In 1938, socialite, arts enthusiast, and former actress Dorothy Hale falls to her death from a Manhattan skyscraper, becoming, “the most delicious fodder for gossip”.
asserted
Hale → fall → gossip
Her best friend, Clare Boothe Luce, a writer with influential connections, commissions a memorial portrait of Dorothy from Frida Kahlo, which is duly delivered.
asserted
which → commission → Kahlo
Luce is horrified by Kahlo’s stark depiction of the subject matter.
asserted
Luce → horrify → matter
Such details are true and in the public record, but aside from these facts, Oscar De Muriel’s book braids imagination with reality.
asserted
book → braid → reality
Hale’s death was officially deemed a suicide, but there
asserted
death → deem → ?
are rumbles of suspicion that suggest otherwise.
asserted
that → suggest → suspicion
With great ambition and literary flair, The End of the Vodka – the title is apparently Hale’s last words – moves from New York to Mexico, to a Europe hurtling into war as it explores a world of wealth, power, and intrigue.
asserted
it → move → wealth
Though towards the end, De Muriel’s tale incorporates global espionage, stretching credulity, the novel is excellent at portraying the heady, artistic, and political environs of the time.
asserted
novel → incorporate → time
There are invented conversations between Luce and Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, but it’s Kahlo’s strident and idiosyncratic voice that’s the most compelling.
asserted
that → be → Windsor
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K.Rowling, illustrated by Levi Pinfold (Bloomsbury, $75)
The Harry Potter juggernaut continues apace with the imminent December release of the HBO TV series, and now there’s also a handsome, heavyweight hardback edition
asserted
juggernaut → illustrate → series
It’s the latest in the Illustration Edition series.
asserted
It → ’ → series
While the last five were illustrated by Jim Kay, this book has been taken over by multi-award-winning Australian artist Levi Pinfold.
asserted
book → illustrate → Pinfold
There’s a decidedly darker tone in his drawings, with colour used sparingly and strategically.
asserted
colour → ’ → drawings
Pinfold’s pictures are fine-line drawings, with characters often lurking in shadowy corners.
asserted
characters → lurk → corners
The overall effect is that of a story shrouded in mystery and gloom, far removed from the confectionery hues of the books’ original cover palette.
asserted
effect → shroud → palette
There’s nothing cutesy here, which reflects the storyline: the Ministry of Magic is in turmoil, Lord Voldemort is attacking both the wizard and Muggle worlds, and war is impending
asserted
war → ’ → worlds
Pinfold’s illustrations are incorporated into the text, with occasional double-page spreads, and the pages themselves are not black on white but come with differently coloured text and backgrounds.
asserted
pages → incorporate → text
The price reflects its production values, but for fans and collectors, this volume is worth a look.
asserted
volume → reflect → fans
Nina Kenwood has built a solid reputation for her romcoms, and People Skills delivers another iteration of a smart but insecure female protagonist navigating life’s messiness.
asserted
Skills → build → messiness
Here it’s 30-year-old Charlotte, personal assistant to Hillary, who’s just launched a new literary festival in Barwon Bay.
asserted
who → ’ → Bay
Charlotte’s job is to fix problems that may arise during its preparations and remain unflappable while doing so.
uncertain
that → fix → preparations
Charlotte is often asked to help with Hillary’s domestic requests, and her remit expands even further when Xavier, her boss’s son, unexpectedly visits.
asserted
Xavier → ask → requests
Once a bestselling writer, he’s years into a creative block, so aside from dealing with programming problems and food-prepping for Hillary’s dog, Charlotte finds herself creating a self-help program for Xavier to find his words again.
asserted
Xavier → bestselle → words
In the protagonist, we have a likeable, if over-conscientious young woman who doesn’t just have people skills; she’s also a chronic people pleaser.
asserted
she → have → skills
The slow-burn romance with Xavier and the book’s coastal town setting make it an enjoyable, escapist beach read.
asserted
it → make → Xavier
The Cruise by Naïma Brown (Allen & Unwin, $35)
Bailey is a sworn member of “The Squad”, a posse of women who’ve been variously mistreated by men and are now fiercely bonded to one another for support.
asserted
who → swear → support
For that’s how they see themselves: survivors of predatory, violent, rapist men
asserted
they → ’ → men
When Bailey is promoted to senior producer for a reality TV show set on a luxury cruise ship, and a familiar name from her teenage past sends in an audition tape to be part of the show, she gathers her squad and sets them up for their latest revenge mission.
asserted
she → promote → mission
Things go awry.
asserted
Things → go → ?
The Cruise is an entertaining fast read, even if it explores dark, potentially triggering themes of trauma and vengeance.
asserted
it → explore → trauma
The sorry backstories of each of the women are offered to the reader, so we are already primed for justice when the high jinks begin on board.
asserted
jinks → offer → board
In this fictional world, at least, there is catharsis: bad behaviour is properly punished, and the victims-turned-vigilantes are the ones who wield the power.
The Paris Prize by Tania Blanchard (HarperCollins, $35)
asserted
who → be → Blanchard
Australia’s previous fortunes have been said to ride on the sheep’s back, and in The Paris Prize, Tania Blanchard’s latest historical fiction, such a sentiment is heartily endorsed.
asserted
sentiment → say → Prize
Her novels are often inspired by true stories, and this one focuses on Maddy Rainforth, a sheep farmer who has to deal with the usual vicissitudes of the land (droughts, fire, floods) as well as sexist disdain from those who don’t believe women have the physical or mental abilities for the fleece business.
asserted
women → inspire → business
Her goal is to produce fine merino for the French fashion industry.
asserted
goal → produce → industry
The novel spans two decades, from 1934 onward, and tracks Maddy’s desire to produce and promote southern hemisphere wool as the best in the world – good enough to be used in Parisian haute couture.
asserted
novel → span → couture
Like Blanchard’s other protagonists – steely women who aren’t afraid of encroaching on traditional male domains – Maddy is determined to turn her fleece into Dior.
asserted
Maddy → encroach → Dior
Both the farming and the fashion worlds are well covered.
asserted
farming → cover → ?
The Paris Prize highlights a particular chapter of the nation – one where wool was its main export commodity and a source of its economic prosperity.
asserted
wool → highlight → prosperity
What happened to make the word “peasant” a putdown?
asserted
word → happen → ?
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
