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anne1tje's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-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
3.25
odettebrethouwer's review against another edition
5.0
Wat eer *FIJN* boek is dit!
Ik had wat moeite met in het verhaal komen, en gooide de personages ook door elkaar. Toen nam ik hem mee op een lange treinreis, en las ik 80% in 1 dag. Ik kon me er haast niet van losscheuren.
Dit is een heel fijn en warm boek waarin de vriendschappen tussen de personages op een prachtige manier voor je ogen groeien en vorm krijgen. Je leeft drie jaar lang intens mee met de personages.
Het voelt alsof dit mijn vriendinnen zijn. Ik ga ze missen nu ik het boek uitheb!
Ik had wat moeite met in het verhaal komen, en gooide de personages ook door elkaar. Toen nam ik hem mee op een lange treinreis, en las ik 80% in 1 dag. Ik kon me er haast niet van losscheuren.
Dit is een heel fijn en warm boek waarin de vriendschappen tussen de personages op een prachtige manier voor je ogen groeien en vorm krijgen. Je leeft drie jaar lang intens mee met de personages.
Het voelt alsof dit mijn vriendinnen zijn. Ik ga ze missen nu ik het boek uitheb!
emhromp's review against another edition
4.0
Wat een zalig verhaal, onvervalste feelgood. Vriendschap, Australië, drama, vriendschap, heerlijke ingrediënten, erg van genoten!
Spoiler alert:
de verhaallijn van Kate vond ik al te makkelijk opgelost.
Spoiler alert:
de verhaallijn van Kate vond ik al te makkelijk opgelost.
pina's review against another edition
2.0
I only read a few chapters of this book. It sounded good in the blurb, but just couldn't hold my interest sadly. Just a bit too beige
tricky's review against another edition
3.0
Five women each in their own way are isolated are invited by Sybil to join the Fairvale Ladies Book Club. Fairvale is sprawling property in the Northern Territory that closes down over the wet season and waits for the dry season to run the steers and make ends meet.
Sybil who is the matriarch of the Baxter family, that runs Fairvale, is facing upheaval in her life. One of her sons Lachlan has turned his back on the family and the other Ben has recently returned from overseas with a new British wife Kate who is struggling to adapt. Rita is Sybil's life long friend who works as at Nurse at the Flying Doctors. Sallyanne is married to an alcoholic husband and is struggling to raise three children. Della is from Texas, who is trying leave the shackles of a restrictive family and make it on her own. All of them find themselves in the Northern Territory in 1978 and each of them will go on a journey.
This is about a book club and how women can find more than just discussing books, they find friendship and they find courage. The stories of the women interweave seamlessly and each of the characters is well crafted. The central character is Sybil who brings the group together, helps each of the women find purpose and deals with her own heart break along the way. I really loved Della's story and the difficulties she faced in finding love. It was for me the most engaging story of the group.
It is an enjoyable read about people and that is why it works.
Sybil who is the matriarch of the Baxter family, that runs Fairvale, is facing upheaval in her life. One of her sons Lachlan has turned his back on the family and the other Ben has recently returned from overseas with a new British wife Kate who is struggling to adapt. Rita is Sybil's life long friend who works as at Nurse at the Flying Doctors. Sallyanne is married to an alcoholic husband and is struggling to raise three children. Della is from Texas, who is trying leave the shackles of a restrictive family and make it on her own. All of them find themselves in the Northern Territory in 1978 and each of them will go on a journey.
This is about a book club and how women can find more than just discussing books, they find friendship and they find courage. The stories of the women interweave seamlessly and each of the characters is well crafted. The central character is Sybil who brings the group together, helps each of the women find purpose and deals with her own heart break along the way. I really loved Della's story and the difficulties she faced in finding love. It was for me the most engaging story of the group.
It is an enjoyable read about people and that is why it works.
ljbentley27's review against another edition
4.0
I have always wanted to be part of a book club. I have read many stories with a book club at the heart of them and it just makes me yearn to be a part of one. At the moment, I wish I had a time machine so I could go back to the late 70s/early 80s and join the Fairvale Ladies Book Club.
Sophie Green’s sweeping story of the lives of five women in the Podunk pockets of Australia is truly fascinating. Their removal from the everyday conveniences that we take for granted is a brilliant backdrop to honour the resilience and power enriched in the lives of these five characters. Not only did it provide an amazing setting but it made me, the reader, feel the complete claustrophobia that the wide open plains gave some of its characters.
Often, the ladies of the book club (Sybil, Rita, Della, Kate and Sallyanne) are seen as complete opposites of each other. It is a wonder how they all come together and help fix each other but their differences hold their power. It is amazing to watch them grow, learn and live with all the trials and tribulations of life going on around them. It is even more heartening to see them bond through a mutual love of books.
I didn’t expect to love The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club as much as I did but it really was a story that took me on an emotional journey.
The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green is available from March 1st 2018.
For more information regarding Little Brown Book Group (@LittleBrownUK) please visit www.littlebrown.co.uk.
Sophie Green’s sweeping story of the lives of five women in the Podunk pockets of Australia is truly fascinating. Their removal from the everyday conveniences that we take for granted is a brilliant backdrop to honour the resilience and power enriched in the lives of these five characters. Not only did it provide an amazing setting but it made me, the reader, feel the complete claustrophobia that the wide open plains gave some of its characters.
Often, the ladies of the book club (Sybil, Rita, Della, Kate and Sallyanne) are seen as complete opposites of each other. It is a wonder how they all come together and help fix each other but their differences hold their power. It is amazing to watch them grow, learn and live with all the trials and tribulations of life going on around them. It is even more heartening to see them bond through a mutual love of books.
I didn’t expect to love The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club as much as I did but it really was a story that took me on an emotional journey.
The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green is available from March 1st 2018.
For more information regarding Little Brown Book Group (@LittleBrownUK) please visit www.littlebrown.co.uk.
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
janerel's review against another edition
3.0
A most enjoyable novel but not one that I loved. The storyline was lovely but not unique. Reading so many books nowadays I really appreciate excellent writing and am noticing the gap between those that inspire me and that I can't stop thinking about, and those that don't. As with some other books, I felt that this was telling me the story rather than allowing me to become immersed in it and part of it. Details don't have to be repeated for me to get it and things don't always have to be spelt out if the scene has been well set. I think it's hard to incorporate Book Club into a title and have a story live up to what you may expect (thinking about The Jane Austen Book Club that I held such high hopes for). I certainly was expecting a bit more detail on the books they discussed. It is still a lovely story (loved the cover too) and one I will pass onto friends. Thank you to Hatchette and Goodreads for this copy.