Learning about Life from Novels

The first five questions of the quiz left me flummoxed. I had no idea which of the three named towns had the largest population or which was furthest north. (I'd come across only one of the towns!) Nor did I know the founder members of Cold Chisel or which city had a suburb called Erindale. I'd never  heard of a Hills Hoist, let alone knew when it was first manufactured.

I might have known more than a lot of people about the country in which I was soon going to live but the quiz nights I attended back in early 2018 when I was staying in Melbourne soon showed me how much I didn't know about this country. While I could answer some of the quiz's general knowledge questions, the world geography and classical literature, the local knowledge questions that most Aussies could tackle with an educated guess if nothing more left me floundering.

Since I arrived to live in Australia last May, about half of my reading material has been Australian novels and my knowledge gained from these has helped enormously. From slang to recent history, from geography to common culture, natural science to urban issues, novels have filled many gaps and helped me to feel at home. Of course my search engines have been busy too but information gained through reading novels has often been the instigator to further research.

I was having a conversation recently with a chap who reads non-fiction but was dismissive about fiction. I said I was learning a great deal from fiction but he couldn't seem to understand that fiction could be informative! Perhaps he sees the world only in facts and figures. But for me, reading about ordinary people, and one or two extraordinary ones, in realistic situations from recent history to present day, in cities, small towns or the outback have all contributed to a common culture that those who have lived in this country for a long time, even if not born in it, can take for granted. It's not just events or places but ways of thinking and attitudes. All have informed my perceptions of this country and its varied people. Watching Australian dramas on TV has been informative too.

I always get a thrill from visiting places I've seen illustrated and read about in books and when I see a place I've been to in a film or on TV it's always 'Ooh, I've been there!' The same with books; if a book has real place settings and mentions specific locations I can see the character in the places I know and now I'm finding I can sometimes do that with books set in Melbourne and even, to a lesser extent, Sydney!

For those interested in the Australia stories I've read, here they are in alphabetical order. Some I've loved, some not so much but all have given me useful information and insights, food for thought and, of course, hours of enjoyment. Here's to the next 25.

J D Barrett: The Secret Recipe for Second Chances

Tony Birch: The Promise

Tony Birch: Common People

Liz Byrski: A Month of Sundays

Liz Byrski: Belly Dancing for Beginners

Nicholas Drayson: Love and The Platypus

Kate Grenville: The Idea of Perfection

Jane Harper: The Lost Man

Jane Harper: The Dry

Robert Hillman: The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted

Catherine Jinks: Shepherd

Toni Jordan: Nine Days

Manfred Jurgensen: The Last Australia Day

Janet Lee: The Killing of Louisa

Eleanor Limprecht: The Passengers

Liane Moriarty: Big Little Lies

Joanna Nell: The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village

Peter Polites: The Pillars

Lisa Reece-Lane: Milk Fever

Holly Ringland: The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

Kate Richards: Fusion

Inga Simpson: Where The Trees Were

M.L. Steadman: The Light Between the Oceans

Josephine Wilson: Extinctions

Tim Winton: Dirt Music

Australia is on Fire: how people are responding.

Sylvan Dam (1931) by Arthur Streeton.

This morning I attended a writers' get together at a cafe about 10 minutes drive from my home. As I drove home through the drizzly and smoky air, I wondered whether there was enough rain to help where it is needed in East Gippsland.

I reached home and looked about my little house that I bought 4 months ago. Smaller than I would like, still needing some finishing touches, it is nevertheless, home. How grateful I am to have it. Many people have lost theirs in Australia's rampaging fires. Everything gone. Seeing some of the TV footage, people talking about their experiences with smouldering, collasped buildings behind them is heartbreaking. Some people were clearly disorientated and traumatised, some unbearably sad and others angry. I have never been impressed by outbursts of hysterical weeping or by those who rant, but these people all moved me beyond words because each was in their own way incredibly dignified.

People are angry at the Prime Minister's poor response. I am too but this post isn't about that. It's about other people - those who are doing something. Every locality, it seems, has a facebook or other social media page for donations for the Emergency Relief Groups. These seem chaotic at first glance but my local one is well organised. All groups need to liaise with official authorities such as the State Control Centre (SCC) to ensure the right things get to the right places at the right time. Transporting items has to be done without hampering rescue vehicles or those needing to evacuate from endangered areas.

From food and clothing for those who have lost everything, supplies of snacks, drinks and toiletries for the fire-fighters - known here as fireys, suitable supplies for the vets and animal shelter staff helping the injured and orphaned animals, wildfood balls - made to specified recipes for wild animals and fabric joey pouches or woollen nests for injured animals and birds, the response has been incredible.

Centres have been inundated with goods and many have now put out pleas for no further donations, other than cash which goes directly to the various official accounts via one of the banks or directly to the County Fire Authority.

