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Let's. Take a look. You take a look inside the book. Take a look. You...
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Hello and welcome to Hear This. I'm Frances Keyland, and you're listening to the Vision Australia Library radio program broadcast across the Radio Reading Network. We explore the catalogue, plucking out gems to have samples of on the show. So today we've got a variety of books for you to have a listen to the samples of. If you're a library member, you may enjoy borrowing these books from the library collection.
This month saw the anniversary of the 100th birthday of James Baldwin, American writer and civil rights activist. I'm going to play a sample here of Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone. So it's by James Baldwin, an American who has achieved great fame as an actor, is recuperating from a severe illness and contemplates on his rise to fame, which has made him acceptable to black and white alike. After a hard childhood in Harlem. For between his childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the intoxicating world of the theatre lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. An adored older brother vanishes into prison.
There are love affairs with a white woman and a younger black man, each of whom will make irresistible claims on Leo's loyalty. And everywhere there is the anguish of being black in a society that at times seems seems poised on the brink of total racial war. Let's hear a sample of Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone by James Baldwin. It's narrated by the narrator, Marvin Cain.
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The heart attack was strange. Fear is strange. I knew I had been working too hard. I had been warned. But I've always worked too hard. I came off stage at the end of the second act. I felt hot. I was having trouble catching my breath, but I knew that I was tired. I went to my dressing room and poured myself a drink and put my feet up. And then I felt better. I knew I had about 25 minutes before I was due on stage. I felt very bitterly nauseous and I went to the bathroom, but nothing happened. Then I began to be afraid, rather to sit or lie down again, and I poured myself another drink and left my dressing room to stand in the wings. I'd begun to sweat, and I was freezing cold. The nausea came back, making me feel that my belly was about to rise to the roof of my head. The stage manager looked at me just as I heard my cue. I carried his face on stage with me. It had looked white and horrified and disembodied in the eerie backstage light. I wondered what had frightened him.
Then I realised that I was having trouble finding my positions and having trouble hearing lines. Barbara delivered her lines. I knew the lines. I knew what she was saying, but I did not know how to relate to it. And it took an eternity before I could reply. Then I began to be frightened. And this, of course, created and compounded the nightmare and made me realize that I was in the middle of a nightmare. I moved about that stage. I don't know how. Dragging my lines up from the crypt of memory. Praying that my moves were right. For I had lost any sense of depth or distance. Feeling that I was sinking deeper and deeper into some icy void.
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And that was a sample of Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone. Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone came out in 1968. James Baldwin was 40 years old at the time, and I'm just doing a quick scan of Wikipedia here. So the major themes of this novel are institutional racism, incarceration of as a means of preserving economic and racial inequality, white privileged bisexuality and sexual exploration, the impact of racism on military civilian life in World War II, fundamentalist Christianity and and racism. Upon its publication, this novel received largely negative views. White male critics, such as Mario Puzo, tended to suggest that Baldwin's politics had compromised its literary merits. He argued that the book was simple minded, and that a propaganda novel, as he called it, cannot be called art.
But this has been discussed by Lynn O. Scott, who wrote that this contemporary critical reception reflected white Americans decreasing sympathy with the civil rights movement during the late 1960s in the face of increasing militancy and assertions of black power with which Baldwin was associated. More recently, a reviewer Omari Weeks has described Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone as criminally under-read, noting how the novel's descriptions of the loneliness of being black in a white room, and Leo Krauthammer's, one of the character's attempts to navigate being perceived as too young, gifted, and black continue to resonate strongly in the 21st century.
The library also has the novel that exploded James Baldwin onto the scene. Go Tell It on the Mountain, which is set against the backdrop of 1930s Harlem and relates the progress of young Johnny Grimes along the tortuous road to salvation. That novel was released in 1953 and closely parallels Baldwin's own family background. I chose Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone. Firstly, because at Baldwin's 100th anniversary of his birth, but also because it's narrated by the marvelous, sonorous voice of Marvin Cain, who narrates so beautifully, who narrated so beautifully. Sadly, he passed away in 2012. But there are so many wonderful canons of American literature that he has narrated in our library. He was born in New York City. He was an actor and producer.
Now on to a very different author. We have Bernard Cornwell. Bernard Cornwell was born in 1944. He's a British American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about the Napoleonic Wars and The Rifleman character in those books, Richard Sharpe, and he has also written The Saxon Stories, a series of 13 novels about the making of England. Many may remember the series of the Sharpe television films starring Sean Bean. The first Sharpe's novels were published in 1981, and he also has another character, Nathaniel Starbuck, though there are four novels there set during the American Civil War.
