Category: Non-fiction

I, Migrant, by Sami Shah

Afterwards, standing in front of my smashed car, the attending policeman told me, ‘You should have hit the fakking thing. You shoulda just hit the fakking thing.’ But all I could think was, ‘No I couldn’t. I’m an immigrant and I don’t think it would look very good if I’d killed your national emblem.’ It seemed like the sort of thing that might come up in my citizenship exam later.

As a child, Sami Shah didn’t picture a future for himself which involved relocating to rural Australia, nor did he see himself as a stand up comedian. But after growing up in Karachi and studying in the United States, he gradually found that Pakistan was not the place he wanted to raise his daughter. After saving and planning for three years, he and his wife and child found themselves living in Northam, a town they’d never even heard of, and trying to make a go of life as migrants.

I, Migrant: A Comedian’s Journey from Karachi to the Outback does much more than trace Shah’s journey to Australia. From his childhood, through to his years living in the United States – including how it was to be a Pakistani Muslim in the US after 9/11 – and his adult life back in Pakistan, the reader is privy to his life, his motivations, and his eyes and lows. We also see his development as a comedian – both in Pakistan, and as he re-establishes himself in Australia. Significantly, we get an insider’s view of life in Pakistan, and the life of a migrant in Australia.

Shah’s voice is humorous, but it is also honest and very insightful, so that readers will laugh, cry, squirm uncomfortably and applaud. Mostly, though, you’ll come to feel like you know Sami Shah – and feel so much richer for that friendship.

Wonderful!

 

I, Migrant: A Comedian’s Journey from Karachi to the Outback, by Sami Shah
Allen & Unwin, 2014
ISBN 9781743319345

Available from good bookstores and online.

Charles Bean's Gallipoli Illustrated, edited by Phillip Bradley

25 April 1915
12 Midnight: The ships have sailed from Lemnos. I have a cabin, the last in the passage, with a porthole opening onto the well deck. Outside on the deck, amongst all sorts of gear and under some of the horse boats to be used in landing, are some of the men of the 1st Battalion tucked into corners in their overcoats.
I must not oversleep – this night is too good to miss.

From the journey towards Gallipoli, through the landings, the terrible losses, the battles, and the evacuation, Charles Bean recorded the ANZAC experience at Gallipoli in extraordinary detail. Australia’s official war correspondent, he wrote and sent home newspaper articles, and also filled notebooks with copious diary entries. He went behind the lines across the peninsula, lived among the troops, and photographed what he saw. After the war he used his work as the starting point for Australia’s official war history.

From this extraordinarily detailed record of the war, this new offering diaries the eight months of the Gallipoli campaign. With notes from the editor, the text is stunningly illustrated with photographs from Bean’s collection and from the collections of others who were there, including the private collections of soldiers, bringing the campaign to life in startling detail.

A wonderful production to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the campaign in 2015.

 

Charles Bean's Gallipoli

Charles Bean’s Gallipoli, edited by Phillip Bradley
Allen & Unwin, 2014
ISBN 9781742371238

Available from good bookstores and online.

Dying to Know, by Josh Langley

Have you ever wanted to know something so badly that you’d do anything to find out the answer? I’ve had a burning question raging inside me for nearly 15 years and it’s not a flippant question like ‘will blue be the new black this winter?’ It’s the simple age old question that everyone would like to know the answer to but refuses to actually ask.
‘Is there life after death?’

After fifteen years of wondering and with a pressing desire to connect with a recently deceased relative, Josh Langley decided to thoroughly investigate the possibilities and probabilities of the afterlife, in an attempt to answer the question of life after death for himself. His investigations ranged from visiting a crematorium, to consulting mediums, and attending a spiritualist church, as well as looking inwards through experimenting with lucid dreaming and out of body experiences, as well as conducting a ghost hunt.

Dying to Know is an honest and open account of Langley’s attempts to answer the question for, showing both an amazing commitment to his topic, and a willingness to share those experiences with readers. As Langley explains, he wants to establish an answer for himself, but by sharing his journey, he provides an opportunity for others to learn and to ponder.

Easy to read, and thought provoking.

 

Dying to Know

Dying to Know, by Josh Langley
Big Sky Publishing, 2014
ISBN 9781922132482

Available from good bookstores and online.

Women of Spirit, by Anne Crawford

There must have been times in Tess Payne’s life in Victoria’s remote mountain country when she paused, did a double-take and wondered how she got there.

A comment by an acquaintance about Aussie women living as pioneering once did led to Anne Crawford researching and writing a book about such women. She set out to find – and speak to – women living in remote parts of Australia and working hard to make lives for themselves and their families.

