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laurahastoomanywips's review against another edition
5.0
This was my book club's choice this month (category was books that were based around a book club)
I really enjoyed this story about a ground of ladies in the Northern Territory of Australia during late 1970's & early 80's.
It was very descriptive, you felt like you were there. Although it wasn't specifically about the book club meetings, it was about the friendships created from the book club starting and how they supported each other through lifes challenges.
Lovely book to spend some time with. Wish there was more, as I think it ended a bit to soon, would have liked a bit more time with the Fairvale ladies before the book ended.
I really enjoyed this story about a ground of ladies in the Northern Territory of Australia during late 1970's & early 80's.
It was very descriptive, you felt like you were there. Although it wasn't specifically about the book club meetings, it was about the friendships created from the book club starting and how they supported each other through lifes challenges.
Lovely book to spend some time with. Wish there was more, as I think it ended a bit to soon, would have liked a bit more time with the Fairvale ladies before the book ended.
glory317's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
natalie_van_ommen's review against another edition
5.0
Wat heb ik genoten van dit boek!!
Een echte aanrader
Een echte aanrader
manorclassics's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
I loved the women, especially Rita, and I loved the friendships, but I wasn't really sold on the romantic relationships and how they panned out. It was a very enjoyable read though.
shelleybaird's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! Found it hard to put down and managed to finish it in a few nights. Sophie Green has captured the energy of the outback and created a cast of characters who I want to be friends with - fantastic read!
bookishrenee's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful story, about friendship and some Australian history.
The book has done the rounds at work and with family, as we tend to share our books (basically a mini book club).
The cover is beautiful as well.
The book has done the rounds at work and with family, as we tend to share our books (basically a mini book club).
The cover is beautiful as well.
thiefofcamorr's review against another edition
4.0
Set in the Northern Territory we have five excellent women who come together initially for a bookclub, but stay together for friendship and in order to cope through the hard demands of living remotely, and life in general. In 1978 Darwin would have recently had Cyclone Tracy (which destroyed over 80% of houses, and the majority of the township were airlifted out by Ansett (which is how my father came to live here, incidentally) to live throughout the rest of Australia until Darwin was rebuilt in the early 80s). So when this book is set, Darwin would have barely had 30,000 people, and the majority of these would be highly transient - posted here for 2-5 years in order to rebuild or fill some type of service. Even today a high percentage of the population here is from the defence forces or mining industry... so you can only imagine how isolated and bare it must have been out of Darwin.
Katherine is a township that's now a three hour drive from Darwin, however in those days without the roads we do now, it would have been much longer. Especially with the setbacks thanks to the cyclone. One character lives there, burdened with a husband who loves a drink. - sadly common in that time. The stations that hold three of the characters are nearby, and the fifth character is a nurse with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, though she is based in Alice Springs - a township located in the very middle of Australia (that had about 1,000 people living there at the time).
I don't think there's anything I could say that would really get home just how remote it would have been back then. The telephone lines were few, the roads were harsh, and the weather could be wild - in the wet, even today we have many communities that are inaccessible by car for months when the floods come in. A significant number in the NT get their food from the shops via satellite order and by barging it in.
Anyway, I think what I'm trying to say is that this is what spoke most to me, reading this book. I'm from the Territory. I've worked for the same area for 12+ years, and it's always been about getting people and schools out in the most remote parts of the Territory their most basic things. The friendship is literally what keeps these people sane - each other is all they would have in these harsh conditions, and having someone to natter on with would be a life saver.
What makes this book even better is the books they read as a club - a list of very worthy Australian literature. Readers get to know about the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Country Women's Assoc., and how the Territory has always been made up of travellers - one character is from England, and another from America. (It would have been excellent to have someone there from, say, China, left over from the gold rush... as one of the best things of the Territory is about not just being from other countries but the cultures they bring with them... but it was still pretty good.)
The book is beautifully written, and did our Territory well.
Katherine is a township that's now a three hour drive from Darwin, however in those days without the roads we do now, it would have been much longer. Especially with the setbacks thanks to the cyclone. One character lives there, burdened with a husband who loves a drink. - sadly common in that time. The stations that hold three of the characters are nearby, and the fifth character is a nurse with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, though she is based in Alice Springs - a township located in the very middle of Australia (that had about 1,000 people living there at the time).
