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Reviews by Cloggie Downunder

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The Apprentice
by Tess Gerritsen

another Gerritsen page-turner (6/19/2011)

The Apprentice is the second novel in Tess Gerritsen’s Jane Rizzoli/Maura Iles series, and the first book in which Maura Iles makes her appearance. About a year after Rizzoli solved “The Surgeon” case and sent Warren Hoyt to jail, another hot Boston summer sees another …more

And Another Thing...
by Eoin Colfer

a worthy effort (6/18/2011)

No, it's not Douglas Adams (although bits of it very likely are), after all, he (sadly) died in 2001. It's Eoin Colfer, doing his best to be true to Douglas Adams' style, bringing our favourite H2G2 characters back to us for another episode, trying to put a little something …more

My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult

A perfect ending twist (6/18/2011)

My Sister’s Keeper is Jodi Picoult’s 11th novel. It centres around Anna Fitzgerald who has retained lawyer Campbell Alexander to sue her parents for the right to her own body. Anna was conceived to provide (initially) cord blood for her older sister Kate who has leukaemia. …more

The Memory Keeper's Daughter
by Kim Edwards

Very moving (6/18/2011)

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is the first novel by Kim Edwards. The story is set in the 1960s and involves a doctor, David Henry, whose wife, Norah, goes into labour during a snowstorm. Unable to get to the hospital, he takes her to his surgery, where his nurse, Caroline …more

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger

Wonderful (6/18/2011)

The Time Traveler’s Wife is Audrey Niffenegger’s second novel. This is the story of Henry DeTamble (the Time Traveler) and Clare Abshire (the Time Traveler’s Wife). Clare first meets Henry when she is six years old and he suddenly appears, naked, in the Meadow near her home: …more

The Distant Hours
by Kate Morton

Superb (6/18/2011)

The Distant Hours is Australian author, Kate Morton’s third novel. The novel plays out over two time periods: the early 1940s and 50 years later. The story begins when Meredith Burchill receives a letter that has been delayed by 50 years. The letter is from one of the …more

La's Orchestra Saves the World: A Novel
by Alexander McCall Smith

Heartwarming (6/5/2011)

La’s Orchestra Saves the World is a stand-alone novel by Alexander McCall-Smith. It is set around the time of the Second World War in England. Lavender Stone (La to her friends) leaves London for a Suffolk village in the wake of a disastrous marriage. When the war starts, …more

The Lost Symbol
by Dan Brown

entertaining (6/5/2011)

The Lost Symbol is the 3rd in Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series. The story goes over 24 hours and starts with Langdon being flown by private jet to Washington to give a lecture as a favour to his long-time friend (and Mason), Peter Solomon. Soon enough, this turns out to be …more

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn

A Must Read (5/25/2011)

Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, is a “must read”. It is by no means an easy book to read; it is sometimes quite confronting; in places you will cry; you will be disgusted by the actions of some …more

The Almost Moon: A Novel
by Alice Sebold

Powerful (5/23/2011)

The Almost Moon is the second novel by Alice Sebold. Helen Knightly narrates the story, which begins when she murders her mother, Clair. As we follow events over the next 24 hours, we learn about Helen’s life and what brought her to this momentous act: her love-hate …more

The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
by Jeffery Deaver

an invisible weapon (5/22/2011)

The Burning Wire is the ninth novel in Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series. This time Rhyme’s target is a killer who utilises the power grid to cause arc flashes and set his victims on fire, or electrifies a building or an elevator to electrocute them. It seems that the …more

The Broken Window: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
by Jeffery Deaver

Check your password! (5/13/2011)

The Broken Window is the eighth of Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series. The tale begins with a plea from Judy Rhyme to help her husband, Arthur Rhyme, Lincoln’s estranged cousin, who has been arrested on a murder charge. Flawless evidence against him leads Rhyme and Sachs …more

The Bodies Left Behind: A Novel
by Jeffery Deaver

classic Deaver twists and turns (5/11/2011)

The Bodies Left Behind is Jeffrey Deaver’s 11th stand-alone novel. The scene is lakeside Wisconsin, where Brynn MacKenzie, a sheriff’s deputy, responding to an aborted 911 call, stumbles into the aftermath of a double murder. Managing to escape from the murderers, she finds …more

Roadside Crosses: A Kathryn Dance Novel
by Jeffery Deaver

twists anf red herrings galore (4/27/2011)

