Nursing Fox by Jim Ditchfield

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: June 4, 2016

At the outbreak of World War I, Lucy Paignton-Fox enlists in the Australian Army Nursing Service and leaves her family's cattle station in the Northern Territory to join the war effort. During the Gallipoli campaign she serves in hospitals in Egypt, but when the Anzacs are posted to France she moves with them. A talented and spirited nurse, with dreams of one day becoming a doctor, Lucy finds more opportunities than she ever imagined: working alongside doctors and surgeons, sharing the soldiers' dangers, helping them through their pain, and making lifelong friends. But with war comes suffering. Lucy sees it all around: sorrow, disease and death. How long can she stay separated from it all? Adam Hayward joins the British Army after a devastating attack on his family. Accepted into the air force, Adam tests his luck in the cockpit fighting for those he loves. But with aircraft technology booming, can Adam continue to stay ahead of the game? John Mitchell's determination leads him slowly up the ranks. With more responsibility than ever, he becomes disillusioned with the horrors of war, but he can't help admiring the brave nurses who do so much to help the wounded men. Nursing Fox details the experiences of Australian nurses during the Great War. It honours their journeys and shows the impact that the nurses had on the soldiers with whom they crossed paths.

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I enjoyed the time I spent with Jim Ditchfield’s Nursing Fox, but I will not deny that I have mixed feelings about the book. To be perfectly honest, I think the narrative suffers an excess of plot and despite my appreciation for the material, I could help feeling frustrated at being pulled so many directions at once.

Don’t misunderstand, Nursing Fox has a lot going for it and reading the novel affords a great deal of insight to the World World I experiences of Australian forces both on and behind the lines. I was fascinated by the wealth of detail Ditchfield managed to weave into the fabric of the narrative and felt the material was exceedingly well-adapted.

That said, the novel alternates between three distinct points of views and while I found Lucy Paignton-Fox, Adam Hayward and John Mitchell quite interesting, I felt the rotation between them distracting and wished Ditchfield had limited himself to Lucy’s point of view. Lucy’s story arc was the most prominent of the three and I think the novel would have read more cleanly and felt more cohesive if the author had limited himself to a single protagonist.

When all is said and done, I can see recommending Nursing Fox to fellow readers, but I think it could have been stronger narrative if there hadn’t been so much going on.

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Lucy sat on an empty bed, her face buried in her hands as tears of relief streamed down her face. She thought back to the CCS. After all these years, all the bombs and all the shells. The fighting might be finished, but the war would never be over for her. She’d never be able to forget the hundreds of operations and the rows of graves that emphasised the failures.

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Worth Fighting For by Mary-Anne O'Connor

Rating: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: August 2, 2016

From Darwin to Pearl Harbour, Sydney to Papua New Guinea, a compelling story of courage, honour and a great love set against the epic backdrop of the Second World War. Eighteen-year-old Junie Wallace is a smart girl and, with her two brothers away at war and her third brother just killed in action, she knows there is only one way to save the family farm for her grieving parents. Unfortunately, that solution involves marrying the unscrupulous Ernest, and breaking the heart of the young drover she loves, Michael. But the war is looming ever closer, and when Pearl Harbour brings the threat of Japanese aggression to Australian shores, the fates of many becomes inextricably interwoven. From the explosive battles of the Pacific campaign to the desperate fighting in the Papuan New Guinea rainforest; the dancehall gaiety of Sydney’s Trocadero to the terror of the Darwin bombings, this epic family saga brings home the importance of mateship and of fighting for what you believe in, even when impossible odds seem stacked against you, even when all seems lost... Worth Fighting For is a resounding testament to the enduring force of love: a reminder of what can be achieved if you draw on your reserves of courage and listen to the truth in your heart.

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Cropped screenshot of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr
from the film From Here to Eternity

No, no, no and no again for good measure. Absolutely nothing about Mary-Anne O'Connor's Worth Fighting For worked for me and I can honestly say that I feel the time I spent with it wasted. The only good thing that came of those hours was a two title decrease in my TBR as my experience with this volume killed any and all interest I had in O'Connor's earlier novel, Gallipoli Street. Fair warning folks, there are spoilers ahead.

