, Fforde style (1/13/2013)
The Last Dragonslayer is the first book in the Chronicles of Kazam series by Welsh author Jasper Fforde. Aimed at the Young Adult reader, the heroine is an almost-16-year-old foundling raised by the Blessed Ladies of the Lobster, Jennifer Strange. Whilst her boss, Mr.more
Gilead: A Novel
by Marilynne Robinson
Uplifting (1/1/2013)
Gilead is the second novel by American author Marilynne Robinson. It is 1956, in Gilead, Iowa, and John Ames, a seventy-six year-old preacher with heart failure, is writing a letter to his young son. After losing his first wife and daughter in childbirth, he has spentmore
Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
highly original, funny, thought-provoking (1/1/2013)
Life of Pi is the second novel by Canadian author Yann Martel. It tells the story the 227-day ordeal, in a lifeboat with a 450 pound Royal Bengal tiger, of a sixteen-year-old Indian youth, Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi). It is told in three parts: Pi’s youth in Pondicherry atmore
Plum Spooky: A Between-the-Numbers Novel
by Janet Evanovich
very average (1/1/2013)
Plum Spooky is the fourth novel in the Stephanie Plum Between the Numbers books by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie’s main FTA in this instalment is the diminutive Martin Munch, a quantum physics whiz, who has, inconveniently, been targeted by the Unmentionable Gerwulf Grimoire (more
Before I Go To Sleep: A Novel
by S.J. Watson
brilliant debut (1/1/2013)
Before I Go To Sleep is the first novel by British author S.J.Watson. Christine Lucas has the sort of amnesia that prevents her from storing new memories. This means that she wakes each day in an unfamiliar bedroom, next to a man she doesn’t know. The face she sees in themore
Joseph Anton: A Memoir
by Salman Rushdie
a fascinating insight (12/19/2012)
Joseph Anton is the memoir of controversial Indian author, Salman Rushdie and concentrates on the time in his life during which he was under threat of the fatwa imposed by the Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini for his novel, The Satanic Verses. From this memoir, the reader gainsmore
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (9)
by Alexander McCall Smith
always a pleasure (12/4/2012)
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds is the ninth novel in the Isabel Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel is asked to help in the recovery of a very valuable painting (a Poussin) stolen from the collection of old-fashioned philanthropist, Duncan Munrowe. Jamie,more
Ya-Yas in Bloom
by Rebecca Wells
better than Divine Secrets (11/7/2012)
Ya Yas in Bloom is the sequel to Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. It doesn’t read like a sequel, however, but more like an expansion of what we learned about the Ya Yas and the Petites Ya Yas in Divine Secrets. The narrative jumps between Vivi’smore
Death Before Wicket: A Phryne Fisher Mystery
by Kerry Greenwood
more excellent Greenwood (11/7/2012)
Death Before Wicket is the tenth in the Phrynne Fisher series by popular Australian author, Kerry Greenwood. It is summer 1928 and Dot and Phrynne take the train to Sydney: Dot to visit with her sister Joan, Phrynne ostensibly to watch a Test Match (was it Bradman’s first?)more
Shades of Grey
by Jasper Fforde
more brilliant Fforde (11/7/2012)
Shades of Grey, sub-titled The Road to High Saffron, is the eighth novel by Jasper Fforde, and the first novel in the Shades of Grey series. Fforde has used his incredible imagination to create for the reader a unique world, Chromatacia, where residents’ social standing ismore
Flight Behavior
by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver's best yet (11/1/2012)
Flight Behaviour is the 5th stand-alone novel by Barbara Kingsolver. In the Appalachian Mountains above her home, eastern Tennessee farm wife and mother of two, Dellarobia Turnbow is about to take a step that will change her unsatisfactory life forever when she is arrestedmore
Sea of Poppies
by Amitav Ghosh
a brilliant read (10/7/2012)
Sea of Poppies is the first book of the Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh. This is a beautifully told story set in India, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal on the eve of the First Opium War. The Ibis is an ex-slave ship purchased by merchant Benjamin Brightwell Burnham formore
A Conspiracy of Friends: A Corduroy Mansions Novel
by Alexander McCall Smith
delightful as always (9/29/2012)
A Conspiracy of Friends is the third novel in the Corduroy Mansions series by Alexander McCall Smith. McCall-Smith dispenses gentle philosophy through ordinary people in their everyday lives, commenting on such things as the possibility of friendship between men and women;more
The Secret Scripture
by Sebastian Barry
a brilliant read (9/10/2012)
The Secret Scripture is the seventh stand-alone novel by Irish author, Sebastian Barry. Against the background of the imminent closure of an Irish mental facility, an aging psychiatrist reviews his remaining patients for suitability to re-enter the community at large. Drmore
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home
by Rhoda Janzen
very funny (9/10/2012)
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is a memoir by Rhoda Janzen. Daughter of the head of the Mennonite church in North America (the Mennonite equivalent of the Pope), Janzen rejected her family’s faith at eighteen to go to college and teach. At forty-four, after a turbulentmore
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
by Rebecca Wells
did not grab me (9/10/2012)
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood is the second of the Ya-Yas series by Rebecca Wells. Set in two main locations, it tells of Sidalee Walker’s retreat to a remote cabin near Seattle to examine her past life and prospective marriage to Connor McGill, an examination thatmore
The Fourth Bear: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde
brilliant as always (8/29/2012)
The Fourth Bear is the second of the Nursery Crime series by popular author Jasper Fforde. Things are not going too well for Detective Chief Inspector Jack Spratt of the Nursery Crime Division: a prime NCD case (the escape from custody of the violent psychopath, Themore
The Mermaid Chair: A Novel
by Sue Monk Kidd
a memorable read (8/11/2012)
The Mermaid Chair is the second novel by Sue Monk Kidd. Set on the South Carolina barrier island of Egret, it describes three intense months that change the life of 42-year-old Jessie Sullivan when she returns to her childhood home. Believing she is dealing with amore
Boom!
by Mark Haddon
a fun read (8/11/2012)
Boom! is the first book by Mark Haddon and was initially published in 1992 under the title Gridzbi Spudvetch! This edition for 10 and over readers has been updated in 2009. Jim’s life is upside down: his father is out of work and spends his days on the couch watching TV ormore

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