I wish that I could publish photos of snow on our blog as other NSW towns have been able to but despite the rumours, I have not seen any snow in Lockhart over the last weeks of the so-called 'Antarctic Vortex' that we have been experiencing. I have however, been indulging in an equally fun aspect of winter, that being curling up with a book in a warm bed of an evening.
In the last couple of months of winter I have read two of the Joy Dettman Woody Creek books, true stories 'A street cat named Bob', Making the rounds with Oscar' and 'The house of grief'.
Joy Dettman is a master storyteller and I mean that because she manages to write basically a period soap opera drama that hooked me, a cynic, straight in. And how does she do this? Joy is an incredibly adept 'character craftswoman'. She writes amazingly simple yet incredibly engaging and believable characters that keep readers like me (and my mum) reading when we openly admit that the storylines are silly and soapy. Ah, but what does that matter in a bit of winter escapism. I have always said that there is a place in life for reading escapism and so I applaud Joy's skill at being able to suck a cynic into her six book series. At the end of book two 'Thorn on a rose', I told myself that the plot was implausible and I would not read any further but that did not hold me back for more than a week from plunging into book three 'Moth to a flame'. Oh, how quickly I abandoned my literary snobbery and opted instead for the pure pleasure of reading and escapism and I am not ashamed. There is a time and place for relax-a-read and winter is the perfect excuse. So go for it, in spite of myself, I recommend Joy Dettman's Woody Creek series of which the first book is 'Pearl in a cage'. I just sold it over the weekend but we still have a number of the books in our shop.
Besides, I think I needed escapism after bravely plowing my way through the harrowing tale of the Farquharson trial in Helen Garner's 'House of Grief'. It was an engrossing book thanks to the skill of Helen Garner at describing her obsession. Basically Helen spent years in the press gallery of the High Court in Melbourne following the trials of a father accused of drowning his three sons. Helen examines public reaction for and against the idea that a loving father could kill his family supposedly to revenge himself on his ex-wife who was getting on with life when he was a broken man who could not. Many could not believe that an average man and good father could possibly have killed his own children and yet it does happen. The book was fascinating but I did feel weighed down by it and needed escape afterwards.
The two cat stories provided that in some ways but both touched me in different ways. They provided a much needed emotional release and an excuse for an indulgent cry. I believe that we need a private tearful release from time to time to help us deal with all those circumstances in life when as adults, it is not appropriate to throw tantrums or howl in frustration. Books like 'A street cat named Bob' and 'Making the rounds with Oscar' also remind me how fortunate I have been in life.
The story of Bob and recovering heroin addict James Bowen really touched me. The ginger cat who would be just an average cat if not for the fact that he was so laid back and tolerant that he could cope with living on the streets of London and busking in busy thoroughfares with his pal James. For James, caring for his stray friend gave him a reason to pick himself up and get his life in order. He admits that until meeting Bob, he had led a selfish existence but the wee cat spurred him into the responsibility of looking after someone other than himself. The pair have become a YouTube sensation with James having penned three bestselling books about their lives as official Big Issue sellers in London.
'Making the rounds with Oscar' is similarly about a special cat. Oscar is among a number of cats living in Steere House nursing home and helping with the treatment of dementia patients and their families. Oscar however has the gift of knowing when a patient is close to death and staying with them to provide care and comfort in the last hours of life. Ordinarily he is standoffish but curls up with a terminally ill patient in need of his comforting presence. Two feel-good books. I want my next book to be set in a warm sunny place. I might take on a Joanne Harris book set in a french summer. I am looking forward to reading Harper Lee's 'Go set a watchman' but as I have put it on my birthday wish list, I will have to wait another month to see if I am lucky.