I hesitate to call the book romance, that is, unless you consider a lot of cheating/adulterous sex romantic, but that's beside the point. The love story...? Stories...? Story...? Whatever. It wasn't satisfying and in the end I wasn't sure who the heck Junie was supposed to be in love with. Was it Michael? Or was it Marlon? Or is she pulling a DJ Tanner and telling the world she doesn't need a man? I don't know and that in and of itself is a huge issue for a book marketed in a genre that is defined by love and relationships.

If you're wondering who the heck Marlon is, don't worry, you're not supposed to understand the reference as the character wasn't mentioned in the blurb. He's one of the narrators, but as far as I can tell he was mainly written in so the author could write a relatively irrelevant scene set against the attack on Pearl Harbor. Come to think of it, there were a handful of scenes in the novel that felt entirely out of place which likely explains why I found myself questioning whether or not the author had a clear vision for this story. Structurally, this piece was all over the map.

Moving on, I want to note that the scene where Michael and Junie get down and dirty in the sand of Burning Palms took me straight back to that iconic moment between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity. At first I told myself I was being too picky. I personally think it sounds uncomfortable, but any pair of fictional characters can have sex on the beach right? Right. I convinced myself it was a fluke and would have let it go if the scene hadn't been immediately followed by Marlon/Milton intimately entertaining lonely Mrs. Hamlin/Holmes in Hawaii just before the Japanese attack on Pearl. Hamlin/Holmes is a serial adulteress, married to Marlon/Milton's commanding officer... Call me crazy, but I felt that episode had too much in common with the film and that parallel simply doesn't sit well with me, especially on the heels of the Michael and Junie's sandy tryst.

Okay, we've touched on the ambiguous nature of the plot, the inclusion of seemingly random content, and a couple of scenes that reminded me of an iconic WWII flick. Let's move on to plausibility and research. Late in the narrative, Michael appears with his men in a plane over New Guinea. The engines are failing, the plane is losing altitude, and he's standing at the jump door refusing to leave because he 'needs' to deliver a grand speech about morality in times of war. Excuse me for questioning the narrative, but what the heck? These men are in a tin can that is nosediving it's way to earth. They don't care what their commander has to say, they want to live! Not only that, there is no way they'd be able to hear anyone speaking at the jump door as the wind and machinery would drown the speaker out. And seriously? What kind of commander puts his men at risk so he can engage them in a warm and fuzzy? Long story short, this was one of many moments where I felt the situational drama unbelievable and the research lacking.

I'd get into my feelings on Shangri-La, the heavy-handed foreshadowing in the author's use of Lost Horizons, Michael's long absences, random scenes dictated by his parents who never reenter the narrative, and the cliched characterization of Junie as a modern woman standing against injustice, but my keyboard is smoking as it is and I think I've made my point. When all is said and done, Worth Fighting For didn't suit my tastes and I'd have great difficulty recommending it to others.

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‘Margaret Hastings…and the plane was called the Gremlin Special. I’ve saved the newspaper clippings,’ Junie confessed with a self-conscious smile. ‘Lost Horizon is my favourite novel.’ ‘Really? I found it a bore,’ said Felicity. ‘Romantic, fairy-tale rubbish.’

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The Railwayman's Wife by Ashley Hay

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours/Netgalley

Read: April 17, 2016

Amidst the strange, silent aftermath of World War II, a widow, a poet, and a doctor search for lasting peace and fresh beginnings in this internationally acclaimed, award-winning novel. When Anikka Lachlan’s husband, Mac, is killed in a railway accident, she is offered—and accepts—a job at the Railway Institute’s library and searches there for some solace in her unexpectedly new life. But in Thirroul, in 1948, she’s not the only person trying to chase dreams through books. There’s Roy McKinnon, who found poetry in the mess of war, but who has now lost his words and his hope. There’s Frank Draper, trapped by the guilt of those his medical treatment and care failed on their first day of freedom. All three struggle to find their own peace, and their own new story. But along with the firming of this triangle of friendship and a sense of lives inching towards renewal come other extremities—and misunderstandings. In the end, love and freedom can have unexpected ways of expressing themselves. The Railwayman’s Wife explores the power of beginnings and endings, and how hard it can sometimes be to tell them apart. Most of all, it celebrates love in all its forms, and the beauty of discovering that loving someone can be as extraordinary as being loved yourself.

