To accommodate this, our book reviewer Clare Calvert agreed to chat earlier and for a shorter time than usual so that I could also have an interview with Russell Morris! Phew, it all worked out!
Clare and I often find we are reading the same books and yesterday was no exception. We had both read and loved Gideon Haigh’s Scandal in Bohemia, the true crime story of the unsolved murder in 1930 of Mollie Dean, a young artists’ model and aspiring writer. This was a time of free love and great creativity in the art world of Melbourne, hence the reference to Bohemia and the names of many well known artist appear in this book. (It also tells of the creation by Justus Jorgensen of Montsalvat, the artists’ colony in
Eltham.)
We had also both read and enjoyed an earlier book on the same subject written by Melbourne journalist Katherine Kovacic, who has woven the Molly Dean (note the different spelling!) murder into an absorbing fictional retelling titled The Portrait of Molly Dean. Both books are highly recommended.
Clare had also just read a 500 plus page book titled Pashinko, written by Min Jin Lee, and she was most enthusiastic about it. This book covers the long and troubled history of relations between Japan and Korea, while also exploring the effects of capitalism. I have not read it, but Clare spoke enthusiastically about it.
Another book she had really enjoyed and found totally absorbing is titled Lie With Me, author Sabine Durrant. It is a psychological thriller which, Clare assures us, has a twist on almost every page and it almost impossible to put down! Love the sound of it!
As a footnote, we have exchanged emails today and happen to both have just started reading the same book and are loving it! It is titled Green Belt, by Pauline Keogh, and is the beautifully written account of the author’s mental breakdown, her love affair with a poet, and her subsequent recovery.
Because our interview was a short one this week, hopefully Clare will also be with us later in the month.
a good book, a good life 
Leave a Reply