People who love Bernard Cornwell, who love historical fiction and the detail of weaponry and and warfare of the time, admire his accuracy. What authors have followed in the footsteps of Bernard Cornwell and are writing their own historical fiction novels set around the Napoleonic, Napoleonic Wars or other periods of history, and bringing forth rich detail to their tales with a colourful and sometimes irreverent character that takes us through these historical events. I thought I would play a sample of Keane's Company, and this is by author Ian Gale.
James Keane, one of the finest but most rebellious soldiers in the British Army, is under threat of court martial for disobeying Wellesley's strict rules. But he's special. Even ungentlemanly skills have caught his generals eye, so he is selected to form a unique unit which will work behind enemy lines. Keane's next task is to handpick his band of men, some from prison, for their aptitude at lockpicking and forgery, as well as fighting skills, and form them into an effective unit before being sent on their first intelligence gathering special mission, this time to link up with the lethal Spanish guerrilla leader. Let's hear a sample of Keane's Company. This is number one in the kitchen in the James Keene series. It's narrated by Jonathan Oliver.
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At a thousand yards, the figure of a single soldier appears as no more than a dot shimmering on the horizon. A regiment of men as a solid block of black. As they draw closer, though, it is possible to make out the detail at 600 yards, you begin to see the individuals who make up the column bearing down on you. By 400 yards, arms become visible, an upright muskets tucked hard against shoulders. But on this fine May morning, it was not until they were at 200 yards that the sun caught the bayonets of the French, standing in his position in the valley below a small Portuguese town. Keene knew to wait and wait. Keene looked at the advancing Frenchmen a hundred yards. He could see their shakos now, with the brass eagle plates and the tall, bobbing yellow plumes of the voltigeur above blue uniforms and the white cross belts, and behind them the mass of the column drums beating colours flying beneath a bronze eagle.
He could hear their shouts too, half drowned by the insistent patter of the drums. He spoke again calmly. Precisely. Take aim! One more look. As they drew closer 75 yards until he was able, he fancied to smell the bastard's garlic breath and look into their eyes before they died. Then fire. 80 muzzles flashed into life, fizzing and cracking as hammer fell on flint and flame and smoke spouted from 80 barrels. Keene looked on and watched as the French were hurled back, men falling and jumping, plucked by the musket balls to dance like marionettes. He saw their second rank walk over the bodies of the first, trampling the fallen, dying Voltigeur as they dragged themselves through the dry grass now stained red.
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And that was a sample of Keane's Company by Ian Gale. The author, Ian Gale, is a journalist and author. Born in 1959. He writes military novels and has been acclaimed by author Bernard Cornwell. There are four four books in his Napoleonic War series, featuring a band of roguish scouting officers led by Captain James Keane, and I'm reading here from Hachette Australia, the website Ian Gale. Art critic, journalist and author comes from a military family and has always been fascinated by military history. He is an active member of the Scottish Committee of the Society of Authors and the Friends of Waterloo Committee. He is the editor of Scotland in Trust, the magazine for the National Trust of Scotland and founded the Caledonian Magazine. He lives in Edinburgh. Ian is spelt [spells author's name] and Keane's Company goes for 11 hours. So that's the first in a series of four.
Another author that Bernard Cornwell has praised, James McGee - and the first book in his series, Ratcatcher. You don't send a gentleman to catch vermin. You send Hawkwood. Hunting down highwaymen was not the usual preserve of a Bow Street runner. As the most resourceful of this elite band, Matthew Hawkwood was surprised to be assigned the case, even if it did involve the murder and mutilation of a naval courier. But as the case unfolds, the true agenda behind the robbery emerges. The stolen naval despatch pouch held details of a French plot which could send the Royal Navy scurrying to port in terror, leaving Napoleon to rule the waves with no way of knowing who can be trusted. Hawkwood must engage in a desperate race against time. Let's hear a sample of Ratcatcher, Part one in the Hawkwood Matthew Hawkwood series. It's narrated by Laurence Kennedy.
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The prey was running late. The Horseman checked his pistol and returned the weapon to the leather holster concealed beneath his riding cloak. Bending low over the mare's neck, he stroked the smooth, glistening flesh at the touch. The animal whispered softly and stomped a forefoot into the soggy, waterlogged ground. A large drop of rain fell from the branch above the rider's head and splattered onto his sleeve. He cursed savagely. The rain had stopped 30 minutes before, but remnants of the storm still lingered in the distance. A jagged flash of lightning sprang across the night sky, and thunder rumbled ominously beneath him. The horse trembled. The rain had turned the ground into a quagmire, but the air smelled clean and fresh. Pale shafts of moonlight filtered through the spreading branches of the oak tree, illuminating the faces of the highwayman and his accomplice. Waiting in the shadows beneath the horses, heard at first. Nervously they began to pore the ground. Then the highwayman picked up the sound.