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Ashley Hay’s The Railwayman's Wife was a done deal the moment I read the blurb. I’m addicted to WWII and am utterly incapable of saying no when considering a novel that relates to the conflict. I jumped in at the first opportunity and was ultimately impressed by what I discovered between these pages.

The novel is reasonably paced and is in many ways well-suited to subtleties of the coastal village in which it is set. The dramatic twists of the novel are intensely personal and I liked how the author’s approach invited readers into the narrative. I personally would have liked more grit, but generally speaking, I can’t complain over the themes and ideas Hay’s explored over the course of the narrative.

The author does some interesting things with books and poetry as the story unfolds and I thought those concepts quite appealing. Book addicts are an interesting breed and I am always intrigued when an author tackles that love of literature and tries to capture the experience on the page. It’s almost like breaking the fourth wall and offering up a direct nod the audience.

Intimate and emotional, The Railwayman's Wife is a compelling tale of self-discovery, love, reinvention and life after loss. It’s definitely a lighter piece, but I found the time I spent with it pleasant and enjoyable.

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Such fascinating things, libraries. She closes her eyes. She could walk inside and step into a murder, a love story, a complete account of somebody else’s life, or mutiny on the high seas. Such potential; such adventure—there’s a shimmer of malfeasance in trying other ways of being.

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Jazz Baby by Téa Cooper

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: October 14, 2014

In the gritty underbelly of 1920s Sydney, a fresh-faced country girl is about to arrive in the big, dark city – and risk everything in the pursuit of her dreams. Sydney is no place for the fainthearted – five shillings for a twist of snow, a woman for not much more, and a bullet if you look sideways at the wrong person. Dolly Bowman is ready and willing to take on all the brash, bustling city has to offer. After all it is the 1920s, a time for a girl to become a woman and fulfil her dreams. Turning her back on her childhood, she takes up a position working as a housemaid while she searches for her future. World War I flying ace Jack Dalton knows he’s luckier than most. He’s survived the war with barely a scratch, a couple of astute business decisions have paid off, and he’s set for the high life. But a glimpse of a girl that he had forgotten, from a place he’s tried to escape suddenly sets all his plans awry. Try as he might he can’t shake the past, and money isn’t enough to pay the debts he’s incurred.

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I'm not much of a romance reader, but I rolled the dice on Téa Cooper's Jazz Baby. The WWI reference caught my attention and I was more than a little intrigued by the setting. Unfortunately, the novel didn't work for me and I admit, I'd be hard pressed to recommend it.

For one, I felt the jacket description incredibly misleading. The blurb paints Dolly Bowman as an adventurous and determined young woman, but her character is neither. Exceedingly naive and prone to making brash assumptions, Dolly is much more of a Dumb Dora. Her romantic interest, Jack Dalton, had potential, but he's far too pure of heart for a Lounge Lizard. 

I was similarly turned off by Cooper's highly coincidental plot twists. I wont ruin the story for anyone, but Jack and Number Fifty-Four, the man he meets at Susie's, Cynthia's sudden change of heart, all of it left me rolling my eyes. There is no tension here and very little mystery, just a drawn out chain of events leading to one inevitable conclusion and forgive me, but that's not the kind of literature that appeals to me.

It was a crap shoot going in and this time fortune failed me. I wanted something historically authentic, characters who radiated the attitudes and conscience of the jazz age, but I afraid Jazz Baby missed the mark and left me wanting. 

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He cast his eye up and down her trim figure. She'd undone the dreadful brown worsted coat and the sight of the heart-shaped neckline on her plain cotton dress made a man wonder what lay beneath. Jack quelled the desire to laugh at his reaction, sitting here watching his erstwhile sister, thinking thoughts he didn't even dare admit. 