Authors have joined in with an auction on Twitter #AuthorsForFireys which is happening all this week until 11th January. See how it works here. (Many of the fireys who are fighting these fires are volunteers. Highly trained, but still volunteers, who have other jobs. Many, of course, have been released from those jobs during the emergency.) From signed books to feedback on manuscripts, there are all sorts of things up for bidding. I've made bids, but much as I would like to win my items, I'm very happy if I'm outbid too. Many, although not all, items can take bids from outside Australia, so hoping my UK friends might be interested in taking part too.

My favourite books this year.

I often read writers' blog posts about their book reccomendations because it's a great way to discover new books and authors but I tend to avoid those written by very well known writers because I'm sure some pick books they think they should pick rather than the ones that they really enjoyed.

I don't read only books that have just been published because my bookshelves and those at my library contain books published over the last 200+ years.

Neither do I read only books that have been listed for a literary prize, choosing anything that takes my fancy. Sometimes I'm delighted, sometimes disappointed. Here are the ones I particularly enjoyed in the order I read them.

Hanna's Daughters  Mariane Fredriksson. This Swedish novel has been on my bookshelf for ages. It spans 150 years and 3 generations of a family from rural Sweden to modern urban.

Burnt Shadows Kamila Shamsie. Another novel of family links spanning a time frame from the dropping of the Nagaski bomb to post 9/11.

The Killing of Louisa Janet Lee. A reimagined take on the true story of Louisa Collins, the last woman to be hanged in New South Wales. Convicted of murdering her husband there is doubt about her guilt. The first three of four trials failed to convict her. A great find in my local library.

Milk Fever Lisa Reece-Lane. Mentioned in my previous post. Another gem in my library.

Shepherd Catherine Jinks. Also mentioned in my last post and borrowed from my library.

Extinctions Josephine Wilson. Also borrowed from the library and mentioned in my last post.

The Far Field Madhuri Vijay. Another library book, this one set in India is the story of Shalini who travels from her city of Bangalore to find the salesman from Kashmir who regularly visited her home as a child and became a friend. She learns of the tribulations suffered by both Muslim and Hindu Kashhmiris.

The Passengers Eleanor Limprecht. I spotted this one in one of my local bookshops. Hannah travels from the US to Australia with her Australian born grandmother and learns about her life as a war bride.

Nine Days Toni Jordan. Set in Richmond, Melbourne another story told by members of 4 generations of a family from WWII to the 2010s. Yet another library book.

Love and the Platypus Nicholas Drayson. A fictitious take on the real scientist, William Caldwell, who was awarded a fellowship in 1833 to determine whether the platypus, a mammal, did or did not lay eggs. A library book that has taught me quite a lot about platypuses. (NB: Not platipi because the word is not of Latin origin.)

Looking at my list I see there tends to be a theme of family stories and history which was not intentional. Of the 58 books I read, 45 were by women which wasn't intentional either, I simply pick books that appeal. Just under a third were Australian authors, but they made up 70% of my best reads.

I did check out  a couple of library books including the Booker winner Milkman and within the first page abandonned them. It might well be brilliant but it struck me as pretentious writing and I can't just be bothered to read sentences that ramble on forever.

Guest post for Cath Barton's blog: Mining for Australian Literature.

I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately but I have been busy reading. I was pleased when Cath Barton asked me to write a guest blog post on my latest finds. Read it here.

When you feel you've achieved nothing.

Since I relocated to Melbourne just over three months ago, I've hardly written a thing and the outcome of submissions just before I came here or the couple made since have unfortunately come to nothing, so I'm at something of a writing dead end. I had suitable pieces to submit to two competitions that I found online until I read the T&Cs and found they were limited to UK residents so I'm no longer eligible!

Inwardly berating my lack of achivement, a timely email came from the Australian Writers Centre on this very subject and suggested subsribers write down what they have achieved in the past 6 months, not limited to writing but anything new and different.

I made a list. It took a while.

I sold a home in London with all that entails, packed up my belongings, had them shipped. I relocated to Australia, been on endless house hunts and bought a small house. I registered with a new medical system, a new tax system, a new driving licence, dealt with the delivery of my belongings and organised their storage and then moving everything (all 81 boxes and packages) into my new place as well as organising services and buying new items to replace those I left behind - trying to work out which of the unfamiliar companies offered the best deals. I bought a car, and am learning my way round - it would help if the satnav wasn't having intermittent problems (yes, another thing to sort out!)

I don't want to know how much time I've spent on the phone (that, too, had to be set up!) emailing and making visits to the various authorities and retailers to achieve this! Needless to say there have been several phone calls to UK too to chase up things I organised before I left! Even worse to think about is all the bills that have had to be paid!

My list also included visiting a number of new local places, including my nearest library, joining several new groups and meeting lots of new people in order to get myself established here.

