When I first came across a copy of this book alarm bells instantly went off. The first thing to catch my eye was the quote “The Catch-22 of the Iraq War”. Not only is Catch-22 a definitive work of western literature it is also a very unique and distinctive book. It is utterly absurd yet encapsulates the absolute core of what war is and what it does to the participants. Catch-22 doesn’t try to capture the reality of life as a World War Two Bomber Squadron it instead puts you into the mindset of what it was like to be in a world where people are trying to kill you while others a doing their best to keep you in harm’s way. The book did this so well it actually coined a new phrase in the English language.

So comparing a new book to Catch-22 is a VERY BIG call. However the person making this big call is Karl Marlantes, author of Matterhorn and What It Is Like To Go To War. From reading his two books, one fiction the other non fiction, I know he doesn’t do or say anything lightly. So this blurb had me very intrigued indeed.

I am fascinated by novels about war. My all-time favourite is The Thin Red Line by James Jones and in recent times Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. But Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is very different to these two books. It is also the first work of fiction I have read about Iraq and “the War on Terror” and it is set entirely on the home front. War novels are often confronting, brutal and present humanity in its rawest and most confronting form. This novel does all those things but away from the combat zone, in fact away from the war completely.

The story centres on Billy Lynn whose squad from Bravo Company are on a two week ‘victory’ tour of America. They were involved in a fierce fire fight with insurgents in Iraq which happened to be captured by a Fox News crew and beamed live across America, catapulting them to instant hero status. Now everybody wants a piece of them, including Hollywood. Billy Lynn recounts the two week ‘victory’ tour while watching the Cowboys/Bears Thanksgiving Day football game hours before they must ship back to Iraq.

War novels normally viscerally recount battles and personal experiences of combat, from up close and far away. Fountain turns the tables as he viscerally recounts what is going on at home while young men and women are killing and dying in their name. From the pageantry and tedium that professional sport has become to the almost bloodlust for war stories,  the blind faith in, and total hypocrisy of, the “war on terror” as well as the real absurdity that is Hollywood and the way it functions on lies and the surreal nature of being caught in its sights.

The criticisms are unflinching yet you remain sympathetic towards the soldiers and what they are asked to do, both at war and at home. The humour and camaraderie of the soldiers sustains the book and Fountain uses language and phonetics skilfully, playing up the catch phrases of the war: “terrRist”, “nina leven”, “Eye-rack”, “dih-mock-cruh-see”. But it is the vast difference between the soldiers’ reality and everyone else’s that perfectly encapsulates the absurdity, the ignorance and the absolute bitterness that is war.

Catch-22 might be a bit of a stretch but the sensibility is definitely there. This is totally engrossing and full of both bitterness and empathy. It is what a great war novel should be: angry, absurd, compassionate and bewildering. It will make you question the how and the why of war, as it should, and is sure to cause a lot of debate.

This is an amazing book set around the World’s Fair in Seattle in 1962 and the mayoral election in the same city in 2001. It is about the birth of a city and the nostalgia for being a part of it. It is about the power of a city and where that power resides. It is about the love for a city no matter what. And it is about a city’s secrets and how they can never be buried.

Roger Morgan pulled off the impossible in 1962 by staging the World’s Fair in a relatively unheard of city in America’s northwest. He put Seattle on the map, spurred the rapid development of the city and made a name for himself. 39 years later “Mr Seattle” as he is affectionately (and derisively) known decides he wants to run for mayor. He has had a hand in the city’s urban, social, political and cultural development but always from the backroom, wheeling and dealing with anyone and everyone. Spurred on by a change in the city he doesn’t like he decides to finally run for office and try to make a positive difference to the city he loves.

An ambitious young reporter smells a rat, though.  Roger’s campaign is full of idealism and he is running on a platform as ‘the honest guy’. But why hasn’t he run before? His popularity after the World’s Fair made him a shoe-in for any political office but he has never run until now. She knows there is more to the story than meets the eye. She is determined to find the truth but not only must she get past the charm and charisma of Roger Morgan but she must also get past her newspaper which no longer seems to have the appetite for stories like the one she is unearthing. But while secrets can be hard to bury time will distort the truth.

This is a brilliant book than jumps between the idealism and nostalgia of the 60s and the cynical and cutthroat world of the early 2000s. It is a look at how a city works both now and then. The hands that need to be shaken, the backs scratched and their consequences. It is about wanting to do the right thing in a world where the right thing has shifted and is no longer clear. I loved this book from the opening lines to the poignant, beautiful end. A must read.

If you can’t see the video try YouTube

You can read my review of the book here

If you can’t see the video try YouTube

You can read my review of the book here

Tony Cavanaugh’s background is in film and television and you can definitely ‘see’ the book as you are reading it. But that is not say it reads like it was written for television. He is obviously an accomplished writer and the book reads like Tony is a veteran bestseller, not a debut author. His eye for location is spot on and the story is constantly moving and original. And did I mention dark?