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East India by Colin Falconer

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Read: September 25, 2014

In any other circumstance but shipwreck, rape and murder, a man like Michiel van Texel would never have met a fine lady such as Cornelia Noorstrandt. He was just a soldier, a sergeant in the Dutch East India company’s army, on his way from Amsterdam to the Indies to fight the Mataram. Such a woman was far above the likes of him. But both their destinies intertwine far away from Holland, on some god-forsaken islands near the Great Southland. When their great ship, the Utrecht, founders far from home, surviving the Houtman Rocks is the least of their worries. As they battle to survive and the bravest and the best reveal themselves for what they are, Cornelia’s only hope is a mercenary in a torn coat who shows her that a man is more than just manners and money. He makes her one promise: ‘Even if God forsakes you, I will find you.’ But can he keep it? Described by one critic as ‘Jack and Rose in the seventeenth century’, East India will keep you wondering until the final page.

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Colin Falconer's East India was an interesting read for me. Past experience being what it is, I was immediately skeptical of the piece, but the praise of my fellow reviewers roused a curiosity I couldn't well ignore. 

To get right to the point, I liked East India a lot more than I'd expected. The shipwreck was a perfect platform for Falconer to weave a gritty tale of doubt, danger and desperation. I enjoyed the romantic aspect between Cornelia and Michiel, but I was perversely enchanted with the darker elements of the plot. Falconer holds nothing back and in this context, I felt the explicitness of his descriptions really worked in his favor and conveyed a very realistic sense of the crisis his characters are meant to experience over the course of the novel.

What I liked most, however, were the number of underlying themes and abstract concepts the Falconer worked into the story. Beneath the surface, East India is a phenomenal exploration of social interaction and what happens when we are forced to struggle for limited resources. I don't mean to sound pedantic in my assessment, this is fiction after all, but from a behavioral and psychological standpoint I was fascinated at how Falconer depicted that degeneration within the narrative.

A fast-paced adventure, East India is difficult to put down. A brilliant choice for fans of 17th century historicals and drama on the high seas.

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“You must pray there is no hell, Christiaan, for if you are wrong, I do believe the Devil has several new and exquisite torments devised particularly for such as you.”

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Check Out All the Stops on Colin Falconer's East India Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, July 28
Review at History & Women

Tuesday, July 29
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Wednesday, July 30
Review at Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, August 5
Review at Book Nerd

Thursday, August 7
Review at Bibliotica

Monday, August 11
Review at A Library of My Own

Friday, August 15
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Monday, August 18
Review at The Book Binder’s Daughter

Thursday, August 21
Review at Beth’s Book Reviews

Monday, August 25
Review at Casual Readers

Wednesday, August 27
Review at Book Reviews by Lanise Brown

Saturday, August 30
Review at Book by Book

Wednesday, September 3
Review at Unshelfish

Wednesday, September 10
Review at A Bookish Affair

Monday, September 15
Review at Griperang’s Bookmarks

Wednesday, September 17
Review at The True Book Addict

Friday, September 19
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Sunday, September 28
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Friday, September 26
Review at Kinx’s Book Nook

Tuesday, October 7
Review at A Cup Of Tea and A Big Book

Sunday, October 12
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

His Convict Wife by Lena Dowling

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: November 8, 2013

For Irish convict Colleen Malone, being framed, transported to Australia and forced into prostitution seemed like the worst that life could throw at her. Then she fell pregnant to a client and was sent back to prison by her cruel owner. Now, her only hope of a decent life for her and her baby is to find someone to marry. Widower and former London businessman Samuel Biggs arrived in Australia hoping to put his grief behind him. When James Hunter offers him a job on his Parramatta farm, he accepts eagerly. He’ll put his back into his new work, and bury any thoughts of new love and marriage in the rich earth of his new home. However, all plans are compromised when Samuel is manipulated into visiting a workhouse to choose a new housekeeper, and Colleen seizes her chance — literally grabbing Samuel and begging for her life. The only way Samuel can oblige is by marrying her, but on one thing he stands firm — there is no way he will fall in love...

