Recommended
books
Read previous Sunflower Bookshop recommendations.
You can click on to the order form under each book to go to the Online
Shop.
Children's titles
which are visually
beautiful as well as a delightful read.
THE BACHELOR
AND THE BEAN A JEWISH MOROCCAN FOLK TALE
A genie, magic, and pots and pots of food are just some of the ingredients
in Shelley Fowles' lovely retelling of a traditional Jewish Moroccan tale.
THE KING WITH
THE HORSE'S EARS King Mark has a unique problem. How he learns to live with his uniqueness
is charmingly retold by Eric Maddern in this universal folk tale which
is delightfully illustrated by Paul Hess who helps to demonstrate that
being different can be an advantage. This folk tale, found in Wales, Ireland,
India, Eastern Europe and North Africa, may originally have been linked
to the ancient Greek legend of King Midas who was cursed with ass's ears
by Apollo.
The Waterhole
by Graeme Base
now in paperback $19.95
Once again a mixture of beautifully illustrated pictures, a story and
puzzle book by Graeme Base with a message of what happens to a waterhole
through the changing seasons.
* * * * * for
the adults some non-fiction highlights * * * *
History and Faith CRADLE & CRUCIBLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Introduction by Daniel Schorr with contributions by David Fromkin,
Zahi Hawass, Yossi Klein Halevi, Sandra Mackey, Charles M. Sennott, Milton
Viorst and Andrew Wheatcroft. Filled with photographs and maps that contribute
to a visual understanding of the subject, Cradle & Crucible is a timely
guide to this complex area of the world. The writings of highly respected
authors outline the historical, political, cultural, and religious forces
that have shaped the region. Highly recommended as a quick reference guide.
JOURNAL 1935
-1944 by Mihail Sebastian Shortlisted for the The Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize 2002
Michail Sebastian was a promising young Jewish writer in pre-war Bucharest,
a novelist, playwright, poet and journalist who counted among his friends
the leading intellectuals and social luminaries of a sophisticated Eastern
European culture. One of the most remarkable literary achievements of
the Nazi period, Sebastian's journal offers not only a compelling chronicle
of the darkest years of European anti-Semitism, but a lucid and finely
shaded analysis of erotic and social life, a reader's notebook, and a
music lover's journal which vividly captures the now-vanished world of
pre-war Bucharest.
Stories I stole
from Georgia by Wendell Steavenson Wendell Steavenson was born in New York in 1970 and grew up in London.
She wrote for Time magazine before moving to the former Soviet republic
of Georgia, where she lived for two years in the capital city of Tbilisi.
Steavenson retells and partakes in some of the stories of people living
in a fledgling nation of local despots, mountain tribes, blood feuds,
and an unlimited flow of red wine. It is a land still coming to terms
with the legacy of its most famous son, Joseph Stalin. An engaging and
informative read.
*
* * * * fiction highlights * * * * *
Shanghai Dancing by Brian Castro A fictional biography told from an Australian perspective which draws
on memory, stories, photos and family myths and secrets from cultures
as varied as Portuguese, English, Chinese and Jewish. The book is about
the twists and turns of fiction and personal history. Shanghai Dancing
is loosely based on the lives of Brian Castro's parents and grandparents
in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau from the 1930s to the 1960s. Brian Castro
also shows what has made Shanghai's history appealing and appalling. He
has won major literary awards for his previous novels, Birds of Passage,
Double-Wolf, After China and Stepper.
Mrs Dalloway
by Virginia Woolf Read about the original Mrs Dalloway.
On a June morning in 1923, Clarissa Dalloway, the glittering wife of a
Member of Parliament, is preparing for a grand party that evening. As
she walks through London, buying flowers, observing life, her thoughts
are in the past, and she remembers the time when she was as young as her
own daughter Elizabeth; her romance with Peter Walsh, now recently returned
from India; and the friends of her youth. Elsewhere in London, Septimus
Smith is being driven mad by shell shock. As the day draws to its end,
his world and Clarissa's collide in unexpected ways. In Mrs Dalloway Virginia
Woolf perfected the interior monologue, and its lyricism and accessibility
have made it one of her most popular novels.
The Witch of
Cologne by Tobsha Learner available in paperback $29.95
Set in the seventeenth century, Ruth Elazar ben Saul is a Jewish midwife
who returns to her home of Deutz outside Cologne imbued with the radical
ideas of Spinoza and ancient Kabbalism. She falls in love with a local
Catholic bishop who must save her from imprisonment and death for witchcraft.
This is an epic love story of a couple who share a passionate interest
in the new humanism emerging in Europe which involves rational thinking
and the move away from fundamentalism. The Witch of Cologne is currently
our bestseller in fiction, and is written by the author of Quiver, a previous
bestseller.
All Over Creation
by Ruth Ozeki Ruth Ozeki's previous novel My Year of Meats dealt with what is unsavoury
about the beef industry. In All Over Creation, she turns to potatoes and
the topic of genetic engineering in vegetables. You will look at french
fries differently after reading this novel. A Japanese American prodigal
daughter Yumi Fuller is returning home to the Idaho potato farm she ran
away from twenty five years earlier. Her arrival sets the scene for many
conflicts within the family and local community. Highly recommended for
fans of books by Barbara Kingsolver.
Your Mouth is Lovely by Nancy Richler In this epic novel, Nancy Richler brings to life the picturesque
and poignant culture of the shtetl full of mystery and superstitution.
