Brooks and Koontz

Brooks and Koontz are two unlikely bedfellows - in the literature sense.  But having just finished a new book from each, I thought I would report on them together. 

I first "met" Geraldine Brooks through her book "People of the Book" - an incredible good read that followed through different people from a Jewish, Christian and Muslim point of view in their historical settings.  It showed the connections that each had to the Bible (read "early chapters of the Old Testament") and gave a context for their faith and culture in beautiful written overlapping stories.  It made their lives real and highlighted the connections between them (the book!) rather than the differences.  A "must read" really in this increasingly fragmented world of faith.

So I was more than happy to download her new book "Caleb's Crossing" onto my trusty kindle.  This was set in the 1600's in the early English settlement in America of religious groups and their contact and interaction with the indigenous people. The "crossing" referred primarily to the journey of a young Indian to the English faith and culture and completing his degree at the very early Harvard.  It is based on some basic facts about a Caleb who did just that!  This book was also beautifully written - and told through the eyes of a girl/woman who met Caleb on his island prior to his starting on this journey and then travelled with him on the learning and assimilation pathway.  At a deeper level it captured the loss of indigenous culture, the loss of land and standing and the new faith (and a very legalistic one) replacing the old.  There was a moment of recognition that the old gods may not actually have been very different from the new God - reinforced by Caleb "crossing at the end" to the hereafter of his history rather than the English heaven.  A good book.  It lost a little towards the end when it went from day to day experiences to a very rapid reflection from the memory of the now aging story teller about what happened post graduation..... but in the end, it did satisfy.
 
Now Dean Koontz - a very different genre. Horror....Supernatural...Whimsical (now there is a little overlap with Brooks!)...good versus evil (a universal theme)......What I like about his books is the rappartee between characters, the intelligent dogs (mainly golden retrievers) and the way the evil is defeated - but only after they have a left a little trail of horror on the way.  I also like the way in which he never lets biophysical rules stop a good story!  He also goes out of his way to use unsual and rich words - and often I have had to go to a dictionary to grab the full meaning!  Nice in a book - where normally they keep it at 12 year old levels.  I have read most of his books - and enjoy them - even if they are a tad spine chilling at times.  The rest of the family don't go for them even though we generally have a very strong overlap in the books we read. 

The last offering "What the night Knows" started with a young boy having had brutally murdered his family - in a similar fashion to how the central character's (now a police officer) family was killed 20 years before.  His (the policeman's) house and family then becomes the target of the impending horror as the presence from before seeks to repeat the performance again now.  The kids are characterised nicely - with that easy interaction - and the family dog that had died some years previously entering the family domain again (this is quite possible in Koontz's books!) to shepherd them against the evil.

So two different books - but both good reads in their own way.  I think the common element for me is the wonderful grasp of language and human insights that both authors show.  They capture our minds with their words and give us imagry and feelings and empathy for their characters and circumstances.  They give us insights into ourselves, our beliefs and those around us.  So now on to the next book!  Happy reading.

Africa complete

Its been a while since my last blog - too much travelling, too much work, too little time.  But, I did read in the spaces - one good thing about flying!  And I managed to finish the final Beverey Harper book "Footprints of Lion".  It is a great book!  And, as I mentioned in my previous blog, was the second of a two part series finished by her family - and Peter Watt - after Beverly died.


This book was about the Boer War and continued on with the family that Beverly introduced us to in the first book - Dallas and Lorna and their children and friends.  It was a really good read and told the story of the times and the family very well.  It captured the displacement of the Zulus post their wars with the invaders - and then the culmination of the clash between the German/Dutch settlers and the British colonil interests.  This included the scorched earth policy and the putting of women and children into concentration camps. The characters delivered well and matured over time.  The story was evenly paced with a nice range of excitement, history and relationships and the plots and sub-plots came together well.  So congratulations to those who completed Beverly Harper's legacy - it was a job very well done.  My only dissapointment was that the stories ended - and I wonder if any in the family might go on with what they stated!

And, in between, I did read Jenniver Fallon's "Undivided" - a mix between celtic fantasy and mystery and moving between an alternative world where the Roman's didn't conquer England and modern day where they had in history.  It was hard to tell wheter the audience was for teenagers or for we hardened fantasy readers.  But it was likable and whimiscal enough that I will look out for the next in the series.

I also managed to slip in two books by David Debord (ther first 2 books in a trilogy I think) - recommended to me by a friend - "The Silver Serpent" and the "Keeper of the Mists".  This follows the classic pattern of a group of young people who find themselves on a quest and with one of them being the chosen one for a particular magical sword and role of deliverer.  It has some interesting characters and the story moves along reasonably well - though I am not sure about how well the characters are developing and maturing (a big thing with me after my frustration with the "wheel of time series").  Still, quite readable and again I liked it enough to be on the lookout for the next book in the series.

Must be time to read some more theology or philosophy - rather than the Dean Koonst book that I have just started - "What the night knows" (not one to read home alone at night)..... happy to hear any ideas!!  Happy reading.