My experience may be no different from others who migrate, and I've had great support from my daughter and son-in-law in negotiating the systems of officialdom, to say nothing of furniture and box moving - a luxury many have to manage without, but it's still something to put in the tick box and I don't feel so bad about not having any significant writing under my belt.

It's wonderful to have my own front door keys once more, but there are still a number jobs to do before 'organise chaos' and 'start writing.' My reward will be refilling my bookshelves with books old and new. Although I'm still not sure yet where my bookcases are all going to fit.

Getting to know bookish Melbourne.

A selection of my purchases. Others have already been given away. 

Some people get to know a city by visting its architectural icons, others by its cafes and restaurants, but I like to add another dimension: visting its bookshops. Melbourne has a number of them for me to discover.

I made acquaintance with the massive Dymock's in Collins Street, as well as a couple of smaller branches, on my last visit but I'm always more drawn to the smaller independent bookshops. I stayed about a hundred yards from Readings in St Kilda, established in 1969, so I spent quite a bit of time and money there!

Today I made it to Embiggen Books which, sadly, is closing after ten years. Sad for them but good for me in that I made several purchases in their closing down sale.

It is situated right next to the State Library of Victoria where I made a quick stop off, aiming to return for a more thorough visit soon.

Another book shop dating from the 60s is The Paperback Bookshop nearby. This little gem is packed from floor to ceiling with books. Books in every space! It does include a few hard-backs but mostly the books are as its name suggests.

I've also visted Robinson's in Frankston and The Avenue bookshop in Elsternwick. Both shops have other branches but they have the feeling of small independednts with enthusiastic and helpful staff.

There are also loads of charity shops, some of which offer a huge range of second-hand books in excellent condition. I made several purchases on my first visit, many of which have now been redistributed!

There are still lots more book shops for me to discover!

Flexit.

This post isn't writing related, it's about moving house. I can honestly say that I've not experienced so much stress as in the past few weeks! For the last year I have been gearing up to this point. I started over a year ago by getting my flat in North London ready to put on the market - remember all those mentions of massive clear outs and re-homing loads and loads of books?

After several let downs from potential buyers (including one who after putting in an offer lower than the asking price then demanded I reduce it by another 35K) at long last I had another buyer and the real packing began. Still more things to be sent to the charity shop. Was I really going to read this book again? No - off it went. What about this one? Yes! Into the packing box. I had twelve book cartons, plus more for stationery and photo albums, (yes, I still have many pre-digital photos in albums.) And yes, Marie Kondo fans, I do need more than one pen pot.

Skip this next paragraph if you hate rantiness. You (rightly) think Brexit is a nightmare? I had my own personal Flexit (aka Exit from Flat.) The only difference was here I wanted to leave. I can't adequately express the massive stress that the conveyancer who acted for my buyers in place of a proper solicitor caused me, my solicitor and estate agent through their sheer incompetency and idiocy. The questions they asked again and again although they had been answered in detail several times previously. The glacial pace they worked at, the mistakes...  In a weird mirror of the nonsense the country was going through, so was I on a micro scale. We were even aiming to exchange on 29th March! The buyers themselves then delayed the process by announcing they didn't have the deposit. It was a very uncomfortable time when I was at the mercy of other people. To pull out, which I seriously considered, was not really in my interests. Then the deposit was sorted out but another potential exchange date was delayed. And another. And then on the day of the 'definite' exchange, which was going to be followed by a quick completion, the conveyancer put yet another enormous spanner in the works because of something she had forgotten to put in the buyers' contract - or more accurately - did not realise she needed to put in the contact in spite of my solicitor having advised her to do so. See what I mean by stupid? And of course it was the day before she went on a week's leave. But somehow we got there.

So goodbye to my quirky flat in North Finchley, which has been my home for over 25 years. It now has a literary past having not only housed thousands of my books, hosted writing groups and literary festival meetings, it has also seen me complete a degree in literature and try to write my flash fiction, short stories and two novels. Blue plaque one day?

I very much doubt it because throughout these last few months my writing more or less disappeared from view. I did make some subs with both reworked stories and some new pieces but when things became really stressful, I could barely put two words together on paper or screen. And the subs, including several for which I had high hopes, resulted in rejection after rejection and not a single appearance on comp longlists. It seemed that nothing would go right and I began to feel that I should give up writing altogether apart from jotting long lists entitled Presents to Leave for House Buyers who Mess You About to alleviate my frustration! (No people or flats were harmed in the making of these lists.)

So what now? Am I settled in my new house? No, that's still on the horizon because I have relocated to Australia (Melbourne) and am currently staying with my daughter, son-in-law and grand-daughter. Not forgetting Pounce, the cat. My possessions, including all those book boxes are somewhere on the ocean (I hope not in the ocean - as people have kindly informed me that loads of containers fall off ships) and I am living out of suitcases. But I have all that really matters to me around me as I write. Let's hope my future Australian writing is a little more sucessful.

Watch this space.