Nineteen year old Miriam is imprisoned in Siberia following the Russian
Revolution of 1905. Reaching out to the young daughter whom she was forced
to give up, she weaves a haunting story of life in a small Jewish village
during the last days of imperial Russia and a community caught between
the rich yet rigid traditions of the past and the frightening unfamiliar
ways of a society desperately trying to reinvent itself.
*****highly recommended books * * * * *
Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon
When Rachel Simon's sister Beth asks her to ride the buses with her for
a year, Rachel is at first reluctant. Not only is she hyperbusy,
but her relationship with her sister has never been easy. Beth has
mental retardation and, although she is able to look after herself, she
can be a handful. As she participates in Beth's world, Rachel realises
the shortcomings in her own life and learns the difference between caring
and controlling as she reaches a new, sisterly understanding with Beth.
Riding the Bus With My Sister is an unsentimental yet beautifully
written true story and is a tribute to the understanding of the dignity
of individuals.
Father Lands by Emily Ballou Father Lands is another beautiful book, full of understated lyricism
and moving, real characters within a work of fiction. It tells the
story of Cherry Laurel, an eight year old who is faced with the Integrationist
Policy of bussing, as well as the loss of her dad to Father Lands, a mythical
place where errant fathers must surely end up. Father
Lands is an incredible debut novel from a writer who has created
an unforgettable cast of characters and a story that explores a whole
range of issues with confidence and clarity. In paperback
$30.00
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary 5th Edition: 2 volumes This is a BIG seriously important work of reference in
two boxed sets. Each entry provides a wealth of information including
the history and meaning, pronunciation, etymology, definitions, variant
spelling and MORE. Just think of the fun you will have playing scrabble
during the holidays.
* * * * * for the latest books in our Judaica section * * * * * Compiled by the Insight Team of The Sunday Times, The
Yom Kippur War, uncovers the colossal intelligence blunder that
almost destroyed Israel. This definitive account explores the bravery
of the shocked soldiers, the diplomatic efforts of the United Nations,
and the political and social ramifications of the war that was launched
on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. This revised edition
is an extraordinary story of Israel's desperate battle for survival. In
paperback $24.95
Best Jewish Writing 2002 is a germane compilation of prose
and poetry written by various Jewish and Israeli voices. Divided
into topical sections such as the Jewish Response to September 11 and
Israel in Conflict, this collection features the fresh works of
authors like Amos Oz, AB Yehoshua and Yossi Klein Halevi. A fantastic
collection for anyone who is interested in current expression of global
Jewish concerns. In a large paperback $35.95
Nazi Hunter: The Wiesenthal File, is an account of how Simon
Wiesenthal hunted down the Nazi war criminals. Author Alan Levy
explores the inspired detective work that lies behind Wiesenthal's successful
apprehension of notorious figures such as Adolf Eichmann, the architect
of Hitler's Final Solution, and Franz Stangl, the overlord of Treblinka.
This book reads as excitingly as any thriller, yet it is also an
examination of the work of one of the greatest Jewish figures of the twentieth
century. In paperback $27.95
The Butcher's Tale is a gripping novel that exposes the
hostilities embedded in German society that eventually led to the death
camps. Set three decades before the Holocaust, the story explores
a blood libel accusation that engulfed an otherwise peaceful Prussian
town. Author Helmut Walser Smith brilliantly brings to life the
documented outbreak of the madness, and how these blood libel accusations
seeped into the local consciousness. The Butcher's Tale is
a lucid examplar of social and cultural history at its best. In hardcover
$39.95
Norman Lebrecht's latest book The Song of Names, tells the
story of two boys growing up in wartime London. Martin, an only
child suddenly finds himself sharing his home with Dovidl, a refugee violinist
from Warsaw. The boys roam the ruined city, finding tragedy and
triumph, sex and crime . . . . . they are having the time of their lives.
Then one afternoon, Dovidl disappears, leaving Martin to 40 years
of a humdrum half-life. One night, an unexpected musical clue sets
Martin on the trail to self-discovery and renewal. Lebrecht's book
is wonderfully descriptive, making it a wonderful read. In hardcover
$29.95
From the author of the bestselling Hitler's Willing Executioners,
A Moral Reckoning is a penetrating moral inquiry into the Catholic
Church's role in the Holocaust. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen cuts through
the historical fog to reveal the full extent of the Catholic Church's
awareness of the persecution and their willing involvement in the crimes.
Brilliantly researched and reasoned, A Moral Reckoning is
a ground-breaking book of potentially explosive importance. In hardcover
$39.95
The Goose by Pam Skutenko pb $24.95
The goose with the red breast is dead. Sarah Cameron let her daughter
hear her play the piano only once. In those few minutes Olly heard
a musician drawing hope from the disturbing darkness of a Chopin nocturne.
The sound hinted at a loss beyond anything Olly dared to consider.
But Sarah had smothered her life in a shroud of silence, and Olly
never learns how the past tightened around the feisty young woman who
became her mother, and squeezed the song out of the wild bird. In
The Goose, Pam Skutenko looks at what people do with their creativity
when life presses too powerfully on them.