From Tess Payne, a city woman, who moved bush to support her husband’s dream, to Lee-Anne Bright who grew up on a remote property and then built a career governessing, and Emmie Wehr who raised her daughters single-handedly while also forging a career as a horse trainer, Women of Spirit is a testament to women who have endured personal trials, illnesses, and the extremes of Australia’s climate and landscape to do what they do. Crawford tells their stories with a sensitive touch, weaving the stories so that readers have an opportunity to know what shapes each woman, as well as what it is she has achieved.

An inspiring read.

 

Women of Spirit, by Anne Crawford
Allen & Unwin, 2014
ISBN 9781743317860

Available from good bookstores and online.

Small Bamboo, by Tracy Vo

I was on a plane from Sydney to Perth to see my parents, but it was much more than just a flight west. It would eventually take me back more than thirty years, all the way back to Vietnam, back to a time when my parents were young and brave and desperate.
Desperate enough to get on a leaky boat.

In 2012 a break from her Sydney-based media career to visit her parents made Tracy Vo realise how homesick she was. It was time to move home to Perth. Ultimately, this decision took her much further, on a journey of discovery into her parents’ past. Thirty four years earlier, they had fled post-war Vietnam in a leaky boat, making a new life in Australia, where Tracy and her b=older brother Trevor were born and grew up.

Small Bamboo is a captivating account of the Vo family’s life in Vietnam prior to and during the Vietnam war, their subsequent escape and journey to Australia, and their lives adapting to this new country. Vo also shares her own experiences as the child of refugee parents, and charts her career to date as a television and radio journalist.

Readers will be entertained and intrigued by this glimpse into one family’s lives, and also witness to the way that hard work and determination can overcome adversity and lead to success.

 

Small Bamboo, by Tracy Vo
Allen & Unwin, 2014
ISBN 9781743316153

Available from good bookstores or online.

From the Feet Up, by Tanya Saad

‘I’m sorry, I’m on my way home from work and it’s pouring with rain. Can you say that again?’
“I can call you back later?’ Dr Becker, the Head Geneticist at the Hereditary Cancer Clinic, said.
‘No, no. It’s fine,’ I replied, eager to know what I’d just heard about a cancer gene was correct.
‘Your family has a hereditary gene fault that increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer,’ Dr Becker repeated. ‘We’ve tested your dad and he’s a carrier of the gene.’

Tanya Saad hadn’t heard of the BRCA 1 gene until a family study revealed that her father was a carrier, and that many female relatives had died prematurely from breast or cervical cancer. When tests revealed that she too had the gene, her life changed irrevocably. Decisions had to be made about how to confront this news – whether to have difficult preventative surgery, or to rely on regular testing t pick up early signs of cancer, if she should develop it. The fact that one of her two sisters also tested positive added an extra challenge. As she navigated her way through these challenges, Tanya also revisited her childhood and her heritage, as well as reassessing her future.

From The Feet Up is an honest, personal account of one woman’s journey through a complex health issue. Blending the exploration of her experience with BRCA1, including the decision to have a preventative mastectomy with a memoir of her experiences as a Lebanese child growing up in a country town, her sporting career and her family life, makes for a complex and rich story.

An intriguing memoir.

 

From The Feet Up , by Tanya Saad
Harlequin Mira, 2014
ISBN 9781743566770

Available from good bookstores or online.

Stubborn Buggers, by Tim Bowden

…there were far more brutal places than Changi.

While the stories of the suffering and survival of Australians at Changi, the biggest prisoner of war camp on Singapore island, are well known, the stories of Outram Road Gaol are far less so. This was where escapees and traitors were sent, including allied prisoners of war as well as Chinese civilians and even Japanese soldiers. It is estimated that thousands of people died here, many executed, others of malnutrition or disease.

Stubborn Buggers tells the stories of twelve Australian prisoners of war and their experiences in Outram Road Gaol as well as on the Thai-Burma Railway and Sandakan. It is not an easy to read book, because of its subject matter, but it is compelling, sharing not just facts, but stories of survival and perseverance, even humour.

Drawing on extensive interviews with the survivors, this is a moving and important look at a dark piece of history.

 

Stubborn Buggers, by Tim Bowden
Allen & Unwin, 2014
ISBN 9781743314425

Available from good bookstores and online.

Awesome Aussie Things to Do With Mum, illustrated by Simon WIlliams

Knit your own mobile phone cover
Bust out some groovy dance moves
Make a worm farm.

With school holidays once again here (or just a few days away, depending which part of Australia you live in), a book filled with cool things which can be done independently or, even better, with a parent, is a wonderful resource. Awesome Aussie Things to Do with Mum is just such an offering, with activities ranging from quiet inside activities such as pressing flowers or knitting, to physical, active things such as beach volleyball or dancing. Most have ways to either draw on Mum’s expertise or simply collaborate – though this could equally be Dad, or another adult, and many could be done without an adult.

