Review: The Radio Hour

Title: The Radio Hour

Author: Victoria Purman

Publisher: 1st May 2023 by Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA

Pages: 320 pages

Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction | Women's Fiction

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of The Nurses' War comes this charming, funny, pointed look at the golden years of radio broadcasting in post-war Australia, celebrating the extraordinary unseen women who wrote the radio plays that held a nation captive. For readers of Lessons in Chemistry.

Martha Berry is fifty years old, a spinster, and one of an army of polite and invisible women in 1956 Sydney who go to work each day and get things done without fuss, fanfare or reward.

Working at the country's national broadcaster, she's seen highly praised talent come and go over the years but when she is sent to work as a secretary on a brand-new radio serial, created to follow in the footsteps of Australia's longest running show, Blue Hills, she finds herself at the mercy of an egotistical and erratic young producer without a clue, a conservative broadcaster frightened by the word 'pregnant' and a motley cast of actors with ideas of their own about their roles in the show.

When Martha is forced to step in to rescue the serial from impending cancellation, she ends up secretly ghost-writing scripts for As The Sun Sets, creating mayhem with management, and coming up with storylines that resonate with the serial's growing and loyal audience of women listeners.

But she can't keep her secret forever and when she's threatened with exposure, Martha has to decide if she wants to remain in the shadows, or to finally step into the spotlight.

My Thoughts

Following on from her last novel A Woman’s Work, Victoria continues with her theme of women from Australia of the 1950s and I am 100% here for it! Love! Love! Love! This is most definitely Australia’s Lesson in Chemistry moment as it highlights so much of what women achieved through challenging opposition.  

This period of time was not that long ago and Victoria does an incredible job of highlighting the struggles women experienced through laws, societal expectations and personal preferences. It is not only a journey of how far we have come (and still need to go) but also how together, women are stronger. It is such a fabulous read - a book about women, for women and what they have contended with (and sadly may continue to do so) in the workforce. 

I adore the structure of the book with each chapter providing a ‘set the scene’ as happened in radio serials of the day. Once more readers are immersed in not only the plight of Martha (a 50 year old spinster and all the stereotypical baggage that comes attached to that) but the making and production of a radio serial from go to whoa which is both enlightening and entertaining in and of itself. With so much to choose from in today’s world of entertainment, it is pure pleasure to slip back to a time when the whole nation embraced the medium of radio and the stories it provided.

‘If politeness had held her back for her first fifty years, the truth was going to win out from now on. Too many women kept too many secrets. For too long, women had buried their ambitions and their intelligence, succumbed to the law of the land made by men, and put up with behaviour and situations no man had a right to impose on them.’

Our lead Martha is wonderful - everyone needs a Martha in their workplace for sure. She is a brilliant protagonist in being both relatable and likeable for a woman of her era. The cheers are loud when she finally tells people they can make their own cup of tea! The themes that Victoria places throughout bring such a richness to an already vibrant and worthy tale. Sexism in the workplace, gender inequality, aging, female health issues, immigration - are just some of the themes addressed in this engaging read. 

I love learning about and from history, and once more Victoria has taken her readers on an incredible journey. I don’t think I fully appreciated the impact of the era of radio before the introduction of television on a nation. Woven into that is an incredible tale that is right in line with Victoria’s last few novels of the role of women at a time of change and, indeed, changes that still need to be faced and tackled in some ways. An engaging, emotive, enjoyable read that I highly recommend. 

‘That was what Martha could pass on to the next generation: the hope of something more.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: Every Time We Say Goodbye

Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye

Author: Natalie Jenner

Publisher: 14th May 2024 by St. Martin's Press

Pages: 336 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction | Women’s Fiction 

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls returns with a brilliant novel of love and art, of grief and memory, of confronting the past and facing the future.

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry's last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

My Thoughts

Natalie Jenner’s debut novel, The Jane Austen Society, was a wonderful read back in 2020. She followed it up with Bloomsbury Girls, taking one of the characters from her debut novel to a London bookstore. In her latest, Every Time We Say Goodbye, Natalie takes one of the characters, Vivian, from the bookstore to post-war Italy working as a script doctor in the movies after her play is a flop in London. 

“We make the truth. We’re selling a world that doesn’t exist.” “That’s so cynical.” “What are you making, then?” “What the world could be.”

Natalie was inspired by the world famous Cinecittà movie studio in Rome that had been used as a war refugee camp in the 1940s. Set in the la dolce vita of mid 1950s Rome, the story explores a very unique time period. Lead FMC Vivian is working as a script doctor and carries her own personal war wounds wherever she goes. Her fiance disappeared in Italy during WW2 and she is searching for closure after making some life changing decisions. 

‘The only thing that will save you is perspective - and that, only the passing of time can bestow.’