Here she comes, he whispered. He pulled his scarf up over his nose and tugged down the brim of his hat until only his eyes were visible. His companion did the same. The coachman was pushing the horses hard. Progress had been slow due to the foul weather, and he was anxious to make up for lost time. The storm had made the track almost impassable in places, necessitating a number of unavoidable detours. They should have left the heath by 10:00. It was now close to midnight. The coachman and his mate huddled beside him in a sodden black riding cape, were wet, tired and irritable, and looking forward to a hot rum and a warm bed.
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And that was Ratcatcher by James McGee. James is [spells name]. And that book goes for 12 hours. The library has five books in the Matthew Hawkwood series, and the Publishers Weekly says: Balancing moments of poignancy with swashbuckling action, historical interest, powerful suspense and wry wit, McGee delivers all the delights of a classic adventure story, and a reviewer on Amazon.com calls Hawkwood the 1800s version of Jack Reacher. Ratcatcher was longlisted for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the year for 2007. He on his website, which is just jamesmcgee.uk ... James McGee dot UK.
He says he was an Army brat. He attended school in Gibraltar, Germany and Northern Ireland, by which time, after appalling exam exam grades, he'd had enough of academia. He was managing a bookstore when he began to write Ratcatcher. And it was only after the success of the second book in the series that it became harder for him to hold down two full time roles, so he resigned from the bookshop. So they're just two authors taking on the mantle of James Cornwell, both admired by James Cornwell, which is a great endorsement. People who love James Cornwell will enjoy those authors, I'm sure.
And now to author C.J. Tudor and her second suspense-crime, slightly creepy novel, The Taking of Annie Thorne, published in 2019. One night, Annie went missing, disappeared from her own bed. There were searches, appeals, everyone thought the worst. And then miraculously, after 48 hours, she came back. But she couldn't or wouldn't say what had happened to her. Something happened to my sister. I can't explain what. I just know that when she came back, she wasn't the same. She wasn't my Annie. I didn't want to admit, even to myself, that sometimes I was scared to death of my own little sister. Let's hear a sample of The Taking of Annie Thorne by C.J. Tudor. It's narrated by Richard Armitage.
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Even before stepping into the cottage, Gary knows that this is bad. It's the sickly sweet smell drifting out through the open door, the flies buzzing around the sticky hot hallway. And if that isn't a dead giveaway that something about this house is not right. Not right in the worst possible way, then the silence confirms it. Keith's a smart white. Fiat sits in the driveway. A bike is propped outside the front door, wellies discarded just inside a family home. And even when a family home is empty, it has an echo of life. It shouldn't sit. Heavy and foreboding, with a thick, suffocating blanket of silence like this house does. Births. Still, he calls again. Hello? Anyone here? Sheryl raises a hand and wraps briskly against the open door. Shut when they arrived, but unlocked again. Not right. Angel might be a small village, but people still lock their doors. Baths. Police! She shouts.
Nothing. Not a faint footstep. Creak or whisper. Gary sighs, realising he feels superstitiously reluctant about entering, not just because of the rancid aroma of death. There's something else. something primal that seems to be urging him to turn and walk away. Right now, Keith's sarge. Terrell looks up at him, one pencil thin eyebrow raised questioningly. Keith's. He glances at his five foot four, barely breaking £100 companion. At over six foot and almost 20 stone, Gary is the Baloo to Cheryl's delicate Bambi, at least in looks personality wise. Suffice it to say, Gary cries at Disney movies. Keith's. He gives her a small, grim nod and the pair step inside.
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And that was a sample of The Taking of Annie Thorne by C J Tudor. C is the initial C, then J and then Tudor. The surname is [spells surname]. And I'm reading here from Penguin Australia, and it's on their website. A Brief Guide to C.J. Tudor... C.J. Tudor burst onto the crime and thriller scene with her 2018 novel The Chalk Man, which is also in the library, which won the International Thriller Writers Award for the Best First Novel. Over the years, she has worked as a copywriter, television presenter, voice over artist and dog walker. Even though she's now able to write full time, she doesn't miss chasing wet dogs through muddy fields all that much. Her books may disturb some with their twistedness and themes, and by twisted they are psychological thrillers. Her love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young when her peers were reading Judy Blume. She was devouring Stephen King and James Herbert.
Again, this is from the Penguin Australia website... Her first three books, The Chalk Man, The Taking of Annie Thorne, and the third novel The Other People. All three books are in development for TV, and her fourth novel, The Burning Girls, was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection and has been adapted for television by award winning screenwriter Hans Rosenfeld, creator of The Bridge and Marcella. And I have seen that The Burning Girls, all about a fairly young female Church of England reverend who is sent to an English village to become the person they're sent for a reason. Things went wrong in her previous parish in the inner city.