* * Local identities
feature in the following three recommendations * * **
Dork Geek Jew by Danny Katz pb $24.95
Danny Katz is a short swarthy guy with Martin Scorcese eyebrows who writes
weekly for The Age and for Good Weekend magazine. Dork Geek Jew is
a VERY FUNNY new book in which Danny Katz examines the big, serious issues
affecting our modern society, like love and death and Julia Roberts and
croquet and supermarket separating bars. Collected here are 77 newspaper
columns, along with some letters that Danny has received over the years
from his readers.
Earth to Sky The Art of Victor Majzner by Leigh Astbury
HB $99
Victor Majzner arrived in Australia in 1959 as a Jewish refugee from Russia.
His spectacular and unconventional paintings deal with issues of identity
and, over recent years, with his developing sense of his Jewish heritage.
Some paintings, more 'surreal' than his Australian landscapes, emerged
from his late 1990s travels to the Negev Desert in Israel. A feature
of the book is its inclusion of pen and ink studies made as preliminaries
to the major paintings. Victor Majzner is well known for his
limited edition of The Australian Haggadah which is unfortunately no longer
available.
A Day in the Life of Africa by Lee Liberman HB $80
Every image of this extraordinary book was produced on one day - February
28, 2002 - when 100 of the world's top photojournalists captured images
that celebrate a vast, vibrant continent in transition. The diverse
photo team from 26 countries included more than a dozen Pulitzer Prize and
World Press Photo winners who utilized digital photography for the first
time in the Day in the Life series.
* * * * * highly
recommended * * * * *
Natasha's Dance A Cultural History of Russia by Orlando Figes
HB $55
from the publisher . . . . . Beginning in the eighteenth century with
the building of St Petersburg and culminating with the challenges posed
to Russian identity by the Soviet regime, Figes examines how writers,
artists, and musicians grappled with the idea of Russia itself - its character,
spiritual essence, history and destiny. . . . . . Orlando Figes is an internally
renowned historian from the University of London whose previous book on
Russia was the award winning A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution
1891-1924.
* * * * * a sample
of interesting memoirs * * * * *
Secrets and Spies:
The Harbin Files by Mara Moustafine
Harbin in northern China was once the heart of a vibrant Russian community
of diverse cultural and political origins. But by the mid-1930s, the
Japanese invasion of Manchuria drove many Russians to seek refuge elswehere.
For the thousands who returned to their motherland in the Soviet Union,
it was a bitter homecoming. Few survived. Written with sensitivity
and humour, Mara Moustafine skilfully weaves personal and political, past
and present to give an insider's perspective on the life of ordinary people
in extraordinary times. Secrets and Spies is available in paperback
at the retail price of $24.95. For more details and to find out how
to win a copy of Secrets and Spies, click onto the BOOKS page of www.jewishaustralia.com
The Girl in the
Red Coat . . . . surviving survival by Roma Ligocka pb
$29.95
The internationally best selling memoir of survival and self-discovery
by the woman who was so famously depicted as the child in the red coat
in the black and white footage in the film Schindler's List. From
a harrowing childhood under the Nazis, described with a haunting simplicity
and innocence, through the trials of living in Communist Poland, to a
career in the theatre and film, Ligocka traces her struggle for self-definition
and happiness.
Between Mexico
and Poland by Lily Brett
Set between journeys to the places of its title, Lily Brett in her inimitable
candour that her devoted readers have come to expect, traces a number
of emotional voyages resulting from the devastation of losing her home
to fire several years ago, and how life in her adopted city of New York
has changed forever since September 11. Sunflower Bookshop
is offering a 20% discount of the recommended retail price of $30.00
My Life as
Me by Barry Humphries. A master of comic writing, Barry Humphries
tells us of his privileged youth in suburban Melbourne and, with a disarming
candour that he already regrets, describes his hectic artistic and romantic
career in Australia, England and America.
* * * * * suggestions
for political bites * * * * *
The Algebra of
Infinite Justice by Arundhati Roy pb $21.95
For those who were mesmerized by Roy's vision of India in the Booker Prize
winner novel The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy now deals with its
topsy-turvy society in essays, traced in fire, where the lives of
the many are sacrificed for the comforts of the few.
Striking Terror
America's New War edited by Robert B. Silvers and Barbara Epstein
In the weeks following September 11, 2001 The New York Review of Books
published a wide range of articles that examined the background to the
attacks, how the United States should, and did, respond, and the various
terrorist threats the nation could face in the future. Striking
Terror brings together commentaries, reports, and investigations by sixteen
of the Review's contributors - foreign policy and intelligence analysts,
scientists, and journalists from around the world, including Timothy Garton
Ash, the critically acclaimed Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk and an
article by Isaiah Berlin on prejudice, stereotypes, and nationalism. pb
$24.95
Blinded by the
Right by David Brock pb $30
David Brock is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who rose to fame and
influence as a Rottweiler for the rabid right in the United States during
the Newt Gingrich era. In this powerful and deeply moving memoir,
Brock chronicles his rise to the pinnacle of the conservative movement
and his painful break with it and demonstrates how the Republican right's
zeal power created the poisonous political climate that culminated in
George W. Bush's disputed election.
Stupid White
Men and other sorry excuses for the state of the nation by Michael
Moore is a caustic look at corporate America and political hypocrisy.
Written by the host of the Emmy-winning series TV Nation and The
Awful Truth, it has been updated and is now available in paperback for
$22.