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I try not to jump into any series midstream, but I slip up from time to time. Thankfully, Lena Dowling's His Convict Wife is a standalone sequel so I wasn't at much of a disadvantage jumping into book two of the series. 

Not having read much Australian fiction, I found I really enjoyed the setting of this piece, as well as the convoluted backgrounds Dowling crafted for her cast. Taking her cues directly from the continent's colonial history, the narrative boasts an authentic atmospheric quality that held genuine appeal for this particular reader. 

A light romance, His Convict Wife is an amusing, if predictable, beach read. 

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Colleen would never forget seeing O'Shane's for the first time. It was as if a giant trapdoor had opened under her feet, dropping her down into a pit below. She and Nellie gasped at all the lamps hanging in the windows and the gangs of sailors drinking rum and gaming on the veranda outside. They might have been poor Irish convict girls, but they hardly had a sack of dag-wool each for brains. They knew a  brothel when they feckin' well saw one.

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The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, On Her Way to Botany Bay by L.A. Meyer

Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Local Library 

Read: Jan. 12, 2012 

Jacky Faber, rich from her exploits diving for Spanish gold, has purchased the Lorelei Lee to carry passengers across the Atlantic. Believing she has been absolved of past sins against the Crown, Jacky docks in London to take on her crew, but is instead arrested and sentenced to life in the newly formed penal colony in Australia. To add insult to injury, the Lorelei Lee is confiscated to carry Jacky and more than 200 female convicts to populate New South Wales. Not one to give in to self pity, Jacky rallies her sisters to "better" their position--resulting in wild escapades, brushes with danger, and much hilarity. Will Jacky find herself a founding mother of New South Wales, Australia? Not if she has anything to do about it!

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*** NOTE: This review contains spoilers. Please take heed and proceed at your own risk. 

The Lady Juliana in tow of the Pallas Frigate

I rarely do so but I fear the time has come to raise the white flag in surrender. After eight books I am thoroughly exasperated with Jacky Faber and company. Her adventures may hold the attention and imaginations of legions of others but I find myself compelled to admit defeat and make haste to the nearest life boat. The series has been floundering for some time and while Meyer tackled some more mature subject matter in The Wake of the Lorelei Lee I felt it was too little too late.

The book takes its premise from the voyage of the Lady Juliana (aka the Lady Julian), a ship that transported more than 200 female convicts to New South Wales in 1789. Mrs. Barnsley and little Mary Wade were both passengers on the vessel. The Chinese pirate Ching Shih is another historic figure. Now I love Meyer’s ability to weave history into his stories; these tidbits, down to the traditional songs, are my favorite aspects of his work. I love meeting these characters that would otherwise be forgotten to history. It is Meyer’s wayward heroine I have grown tired of.

The now sixteen year old Jacky is very much the same twelve year old we met in Bloody Jack. She has not grown or developed as I expected and I find her lack of maturity grates my nerves. She does not learn from her experiences or mistakes. She still acts impulsively and without much thought to the outcome of her actions. It doesn’t help that I find her to be a hypocritical snipe. She insists every female of her acquaintance strive for some semblance of respectability but applies no such standard to her own behavior. Her comments to Jaimy carry similar undertones as she continues to berate him for his single indiscretion while she is free to flirt and parade her bum in front of any man with a coin for her purse.

Jacky’s adventures have also stagnated. At the close of each book she has wormed her way out of trouble but within a few chapters of the next installment she is inexplicably ensnared in it once again. She is continually reuniting and being torn apart from Jaimy. Her enemies are remarkably similar and have started to run together. It doesn’t help that Jacky is universally more talented and intelligent than those around her… can someone please explain to me how a sixteen year old is more adept than every other sailor, performer, spy and soldier on the planet?

Each volume features such meager changes to cast, situation and local that I can't force myself to continue the series any longer, especially since Meyer is expected to release the tenth installment this fall. With no end in sight I feel I have no choice but to jump ship. Farewell Jacky, fair winds and following seas and long may your big jib draw.

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Ever the showgirl I dart over to the anchor, slap my rump down on it, slide my goggles up onto my forehead so I'll look more appealing, a ride up in grand style.