Natalie does an excellent job of conveying the complexity of Italian political, economic, and cultural life in the 1940s and ’50s. From the glamour of movie actresses like Ava Gardner and Sophia Loren making cameo appearances, to the policing and censorship of some movies by the Catholic Church. In many ways the past continues to haunt from its fascist and German occupation days and deep contradictions are evident. 

‘… contradictions of Italy at work here: a former Fascist regime that had somehow shape-shifted into an ostensible democracy that was heavily influenced by a censorial church and half-heartedly administered by the police. Yet the one thing all these factions took seriously was cinema.’

The novel encompasses so much, from love and conflict, faith and censorship, war and orphans, glamour and moviemaking, fashion and food - it has to all. Whilst there is much to learn about Rome, the Church and politics of the day, in some ways it feels like a reflective piece with characters coming to terms with life after traumatic events. You don’t have to have read the previous novels to enjoy Every Time We Say Goodbye as the focus is on learning how to live after such tragedy. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Mickey

Title: Mickey

Author: Helen Brown

Publisher: 1st May 2024 by ABC Books AU

Pages: 340 pages

Genre: pets, cats, autobiography 

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Cleo, a warm, wistful coming-of-age true story about the transition from childhood to adolescence, and the small stray cat who helped guide the way.

It was 1966 and the times they were a-changing, even in the provincial New Zealand coastal town of New Plymouth. Skirts were getting shorter, the Vietnam War was on TV every night and French nuclear tests in the Pacific turned the night sky a violent red. Twelve-year-old Helen, the youngest daughter of an eccentric engineer and a musical theatre fanatic, was living in a crumbling castle overrun by nature, and overshadowed by the majestic Mount Taranaki. On the eve of puberty, everything suddenly is uncomfortable and unfamiliar to Helen. She feels lonely and lost, adrift in this new turbulent sea. 

That is, until her father gifts her a tiger-striped kitten with extra toes on each paw. Noticing an M on the cat's forehead, Helen names her new companion Mickey. Inquisitive, clever and skittish, Mickey disrupts the already rambunctious household with his mischief. But as it turns out, he's just the ally Helen needs to explore the new world waking up around her.

My Thoughts

‘Cat and girl, we embraced the meow, surrendered to the shimmer, and let ourselves melt into the particles.’

The author, Helen Brown, has previously written three other books about cats and how they loved and supported her through challenging times. She has now gone back to the very beginning with the one cat that started it all, Mickey. When she was twelve years old, at the very cusp of what would be a challenging adolescence, her father presented her with a kitten. Mickey was her first friend and love with whom she shared all her dreams. 

Living in a household with her eccentric parents and older siblings, everyone seemed to be caught up in their own dramas. Feeling somewhat lost and unseen, Helen and Mickey traversed  through the challenges together. Living in provincial New Zealand in the 1960s, one was still aware of global tensions from Russia and USA, troubles in Vietnam and nuclear testing in the Pacific. So, far from being a book just about cats, it tells a story that is much broader. 

This is a heartwarming memoir about love and loss, family and friends and how our furry friends can provide the joy and healing we humans often look for. A genuine story that celebrates the power of our animal companions during life’s trials and tribulations. 

’Mickey and I shed our physical bodies and became weightless spirits, limited only by the size of our thoughts. The cat expanded to become the size of a giant tiger. I climbed on board her back. Together we dissolved through the ceiling and floated across the night sky.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Wise Words from David Attenborough

Title: Wise Words from David Attenborough 

Illustrations: Nat Carroll

Publisher: 29th November 2023 by Harper by Design

Pages: 96 pages

Genre: reference, quotes, environment

Synopsis:

With his unmistakable voice and childlike wonder, Sir David Attenborough has graced our television screens since 1954.

This unauthorised collection celebrates the world's favourite naturalist and his perspective on plants, animals, sustainability, community and beyond. 

From vegetarianism to climate change, each of these quotes demonstrates the power of words and positive thinking in our everyday lives.

My Thoughts

We depend upon the natural world for every mouthful of food that we eat and indeed every lungful of air that we breathe.'

A selection of some of David Attenborough’s most memorable and wise quotes to remind all ages to act accordingly in ensuring the conservation of our planet. A perfect gift or coffee table inspiration book with illustrations by Australian artist, Nat Carroll. She was commissioned to design a series of animal and plant illustrations for this tiny hardback, a purposeful little book that beautifully combines the wise words of the world renown conservationist. 

Perfect for inspiration, this small, short book features words of advice and life tips that are sure to stir the soul. David Attenborough is an icon and this little treasure of a book is sure to provide hope and heart in morally motivating readers to care for our very special home. 

‘What we do in the next few years will profoundly affect the next few thousand years.'

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.