* * * * * a scientific
suggestion * * * * *
The Blank Slate
by Steven Pinker TP $29.95
When we are born, we are a blank slate on which our experiences of the world
are written, and as we grow they define who we are. This is the prevailing
view of human life at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It
probably governs - whether you are aware of it or not - the way you think
about yourself and others. It is wrong argues Steven Pinker in his
latest book The Blank Slate. This book is essential reading for anyone
who enjoyed How the Mind Works written a few years earlier by Steven Pinker.
* * * * * the
great art of fiction * * * * *
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett pb $21.95
Ann Patchett is the Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2002. Bel
Canto is an outstanding novel based on a true event in Peru. Latin
terrorists storm an international gathering only to find that their intended
target, the President, is not there. The suspense that follows
is cleverly paced intregrates a musical theme with this dramatic story.
*****Nobel
Prize for Literature *****
Hungarian writer
Imre Kertesz is the latest Noble Laureate in Literature 'for writing
that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric
arbitrariness of history'. He has two books which have been translated
in English and are being reprinted. Kaddish for a Child not Born
and Fateless. We have ordered copies for Sunflower Bookshop.
***** recommendations
*****
Fences and Windows by Naomi Klein pb $24.95
From the author of No Logo. An eyewitness account of a unique chapter
in our history and an investigation of globalization and its consequences:
a survival guide for life in the world economy. Naomi Klein is articulate
and convincing in her arguments.
For Solo Violin A Jewish Childhood in Fascist Italy by Aldo Zargani
pb $38.95
Aldo Zargani was born in 1933 in Turin. Per violino solo was first published
in Italy in 1995 and won several literary awards. In this extraordinary
literary translation, Zargani reconstructs the lost world of his Jewish
childhood during the perilous years 1938-45 when he and his family fled
from Fascists and Nazis in Northern Italy.
Six Days of War by Michael B. Oren HB $49.95
Michael B. Oren is a Senior Fellow at the Shalem Centre in Jerusalem and
has written extensively on Middle Eastern history and diplomatic affairs.
Drawing on thousands of top-secret documents, on rare papers in Russian
and Arabic, and on exclusive personal interviews, Six Days of War recreates
the regional and international context which, by the late 1960s, virtually
assured an Arab-Israeli conflagration. Highly recommended.
Zlateh the Goat and other stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer HB $32.95
Originally written in Yiddish by Isaac Bashevis Singer, these stories
are perfectly matched by the illustrations of Maurice Sendak. Beautifully
bound in a hardcover edition, these wonderful stories are suitable for
all ages.
The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby pb $19.95
First published in 1997 and now reprinted, The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly
is a remarkable read that leaves you thinking about priorities in life.
After suffering a massive stroke, Jean-Dominique Bauby, the 44 year old
editor-in-chief of French Elle and the father of two young children, found
himself completely paralysed, speechless and able only to move one eyelid.
With his eyelid he 'dictated' his thoughts on what it means to be human.
It is not a journey of self-pity but a lasting testament to life.
Meshuggenary Celebrating the World of Yiddish by Payson R. Stevens,
Charles M. Levine and Sol Steinmetz HB
Beautifully designed and illustrated, Meshuggenary is a deeply researched
and eclectic introduction to Yiddish language, culture, and history. There
is also information on a host of books and Yiddish websites and Internet
links. If you've ever noshed on a bagel, or yelled at the schmuck who
had the chutzpah to cut you off at a traffic light, you've been enriched
and empowered by Yiddish.
Bend
It Like Beckham by Narinder Dhami pb $16.95
The novel from the brilliant film which mirrors the struggle many children
of migrant families face - trying to live their lives between two cultures.
***** Donna Hay does it again ***** Australia's best-selling food writer Donna Hay takes the favourite
food from the past and makes irresistibly new in Modern Classics.
She also takes the best of the new e.g. pad thai and turns it into a cooking
classic. It's common sense cooking, redefined with modern ingredients,
outlook and style. Sunflower Bookshop is offering a 20% discount off the
normal retail price of $36.95
***** recommendations ***** Across the Nightingale Floor
by Lian Hearn Samurai, secrets and the supernatural - Across the Nightingale Floor
weaves together elements of both real and imagined to create an intriguing
setting for an epic journey. The story of Takeo, the unwilling warrior,
and Kaede, the reluctant bride, is more than enough to keep you reading
way past your bedtime. An easy, but satisfying read with feisty,
engaging characters. Highly recommended by Emma. Available
in hardcover, Sunflower Bookshop is offering 20% discount off the retail
price of $29.95
One Man's Bible
by Gao Xingjian TPB $29.95
From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Soul Mountain comes a breathtaking
and powerful new novel pertaining to human desires, human nature under
duress, and the value of freedom set against the tumultuous backdrop of
China's Cultural Revolution.
Autograph Man
by Zadie Smith TPB $29.95
Zadie Smith has written her next challenging and entertaining novel following
the best selling and prize winning White Teeth. Alex-Li Tandem sells
autographs. Through London and then New York, searching for the only
autograph that has ever mattered to him, Alex follows the paper trail
while resisting the mystical lure of Kabbalah and Zen, and avoiding
all collectors, con men, and interfering rabbis who would put themselves
in his path. Pushing against the tide of his generation, Alex-Li is
on his way to finding enlightenment, otherwise known as some part of himself
that cannot be signed, celebrated, or sold.