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#BookReview: Barbed Wire and Roses by Peter Yeldham

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It was exciting to be on our way at last...but we were such innocents. We had no idea of the hell that lay ahead. Even if we had known, what could we have done about it?

They were our golden youth, seeking adventure on foreign battlefields. The First World War in 1914, that everyone said would be over by Christmas, and Stephen Conway rushes to enlist in the belief he should fight for King and Empire. Leaving behind a new wife and a baby on the way, he soon finds himself in the trenches of Gallipoli. Four horrific years later, Stephen is the only survivor of his platoon, shellshocked and disillusioned, and during the heat of battle on the bloodstained fields of France, he mysteriously disappears.

Stephen's ultimate fate is still a mystery when more than eighty years later his grandson Patrick finds a diary that leads him to Britain and France on a journey during which he unexpectedly finds love, and the truth about his grandfathers's fate that is even stranger and more shocking that he imagined.

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Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★   |   Obtained from: Local Library   |   Read: September 15, 2011 

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I’m not kidding; I have started this review at least a dozen times. I just don’t know where to begin. Barbed Wire and Roses is such a unique reading experience that I don’t think I am capable of composing anything that would do it justice.

The book is really two story lines. Stephen Conway is a young man who, like so many in times of war, is swept up by romantic notions of victory and heroism on the battlefield. He volunteers for the army in the early weeks of WWI, leaving behind a new wife and the child she unknowingly carries. As the weeks turn into months and the months into years, Stephen loses his naivety, his friends and eventually his mind under constant bombardment of the enemy.

Two generations later, Stephen’s grandson is plagued with questions regarding the war diary of a man he never knew. Seeking answers, Patrick and his sister scour the internet but can’t find a single scrap of evidence to prove Stephen Conway died in 1918 as family legend suggests. Bedeviled by the unknown, Patrick begins a journey that will lead him half way around the world in search of answers.

Stephen’s is one of the most intriguing war stories I have ever read. He is without doubt a hero but he is by no means the stereotypical personification one usually encounters. I would try to explain but I think Patrick Conway says it best, “[Stephen] is scared shitless most of the time.” Stephen’s struggle with PTSD struck a chord with me. A former military wife, I remember the pre-homecoming meetings where spouses were coached on recognizing the symptoms. A few weeks after my ex-husband’s return a marine on the same base blew his brains out after taking the life of his spouse. Living in a time and place where the disorder is considered very real I found it hard to comprehend Stephen’s situation. These men were mentally disturbed by their experiences yet many were given white feathers and still more were diagnosed fit to return to battle. It is an alarming concept flawlessly recreated under Yeldham’s pen.

Patrick’s narrative was decidedly less moving but it is not without merit. I had little sympathy for the character but I felt his experience showcased a different aspect of Yeldham’s talent. Every character Patrick encounters, no matter how insignificant has a distinct personality. Not only that, they are without exception multidimensional! Off the top of my head I can’t think of another author who has exerted so much effort in regard to the supporting cast.

The history itself captivated my attention. The last American doughboy died in February of this year fighting for a national memorial to honor the thousands of men who served in the conflict. That fact alone should tell you how much weight WWI carries in this part of the world. Gallipoli, the Somme, Ypres; I am humbled to admit these were little more than names in history book prior to my reading. More than that, I was entirely ignorant of Australia’s involvement in the Great War. Needless to say I spent a fair amount of time referencing the events. Yeldham’s work is entertaining but also fascinating even for those whose knowledge extends only to a few place names and the required background reading for All Quiet on the Western Front.        
                                                                                                                 
Yeldham’s story is a beautiful tribute to the Lost Generation, an intensely moving novel that will haunt the reader long after the final page. 

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We came here too young, too sure of ourselves. We'd begun to believe we were special, like the British papers said. Even their generals praised us, which should've been a warning. Generals sit in safety far behind the lines, they play their games of war and never count the cost. Look, we're as shat-scared as everybody. And why not? Gallipoli was bad, but this is a bloody carnage. There is a dreadful feeling of utter hopelessness here, and we play a game of tag with death every hour of the day.

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