Book Reviews

TRESPASSES

BY LOUISE KENNEDY / BLOOMSBURY $29.99 It’s 1975 and ‘The Troubles’ are raging through Northern Ireland. Twenty five year old, Cushla Lavery lives in a small town near Belfast, where she teaches grade 7 pupils in the local Catholic primary school. She also looks after her gin-soaked mother, Gina, and still finds time for part-time work in brother Eamonn’s pub, with its clientele of local Protestants and security forces. It’s here that Cushla meets the older, married, Protestant barrister, Michael, who has outspoken views on the justice system and civil rights. Michael introduces Cushla to his sophisticated coterie of friends and the two soon become involved in a torrid love affair. At school, Cushla takes a young Davy McGeown, who is continually bullied by other pupils, under her wing, eventually meting Davy’s family who live in a ‘mixed’ housing estate on the edge of town. When Davy’s father is savagely beaten and left for dead by a Protestant gang Cushla’s decisions and actions, as tensions in the town rise, will have far reaching consequences for both her family and her covert liaison with Michael. Author, Louise Kennedy is the award-winning writer of an acclaimed short story collection with Trespasses her initial foray into the longer literary format. Having been brought up in Northern Ireland during ‘The Troubles’ Kennedy has successfully depicted the cadence, unease and political turmoil of ‘normal’ life in province during this bleak time, as I recall from my time there during the mid-late 1970s. She has so perfectly captured the idiomatic Ulster vernacular that some readers might benefit from a copy of John Pepper’s, ‘Ulster – English Dictionary’. Characters are well rounded, plausible and memorable as they face the daily tensions of a society in conflict. Realistic, tender and unflinching, Trespasses is a masterful and intimate portrait of those caught between intransigent warring factions where it’s not what you do that matters, but who you are. Kennedy’s unforgiving, unflinching narrative has produced an immersive, addictive reading experience which will resonate with the reader long after the final page. - Reviewed by John Hagan.

AN ANSWER FOR EVERYTHING

ORCHARD, TATE & WEBB / BLOOMSBURY $39.99 What are the 100 best books? Are extinct animals just hiding from us? Which songs have stood the test of time? Who is the best James Bond? These are just four of the 200 intriguing questions addressed in this excellent infographic publication. But what are infographics? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an infographic (or information graphic) is “a visual representation of information or data”. Basically, it’s a collection of imagery, such as pie charts and bar graphs with minimal text to give an easy-to-understand overview of a topic. According to co-author, Christian Tate, ‘With infographics you have the chance to tell so many different stories … with loads of information for people to delve into’. To further explain let’s peruse two examples of how the authors approached the first question (above) to develop a compendium of ‘best 100’ books published? The authors seemingly took a less than universal approach by collecting only rankings from the 30 best English language book lists, including published translations, up to 2001. This categorised the most popular 100 works of fiction and poetry resulting in the identification of F Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, as being the best book of all time. Ernest Hemingway received accolades for being the ‘most prolific author’, contributing four books to best 100 listings. In relation to songs which have stood the test of time (above), the authors worked with Spotify to determine the number of global plays every song received in 2020 to eventually identify which song from each year since 1950 remains most popular today. All the old favourites are there from country, folk, rock, soul, jazz and pop, with the authors revealing such trivia as the longest and shortest ballads. Interesting to note that six Christmas songs made the list. Topics in this fine publication include athletic achievements, engineering, the Earth and space, but not all inclusions are serious as authors tackle issues such as ‘What is the best thing since sliced bread’. And who would have known that Ireland rated 11th on the world consumption of

cocaine list. This is a superbly presented, absorbing, intriguing and revelatory publication, chock full of engrossing info to keep the reader thoroughly informed and entertained over a long period of time. PS – Daniel Craig keeps the Aston Martin as the ‘best James Bond’. - Reviewed by John Hagan.