In My Brother's Image
by Eugene Pogany PB $26.00
A story that encapsulates the drama behind the estrangement of two brothers,
each believing the other a traitor to their family's faith. This is
Eugene Pogany's extraordinary story of his father and his uncle, identical
twin born in Hungary of Jewish parents but raised as devout Catholics until
the Second World War unravelled their family. Highly recommended by
Zev.
Search for Roots
A Personal Anthology
by Primo Levi PB $22.00
A collection of personal reflections on writings that Primo Levi considered
essential reading. All reflect Levi's deep passion for literature,
his profound knowledge of science, and his survival of Auschwitz, making
it a collection that is both universal and poignantly autobiographical.
Revenge: A Story
of Hope
by Laura Blumenfeld TPB $30.00
An intensely personal memoir. Blumenfeld is a Washington Post reporter
who, armed with a notebook and pencil, seeks the Palestinian man who shot
her father in Jerusalem 12 years earlier. Through interviews with
Yitzhak Rabin's assassin, members of the Albanian Blood Feud Commitee, the
chief of the Iranian judiciary, the mayor of Palermo, an Egyptian heroin
smuggler, the Israeli Prime Minister and the military chief of staff, priests,
sports fans, teenage girls and prostitutes, she explores the mechanics and
psychology of vengeance. Ultimately her journey leads her home, where
she confronts her childhood, her parents' failed marriage, and her ideas
about family. And in the end, her target turns out to be more complex
and in some ways, more threatening than the adversary she had long imagined.
Come Spring
by Maria Lewitt pb $23.00
An autobiographical novel, originally published in 1980 to rave reviews,
Come Spring is now re-issued so that a new generation of readers has
access to one of the earliest and finest examples of Australian Holocaust
literature. Maria Lewitt is a Melbourne writer and is the author of
No Snow in December. Come Spring is told through the unforgettable
eyes of her adolescent self and is the story of her family's experience
living in Warsaw as civilians with a terrible secret.
Impossible Love
by Roman Frister HB $59.95
Some years ago Roman Frister came across an old suitcase in a Tel Aviv flea
market. It contained documents and photos belonging to several generations
of the Levy family - Jews living in Prussia from around the middle of the
19th century up until the beginning of the Second World War. He managed
to trace some of the descendants and with their help has written their history
- a detailed and involving narrative set against the turbulent backdrop
of Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries. Roman Frister recreates
the same compelling, intellectually engaging style that he used in The Cap:
The Price of a Life in this meticulously structured book which reads like
an epic novel.
***** thrilling
holiday reads *****
Stone Kiss
by Faye Kellerman A horrible
murder has occurred in LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker's extended family and
the victim's 15 year old niece, with whom he was spending the day, is missing.
Called on to help, Decker finds himself i an alien city, in
the darkened slums of New Jersey and the deserted industrial streets of
New York, searching the hidden meeting places of Hassidic outcasts. Sunflower
Bookshop is offering 20% discount off the normal retail price of $29.95.
Three Men in a
Raft
by Ben Kozel TPB $$30.00
This is the story of three ordinary guys with a lot of blind optimism, one
rubber raft and the most dangerous river on earth. Ben Kozel from
Australia, Colin Angus from Canada, and Scott Borthwick from South Africa
- all in their mid-twenties take six months to complete the their 7,000
kilometre adventure down the Amazon River and live to tell their amazing
story. Laced with humour and vivid descriptions of their journey,
Three Men in a Raft is an enjoyable read.
101 Cool Science
Experiments with Glen Singleton
written by Helen Chapman pb $7.95
This book of 207 pages is full of simple science experiments to surprise
and entertain you. Ordinary materials like vinegar, string, eggs
and paper are used to make extraordinary things. They will help
you to find out how science works and why things around you happen the
way they do. Do you know what's watt? Are you living
in a material world and Do you hear the Sounds of Science?
Most of all, these experiments are fun. Highly recommended
for adults too!
Specky Magee
by Felice Arena and Garry Lyon pb $12.95
Twelve year old Simon Magee is the biggest Aussie Rules fan ever. He's
a champion full-forward on the school team, but his friends call him 'Specky'
because of his awesome talent at taking spec-tacular marks. Unfortunately
the rest of his family hate footy. That's why Specky is so confused
when he discovers a photo of himself as a baby dressed up in footy clothes.
Who dressed him in those clothes? And why won't his parents
give him a straight answer when he asks them about it? Determined
to find an explanation, he uncovers something that causes him to question
those he loves most. Highly acclaimed author Felice Arena and AFL
Garry Lyon have written an exciting and moving story that will appeal
to all readers, aged 10 years and over, whether or not they are into football.
My Father, My Fatherby Bernard Marin Bernard Marin lives in Melbourne where he grew up as a typical Australian
boy devoted to cricket and football. When he was almost fifty, he was
struck down by crippling headaches.
Slowly and reluctantly, he came to understand that his physical distress
was the voice of the past demanding a listening.
It was the voice of his detached father reaching out to him, fourteen
years after his death. Bernard Marin begins a journey to understand who
his father was and to discover his ancestors.
My Father, My Father is a sincere account of a story of anguish and loss,
discovery and redemption.
Still Here by Linda Grant Linda Grant is the author of the Orange Prize winner When I
Lived in Modern Times and is a guest of this year's Melbourne
Writers' Festival.
