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Good Reading : May 2017
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GOODREADINGMAGAZINE.COM.AU GOOD READING MAY 2017 40 GENERAL FICTION WOM word of mouth The Burning Ground Adam O’Riordan This first short story collection from award-winning poet Adam O’Riordan explores the lives of various damaged people who all call California home. The eight stories cover a range of human experiences, from an elderly man in a retirement village who obsesses over the infidelity he never confronted his deceased wife about, to a man searching for his boss’s heroin-addicted daughter in the seedy backstreet of Los Angeles. O’Riordan’s background in poetry is evident in this collection, which features innovative use of imagery as well as sharply observed descriptions of human behaviour. The most noticeable weakness of the stories, however, is the dialogue, which at some points verges on the trite. But dialogue is not a major component of the stories, so this doesn’t have a significant impact. While some of the stories investigate philosophical themes and vexed social issues – such drug addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression – others are much slighter and lighter in tone. All the stories make for a strong collection, but some of them inevitably stand up to scrutiny better than others; the first three stories are the strongest. On the whole, this is a powerful debut that shows perceptiveness and an engaging insight into human nature. ★★★ Bloomsbury $32.99 Reviewed by Llewellyn Horgan The Children of Jocasta Natalie Haynes This story is an accessible retelling of the Oedipus myth. For lovers of Game of Thrones there is just enough scandal, violence and tragedy to satisfy. The tropes of castle life and the characters inhabiting them are all there, from the sage advisor to the kings to queens, princesses, princes and slaves. For those who find the popular TV series too violent or sexually explicit, this book tones it down enough to ensure that it appeals to all readers. Repackaging well-known myths creates opportunities to focus on the stor ies of the women, whose roles were often secondary to those of the male protagonists. This is exactly what Natalie Haynes has done here, moving the focus squarely onto Jocasta, Oedipus’s mother turned lover, and Ismene, one of Oedipus’s daughters. So the path to the familiar ending will be experienced differently – through the lens of the women. Everything that makes Greek mythology so entertaining, however, is still retained, such as the tension between social etiquette and the need to appease various gods and, of course, the constant struggles for power and prestige. Combining that with the moral dilemmas of the ancients makes for intriguing subject matter. In the afterword Haynes reminds us how different versions of the story changed, from the play by Sophocles to Homer’s mentions of the myth. Her decision to run the narratives of the daughter and the mother side by side is interesting albeit confusing at times, but they dovetail perfectly at the end. Classics lovers looking for an easy but satisfying read will enjoy this novel. It also provides a way in for those who haven’t studied classics or are unfamiliar with the tragedy. More detailed descr iptions of the clothes, landscapes and architecture of Thebes would have been welcome, as the setting seemed somewhat generic. But overall it keeps you turning the pages as the inevitable tragedies unfold. ★★★ Mantle $29.99 Reviewed by Anna Forsyth there, from the sage advisor to the kings to the tension between social etiquette and the need to appease various gods and, of course, the constant struggles for power and prestige. Combining that with the moral dilemmas of the ancients makes for intr iguing subject matter. In the afterword Haynes reminds us how different versions of the story changed, from the play by Sophocles to Homer’s mentions of the The Burning Ground Adam O’Riordan Taward-winning poet Adam O’Riordan explores the lives of various damaged people who all call California
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