I already mentioned in my review of "Fly Away Peter" by David Malouf, that one of my blogger friends, Brona from Australia published a list of Australian novellas a while ago. I asked her which one she said she'd recommend and she said "Ladies of Missalonghi" by Colleen McCullough.
So, here we are. Like most of the girls of my generation, I have read "The Thorn Birds", so the name of the author was not unknown to me.
The location is a small town called Byron in the Blue Mountains of Australia and the story takes place just before World War I. Like many small towns, it is dominated by just a few people, in this case mainly the men of one large family. The women are the losers, especially the unmarried ones.
Having been born into a small village where my parents didn't grow up and having no family there, I know exactly what Colleen McCullough is talking about. She has retold life in such an environment very accurately.
All in all, this was a good read, a tad easy at times but that's what this sort of book is about. I would recommend it to anybody, no matter what you prefer.
Spoiler:
Apparently, the author was accused of plagiarism as the novel resembles "The Blue Castle" by L.M. Montgomery. I haven't read that one. Should I?
See Brona's review here.
From the back cover:
"The Hurlingford family have ruled the small town of Byron, nestled in the Blue Mountains, for generations. Wealthy, powerful and cruel, they get what they want, every time.
Missy Wright's mother, a Hurlingford by birth, has been shunned by her family since marrying for love, not money. Now widowed, the women live a quiet existence in genteel poverty. Plain, thin and unforgivably single, it seems Missy's life is destined to be dreary.
But then a stranger arrives in town. A divorcee from Sydney. And she opens Missy's eyes to the possibility of a happy ending.
This is an endearing tale, full of wit, warmth and romance, from the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds."
Ever since my husband read First Man in Rome by McCullough, I have been meaning to read her. I get the idea she can do many styles and different lengths of books. I usually forget she was Australian. They seem to grow really excellent writers down there.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little biased of course, but yes, we do grow some really excellent writers down under :-)
DeleteI think you are right there, Judy. I have read a long and a short book by her now and they were both great.
DeleteAnd you are both right, I've read some excellent books by Australian writers. And I'm not biased at all.
I'm glad you enjoyed this Marianne. It is very easy and gentle, but with some kernels of truth tucked inside. And yes, you should definitely read The Blue Castle for yourself, to see how close the two stories are & simply because it's an equally sweet and gentle story :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brona. And thanks again for the recommendation. I often like the books you suggest.
DeleteI'm a little timid about reading "The Blue Castle". I once came upon a French book that I thought sounded interesting, La Bicylette Bleue (The Blue Bicycle). It reminded me of Gone With the Wind, it actually was Gone With the Wind transferred into France in WWII. But other than that, it was the same story. I got more and more upset about it. Then I read that Margaret Mitchell's heirs had sued the author for plagiarism (which it toally was). She was found guilty by the first court but that was then overruled. I hated the whole thing because it definitely was "stolen".
So, we'll see. My TBR pile is so high at the moment that I don't dare to buy any new stuff anyway. LOL
I haven't read anything by McCullough, not even THE THORNBIRDS! This one sounds like something I'd like, though, so I'll have to check it out. I've never read THE BLUE CASTLE either...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. "The Ladies of Missalonghi" is definitely a lot shorter than "The Thorn Birds". I watched the latter on TV when I was younger and always wanted to read it.
DeleteThis is definitely a nice book if you want some Australian literature.
Happy Reading!
I haven't read anything by McCullough yet. I've read that this book was similar to The Blue Castle & when I read Gone With the Wind after Vanity Fair, it felt like a very similar story with some name & place changes.
ReplyDeleteNow that’s interesting. I hadn’t heard of the comparison between Vanity Fair & GWTW, but I can see how that could be.
DeleteI have never heard that either, Carol. Thanks for that comment. I remember reading Vanity Fair a couple of years ago but couldn't find a similarity. I also haven't heard of that, Brona.
DeleteAs I mentioned above ^^ "The Blue Bicycle" was totally the same book.
I'll have to go back and see whether I can detect anything after you mentioned it. Thanks for that.
I still have yet to read The Thorn Birds. I feel like it is a must, despite my preference for non-fiction.
ReplyDeleteWell, I always think that we shouldn't touch any book that feels like a MUST. If this kind of literature is not your thing, you won't enjoy it, no matter how much others rave about it.
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