Her latest novel is set in Liverpool and tells the story of the relationship
between a tough almost fifty year old woman called Alix who works for
a charity that restores Jewish landmarks around the world and who is sexually
attracted to Joseph, an American architect who has arrived to restore
life in this decaying port of the Atlantic. Joseph also carries his own
historical baggage. Still Here is not a story of love at first sight. Linda Grant
is brilliant in dealing with the flawed truths of middle age and in her
documenting of the Jewish community in Liverpool from a historical and
contemporary perspective.
Telling Lies About Hitler: The Holocaust, History and the Irving Trial
by Richard J. Evans
In April 2000, a High Court judge in London branded the writer David Irving
a racist, an anti-semite, a Holocaust denier and a falsifier of history.
Irvings's attempts to silence his critics by means of a libel suit against
the American historian Deborah Lipstadt was decisively rejected in a judgement
later confirmed by the Court of Appeal.
The key expert witness in revealing Irving's methods of historical falsification
was the Cambridge historian Richard J. Evans, a specialist on modern German
history and author of In Defence of History. Telling Lies About
Hitler shows how Irving became undone in this outstanding book
of the trial.
The Philosopher's Dog by Raimond Gaita Filled with inspirational stories, with reflections on how we respond
to everything from spiders to mountains, The philosopher's dog is
moving, sometimes funny, and always thought-provoking.
Gaita's discussion ranges from writers such as J.M. Coetzee and Hannah
Arendt to philosophers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein and Rene Descartes.
In offering a different way of thinking about animals, he suggests that
it is love which gives us the best model for the respect we owe them.
Raimond Gaita is the author of the award-winning Romulus, My Father
and A Common Humanity: Thinking about Love & Truth
& Justice.
In sunshine or in shadow by Martin Flanagan Martin Flanagan is the author of seven books, the most recent The
Call in 1993. He is well known as a features writer for The Age
newspaper.
In sunshine or in shadow, Martin Flanagan uses his evocative journalist
writing style in his deeply personal memoir of growing up in Tasmania
and in his reflections of the meanings of home, place, birthright and
history.
Last Waltz in Vienna by George Clare George Clare was born in 1920 into a well to do bourgeois family
as 'Austrians of the Jewish faith' enjoying life in the tolerant world
of the Hapsburg empire.
First published in 1981, Clare's book has withstood the test of time.
He gives a compelling first hand account of the erosion of his family's
fortunes as Vienna begins its slide into barbarism starting with the disaster
of World War 1 followed by a period of exploitation of the populist anti-Semitic
propaganda culminating in the Viennese adulation of Adolf Hitler in March
1938 and the ensuing Nazi brutality towards the Jewish population.
The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God & other stories by Edgar Keret Edgar Keret is regarded as Israel's hippest young writer. Keret's
stories are brief, intense, painfully funny, and shockingly honest.
They are snapshots that illuminate with intelligence and wit, the hidden
truths of life. As with the best comic authors, hilarity and anguish are
the twin pillars of his work.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains
bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The crew of the surviving vessel consists
of a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orangutan, a 450 pound
Royal Bengal tiger and Pi - a 16 year old Indian boy. The scene is set
for one of the most extraordinary pieces of literary fiction of recent
years.
W.G. Sebald's novel Austerlitz
won the Fiction award. Over thirty years, in the course of conversations
that take place across Europe, a man named Jacques Austerlitz tells a
nameless companion of his ongoing struggle with the riddle of his identity.
It will be available in paperback in July. You can reserve a copy by telephoning
Sunflower Bookshop.
Oliver Sacks' childhood memoir, Uncle
Tungsten, took the Non-Fiction prize and is available at Sunflower
Bookshop. Sacks is the author of The
Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat and Awakenings.
Uncle Tungsten tells the
tale of his boyhood introduction into chemistry, the start of a lifelong
romance with science.
Tim Winton has just
been announced as the winner of this year's Miles Franklin Award
for Dirt Music.
* * * * * History books
which can't be accused of being dull * * * * *
Australian
Genesis Jewish Convicts and Settlers 1788-1860
NEW EDITION by John S. Levi
and G.F.J. Bergman
The Australian Jewish story, from the First Fleet to the gold rushes of
the 1850s, is filled with memorable characters and gripping adventures
that highlight the struggle for political emancipation and religious tolerance.
This updated edition tells new stories about many of the founding families
of today's Jewish community. This unique social history of Australia's
Jewish population filled with many illustrations makes an ideal gift.
Berlin The Downfall 1945
by Antony Beevor An unforgettable and chilling story of the final days of the
Third Reich from the best selling and award winning author of Stalingrad.
Beevor uses devastating new material from Soviet as well as European and
American files.
* * * * * recommendations
* * * * *
Elvis in
Jerusalem Post Zionism and the Americanization of Israel by Tom Segev
In his many works of history, Tom Segev challenged the entrenched understanding
of crucial moments in Israel's past. Now in a short, sharp, and timely
book, Segev has turned his sights from Israeli history to confront some
dearly held assumptions about the country today, in the process tipping
a number of sacred cows.
Everything is Illuminated by
Jonathan Safran Foer
The first novel by Jonathan Safran Foer is a quixotic search across a
devastated landscape in the Ukraine and back into an unexpected past.
If you enjoy total irreverence and a brimming imagination that turns tragedy
into comedy, this novel is for you. AND it is John Safran who appears
on SBS.