WHAT I WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT DEMENTIA

BY WENDY MITCHELL / BLOOMSBURY $26.99 During 2021, there were about 472,000 Australians living with dementia, 28,300 of whom were diagnosed with early onset dementia (people in their 30s, 40s and 50s). With an estimate that almost 1.6 million Australians are involved in the care of someone living with dementia, it is likely that we each know a person, or know of a person, living or dealing with the life-changing cognitive and intellectual deterioration. Perhaps, occasionally unsure where the car keys have been left, or forgetful about someone’s name, has given many of us cause for concern and unease. Wendy Mitchell was shocked to be diagnosed with dementia at the age of 58 (in 2014) and was surprised at the lack of information available to her as to how she might cope with the disorder. With the help of family, friends and medical professionals she set about facing her situation, discovering ‘that I had much less to be afraid of than I thought’. In this thoughtful, warm, courageous and illuminating book, Mitchell shares something of what she has learned about dementia as she confronts her affliction, describing how that initial diagnosis did not herald the end of her fruitful life, but the start of a new, exciting and different phase of existence. The book is divided into concise sections as Mitchell explores the six key areas of her new life challenge – senses, relationships, emotions, environment, communication and attitude – something of a ‘howto’ manual for people with the condition and those who support them. She has penned a practical guide; a beacon of hope for all those who live with dementia and wish to continue to live a fruitful, satisfying and fulfilling life as Mitchell seems to be doing. She has just taken up skydiving. - Reviewed by John Hagan.

STRAITS: BEYOND THE MYTH OF MAGELLAN

BY FELIPE FERNANDEZ-ARMESTO / TRADE $39.99 Even at primary school, we all knew the answer to the teacher’s question, ‘Who was the first man to sail round the world’? ‘Magellan’, we would chorus; some even knew the dates of the historic voyage. But how wrong we were. In this meticulously researched book, renowned historian, Ferenandez-Armesto blows away the Magellan fable, revealing that the legendary seafarer did not attempt, much less complete the global circumnavigation for which he became so famous. ‘I undertake the closest reading ever of the texts that are available … I can show more of what Magellan was like than any of my predecessors’, states Fernandez- Armesto. Rather than the dedicated, swashbuckling, brave adventurer of popular historic repute, Magellan was something of a rat bag - egotistical, malicious, secretive, avaricious, brutal and ruthless. During his 20s, Fernando de Magallanes (or Magellan as came to be known) learned to sail, navigate and fight for his native Portugal along the Malabar Coast, on the Arabian and Laccadive seas, and also on mainland Morocco and Malacca. But sensing that his chance for fame and riches lay not with Portugal, Magellan defected to serve Carlos I, King of Spain. The first half of the book is devoted to describing Magellan’s 16th century world and describing how his expeditionary force was conceived and developed. By the time Magellan set off with his flotilla of five ships, his wildly expensive voyage was years behind schedule and already riven with suspicion, distrust and animosity. Magellan had agreed to inform the other captains of the route, but with Spain far behind, he refused to do so. Mutinies eventuated resulting in hangings for some and the marooning others, leading eventually to Magellan’s death (on the island of Mactan). The fate of the crews of the various ships, only one of which eventually limped home to Spain is meticulously documented. Despite all this, the sobriquet, ‘Magellan’, has been adopted by many commercial organizations such as Magellan Petroleum, Magellan Health, Magellan Aerospace and, in Australia, the Magellan Financial Group, all seemingly anxious to bask in the explorer’s perceived Endeavour, adulation and glory. With the publication of Straits, and the myth of Magellan exposed, perhaps a naming rethink is necessary. I doubt this will happen for as Fernandez-Armesto states, ‘failure… can be fruitful for fame [and Magellan’s] failure was total. Yet his renown seems impregnable’. For those interested in the history of exploration or biography, this devastating Magellan expose, narrated with vitality and wit, should prove excellent reading. - Reviewed by John Hagan.