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ccurox's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
anniekinowolf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A story of female friendships and how life changing they are.
The isolation of the Northern Territory is in start contrast to how the book club brings the women together and enriches their lives.
The isolation of the Northern Territory is in start contrast to how the book club brings the women together and enriches their lives.
bernou's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
samstillreading's review against another edition
4.0
Books set in Australia’s Northern Territory are few and far between, so I was really entranced by the premise of Sophie Green’s The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club. Not only is it set in the NT, but it’s set in the late 1970s/early 1980s which is a whole world away thanks to advances in technology. Back then, stations (aka ranches) were truly isolated – no internet, no satellite with only a party line phone (great for spreading intimate details about your family) and the mail. But in the wet (monsoon) season, you can be completely isolated from even that for months. Sybil is used to all that, as she’s lived on Fairvale station for years. But when her son Ben brings home a new English bride, it’s time for things to change. Sybil knows that Kate won’t be used to the isolation or weather, so decides to start a book club. To it, she invites old friend Rita (now working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service out of Alice Springs), station hand Della from America and housewife Sallyanne. All the women bring their own problems to the book club, but through friendship they can work through them all.
And boy, do a lot of things happen to the women in this book. None of them are spared heartache and major events! If anyone thought that living in the outback was boring, think again… It’s a harsh environment which Sophie Green clearly shows but the women have personal dramas to add on top of that. Kate has her own worries about falling pregnant and Sallyanne tries to hide an abusive husband – and that’s just what we find out at the start! Ever the matriarch, Sybil tries to help them all through it by enabling meetings, offers of work and support. And when she needs help herself, it’s the other members of the book club who help her out. The theme of friendship is exceptionally strong in this novel, particularly as the isolated setting is stressed. The Territory kind of feels like another main character is this novel, the one who decides on the fates of all the characters…
Speaking of the characters, I bet it’s not an accident that all the main characters are women, and strong ones at that. Sybil is clearly a strong character, but she helps the quieter women like Kate and Sallyanne find their inner strength to accept, speak up and move on. Most of the male characters are supporting, blending into the background somewhat. We see the full range of male characters, from supportive and modern (Ben and Joe, Kate and Sybil’s husbands) to downright sexist and piggish (Sallyanne’s husband). This is a novel that celebrates the strength of the female spirit…truly ‘womanning up’ as the hashtag says through thick and thin!
The plot of the novel is crammed with events, and nobody is spared. One subplot I would have liked to have explored a little more is why Sybil’s son Lachlan hated the rest of his family so much. What made him spurn his family and home? Why couldn’t he talk about it? I would have loved to know a little more about this enigma and why he chose to distance himself from his Territory life. I did enjoy the book club subplot and was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d read most of their book choices (especially as I wasn’t even born then). As happens with all good book clubs, there was less of a focus on the book as time went on which I did miss. I found the different takes on The Thorn Birds fascinating, so would have loved to have read more. But we can’t have everything and I need to seek out The Far Pavilions now.
Overall, The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club is a light, fascinating read with engaging characters and a non-stop plot. A great experience of women getting things done!
Thank you to Hachette for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
And boy, do a lot of things happen to the women in this book. None of them are spared heartache and major events! If anyone thought that living in the outback was boring, think again… It’s a harsh environment which Sophie Green clearly shows but the women have personal dramas to add on top of that. Kate has her own worries about falling pregnant and Sallyanne tries to hide an abusive husband – and that’s just what we find out at the start! Ever the matriarch, Sybil tries to help them all through it by enabling meetings, offers of work and support. And when she needs help herself, it’s the other members of the book club who help her out. The theme of friendship is exceptionally strong in this novel, particularly as the isolated setting is stressed. The Territory kind of feels like another main character is this novel, the one who decides on the fates of all the characters…
Speaking of the characters, I bet it’s not an accident that all the main characters are women, and strong ones at that. Sybil is clearly a strong character, but she helps the quieter women like Kate and Sallyanne find their inner strength to accept, speak up and move on. Most of the male characters are supporting, blending into the background somewhat. We see the full range of male characters, from supportive and modern (Ben and Joe, Kate and Sybil’s husbands) to downright sexist and piggish (Sallyanne’s husband). This is a novel that celebrates the strength of the female spirit…truly ‘womanning up’ as the hashtag says through thick and thin!
The plot of the novel is crammed with events, and nobody is spared. One subplot I would have liked to have explored a little more is why Sybil’s son Lachlan hated the rest of his family so much. What made him spurn his family and home? Why couldn’t he talk about it? I would have loved to know a little more about this enigma and why he chose to distance himself from his Territory life. I did enjoy the book club subplot and was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d read most of their book choices (especially as I wasn’t even born then). As happens with all good book clubs, there was less of a focus on the book as time went on which I did miss. I found the different takes on The Thorn Birds fascinating, so would have loved to have read more. But we can’t have everything and I need to seek out The Far Pavilions now.
Overall, The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club is a light, fascinating read with engaging characters and a non-stop plot. A great experience of women getting things done!
