CABIN SESSIONS – Isobel Blackthorn

For weeks – longer! – Isobel Blackthorn has been teasing us with promises of her new book CABIN SESSIONS and I finally received my awaited copy Saturday afternoon! This did not allow very much time to read it before we had our interview on Monday’s program, but I dived in to absorb as much as possible.

It is NOT an easy read, Isobel has written a dense novel in which every word has been carefully selected and given full value.. so it should be respected and read that way! Isobel has chosen a theme with which she became familiar during her years with the late local musician, Alex Legg, who appears in the book as the recently deceased Benny.

For several years Alex hosted the Wednesday night open mic sessions at our own local “Cabin”… Kelly’s of Mt Dandenong…. and Isobel was the “door lady”.

She emphasises, and so must I, that the characters in her book are NOT based on real people.. although no doubt some readers will be seeking to relate them to local personalities.

Set on a wild and stormy Christmas Eve, the book starts with a sense of threat and menace, as the regulars straggle in, carrying their instruments. throughout the night. We are introduced to these locals and their relationships, but share a great deal of the action through the eyes of Eve and her brother Philip.

Eve’s diary, which we follow, paints a picture of a strange, introverted young woman who exercises a weird practise as a way of asserting control of her life. Her brother Philip, with whom she lives, presents as an arrogant and self-centred man with a dark side to his character.

This is a book filled with ‘characters’… and we get to take a peep into their lives and thoughts as the tension rises page by page.

I can’t say too much … not only because I haven’t yet finished the book, but because I fear dropping a ‘spoiler’! Read it for yourself!!

Isobel is a frantically busy woman at the moment… moving down the coast, promoting her book, and planning a MASSIVE launch on 13th December. She is coaxing, pleading .. perhaps even threatening?…local musicians to assume the roles of some of the characters in Cabin Sessions! (I can’t wait to see who plays which role!) We do know Andy Cowan will be hosting the event with Isobel and, of course, there will be copies of the book available for purchase. (Oh, and Isobel promises Christmas cake, too!)

You can share in this celebration for the book’s launch and farewell Isobel at an evening which is usually devoted monthly to the celebration of the Alex Legg Foundation. OSCAR’S, BELGRAVE- 7.30 P.M. WEDNESDAY 13TH DECEMBER LAUNCH OF CABIN SESSIONS by ISOBEL BLACKTHORN …………………………

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