The Impressionist by
Hari Kunzau
Yet another impressive
debut writer, Hari Kunzau has entered the field of literature with guns
blazing ready to take on the big issues. Pran Nath, the central character,
is the very embodiment of England's stamp on India and his journey is
well worth following. Hari Kunzau will be appearing at the Melbourne Writers'
Festival which runs from 23rd August to 1st September.
Unless by Carol
Shields
The latest from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Stone Diaries.
A compassionate novel told through the mother's voice of a family
coping with the sudden, inexplicable estrangement of a beloved daughter.
Highly recommended.
In the Blue House by
Meaghan Delahunt Meaghan Delahunt's first novel unravels the passions and betrayals
of Leon Trotsky's refuge years in Mexico where he meets Frida Kahlo and
Diego Rivera. The reader is also drawn into an evocative portrayal of
Russian history in the first half of the twentieth century. In
the Blue House is a great read for discussion by book clubs.
Special discounts can be arranged.
The Fourth Hand by
John Irving The World According to Garp,
A Prayer for Owen Meany and
The Cider House Rules are
just some of the novels addressing social issues written by John Irving
in his quirky and sharp writing style. The
Fourth Hand is no exception. What if a donor's widow demands
visitation rights for a hand? Part farce, part satire. Read John Irving
and enjoy.
* * * * * Naomi Ragen fans * * * * *
Her new book Chains
around the Grass is available at Sunflower Bookshop in hardcover.
We now have some limited stock of previous titles by Naomi Ragen in paperback.
Please telephone Sunflower Bookshop 9523 6405 for details.
For the many Janet Evanovich
fans, her new crime book Hard Eight
is available
$29.95
* * * * *
for children * * * * *
A new book by
Odo
Hirsch
- Frankel Mouse & the Bestish Lair.
Artemis Fowl
The Artic Incident the
second book in the popular trilogy by Eoin Colfer.
The Boy Who Lost His Face by
Louis Sachar
An earlier wildly
funny and thought-provoking book written by the best-selling author of
Holes. Once again Sachar uses myths and curses within his narrative to
capture the imagination of young readers on the sense of self worth. A
great recommendation for children 'who don't like books'.
Children
of the Shadows: Voices of the Second Generation edited
by Kathy Grinblat and published by UWA Press in association with Benchmark
Publications.
For the first time in Australia, a collection of personal reflections
on growing up in a home touched by the shadow of the Holocaust. This
book is available at Sunflower Bookshop in hardcover $45.00 and in paperback
$34.95. For a full list of the contributors and their details, go
to the Jewish Australia dot com BOOKS page.
The Fig Tree
by Arnold Zable
From the best-selling author of Cafe Scheherazade comes this tender book
of haunting true stories filled with memorable people in both Australia
and Greece.
The Fig Tree consists of fascinating and wonderful ancestral tales of
the lives of Jewish and Greek migrants to this country, of refugees and
wanderers, of actors, singers and poets. These deeply felt tales
of individual experience are in fact universal stories about life and
love, trust and doubt, and about the bonds within each family. The
Fig Tree will be available at Sunflower Bookshop in paperback $27.50 from
May 6.
Tikvah
In this thoughtful and diverse collection, more than forty of America's
most distinguished children's book creators, including fourteen award
winning illustrators and other Honor artists from America, share their
reflections on human rights. Through words and pictures, they examine
past, present, and future to foster a kinder, more tolerant world. Available
in hardcover $32.95 or in paperback $20.95
Now in paperback:
The
Same Sea by
Amos Oz
In this deceptively light and easily read novel, Amos Oz scores an impressive
and moving victory for the myths and poetry of de-deified Jewish culture.
Mixing poetry with prose and language from the Song of Songs with
images from the Gospels in a series of first-person letters and confessions,
Amos Oz tells the story of ordinary people in an extraordinary manner.
$21.95
The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri
Blending wonderful family drama with Indian mythology and a dash
of Bollywood sparkle, The Death of Vishnu is an intimate and compelling
view of an unforgettable world. $19.95
Pictures
of Fidelman by Bernard Malamud
Originally printed in 1958, this title has just been reprinted and released
as a Vintage Classic $23.95
Milwaukee
by Bernice Rubens
The latest novel for Bernice Rubens fans. Once again, Bernice Rubens
writes in a simple prose which delves deeply into the human psyche. Her
previous novel, I Dreyfus was a bestseller at Sunflower Bookshop.
$21.00
Atonement
by
Ian McEwen
Shortlisted for the last Booker Prize, an enthralling book about war and
class and childhood and the possibility of absolution. Will be
available from 2 May $22.95 Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
This is the long awaited new novel from the twice Booker Prize shortlisted
author whose previous novel was A Fine Balance. Written in a beautifully
affectionate tone, Family Matters has richness and compassion in a story
that crosses all cultural boundaries, a story of the stresses of growing
up and growing old. Will be available from 6 May $29.95
Embers by
Sandor Marai is back in stock in a limited quantity. Originally
published in Budapest in 1942, unknown to modern readers until last year,
when it became an international bestseller, Embers is an extraordinary
story of love and friendship, of fidelity, pride and betrayal. Gripping
and unforgettable, it is a masterpiece. Available in paperback $19.95 My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's leading novelist, is a writer celebrated around
the world. In My Name is Red he has fashioned a thrilling
murder mystery which is also a dazzling meditation on love and artitistic
devotion. $26.00
Peter
Carey's
True History of the Kelly Gang has received the South Australian
Premier's Award at the Adelaide Writers' Festival. This win completes
a year in which this novel has won the Booker Prize, the Commonwealth
Writers' Prize, the Courier-Mail Book of the Year, and the fiction
categories of the Victorian and Queensland Premier's Literary Awards and
the Age Book of the Year award. Available
in paperback $22.95 Richard Flanagan's
wonderfully inventive novel Gould's Book of Fish has just been
named the best book in the South East Asia and South Pacific Region for
the 2002 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
Local crime
writer Marshall Browne's The Wooden
Leg of Inspector Anders was shortlisted in the mystery/thriller category
of the 2002 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Available
in paperback $19.65 Phillip Pullman's
The Amber Spyglass is the first children's book to win the Whitbread
Book of the Year. This award is given to the best book published
in the United Kingdom during the year.
