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Good Reading : April 2005
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The Mermaid Cafe Andy Maconachie When Wallace Newman, a boy from the bush, is awarded an arts grant, he goes to Sydney, intent on painting pictures of mermaids. It is 1984 and he books into Rafferty’s Private Hotel in Coogee, a ram- shackle place full of ramshackle people. Built by the sea, his room seems a perfect place to paint in, but his mermaids prove elusive, and despite himself he is distracted by the people around him, who begin to draw him into their own lives. His brother Stacey has also fled to Sydney, leav- ing the homophobia of the bush behind him, bringing his wigs, high heels and his dreams of change. Stacey is in the final stages of a program for sexual reassignment and he needs a big favour.Wallace and his grant may have to help.As the year draws on,Wallace has to assess himself as an artist, a friend and a brother. This is a quirky, chatty and enjoyable book. full of interest- ing characters and true to the life of Sydney.The characters are well drawn, and although sometimes dark and troubled they are likeable. Set on the beach, this is a story about the other side of Australian beach culture and the complexities of a small com- munity in turbulent times. ★★★ Hodder $32.95 Reviewed by Kate Absolum Before I Forget André Brink Before I Forget tells the story of 78-year-old South African writer Chris Minaar, who is wondering whether he’ll ever write again when an incident triggers him to start recounting tales of the numerous love affairs he’s had. When his car breaks down on New Year s Eve he meets the much younger Rachel, who is mar ried to the affable George. Minaar becomes firm friends with both of them. A not inconsiderable problem for Minaar is the fact that he is secretly very much in love with Rachel. The stories of Minaar’s affairs are set against the volatile political background of South Africa between the 1940s and 1980s, when relationships between black and white were officially taboo. But that didn’t stop Minaar, who loved all women no matter what their colour. I’m afraid I had to stifle some yawns as Minaar keeps recount- ing his many copulations: ‘And after several more bottles … it turned into a rollicking clinch a trios ... ending up in the pool at daybreak in a sur realist tangle.’ Brink would have done better to cut the story to half its size; less telling of copulations would have given more room for story development and depth. He is an accomplished writer and there are some wonderful moments, but my overall feeling was one of disappointment. ★★ Secker & Warburg $49.95 Reviewed by Birgit Collins word of mouth general fiction Happy Accidents Tiffany Murray A‘Yankee’ grandmother who paints eve- rything pink; a British grandfather who hinks he’s still in the Navy; a hippy mum who often forgets she has a child; and a dad whose ashes sit in a mayonnaise jar in the ttic. This is the life of eleven-year-old Kate Happy. Sound exhausting? It can be. There are two lovely things about this book. The first is the question marks: they pop up subtly, sliding underneath your vision, until you become lost in this world of intrigue and curi- osity. It’s quite magical, this feeling of the slow-reveal: deliciously peeling back layer upon layer, like playing Pass the Parcel. The second is the loveable Kate Happy. A mosque, she says, is a ‘church with a roof like a boob’, and her boyfriend, Brian, is ‘only handsome when he doesn’t move or speak’. I relished her inconsistencies, a trait so indicative of human nature. She is intelligent, confused, unpredictable; at times, an engrossing character. There is strength in Happy Accidents: Mur ray demon- strates an ear for dialogue and her prose occasionally sparkles. But subplots are scattered and left flying loose; the nar rative can meander pointlessly; and the denouement is stretched out like a pair of old underpants. A quirky, pleasant enough read, but with a bit more editing and a lot more focus, Happy Accidents could have been even happier reading. ★★★ Fourth Estate $29.95 Reviewed by Brooke Davis Payments to Australian creators and publishers 2005–06 PLR and ELR Programs If you are an Australian book creator (author, editor, illustrator, compiler or translator) or an Australian publisher, you may be eligible for a payment under the Public Lending Right (PLR) and/or Educational Lending Right (ELR) schemes. The PLR scheme makes payments to eligible Australian creators and publishers on the basis that income is lost from the availability of their books for use in public lending libraries. The ELR scheme makes payments to eligible Australian creators and publishers whose books are held in educational lending libraries (i.e. school, TAFE and university libraries). Both programs also support the enrichment of Australian culture by encouraging the growth and development of Australian writing and publishing. The main requirements for eligibility for PLR and ELR are: • book creators must be either Australian citizens or residents in Australia • books must have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and have no more than five creators • creators must be entitled to receive royalties from the sale of the book (creators in receipt of a one-off fee may be ineligible). Claim forms are now available for the 2005–06 PLR and ELR programs. Claims may be made for books published in 2004 or earlier. It is not necessary to submit a new claim for books already registered, unless a new edition has been published. Requests for claim forms or further information are available: • online at www.dcita.gov.au/lendingrights • by telephone on (02) 6271 1650 or TOLL FREE 1800 672842 • by fax on (02) 6271 1651 • by email at plr.mail@dcita.gov.au or elr.mail@dcita.gov.au • by mail at Lending Rights, GPO Box 3241, Canberra ACT 2601. DEADLINE FOR CLAIMS: 30 JUNE 2005 (no late applications will be accepted). www.dcita.gov.au hmaC026123 30 goodreading
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