So she's coming into this parish where there was a long standing reverend for a long time, and there's a mystery or a legend around The Burning Girls. These girls were were supposed to have been burned by Mary, the first in the 1500s. Who was... she was a rabid anti-protestant and tried to bring Catholicism back into England after the reign of Henry the eighth. If you like your books... a little bit dark and a bit twisted, but with really good characters, I would suggest. C.J. Tudor might be one that you would like.
Now let's come back to Australia with acclaimed Australian writer Bruce Pascoe, and his book Black Duck, which is a personal reflection on life, country and the consequences of Dark Emu through six seasons on his farm. When Dark Emu was adopted by Australia like a new anthem, Bruce found himself at the centre of a national debate that often focused on the wrong part of the story. But through all the noise came Black Duck Foods, a blueprint for traditional food growing and land management processes based on very old practices. Bruce Pascoe and and co-writer Lynn Harwood invite us to imagine a different future for Australia, one where we can honour our relationship with nature and improve agriculture and forestry, where we can develop a uniquely Australian cuisine that will reduce carbon emissions, preserve scarce water resources, and rebuild our soil.
Bruce and Lynn show us that you don't just work country. You look, listen and care. It's not black duck magic. It's a result of simply treating Australia like herself from the aftermath of devastating bushfires and the impact of an elders death to rebuilding a marriage and counting the personal cost of starting a movement, Black Duck is a remarkable glimpse into a year of finding strength in country at Yungaburra. Let's hear a sample of Black Duck: A Year at Yumburra by Bruce Pascoe and Lynn Harwood. It's narrated by Bruce Pascoe.
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An owl at nightjar is more butterfly than bird, more spirit than being, less weight than a handful of grapes. Pale fairy of the night I hear their soft cheering almost every night, but can count the times I have seen one on the fingers of two hands. It is like seeing a large moth fluttering silently in the dark. Our people say they hold the woman's spirit. Their eyes are huge, doe like. But that description belies the huge responsibility. I turned the corner onto the Gypsy Point Road on a September day at three in the morning, and there she was on the road in front of me. Those huge eyes questioning my appearance at that hour. The hour of true dreams or restless wakefulness.
I stopped and considered my response. You're back, she said, and that's how it felt. I opened the door a fraction so that she could hear the click, and it was enough for her to flutter into the melaleucas beside the road. I shut the door and drove on carefully to make sure I could avoid a collision with any startled roo or wallaby. At the end of the road, the little town nestled against the dark water where three great salt rivers meet Wallagaraugh, Genoa and Marengo. Is it a town? If it's without a shop of any kind? The sleeping houses were unconcerned by semantics. On the bank of the river there were 30 or more kangaroos. I nodded. Yes, that's about how I remembered it. I thought the property would be on my right, and so I parked the car and stepped out to prove the theory.
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And that was a sample of Black Duck: a Year at Yumburra by Bruce Pascoe. Bruce is spelt [spells author's name]. And there's a co-writer there, Lynn Harwood. And this book goes for eight hours and 20 minutes. This book was released earlier on in the year. We have many books by Bruce Pascoe in the library, there is Fox and Shark convincing ground learning to fall in love with your country. There's also the Little Yellow Black Book, An Introduction to Indigenous Australia available to borrow. Plus Dark Emu, black seeds, agriculture or accident is an amazing voice in the Australian landscape. That's Bruce Pascoe.
Thank you for joining us today on Hear This. I'm Frances Keyland, and just a reminder as well that the mindful Reading Wellbeing Through Stories Online course is starting up. It's a monthly online Line series, where you can experience the power of reading and foster common connections by immersing yourself in, listening to, and exploring stories. This shared experience empowers us to explore the thoughts and feelings that these stories present to us, and in doing so, offers us the opportunity to be curious about our own stories. This is being led by esteemed Bibliotherapist doctor Susan McLean, who will read out selected texts and lead guided reflection.
These mindful reading sessions are also an opportunity to meet like minded Vision Australia community members in a safe space. Mindful reading is open Division Australia Library members aged 18 and plus, and will run online over five monthly sessions from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the third Monday of the month, so starting off on August the 19th. The course is free to attend. Registration, as I said, is open to Vision Australia Library members and to register your attendance, ring the library or you can register by going to Vision Australia. Dot zoom.us, Vision Australia dot zoom.us and you will be able to find the Mindful Reading Wellbeing through Stories registration page there and you can enter in your details.
I hope you enjoyed the sample of the books today. If you have your own recommendations of a type of book, an author, a narrator, or a work of fiction or nonfiction, please send through your recommendations. You can call the library on 1300 654 656. That's 1300 654 656. Or you can email, library@visionaustralia.org ... that's library at Vision Australia dot org. Have a lovely week and we'll be back next week with more Hear This.