Thank you to Hachette for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
marusik_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
crafalsk264's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
In 1970s Australia, five very different women band together as friends and family. Sybil has turned to books as a comforter and companion for many years. When her best friend moves to Alice Springs and her oldest son leaves the territory permanently, she is more dependent on books to lighten her days than ever before. She comes up with the idea of linking up with other women to form the “Fairvale Ladies Book Club”. Her oldest friend, Rita, her new daughter-in-law Kate, Sallyanne, a troubled mother of three with a difficult husband, and Della a recent Texas transplant round out the Club. These five women reach across years, distance, and different lives to bond with friendship, laughter, tears, books and love. They fight weather, distance, complicated domestic situations and isolation to become a family.
This story profiles five remarkable women. I enjoy books set in Australia and this debut by a talented Australian writer was a perfect way to explore a unique place and time. The characters are well developed , likable, and memorable. This book takes its place in the ranks of books about women’s friendships, found family and adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend to readers who enjoy historical fiction, romance, books about books and Australia.
jo_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
In this book I was transported to Australia, to the Northern Territory, to the end of the Seventies and the early Eighties where I got to meet a group of women who knew little of each other initially but grew from a small book club to a community to a close-knit family.
Sybil lives out on Fairvale Station, she moved their from Sydney to be with her husband and subsequently has two sons Lachlan who has chosen a very different path in life and Ben who finds Fairvale the place he wants to be.
Kate is Ben's wife and thousands of miles away from her home in London. She is struggling to deal with defining moments of the wet and dry season.
Della is also thousands of miles away from her Texan home but the station and the land whilst similar to that of her ranch at home gives her more opportunities. She meets Stan and she thinks she may have found what she has been running away from.
Sallyanne is struggling, three children, a drunken husband and isolation from everything all she has is her dreams and they are slowly being turned into nightmares.
Rita is Sybil's oldest friend and is a nurse in the Flying Doctors service and lives the furthest from her friend.
These women are brought together by the book club that was started by Sybil for Kate to meet some other people. It was clear that this book was more about their lives and their friendships then it was about the books. Although of course the books they choose to read are important and can give you a further reading list if you needed one. The books gave them a chance to escape their world as any book can do.
All of these women were faced with differing problems and the book dealt with, death, life, abuse, racism, sexism, depression and loneliness without actually having to wave a big flag saying this is what we are dealing with. These are the best books, the ones that deal with issues which are still so relevant today, even though the books setting is around forty years previously. Aimed at women readers there is something within these pages that most women will relate to. And if you perhaps don't then put yourself in their shoes, int heir lives and think about how you would deal with the events as they play out in the book.
This is a thoughtfully written book, which whilst dealing with emotive subjects does a wonderful job is showing what life is like on a cattle station in Australia, when it takes days to cross the land and muster the cattle, where you can't pop to the shops when you run out of milk without taking a two-hour drive and when it rains you are trapped with only radio as your means of communication with the outside world. For me fascinating stuff.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone wanting a change from perhaps the normal run of the mill commercial women's fiction - this book has a story to tell in itself.
Sybil lives out on Fairvale Station, she moved their from Sydney to be with her husband and subsequently has two sons Lachlan who has chosen a very different path in life and Ben who finds Fairvale the place he wants to be.
Kate is Ben's wife and thousands of miles away from her home in London. She is struggling to deal with defining moments of the wet and dry season.
Della is also thousands of miles away from her Texan home but the station and the land whilst similar to that of her ranch at home gives her more opportunities. She meets Stan and she thinks she may have found what she has been running away from.
Sallyanne is struggling, three children, a drunken husband and isolation from everything all she has is her dreams and they are slowly being turned into nightmares.
Rita is Sybil's oldest friend and is a nurse in the Flying Doctors service and lives the furthest from her friend.
These women are brought together by the book club that was started by Sybil for Kate to meet some other people. It was clear that this book was more about their lives and their friendships then it was about the books. Although of course the books they choose to read are important and can give you a further reading list if you needed one. The books gave them a chance to escape their world as any book can do.
All of these women were faced with differing problems and the book dealt with, death, life, abuse, racism, sexism, depression and loneliness without actually having to wave a big flag saying this is what we are dealing with. These are the best books, the ones that deal with issues which are still so relevant today, even though the books setting is around forty years previously. Aimed at women readers there is something within these pages that most women will relate to. And if you perhaps don't then put yourself in their shoes, int heir lives and think about how you would deal with the events as they play out in the book.
This is a thoughtfully written book, which whilst dealing with emotive subjects does a wonderful job is showing what life is like on a cattle station in Australia, when it takes days to cross the land and muster the cattle, where you can't pop to the shops when you run out of milk without taking a two-hour drive and when it rains you are trapped with only radio as your means of communication with the outside world. For me fascinating stuff.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone wanting a change from perhaps the normal run of the mill commercial women's fiction - this book has a story to tell in itself.
missmary98's review against another edition
5.0
That was a lovely lovely story. I thoroughly enjoyed all the different perspectives and the incredible descriptions of the setting.
shanipatel's review against another edition
4.0
sophie green writes a great book about friendship, vividly rooted in its space + time … but why mention political events and topics in passing and then make your characters likeable apolitical yt women?? still ~ 8/10
sere_rev's review against another edition
2.0
I really wish at least one of the two women who started out determinedly single could've stayed that way. These women had the potential to be such interesting characters in their own right, but I felt that reducing so much of their character to their romantic relationships made them flatter than they should've been.