Bibliofemme Bookclub An Irish Bookclub

Tim Winton’s first novel is a classic character study, where not much happens.

To begin with we are presented with Jerra Nilsam, a young man who is desperately searching for some sort of meaning in his life. The novel is based along the Western Australian coastline and revolves around conversations, camping, reflection, fishing, letters, relationships

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Synopsis Survivor, genius, perfumer, killer: this is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. He is abandoned on the filthy streets of Paris as a child, but grows up to discover he has an extraordinary gift: a sense of smell more powerful than any other human’s. Soon, he is creating the most sublime fragrances in all the city. Yet, there is one

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When Siddalee Walker, eldest daughter of Vivi Abbott Walker (Ya-Ya extraordinaire – part Scarlett, part Katharine Hepburn, part Tallulah) is interviewed about a hit play she has directed, her mother is described as a ‘tap-dancing child abuser’. Enraged, Vivi disowns Sidda – devastating her daughter who postpones her wedding

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Every once in a while I am lucky enough to read a book that is amazing. Earlier this year I read We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, and it was one of ‘those’ books. While simultaneously loving every minute of reading it and kicking myself for not picking it for bookclub the idea to pick a Shriver book for the club to read

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Meeting: 22nd August 2007

I didn’t realise it was my turn to pick the book this month until the Connoisseur sent out a reminder email the week of bookclub. So in a panic I asked a girl in work for a recommendation, knowing that she is a complete ‘bookhead’.

Her first suggestion she described as a book that

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I chose this book for two particular reasons. I liked the idea of reading a Polish author (the majority of our authors being, Irish, English or American) and the book itself was recommended to me.

The Shadow of the Sun is a hard book to categorise. It’s not quite a biography and it isn’t really a travel book, so the only way I can describe

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The Weight of Water is beautifully written but leaves many frustrating questions unanswered. A contemporary story about two couples and a child in a sailboat off the coast of New Hampshire is intertwined with the tale of a 19th century double murder which took place on a nearby island.

Told from two perspectives – a photographer investigating

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The protagonists of this tale are billed as an aged homosexual composer, his dog and a “mysterious Bosnian”.

Cockroft, a retired composer and socialite, moves in Umbria, rural Italy following ostracism in his native England. Surviving on royalties he lives lonely and secluded life filled with flings, affairs and his dogs. Tomoleon Vieta

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Demian is the story of Emil Sinclair told in the first person. Emil comes from a religious (Christian) family and is essentially a good child. The novel opens with the awakening of Emil to life outside the bubble of childhood and family to individuality, good, evil and the grey area in between. This can be seen as a coming-of-age tale, a meditation

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