Roadside Crosses is the second in Jeffrey Deaver’s Kathryn Dance series. The story starts with a roadside cross memorial which is dated for the following day, the day that police find a kidnapped teenager left for dead in the trunk of her car. Kathryn’s interrogation of the …more

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party: The New No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel
by Alexander Mccall Smith

Mma Ramotswe makes you feel good again! (4/23/2011)

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party is the twelfth book in Alexander McCall Smith’s No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Mma Ramotswe has plenty to keep her busy as someone is killing cattle on a southern cattle-post, Charlie the apprentice seems to have fathered twins and …more

The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy

Love and betrayal (4/19/2011)

The God of Small Things, the first (and so far, only) novel by Indian writer, Arundhati Roy, was written between 1992 and 1996. This (semi-autobiographical) story takes place in the village of Ayemenem and the town of Kottayam, near Cochin in Kerala, and is set principally …more during two time periods: December 1969 and 23 years later. The main characters are Esthappen (Estha) and Rahel, seven-year-old two-egg (i.e. non-identical) twins, and their mother Ammu. Ammu falls in love with Velutha Paapen, a Paraven (Untouchable) who works for the family’s Pickle Factory, a man the twins already list amongst their most-loved. But even in 1969, with a Communist Government, parts of India are still firmly in the grip of the Caste system. By breaking the "Love Laws," or "The laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much”, Ammu and the twins set in motion “The Terror”. The manipulations of Ammu’s aunt, Baby Kochamma, are instrumental in bringing down The Terror, and her subsequent cruelty to Ammu and the twins will leave readers gasping.
As well as commenting on the Caste system and Class discrimination in general, the novel examines Indian history and politics, the taboos of conventional society, and religion. But more than anything, this is a story about love and betrayal.
The innocent observations of 7-year-olds, their interpretation of unfamiliar words and phrases, the (typically Indian) Capitalisation of Significant Words, the running together of and splitting apart of words , the phonetic spelling, all are a source of humour and delight in this novel. “It’s an afternoon-mare”, Estha-the-Accurate replied. “She dreams a lot”. Even as Estha is being molested by the Orangedrink Lemondrink man in the Abhilash Talkies, his observations (“Not a moonbeam.”) bring laughter. Echoes, repetitions and resonances abound. Roy is a master of the language: “So futile. Like polishing firewood.” Her prose is luminous. This novel is powerful, moving, tragic. Beautifully written, with wonderful word pictures.
This novel demands at least two reads: once to learn the story; a second time to appreciate the echoes and repetitions and understand what the early references mean. It deserves a third reading to fully appreciate the prose, the descriptive passages. On this, my third reading, I read parts I would swear I had not read earlier. And I had tears in my eyes very early in the novel. I loved this book when I first read it: I love it even more now. I remain hopeful that Arundhati Roy will share her considerable literary talents with her eager readers in the form of another novel. (less)

Sing You Home: A Novel
by Jodi Picoult

Another excellent Picoult (4/16/2011)

Sing You Home is Jodi Picoult’s 18th novel. As always, Picoult deals with big issues. This time it is homosexuality and the attitude of society, government and, in particular, organised religion, to those who are openly homosexual. But other issues also make an appearance: …more

More Twisted: The Collected Stories of Jeffery Deaver, Volume II
by Jeffery Deaver

Excellent Deaver twists (4/16/2011)

More Twisted is a volume of sixteen tales of suspense by Jeffrey Deaver, including a previously unpublished Lincoln Rhyme story. Each of these tales, as the title suggests, has a twist. Most are set in modern times, but one is set in Victorian England and features Sherlock …more

Jasper Jones
by Craig Silvey

Execellent Aussie literature (4/12/2011)

Jasper Jones is Craig Silvey’s second novel. It is set during a hot summer in 1965 in a small West Australian town, Corrigan, and narrated by thirteen-year-old Charlie Bucktin. Charlie is surprised by Jasper Jones’ appearance at his sleepout window: Jasper needs his help. …more

House Rules: A Novel
by Jodi Picoult

Excellent Picoult (3/12/2011)

House Rules is Jodi Picoult’s seventeenth novel. The story involves Jacob Hunt, a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome and an obsession with forensic analysis, who is charged with and tried for the murder of his tutor, Jess Ogilvy. Five voices tell the tale: Jacob’s own; his …more

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