His previous books in this series Northern Lights and The Subtle
Knife have already dazzled children and adults alike. The Amber
Spyglass is the last book in a dark and complex fantasy trilogy which
focuses on the corruption of the church and abuse of power. Northern
Lights should be read first.
Recommendations
**********
The
Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert pb
$21.95
An evocative work of fiction tracing the lives of three ordinary Germans
in the 1930s, in 1945 and half a century later. Seiffert is
brave in confronting contemporary German identity with an open frankness
through these three stories of the past. Her writing style of simple
sentences written in the present tense to give the reader a sense of the
story unfolding makes for powerful reading. Highly recommended.
Confessions of a
Clay Man by
Igor Gelbach pb
$26.95
Before migrating to Australia in 1989, Igor Gelbach lived for some twenty
years in the Soviet republic of Georgia, in a Black Sea town founded by
ancient Greek mariners. The decay of this picturesque resort,
playground of the privileged and haunt of the local Mafia, forms
the setting for this philosophical novel against the backdrop of the decline
of the Soviet empire. The novel's main character, Bronhauser struggles
to make sense in a Kafkaesque world. A richly textured tale with
paths that lead off to local legends as well as Russian and Jewish folklore
including a trip into the story of the Golem that gives the book its title.
In 1994, Gelbach was nominated for the Russian Booker Prize. He
now lives and writes in Melbourne.
The Carpet Wars
by Christopher Kremmerpb
$35.00
Carpets are one of the most common objects found in western homes, but
the stories behind them (religious, political, tribal) are virtually unknown
and as complex and baffling as the patterns found in them. Traversing
a crescent of Islamic societies in crisis, from Kashmir to Iraq, Pakistan
to Tajikistan, millions of ordinary Muslims were having their lives torn
apart by the volatile cocktail of Kalashnikov and Koran. A timely
and controversial book, The Carpet Wars is the story of a remarkable ten-year
journey across the world's most misunderstood and volatile region. Christopher
Kremmer was born in Australia and is the author of the award-winning book,
Stalking the Elephant Kings which unearthed the skeletons of communist
rule in South East Asia.
Australia and Israel
An Ambiguous Relationship
by Chanan ReichHB
$45.00
Australia and Israel have always had a close relationship or so most people
believe. But does the historical record support this assumption.
Chanan Reich examined the official archival records of both countries
from 1915 until the aftermath of the Six-Day War of 1967 and reveals the
attitudes of significant Australian political figures. He gives snapshots
of the key Israelis, and highlights the bridging role of the Australian
Jewish community and tells the fascinating story of a surprisingly complex
and ambiguous relationship. Chanan Reich is a visiting scholar and
lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilisation at Monash
University. Now living in Israel, and having lived and worked in
Australia for twenty years, he is at home in both countries.
James McBride's
powerful memoir The Colour of Water was a publishing phenomenon
both in America and in Australia. In his long awaited second book,
McBride turns his highly acclaimed talent as a storyteller to fiction.
Inspired by a historical incident that took place in the village
of St. Anna di Stazzema in Tuscany and by the experiences of the famed
Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd division in Italy during World War II, Miracle
of St. Anna is a singular evocation of war, cruelty, passion, heroism,
and love. It is the story of four American soldiers, the villagers
among whom they take refuge, a band of partisans, and an Italian boy.
Traversing class, race, and geography, Miracle of St. Anna is
above all a hymn to the brotherhood of man and the power to do good that
lives in each of us. Available
in paperback $29.95
especially for
children **********
The
slightly true story of Cedar B. Hartley (who
planned to live an unusual life)
by Martine Murray.
Highlighted in a previous newsletter for a picture book called A Mouse
Called Moose, Martine Murray has written a novel suitable for the
upper primary and lower secondary school age group.
It's great - it's chatty in an almost diary format - the thoughts
are as vital to the story as the story itself. Available
in paperback $14.95
Cooking
& Travelling in South-West France by Stephanie
Alexander.
Stephanie immerses herself in the life of the region, speaking with small
local producers and seeking out the custodians of the old cooking ways.
She describes the rich food culture and shares over 80 original
recipes inspired by the region, as well as recipes offered to her by the
local people.
If
you have any queries about any of the above titles, please telephone Sunflower
Bookshop or email mbrener1@bigpond.net.au
Happy reading
Margaret Brener
Zev Zur Sunflower Bookshop
434 Glenhuntly Road
Elsternwick
Victoria 3185
Tel 03-9523 6405