The book is set on the Sunshine Coast, a perfect location for a crime novel and the perfect location for a sadistic serial killer to reside and hide. Cavanaugh goes behind the tourist façade and explores the ‘other’ Noosa. One of corruption and naivety, violence and innocence.

Darian Richards is a burnt out Homicide Detective who has fled Melbourne and his career as a cop. But the Sunshine Coast is not the paradise he was seeking. Someone is taking young girls and the local police are out of their depth. And once a cop, always a cop.

Cavanaugh takes you to some very dark places especially when he starts telling the story from the serial killer’s point of view. As a father of two girls I found parts extremely confronting but the overall book is so compelling you can’t put it down. Darian Richards is a perfectly realized and a brilliantly flawed hero and the serial killer is devastatingly diabolical. This is not for the faint of heart. It is brutal. It is shocking. And it is completely addictive.

The first one that “An international agreement between publishers has driven massive increases in the price of e-books for Australian readers” is not exactly accurate. Yes agency agreements have seen the price readers pay for some eBooks go up but the price of the eBook has not necessarily increased. Under the agency model retailers must sell the eBook at the price set by the publisher. Under the traditional wholesale model the publisher sets a list price (suggested retail price) and retailers can discount off that. Whether an eBook is sold under agency or wholesale the list price stays the same. To say an agency agreement has driven prices up is incorrect, the agency agreement just means the eBook is sold at is originally set price and cannot be discounted by the retailer. But it can be discounted by the publisher. You will not see flat pricing under agency (not if the publisher has half a retail mind). There will be days, weeks or even months when the price will drop, quite considerably in some instances, before going back up again.

The agency model is not new. Everything Apple sells is under the agency model from Apps to music from Macs to iPads. In fact many electrical goods and kitchen appliances are sold in Australia under a similar agency model. Yes Apple instigated the agency model for eBooks when they launched iBooks in 2010 but it was not “a deliberate attempt by Apple to destroy Amazon’s dominance of e-book sales”. They achieved that just by entering the eBook market as did Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google and every eBook retailer.

Apple does everything by agency. The reason the big major publishers jumped on board was because Amazon’s eBook pricing was destroying their business model. And yes there is a business model for book publishing both print and digital. There are costs that need to be recouped. Just because a book is in a digital format does not mean it cost 3 cents to make. An eBook does not exist in a separate world to the print book. They share the same costs of production as well as marketing.

Publishers’ sales of $US25 hardcovers were being eroded by Amazon selling the eBook a $US9.95 regardless of the price (retail and cost) that the publisher had set. The agency model allowed publishers to gain a 70/30 split (publisher/retailer) on eBook sales, much higher than the print book split which can be up to 45/55 for Discount Department Stores (usually 60/40 for bookshops). This meant an eBook at $US14.95 agency vs a $US25 hardback would be at a “price of indifference” (indifference for the publisher NOT the retailer). Unfortunately there are some publishers who have not priced their eBooks at this “price of indifference” and Crikey can rightly argue that they have “gouged the customer” (both reader and retailer).

The real story is not one of eBook rip offs and global pricing inequality. The real story is that Amazon is actually predatory pricing (see ACCC definition). They are setting “prices at a sufficiently low level with the purpose of damaging or forcing a competitor to withdraw from the market” and they are doing this with a proprietary eBook format and device. This has also made it next to impossible for new competitors to enter the market. If it wasn’t for the agency model there would be a lot less competition in the eBook market. Barnes & Noble would not have been able to claw back marketshare nor would Kobo have made the inroads it has made and I doubt there would be independent booksellers selling eBooks like you have in the US with Google or here via Booki.sh and ReadCloud.

While many consumers enjoy Amazon’s predatory pricing the end result is not good. Once competition is wiped out Amazon “can disregard market forces, raise prices and exploit consumers” something that can be more easily done if you have already locked your customers in to a particular format and device. It is a complex issue and one that is far from over. But it is a lot more complicated than is being reported. What is at stake is a competitive market which ultimately is good for authors, publishers, retailers and most importantly readers.

I loved Sadie Jones’ first two books. OUTCAST was an amazing debut that rivaled Ian McEwan’s brilliance. It was about a young boy whose father has been away during the war, he grows a strong attachment to his mother that his father can’t understand and when his mother dies he is emotionally rejected by his father. It is quite simply brilliant and could easily have scooped a number of literary awards.

There was a lot to live up to, not to mention the usual pressure of the second novel, but SMALL WARS lived up to expectations. Set in the 1950s it follows a newly married couple who go to Cyprus as the husband, an army officer, is posted there. The novel expertly looks at the pressure this situation puts on the couple individually and as a couple as well as the complicated situation of Cyprus and the end of British imperialism.