Activities are clearly explained in step-by-step instructions and include equipment lists, tips and fun facts, as well as cartoon style illustrations, and, where needed, visual aids to following instructions. A sturdy hard cover offering, this would make a great gift for a primary aged reader.

 

Awesome Aussie Things to Do with Mum, illustrated by Simon Williams
Scholastic, 2014
ISBN 9781742839950

Available from good bookstores or online.

Remembered by Heart, various authors Foreward by Sally Morgan

This moving collection of youthful memories touches on a broad sweep of history and includes people from many Aboriginal countries. The stories have been shared in the hope they will make a difference to people’s understanding of the past, and in the belief that a just future can be created for all.

These are powerful stories of survival that share pain, humour, grief, endurance, life experience and hope. Take as a whole, they detail the devastating impact of many decades of repressive legislation on the lives of individuals and families. Legislation which, while aimed at ‘protecting’ Aboriginal people, obliterated any access to basic human rights.

This moving collection of youthful memories touches on a broad sweep of history and includes people from many Aboriginal countries. The stories have been shared in the hope they will make a difference to people’s understanding of the past, and in the belief that a just future can be created for all.

These are powerful stories of survival that share pain, humour, grief, endurance, life experience and hope. Take as a whole, they detail the devastating impact of many decades of repressive legislation on the lives of individuals and families. Legislation which, while aimed at ‘protecting’ Aboriginal people, obliterated any access to basic human rights.

Remembered by Heart is an anthology of true stories from a diverse range of Aboriginal Australians, often about their youth of that of their parents. The anthology reflects a variety of experiences across many years. Authors detail what it was like to live on a mission, to be removed from your family to live miles away from anywhere familiar, to a variety of education opportunities. For some, education meant learning to keep house for others. For others, there was the chance to complete high school.

Remembered by Heart is a moving collection of true stories about growing up in a different time. It details the range of Aboriginal experiences from 1930s to more recently. The collection reflects many voices, and reads like oral stories. Publicity material with the collection suggests it is aimed at upper-primary and early-secondary readers, but there is much here for a broader readership. No one should be able to say that they haven’t heard these stories, so that there is no risk of repeating mistakes of the past. But as well as tales of horror, there are many stories of family, connection and reconnection. Recommended for anyone who wants to understand Australia’s past.

 

Remembered by Heart, various authors, foreward by Sally Morgan Fremantle Press 2014 ISBN: 9781922089779

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Edith Cowan: A Quiet Woman of Note by Hazel Edwards ill Angela Grzegrzolka

Imagine having your face on every Australian fifty-dollar banknote. It doesn’t mean that you own all that money, but it does mean that you have done something important. There’s even a saying: a person of note or a notable person.

Have a close look at the fifty-dollar note. Most people don’t notice anything except the fact that it will buy fifty dollars’ worth of something. But the design includes a picture of Western Australia’s original Parliament House, and an illustration of a mother and children. And a picture of a woman standing up and speaking in public. These are notable clues.

Imagine having your face on every Australian fifty-dollar banknote. It doesn’t mean that you own all that money, but it does mean that you have done something important. There’s even a saying: a person of note or a notable person.

Have a close look at the fifty-dollar note. Most people don’t notice anything except the fact that it will buy fifty dollars’ worth of something. But the design includes a picture of Western Australia’s original Parliament House, and an illustration of a mother and children. And a picture of a woman standing up and speaking in public. These are notable clues.

Edith Cowan was born on a pastoral property in Western Australia before moving to Perth to boarding school. Her mother died when she was seven and when she was a teenager her father was convicted of murder and hanged. But rather than let tragedy define her, Edith developed a quiet determination to live well and to help others, particularly women and children to live well too. She married and raised her own family, but realised that many other women and children were suffering because of poverty, mischance and lack of education. She was active in fighting for the vote for women and became Australia’s first female parliamentarian. Text is interspersed with colour illustrations and there is a timeline in the final pages.

Edith Cowan: A Quiet Woman of Note explores the life of one of Australia’s quiet achievers. Although her achievements are recorded in books and biographies, there are few books that are designed to introduce this pioneering woman to young readers. The ‘Aussie Heroes’ series aims to rectify that by presenting the stories of notable Australians in a format that is accessible to young readers. Readers can discover not just why Edith is remembered, but about the childhood and early life that helped to shape her. Information is presented in a conversational style, with history of the time providing context to her decisions and endeavours. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Edith Cowan: A Quiet Woman of Note;, Hazel Edwards ill Angela Grzegrzolka New Frontier Publishing 2014 ISBN: 9781925059021

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com