A God in Ruins (Audiobook) By Kate Atkinson (Author) & Alex Jennings (Narrator)

Atkinson, Kate, A God in Ruins, New York: Little Brown and Company, 2015. CD

This is a companion novel to Life After Life - a previous bestseller novel by the talented author, Kate Atkinson. The story turns its focus from Ursula Todd's turbulent live to her beloved brother Teddy. In this audio book, Teddy's extraordinary wartime experiences as a Halifax pilot is narrated so vividly - the audience can really feel the intensity. It is combined with the relationships with his wife, his awful daughter Viola, his grandchildren, his mother and also, his sister, Ursula. Death in the story appears in many guises, often with the random violence of war. This unabridged version is brilliantly brought to life by Alex Jennings whose narrator and British accents are commendable. He manages to portray the depth of the plot and complexity of the characters superbly. The timeframe moves effortlessly in good pace with authentic historical accounts and a hint of humour. The winner of 2015 Costa Novel Award has a twist at the end after it is thoroughly engaging and enjoyable.

Visit Kate Atkinson's website for detail information about her life and her works.

If you are interested to read the prequel novel, Life After Life, find out more from Fantastic Fiction.

Blackass By A. Igoni Barrett

Barrett, Igoni A., Blackass, Minneapolis, MN: Graywolf Press, 2016.

Barret’s Blackass is a funny, fierce and provocative satire. It is all started when Furo Wariboko, a true blue Lagos man, wakes up in the morning for his job interview to discover he has turned into a white man (except that his ass remains stubbornly black). He then adopts a name Frank Whyte and starts his adventure in the city streets in his new transformation in modern Nigeria.  He suddenly finds the dead ends of his life open up before him. This thought provoking inventive book touches everything from race to social media while at the same time questioning the values society places on us simply by virtue of the way we look. "No one asks to be born, to be black or white or any colour in between, and yet the identity a person is born into becomes the hardest to explain to the world." - Michael Schaub, NPR.

To know more about the author and his other works, visit Goodreads. 

Read interview with Barrett by Granta.

The Little Red Guard: A Family Memoir By Wenguang Huang

Huang, Wenguang, The Little Red Guard, New York: Riverbed Books, 2012.

This novel offers a fresh look at Communist China in the Mao era. The focus of the story is a coffin. It is a family memoir that spans from when the author was nine years old to his life as a new immigrant in the United States. He begins his memoir in 1973 while he was living in a tiny house in Xia, Central China with his parents, brother and sisters and his grandmother. His grandmother became obsessed with her death and the planning of her burial. During the time, all traditional Chinese practices, including burials, were strictly forbidden. Eventually Huang’s father built her a coffin, appointed his older son, Wenguang, as coffin keeper who slept next to it at night. This excellent plot, takes us over the next fifteen years while the entire family is consumed with planning and talking about Grandma’s burial much to the detriment of Wenguang. The story revealed the nature of the China’s political era and the period leading up to the Tiananmen Square tragedy.  It isn’t overly historical but remaining personal, funny and touching throughout. This is a powerful drama of a universal family struggles to find their way through transition and oppression.

Watch below clip of the author, Wenguang Huang explaining the background of his writing.

The Orphan Master's Son By Adam Johnson

Johnson, Adam, The Orphan Master's Son, New York: Random House, 2011.

This novel is the Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This beautifully disturbing work brings readers on a roller coaster journey through dark plots and story lines. There are many interesting characters and the main one is Pak Jun Do, an orphan who rises in the ranks and becomes a professional kidnapper and finally a national hero. Activities of the Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il is detailed on a daily basis, through the eyes of a North Korean 'lost soul' citizen. The only person Jun Do loves is a movie star, Sun Moon, married (given as a present) to a general. Although he carries her picture literally on his heart, she is unaware of his love. Though this book can be difficult to digest, as propaganda, lies, corruption, and violence are in your face from the start, it is completely unlike anything that you've ever read before. It is captivating from the start to the end and whether it is the truths or imagination, read it with open mind and focus on the emotional pushes of the story rather than historical facts.

For a brief portfolio of the author and his work, visit Fantastic Fiction. 

Watch below clip for Insight interview with the author, Adam Johnson and how he gets his depiction of North Korea as an outsider.

The Pearl That Broke Its Shell By Nadia Hashimi

Hashimi, Nadia, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2015.

This novel present stories of two amazing women (Shekiba and Rahima) told in two different interwoven plots and set a century apart. It takes place in the Afghanistan of the early 20th century and the present. The women share a common heritage, Rahima is Shekiba's great granddaughter, as well as the same dreams and battles: their freedom. Shekiba who suffers a deforming injury as well as an orphan becomes a guard in the king's harem. Cornered and desperate, she uses both her wits and her physical strength to survive in a place and time when many women would simply vanished. The other plot is about Rahima who is born to a father fighting for a local warlord. Rahima was soon be betrothed to a warlord. Her life, already hard, becomes nearly unbearable in the warlord's tumultuous household. But, she remembers the words of wisdom that once were told to her "everyone must have an escape" and patiently works for the chance to free herself. It is beautifully written in lyrical and moving tone. The two remarkable characters captivate with their bravery and intelligence. This compelling story also reveals how little Afghani society has changed in the treatment of women.

More about the author and her new novels from Fantastic Fiction.

