Got a bookworm at home? Country Style’s Annabel Lawson makes gifting easy, with reviews on exciting new releases in a variety of genres.
A LINE-UP OF WONDERFUL BOOKS TO SUIT THE READERS OF ALL AGES IN YOUR LIFE THIS CHRISTMAS, BUT MAKE SURE TO KEEP ONE FOR YOURSELF.
NEW PARENT READERS MEN AT WORK
Annabel Crabb, Black Inc, $32.99
It’s highly possible that Annabel Crabb’s Kitchen Cabinet TV series, in which politicians cooked for her in their homes, changed history. They strutted their stuff. The most frugal home belonged to the Treasurer; the most universally acceptable dish was cooked up by the Minister for Foreign Affairs; but the most memorable lunch of all (yabbies beside a rippling stream) was the one with the Communications Minister, and where did he end up? As PM, that’s where. This time Crabb has a mission to change the pattern of after-birth behaviour. When it comes to the law, men have as many stay-home privileges as women (well, mostly) however they choose not to take the leave. Why not and why they should is the substance of this spirited piece of research.
HISTORICAL FICTION READERS THE INHERITORS
Hannelore Cayre, Black Inc, $29.99
Last year Cayre’s The Godmother was my pick for Best Comedy. This year’s novel has plenty of chuckles, but you wouldn’t call it comic. The story roams between Paris in the 1870s and the present day. One hundred and fifty years ago there were riots in Paris where the rich were getting uppity once again and the poor were getting poorer. Today democracies have lost the power to integrate society. Cayre draws parallels. It falls to Blanche and her friend Hildegarde to change modern France. Blanche lost her legs in a car crash and Hildegarde has a neurological condition, but they’re unstoppable. Five stars.
FOODIE READERS MAGNOLIA TABLE 2: A COLLECTION OF RECIPES FOR GATHERING
Joanna Gaines, William Morrow, $54.50
The word ‘gathering’ brings a lump to the throat. We’ll never take family gatherings for granted again. Gaines is American, so she uses ‘sticks’ of butter and Fahrenheit temperatures. And as for the calories – well, it’s Christmas. There’s a beautiful Zucchini Squash Strata supported by a crusty layer that’s soaked up all the juices, ideal for taking to a party; morally acceptable within most regimes. The Flourless Chocolate Cake however, snug beneath a plump and glossy quilt of ganache, is up there with the seven deadly sins.
BIOGRAPHY READERS A WOMAN OF FORCE
Mark Morri, Macmillan, $34.99
This is for anyone or everyone on your gift list. Deborah Wallace escaped her
“The word ‘gathering’ brings a lump to the throat. We’ll never take family gatherings for granted again.”
father’s plan for her – to be a typist at the municipal offices – and joined the police force. She became a feared and revered Detective Superintendent whose main body of work was with Sydney’s youth gangs. As the years went by different ethnicities moved into the ascendant, challenging home-grown bikie gangs. In the early days these were Vietnamese teenagers who explained to Deb the cruel logic of their misbehaviour. Deb’s last contest was with the horrifying leader of an Afghan cell. The photos show her in action, nattily dressed in a yellow Carla Zampatti outfit and high heels, as she surveys 12 prone captives after one of the bold Raptor, the strike force she headed, raids. A superb read.
REAL-LIFE READERS ACTIVE MEASURES
Thomas Rid, Profile Books, $34.99
In every circle of friends there’s one who says “Oh I never read fiction” (and then they wonder why they lack empathy and intuition). Rid’s book is for them, a first-class history of disinformation until the penultimate chapter and then we’re suddenly in the present day and it’s terrifying. Rid knows heaps more than got into the news about the hacking of American elections. A group called Shadow Brokers are selling ‘zero days’ (me neither, but if you want state secrets you apparently need these) to the highest bidder.
YOUNGER READERS BANDITS
Sha’an d’anthes, Lothian Books, $24.99
I’m averse to books for children that are preachy. This enchanting adventure does indeed have a distinct eco message, yet there’s joy and surprise in the story of Fern, a child who lives alone in a city which is clean but soulless. The inhabitants fear everything that lies beyond the walls especially night infiltrators whom they call bandits. Fern finds the bandits in the forest and they are perfectly okay, guided by a giant raccoon, Bo, who instructs them how to grow food from detritus. With his big stripy tail, he dominates visually. A young Sydney artist, Sha’an d’anthes, created this delightful fantasy.