But….

When I asked for a reading copy of THE UNINVITED GUESTS I was told twice that her new book was “very different”. I never like it when an author writes the same book twice so I took the comments optimistically, unfortunately it was code. The book is set in 1912 and centers on a family who might lose their house as their money and income is running out. The eldest daughter is about to celebrate her twentieth birthday and is throwing a party that evening. However a horrific train accident changes everything. You never connect with any of the family members or the invited party guests and the story jumps between the cast of characters too quickly. The actual plot is supposed to be a ghost story which doesn’t work in the slightest and the ‘happy’ ending is lumpy icing on a bitter cake.

I was bitterly disappointed with this book. OUTCAST and SMALL WARS are brilliant books and Sadie Jones is a talented writer. This just didn’t work for me. Not in the slightest.

The novel opens in Vienna, 1913. Lysander Rief, an English actor, is seeking psychoanalysis for an unusual problem. His therapy sets of a chain of events that sees him embark on a passionate love affair that has far-reaching consequences. Consequences that see Rief’s acting talents being put to use by the British army a few years later when the world goes to war. The novel is told in a very interesting way. We get journal entries from Rief, that he starts as part of his therapy but the novel is also told from the third person and the interchanging works perfectly. Boyd combines elements of conspiracy and family connections with quirky, witty humour to create an odd sense of innocence and naivety that is being shaken awake by world events. There are chance meetings and odd coincidences that all work perfectly to keep you guessing right up until the end. This is a perfect blend of entertaining storytelling, intriguing plotting and masterful writing.

PS

I don’t think it has screened in Australia yet but you must check out the TV mini-series of ANY HUMAN HEART. The screenplay is by William Boyd and it is from the producers of DOWNTON ABBEY. A miniseries of RESTLESS is coming at the end of the year

Any Human Heart Trailer

WOLF HALL has sat in my ‘to read’ pile for at least two years, if not longer. I finally got around to it because the sequel, BRING UP THE BODIES, is being released in May this year. After reading The Game of Throne series last year I instantly related to WOLF HALL as there are many parallels. Both stories deal with power and those who lust after it. The novel is essentially the rise of Thomas Cromwell and what power does to a man who has risen from a blacksmith’s son to King’s courtier. An unheard of rise in a land of lordships and hereditary rights with distinct class delineation.

I haven’t read anything about Thomas Cromwell but what I have picked up along the way he has never been painted in a good light. He and Thomas More are always seen as power hungry zealots and More is painted no differently in WOLF HALL. In fact every time More features in the book I am reminded of a cold-blooded reptilian. However I very much warm to Mantel’s Cromwell. Mantel has rendered him in a very empathetic way and captures his voice and a dry, almost but not quite callous sense of humour. He resents nearly everyone around him, he is persuasive, a master manipulator and his view of the world is cynical, blunt and realistic. But power always corrupts nit matter who you are or where you come from. In a time when the Church wielded power and money over Kings, Queens and countries his faith (and lack of faith) was in people and the law (which ultimately was his downfall).

What I loved most about WOLF HALL is that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn are almost background characters. Their story is so familiar but Mantel ensures she doesn’t tread on any sodden ground. Henry especially is rarely featured and Anne Boleyn flits in and out of the book. Cromwell is the central figure and his views permeate Mantel’s recreation of Tudor England. The story is one of political intrigue, moral corruption and the machinations of power and it is enthralling, entertaining, enlightening and deserving of all the accolades heaped upon it.

GOOD BAIT by John Harvey

John Harvey is the British Peter Temple. I’m not going to go into a synopsis of this novel because while the story is brilliant what makes this book stand out is the writing and the characters. The story unfolds for the reader just as is does for the two main characters: DCI Karen Shields (a city homicide detective) and DI Trevor Cordon (a small town policeman); piece by piece, somewhat unrelated but as dots start to connect things begin to become clearer while other things remain elusive. Read full review

STOLEN SOULS by Stuart Neville

Stuart Neville is fast becoming one of my favourite crime writers. Galya has just killed a ‘client’. Unfortunately the ‘client’ is the brother of a very important and ruthless man. She must now out run his revenge but ends up jumping out of the fry pan into a very vicious fire. Get on the Stuart Neville bandwagon now because this guy is going to be huge. Read full review

THE COLD, COLD GROUND by Adrian McKinty

I think this is quite possibly McKinty’s best book to date. Set in Belfast, 1981 at the height of the troubles, amid riots and hunger strikes a killer is on the loose. McKinty brilliantly evokes the war zone feel of Belfast but at the a same time cuts through the bleakness with perfect humour. This is the start of a superb new trilogy set and is one of the best crime books I’ve read. Read full review