Watch the clip below of the author, Nadia Hashimi introduces the novel and learn more about her thought.

The Poetry of Yehuda Amichai / Edited by Robert Alter

Alter, Robert, ed., The Poetry of Yehuda Amichai, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc, 2015.

The editor of this book, Robert Alter is an award-winning Hebrew scholar. He assembled this collection as the largest selection of the poet’s work to appear in English. It brings both untranslated poems and new version of Amichai's finest works. With this collection, an important poetic voice is now available to English readers. Amichai, who is one of the major poets of the century, is renowned with his moving, accessible, and vibrant poems. The poems in this volume are written in natural tone and universally acceptable, some are erotic; many are suffused with sadness and of course, with love. In a country like Israel, which has historical predicament of armed conflicts, these poems movingly yearn of the preciousness of private experience cherished under the endless threat of violence and death. Something that some of us, living in country like Australia, would take it for granted. "He belongs not only to Israel and to the Hebrew language but to all of us” - James Wood, The New Yorker.

More about the author, Yehuda Amichai and his complete works can be found here.

Sample of some of his poems can be accessed here. 

The Sapphires (Movie/DVD)

The Sapphires. Dir. Wayne Blair. Goalpost Pictures, 2012. DVD.

This movie is based on a true story and tells the tale of four amazing Aboriginal girls in 1968 Australia who become a musical group known as the Sapphires. That year, around the globe, there was protest and revolution in the streets. Indigenous Australians finally secured the right to vote, there were Martin Luther King's assassination and drugs and there was Vietnam. Chris O'Dowd plays the drunk musician and humorous manager Dave Lovelace. The problems are the girls have their own emotional baggage, don't always get along and prefer to sing country songs. It's up to Dave, who admires their passion and perseverance, to shape them into a worthy sing group. He manages to secure their first gig in Vietnam performing for the troops. Gail (Deborah Mailman), Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell), Julie (Jessica Mauboy) and Kay (Shari Seabees) manage to seduce with their singing and acting. The movie is a celebration of love, friendship, youthful emotion and music. As a refresher, this movie shies away from life and death matters; it is a feel-good film that does a real good job of recognizing the challenges of being different. 

For the full list of awards (wins and nominations) including the nomination of Golden Camera in 2012 Cannes Film Festival, visit IMDb.

Click here for an article about the inspiration behind the movie. 

To wet your appetite, here is the official movie trailer:

The Swan Book By Alexis Wright

Wright, Alexis, The Swan Book, Artarmon, NSW: Giramondo, 2013.

In this complex novel, Wright proves how powerful human dream and imagination is. The focus is the life of a mute Aboriginal girl: Oblivia Ethylene who lives with a group of dislocated people in a controlled swamp filled with falling apart naval crafts and war machinery, and thousands of migrated black swans. The plot takes us to her marriage to the first Aboriginal president of Australia, and her elevation to the position of First Lady, who sadly, was confined to a tower in a lawless city. This book takes us to the future and it brings the message of the power of believe in the fight for sovereignty of land; freedom and survival. This book is not for the faint-hearted as it requires some pondering and getting use to the intensity. 

More about the author, Alexis Wright and the complete awards and nominations the book received from The Australian Literature Source.

Click here for audio recording of Michael Cathcart from ABC Radio reviewing the novel.

The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota

Sahota, Sunjeev, The Year of the Runaways, London: Pan Macmillan, 2016.

This novel is about the struggle of Indian immigrants in Sheffield, England which universally also represent the hope, fight for better life and attachment to home country of all immigrants. This multi layered story focuses on the live of four immigrants in the span of a year, hence the title. Tochi, whose family is victim of caste based violence in Bihar. Avtar, from a lower middle class family in Punjab whose options are limited due lack of jobs and reservations. Randeep, from a government family in Punjab with father having psychological issues. And Narinder, from a devout Sikh family living in the UK, who has lived her life within the box drawn by her family and expectations from her immigrant society. The wonderful plot follows the characters search for work, community, faith and love. The story interweaves the characters, two countries and different times. It ends with an optimism that is inspiring and enlightening. "Sahota depicts the culture, language and mentality of Britain's Indian immigrant community from deep within" - James Coan, Library Journal.

More about the author, Sunjeev Sahota from Fantastic Fiction.

Click here for a comprehensive interview with the author by The Guardian.

'Til the Well Runs Dry By Lauren Francis-Sharma

Francis-Sharma, Lauren, 'Til the Well Runs Dry, New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2014.

With this debut novel, Francis-Sharma leads us to a sweeping saga of Marcia Garcia. It spans from 1940 to 1960, from the Caribbean island of Trinidad to the United States. Marcia is portrayed as smart, beautiful (she has French, Portuguese, Spanish and African blood), strong and courage’s character. Marcia marries Farouk Karam, a Hindu policeman and has four children. Farouk's parents object their relationship and for over two decades racism, secrets, and betrayal are intermingled. When Marcia leaves for New York, she faces racism against immigrants especially when her older daughter Jacqueline, gets into trouble. This is a compelling, fast-paced, richly layered story. The author describes beautifully the landscape and people of rural Trinidad. This is a story about family, love, crime, slavery, passion and mother determination to persevere among many others. There are elements of tragedy but also hope and triumph.

Further information about the book can be found from Fantastic Fiction

Click here for Lauren Francis-Sharma's official website.