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Good Reading : January 2004
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36 wordofmouth - biography A Round-Heeled Woman Jane Juska Jane Juska is 66, retired, slim and fit, divorced, and she suddenly realises with a terrible pang that she might never have sex again in her life. Inspired by a French film, she places an ad in the New York Review of Books: ‘Before I turn 67 – next March – I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like. If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me.’ She means Anthony not Joanna, and Miss Mackenzie in particular. Juska received over 60 replies and we follow her reactions and responses to the letters with sympathy, concer n, exasperation and quite a few gurgles of laughter. Tales of men contacting her are interspersed with flashbacks from her childhood, college days and mar riage which all seem to have been just a touch dysfunctional. She manages to spiral dangerously out of orbit at least twice in her early years so we entertain dark thoughts and a few worries about this seemingly brave, energetic and enterprising woman. We would have called Jane man-mad when I was a girl. And let’s face it, she is a bit of a dill about men and sex and is altogether too needy. However her passion for teaching, litera - ture and life itself are very likable and make her story vital and distinctive. Juska certainly has a young soul in an old body and we realise the ideal man would be an old soul in a young body who is an academic or an artist with an amusing and literary bent. Does she find him? Enjoy a good read while you find out. ★ Chatto & Windus $34.95 Reviewed by Frances Love Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi Subtitled a memoir in books, Reading Lolita is a truly original approach to reading and to life writing.The author, whose father was the youngest mayor of Tehran under the last Shah, documents the turmoil of the Islamic revolution which swept Ayatollah Khomeini to power and with him a wave of fundamentalist repression. But she does so through two filters: the first is the secret group of seven female students she gathers at her house for a private tutorial every Thursday morning over coffee and cakes.The second is the list of texts they meet to discuss, chosen from the canon of Western literature and including not only Lolita but The Great Gatsby, Daisy Miller and Pride and Prejudice . Nafisi and her exclusive tutorial group come up with some pretty unorthodox interpretations and make great interpretative leaps in their analysis of authors’ intentions and their characters’ motives, but that only makes the experience of Reading Lolita in Tehran more exhilarating and liberating – because in this group, shedding their enveloping black clothing and veils, teacher and students free their minds and demonstrate once again that the imagination cannot be caged. That they are capable of such powerful, intense and passionate debate in defence of certain ideas is astonishing, given what is going on outside and the fact that several of them have been tortured in jail or are facing life threatening decisions.Their wit, intelligence and commitment are hum - bling and inspiring as is Nafisi’s own commitment to teaching. Her own writing is a little chaotic, repetitive and could have done with some more careful editing, but anything is forgiven under the circumstances and her messy style captures the inner turmoil Nafisi faces as the university she loves and the country she belongs to are torn apart before her very eyes. A stunning, memorable, important, relevant book. ★ RG Hodder $32.95 Reviewed by Caroline Baum A Woman of Independence Kirsty Sword Gusmao The story that unfolds in Kirsty Sword Gusmao’s A Woman of Independence is a compelling and inspiring one. As a young Australian woman Kirsty develops an interest in and eventual devotion to the people of East Timor and its leader, Xanana Gusmao. The commitment and self-sacrifice that is evident as she describes her involvement in the struggle for independence by the world’s youngest nation is incred- ible, leaving me to look at my own life and its usefulness with a critical eye. The romance that developed between herself and Gusmao while he was an imprisoned guerilla leader is the stuff of romance novels. Yet Kirsty is not afraid to detail the difficulties and mis- understandings that occurred in their relationship. For the first seven years of their romance, Gusmao is incarcerated and their only communication is through emails and a secret mobile phone. Kirsty makes it very clear throughout the book that she comes second to Gusmao’s demanding and crucial work for his country. In spite of this, their commitment to each other and the cause survives the challenges and stands now as an example of a modern fairytale. However, just as Kirsty’s personal life is taken over by her involvement with Gusmao and East Timor, so too her story is swamped by that of East Timor’s. I would like to have had more analysis by Kirsty of her own motivations and feelings through- out her amazing jour ney. When Kirsty does engage with this more personal sphere in the book, I find that the language sometimes falls into platitudes. A Woman of Independence is a beautiful and important tale with some incredibly moving moments. While the cost of the fight on Kirsty, Gusmao and the people of East Timor is written onto every page of the book, so too is the affir mation that it was worth it all. Macmillan $30.00 Reviewed by Aimée Scott (GoodReading)
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