Summer reading
Fabulous iction for the holiday season.
Drama Clock Dance by Anne Tyler, Penguin
A delightful dance through the time Willa has spent on earth – from an 11-year-old in 1967 asking Pop when Mom is coming home, full circle to the 61-year-old in 2017, acting as surrogate grandma to Cheryl, nine, a carbon copy old-head-on-young-shoulders. Willa associates grilled cheese sandwiches with Mom’s disappearances, because it is all her father can cook. Sister Elaine wants drive-thru takeaway, but the car has gone. “This was bad. Mom didn’t just walk to friend Mimi’s, she’d gone who-knowswhere.” In 1977 at 21, Willa marries college senior Derek, against the wishes of mum Alice, who doesn’t want Willa to give up life and have babies. In 1997, at 41, with sons
Sean and Ian, Derek dies in a road-rage accident. We love Willa and her long-suffering kindness. When Willa agrees to look after the daughter of Sean’s ex-girlfriend Denise, she nds the caring community that has eclipsed her – and herself. Remarried to Peter, she is an Arizonian golf widow. In a street in Baltimore, where windows advertise “Private detective” and a biker carries shooting victim Denise back home, Willa whispers, “I haven’t felt useful in forever.”
Arcadia by Di Morrissey, Macmillan
You know it’s summer when a new Di Morrissey novel hits the bookstores, and the Australian author’s 26th tale doesn’t disappoint. It’s a multi-generational story set amid the ancient, isolated Tasmanian forests. As ever, the descriptions are magical, taking you into the heart of this stunning part of Australia, smelling the mushrooms, feeling the damp leaf matter and tree roots underfoot. Here, childhood friends are reunited when research scientist Jessica returns to Tassie following marital problems. Sally invites her to stay at Arcadia, the farm she shares with her husband, mother and daughter. In local caves the friends discover photos and letters, which spark a search into the past. This tale is intertwined with that of Sally’s grandma, who lived in Arcadia with her husband, and both stories take a dangerous turn. Arcadia is classic Di Morrissey with twisting plots, beautiful locations and a seeming nostalgia for simpler times.