I don't think there's anything I could say that would really get home just how remote it would have been back then. The telephone lines were few, the roads were harsh, and the weather could be wild - in the wet, even today we have many communities that are inaccessible by car for months when the floods come in. A significant number in the NT get their food from the shops via satellite order and by barging it in.
Anyway, I think what I'm trying to say is that this is what spoke most to me, reading this book. I'm from the Territory. I've worked for the same area for 12+ years, and it's always been about getting people and schools out in the most remote parts of the Territory their most basic things. The friendship is literally what keeps these people sane - each other is all they would have in these harsh conditions, and having someone to natter on with would be a life saver.
What makes this book even better is the books they read as a club - a list of very worthy Australian literature. Readers get to know about the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Country Women's Assoc., and how the Territory has always been made up of travellers - one character is from England, and another from America. (It would have been excellent to have someone there from, say, China, left over from the gold rush... as one of the best things of the Territory is about not just being from other countries but the cultures they bring with them... but it was still pretty good.)
The book is beautifully written, and did our Territory well.
desiree_boom's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
elteh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
tellemonstar's review against another edition
4.0
The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club was a great story. It’s one of those books that you could snuggle up with on a weekend and while away a few hours with. Most importantly, it’s set in a beautiful part of my country and really shows the vastness of Australia.
The descriptions of the land and the people are very true to life. Australia can be a tough country to live in, even if you’re not living in the rural areas. We really only have two seasons – winter and summer. Winter is bitterly cold, often so wet you’re ankle deep in mud puddles and there’s even snow in some places. Summer is insanely hot, as well as so dry the trees and grass act like a tinderbox and even the smallest spark can cause massive blazes that destroy thousands of kilometers of land and homes.
The wet season in the middle of Australia – where Fairvale is set, is sort of like hurricane season in the US. Wet, wild and dangerous. You might be cut off from the rest of civilization for weeks. Even after the rain stops, it’s still bloody wet because the ground needs time to soak in all the extra water. Sophie Green has done an amazing job in describing the wet season in Australia.
This book really tackles the topics of isolation, strength, family connections and courage in hard times – it’s set in the late seventies so things were a little different back then, but the topics and situations in which they arise are still relevant now. The start of each section/year has major world events listed and it’s quite interesting to see which events occurred.
Admittedly it’s a little slow to start, simply because we need to meet all the characters, but after that the pace is quite pleasant. The different perspectives works really well, as Sophie Green manages to tie them altogether seamlessly without it feeling awkward or jolting you from the story. I enjoyed all the little farm aspects having been raised on a farm most of my life, and it was interesting to see what parts were the same and what parts were different.
Overall I thought this was a well-written book, with a gorgeous setting (I’m biased about this beautiful country I live in) and it’s a wonderful weekend read.
The descriptions of the land and the people are very true to life. Australia can be a tough country to live in, even if you’re not living in the rural areas. We really only have two seasons – winter and summer. Winter is bitterly cold, often so wet you’re ankle deep in mud puddles and there’s even snow in some places. Summer is insanely hot, as well as so dry the trees and grass act like a tinderbox and even the smallest spark can cause massive blazes that destroy thousands of kilometers of land and homes.
The wet season in the middle of Australia – where Fairvale is set, is sort of like hurricane season in the US. Wet, wild and dangerous. You might be cut off from the rest of civilization for weeks. Even after the rain stops, it’s still bloody wet because the ground needs time to soak in all the extra water. Sophie Green has done an amazing job in describing the wet season in Australia.
This book really tackles the topics of isolation, strength, family connections and courage in hard times – it’s set in the late seventies so things were a little different back then, but the topics and situations in which they arise are still relevant now. The start of each section/year has major world events listed and it’s quite interesting to see which events occurred.
Admittedly it’s a little slow to start, simply because we need to meet all the characters, but after that the pace is quite pleasant. The different perspectives works really well, as Sophie Green manages to tie them altogether seamlessly without it feeling awkward or jolting you from the story. I enjoyed all the little farm aspects having been raised on a farm most of my life, and it was interesting to see what parts were the same and what parts were different.
Overall I thought this was a well-written book, with a gorgeous setting (I’m biased about this beautiful country I live in) and it’s a wonderful weekend read.