After the Fall, by Catherine Gildiner

This book is a continuation of Catherine Gildiner's life story which she started in her previous novel, "Too Close to the Falls."

Catherine Gildiner's childhood was, even by her standards, a little precocious. Unable to sit still, she was taken to a professional who advised she get a job. Since she was only four years old at the time, this might have proved a little difficult. But, since her parents were not constrained by what the neighbours might think, her father, who owned the local pharmacy, starting bringing Catherine to work. It was the basis of her informal life education and as this second book proves, work became a constant she could return to whenever life become too overwhelming.

When Catherine's father sold his pharmacy at a loss in order to move Catherine to a better neighborhood school, Catherine lost her roots and found herself struggling to make it in the cutthroat social caste system known as High School. Her quirky and original thinking often led to rebellious acts but Catherine was at heart, just looking for truth, justice, and functionality. Surviving high school, Catherine moved on to University and began a relationship with football hero cum poet which eventually led to her invovlement in the civil rights movement.

Catherine's recollection of her teenage and college years coincide with the turbulence of the sixties' generation. Searching for meaning in a life with very few tangible roots and little direction to help her make adult choices, Catherine's story of learning to live with and love her parents and herself reveal a lot about the choices we all make in our live. Once again Catherine's naivete and guilelessness tinged with fear of men and lack of experience bring her to the brink of once again floundering in her life's choices.

This book is very well written and makes for an excellent read.

Inheritance, By Nicholas Shakespeare

Written in 2010, this is Shakespeare's sixth novel, but the first of his books that I have read, and I am eager to read more!

Some people just seem to fall into their lives and Andy Larkham is a perfect example. When he is late for his professor's funeral and rushing to arrive before the ceremony is completely finished, Andy ends up at the wrong funeral service. It takes a while to realize the eulogy is not for his professor, but for a man he doesn't know. It's an even bigger shock when he finds out he is inheriting millions of dollars for merely showing up to the funeral regardless of his lack of relationship to the deceased.

When the furious daughter of the deceased finds out her inheritances is threatened by Andy's appearance, she befriends him and in embarrasment or perhaps fear of her contesting the will, he creates a fictitious relationship with the deceased. To assuage his guilt, he finally starts researching the deceased's history and ends up on a roller coaster trip through the history of Armenia, immigration to Australia, and finds the true rags-to-riches story of the man whose past life now guides Andy's path even though they never met.

This is a wonderful story, very original and has terrific character development. While the plot does digress here and there, we are drawn along with the story because the characters are so believable. In the end, we learn a bit about different cultures and a lot about human nature.

We are all made of glue, by Marina Lewycka

Marina's newest book (2010), is her third published novel. I enjoyed her first two books, and am happy to report that I believe her third is her best accomplishment.

There are several threads to follow in the book. First, we meet Georgie Sinclair, lately moved to London from Leeds, she is about to experience the end of a rather traditional relationship with her husband, and embark on a very unusual, comic, sad, mysterious relationship with the elderly Naomi Shapiro. Naomi's experiences in the second world war inform her current condition of squalor and decrepitude. But her wit and humour keep her oblivious to the rundown condition of her home, her clothes, even the rotten food she relishes eating at reduced prices.

Georgie's son, Ben, is bewildering her. After watching his parents separate, Ben seems to find religion, and is busy preparing his soul for the End of Time, and is worried that his heathen parents won't make the cut to heaven because of their lack of faith in Jesus.

Add one or two other oddball characters, including a dark-eyed real estate agent bent on seducting Georgie, and an unscrupulous social worker determined to oust Mrs. Shapiro from her home so she can get a commission on the sale of Naomi's historic estate, and it's a wonder Georgie can keep it together enough to focus on her job of writing promotional material for the wonders of glue!

It's an amazing mix of characters, and a fascinating overview of war, politics, the Middle East, Jewish-Arab relations, and friendshop, romance, and lust. A great read.