The Rose Grower by Michelle de Kretser: book review

In the ten years from 1789 to 1799 in the village of Montsignac in Southern France, love blooms among the tender petals of roses and the thorns of the French Revolution.

In The Rose Grower (2001) Jean-Baptiste raises his three daughters, Claire, Sophie, and Mathilde amid the isolation of the farming village while writing a treatise on the history of French food. There is a day of excitement when an American balloonist, Stephen Fletcher from Paris, falls from the sky into their fields, changing their lives and their world forever.

Claire, the eldest is married to a man in exile as a traitor. She lives with their son. She loves the brash American balloonist but is morally tied to her husband, Hubert. The balloonist loves Claire but knows he cannot have her. Instead, he hopes that Hubert dies in the war.

Sophie, the middle daughter and an aspiring rose grower, loves the balloonist too, but her love is unrequited. The local doctor, Joseph, loves Sophie, but she barely notices him. Joseph dislikes Stephen intensely. If Joseph had to name a rose after the brash balloonist, it would be Bombast Recollected or Fragrant Fool. To Sophie’s father, Jean-Baptiste, neither Stephen nor Joseph are suitable partners for his daughter; Stephen is too arrogant and Joseph is too harsh.

Mathilde, the youngest daughter, loves her dog, Brutus. No-one has a problem with that.

Love, jealousy, desire, and rejection are set among the disease and decay of the French Revolution. Malice, unpatriotism, counter-revolution, and the spectacle of execution by guillotine are too strong for fragile love and roses.

Humorous, evocative and tragic, it is an intriguing and interesting novel.

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog