TL;DR – Three mothers become friends and discover the deep pains they hide beneath the surface. They want to be good wives and loving mothers, but they first have to be true to themselves and that means confronting lies that have taken on a life of their own.

Summary (warning: spoilers)

Jane is a single mother. Her son, Ziggy, is a result of being raped. Jane is angst riddled and nervous about trying to be a single parent and she secretly worries that some sort of violent DNA is inside Ziggy because of her past trauma. Her fears appear self-fulfilling as Ziggy is accused of bullying another child.

Madeleine has turned forty-years old and is not quite sure how to deal with that milestone. She is a go-getter of a woman, divorced once, married twice, and gave birth thrice. Her eldest daughter, Abigail is now fourteen and is from her previous marriage to Nathan. Nathan did a runner on Madeleine when Abigail was a baby but has returned, apparently a reformed man, and remarried to Bonnie, a Zen-like yoga instructor, and they have their own child who happens to be going to the same kindergarten as Madeleine’s five-year old daughter, Chloe. It is difficult enough that Madeleine has to confront Nathan frequently but things become more challenging when Abigail starts idolising Bonnie. Jealousy and past pains arise.

Celeste is married to Perry, a rich banker, and has twin boys – Max and Josh. Celeste is a stunner, lives a life of luxury, has a handsome husband (with whom she still has hot sex with), and appears on the surface to have the perfect life. But as we all know, appearances can be deceiving.

Together these three develop a bond that will see them through some of the toughest and most horrific situations they will ever have to face including… murder.

Review

To be clear, the summary above makes it sound like the three main characters conspire to commit a murder. This is not the case.

However, the book opens with a school trivia night for parents that ends with someone dead and the police make it clear that it is being treated as a murder investigation. What events transpire that results in the trivia night transforming into a bloody disaster is revealed through subsequent chapters of the book. After chapter one, we are taken back six months prior to the trivia night and are introduced to Jane, Madeleine and Celeste.

Liane Moriarty captures Sydney suburbia and the daily trials and tribulations of motherhood with an ease that makes me jealous. It demonstrates the effectiveness of her writing and makes Big Little Lies an effortless page turner. The distinct voice she gives to her three main protagonists propels the reader into their minds and how they see their world. Their lives connect you and you want to find out where they end up and what choices they make.

This is the greatest strength of the story, and while there is an underlying mystery (i.e. who got murdered on the trivia night? why were they killed? and how?) that assists in driving the reader forward, it is how Moriarty captures the characters so well that it is engaging and engrossing.

Big Little Lies is all about how lies fester and damage us, and how truth can set you free. Nowhere is this more evident than with Celeste, who appears to have everything on the outside but behind closed doors, she is actually trapped in an abusive relationship. Moriarty captures this domestic violence situation with authenticity and shows us how Celeste convinces herself (essentially she is lying to herself) about her husband, Perry.

Moriarty then builds up the story to create a believable connection between Jane and Celeste (who, initially, appear to be polar opposites in terms of lifestyle and where they are in their lives). Astute readers will see the connection before it is revealed in the climatic scene at the trivia night, but you should still be rewarded with how it unfolds. I certainly was riveted by how Moriarty reveals that Perry turns out to be not only an abusive husband to Celeste but also Jane’s rapist. Madeleine is the glue that keeps the trio together, a bond that allows them to rely on each other even in the face of this horrific revelation.

But the icing on the cake comes from an unexpected source. An action by a character that I doubt many readers will foresee. That character is Bonnie, the level-headed, Zen-centred, loving-wife/mother that has filled Madeleine with jealousy and angst for most of the book. The final revelation is not that Perry is Jane’s rapist, it is that Bonnie grew up in a domestic violent family as well; Bonnie’s father would beat her mother. The life she has led has sought to bury her childhood and counter all that trauma. Though the story does not delve into Bonnie’s history more than this, one can only assume that Bonnie never sought to let this go or seek help for the trauma she experienced witnessing her mother being abused. Thus, when the trivia night occurs, and Bonnie witnesses the revelation that Celeste is in an abusive marriage and that Perry was the man who raped Jane, the calm demeanour vanishes, and the explosion is immediate. Bonnie attacks Perry with years of pent up rage and pushes him off the balcony to his death.

It is a brilliant piece of writing because 1) it actually makes sense and 2) you believe Bonnie’s hidden pain is as real as the pains the other three mothers have hidden. When she screams at Perry, “Your children see!” it is a pure reflection of her own childhood and completely believable. That is, the fact that in domestic violent situations, the children also see and absorb the abuse even if they are not the direct victims. This is a clever bit of writing indeed because Bonnie is a supporting character that we, the reader, believe has her head screwed on right and is there only as a focal point for Madeleine’s jealousy and insecurity. If you want to read any of Liane Moriarty’s work, then this is one you will not regret.

4.5 out of 5.

TL;DR – Phil Jackson coached two teams – the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers – to a combined eleven NBA titles. No other NBA coach has won more. This is his story of how he achieved such success with a group of professional athletes with huge egos.

Summary

Between 1991 to 1998, the Chicago Bulls won six titles (two sets of 3-peats), and between 2000 to 2010, the Los Angeles Lakers won five titles (one 3-peat and one back-to-back title). Those two dynastic teams were built around superstars Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) and Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers). They are arguably considered the two greatest scorers in the history of the NBA and were renown for taking on opposing teams by themselves in order to win.

But basketball is a team sport and there were plenty of other players and egos on those teams. As head coach, Phil Jackson had to be the central voice and present a road map and strategy that the players would buy into. How he managed to achieve this is detailed in this book and demonstrates that beneath the sport, the training, the games, the skills, is the essential need to understand human relationships.

Review

Like all professional sports, the need to win often overshadows everything else. Accomplishments achieved prior to taking that final step over the finish line are not given the credit they deserve because media and memories tend to focus only on whether the team (or individual) lifted up the championship trophy or won a gold medal. Just ask the Buffalo Bills (NFL American Football Team) who went to four straight Super Bowl finals but lost all four. To date, no other team in the NFL has ever reached four Super Bowls in a row and that achievement should be celebrated but instead all anyone looks at is the fact that they never won the Super Bowl in those four attempts.

However, unlike the Bills, the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s and the LA Lakers of the 2000s did obtain success in “winning terms” but their true success was blending together players and coaching staff into a cohesive unit. More importantly, they were not just championship teams, they became family (or as Jackson puts it a “tribe”). And because we are talking about humans and not robots playing a sport, the personalities, passions and conflicts all arise.

It is these narratives that make for fascinating reading (not the games themselves). Generally, my favourite read is in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, but I will read anything if it engages me. Non-fiction is not something I normally gravitate towards and Eleven Rings being about basketball is helped if you, the reader, understand the game. But there is enough in this book to show that some of the best stories revolve around real life people.

Phil Jackson was also unusual as a sports coach as he embraced approaches involving meditation, mindfulness and combining it with psychology and Native American philosophy. Players on Jackson’s teams reacted to his methods in varying ways. As you would expect some did not find meditation and mindfulness all that useful, while others embraced these alternate ways of improving team chemistry and performance on the basketball court. Jackson was coined the “Zen Master” in basketball circles and was considered quite unorthodox compared to other NBA coaches during that time.

The insights into how Jackson worked with and managed players such as Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Kobe, Shaq etc. allows the reader to understand the challenges he faced and how leadership can blossom in different ways. The bonds formed and the chemistry that comes about if those relationships are allowed room to grow shows that even on the basketball court, creativity, understanding and trust can flourish.

Jackson, himself, is not immune from ego or internal struggle. I kind of wished he explored that more in this book regarding his own foibles, doubts and weaknesses, but overall he delves into the adventure undertaken during those years. That journey rivals any good fantasy quest or sci-fi saga and thus is worth a read even for non-basketball or non-sporting readers.

4 out of 5.

TL;DR – Alina serves the Ravka army as a mapmaker. Assigned to cross the Shadow Fold, an expanse of darkness filled with demonic winged monsters, she almost dies but discovers a long dormant power that allows her to summon light and fend off the creatures. This discovery leads to a chain of events where Alina is thrown into the world of politics and manipulation to try and save her country from its enemies. Fans of young adult fantasy will devour this story.

Summary

Alina Starkov and Mal Oretsev are raised in an orphanage in Keramzin. Thick as thieves, the pair grow up together with a bond that is stronger than blood. When they come of age, they enlist in the First Army of Ravka. Alina is a mapmaker and Mal is an expert tracker. Their regiment journeys to Kribirsk where they see the Shadow Fold.

The Shadow Fold, also known as the Unsea, is like a gaping wound that runs south of Ravka to the border of Shu Han and all the way north to the border Fjerda. It is filled with demonic flying creatures known as the Volcra. Cut off from the coast, East Ravka struggles to survive and must often send soldiers through the Fold in order to access West Ravka so they can access the imports it receives from other countries that cross the true sea. Ravka has been at war with Shu Han and Fjerda for over a hundred years, and the Fold is a blight that traps the country between two enemies.

When Alina and Mal board a sandskiff and commence the perilous journey through the Fold, they are set upon by a swarm of Volcra. Among the blood and chaos, Mal becomes badly wounded and Alina rushes to his side. When a Volcra swoops down and latches on Alina to carry her away, all looks lost until she unleashes a blinding white light that destroys all the nearby Volcra. Alina loses consciousness in the process and awakens to find herself back at Kribirsk and is escorted unceremoniously to meet the Darkling.

The Darkling is the leader of the Second Army of Ravka. While the First Army are non-magical, the Second Army is comprised of Grisha (humans capable of conjuring magic). When the Darkling confirms that Alina is not only a Grisha but has the rare ability to summon light, she is whisked away to the Little Palace to commence training in the Grisha arts. There she is plunged into the political machinations and internal power struggle between Ravka royalty and Grisha. Alina is anointed the Sun Summoner, a being capable of freeing Ravka from the Fold, reuniting east and west, and finally making the country whole once more.

Will she save Ravka from its enemies (and itself) or destroy it?

Review

Book 1 of the Shadow and Bone trilogy introduces the world of Grisha, masters of the small science, who are capable of conjuring magic. Corporalki are able to manipulate the human body; they can heal and harm with a wave of their hand. Etherealki control the elements wind, fire and water. Materialki are inventors that have powers to change compositions of various chemicals and substances such as steel, glass and textiles. Collectively, they are known as the Second Army of Ravka.

Leigh Bardugo has built a fantasy world that establishes firmly magical arts that follow a set of rules. She then surrounds this fantastical element with real life common themes that humans see, experience and struggle with. Whether it is the emotions of love, joy, envy and jealousy experienced by the main characters or the broader impacts of war and political backstabbing, readers will identify with these as the familiar and thus be fascinated by the fantastical.

The greatest strength of Shadow and Bone comes not only from the character relationships between Alina, Mal, the Darkling and supporting cast but also from the established prejudices, suspicions, and power struggle between non-magical humans and Grisha. Ravka is ruled by a king and queen who are non-magical. The King has the First Army, soldiers who use armour and weapons to wage war against the northern Fjerdans and the southern Shu Han. The First Army is seen as the protectors of the country, the Second Army supports the First Army, and Grisha are perceived to be secondary. They all serve the King.

This does not sit well with the leader of the Second Army, the Darkling, who seeks to establish a world where Grisha are on equal footing. Actually, that’s not true, the Darkling wants to establish a new order where he is the ruler of Ravka and Grisha are respected as the higher beings. Forget equal footing, the Darkling wants to not only free Ravka from the Fold, the Fjerdans and Shu Han, but he also wants to be rid of serving a King that he perceives as inept.

This leads to what I felt was the greatest weakness of Shadow and Bone. The story that unfolds reveals that the King really is inept, he treats Grisha (including the Darkling) as servants. He surrounds himself with riches and comforts while the rest of Ravka starves and struggles to survive. Both he and the Queen are largely figureheads who hold parties and live lives of indulgence. Why the soldiers of the First Army along with all the non-magical peasants and serfs of Ravka follow the King is bewildering. There is no insight as to how the King holds on to his power, how he utilises it to control the Darkling and the Grisha. I can only assume that the King’s ancestors were wiser, stronger, and more powerful rulers, but this is never mentioned in the book.

Instead, I am left baffled why the Darkling and the Grisha put up with any of this nonsense. The Darkling could do away with the King in any number of ways and establish a new order, but he chooses not to. The only inference in the book is that he mentions to Alina that the age of Grisha power is coming to an end, and weapons technology of the First Army is advancing and will surpass Grisha power. From what I can tell, the Grisha population is substantially less than the non-magical population, so by pure numbers the Second Army cannot defeat the First Army.

Bardugo even goes even to the point of saying through one of her characters that everyone (including the Ravka First army and the non-magical people) knows who is the real leader and that’s the Darkling.

Still, putting this aside. Bardugo delivers a wonderful character in Alina and captures her naivety and eventual transformation into maturity well. Arguably, it is as much a coming-of-age story about Alina as it is a fantasy adventure. The interactions between her and the Darkling, and her and Mal, carry the story through to the end.

Plenty of symbolism will also have readers chomping at the bit. Alina is the Sun Summoner, the Darkling is the Shadow Summoner, who will prevail? Who can Alina truly trust while she is at the Little Palace training to use her power? Is it Genya, the Grisha tailor who Alina feels a genuine friendship because she is like a slave to the King? Is it Baghra who tries to teach Alina how to use light summoning magic? Is it Botkin, a former Shu Han mercenary, who teaches Alina in hand-to-hand combat? Is it the Apparat, a priest and spiritual advisor to the King who totally creeps Alina out because he seems to be stalking her? Or can Alina actually trust the Darkling and what he seeks to do (i.e. reunite Ravka)?

The one constant, Mal, is not with her. He has been sent off north to track down a mysterious stag that can act as an amplifier for Alina’s powers. Their separation is both heart wrenching and a driver for the story because you want them to reunite. And you know they will reunite, it is just a matter of when and under what circumstances.

Shadow and Bone closes in a dramatic but satisfying fashion and a key realisation for Alina comes in the form of an act of mercy. The writing flows easily and while aimed at young adult readers, it is imminently enjoyable for older ages who enjoy fantasy also. I look forward to reading book two – Siege and Storm.

4 out of 5.

TL;DR – dystopian, speculative fiction about a world where freedoms have been overrun and women have lost all rights including the control of their own bodies. A disturbing look into a society that has lost all its humanity.

Summary

The Republic of Gilead (RoG) is a patriarchal, military dictatorship that has taken control of the United States. Set in a time where environmental pollution has caused the bulk of the female population to become infertile, the RoG restructures society based on extremist interpretations of the Old Testament, which results in human rights (especially those for women) being restricted or removed entirely.

The Handmaid’s Tale tells the story of Offred (not her real name) who becomes a ‘handmaid’ with the express purpose of having children for RoG commanders she is assigned to. This is her story, her journey to survive, to find freedom.

Review

What is there to say that has not already been said about The Handmaid’s Tale? Margaret Atwood has created a work that will likely stand the test of time and has cemented her as one of the great writers of the 20th century. I will not attempt to dissect all of this story’s messages, symbolism, and commentary on how it reflects on human society today. You can read any number of articles that do deep dives into Atwood’s work and/or you can just watch the TV series. Regardless, it is deserving of all its accolades, awards, and critical acclaim.

Instead, all I will say is what I felt when I read this book and whether I enjoyed it.

It achieves what it intends, a level of realism that disarms you and causes you to fall into a world that makes you think, “This could really happen.” Atwood’s mastery of the language places you deep inside Offred’s mind and you feel all her strengths and weaknesses as if they are your own. Atwood flourishes details as viewed from Offred in ways that hits close to home (or too close to home as it may be).

It is a world full of fear, where even those in power (i.e. the Commanders and, to a lesser degree, the Commanders’ wives) are also under the microscope for any signs of going against the established doctrine and system. For example, the Commander that Offred is assigned to invites her in to play Scrabble and gives her magazines to read. This would be seen as an act of treason. Offred is merely a vessel, whose sole purpose is to be impregnated. She is not meant to be seen as a human being with her own thoughts and intellect.

Every interaction and emotion described in this book demonstrates Offred’s humanity in an inhumane world. The fact Offred is able to see this humanity even in her captors demonstrates Atwood’s ability to create a world that is real and far from black and white. Disturbing and horrifying in parts mixed with moments of genuine tenderness and hope creates a roller coaster ride where I found myself having to reach the end.

But did I enjoy it? In short, no.

It is a brilliant piece of work, no doubt about it. Yet, ‘enjoyable’ is the last word I would use to describe it. Why? Because it is a dystopia that focuses on the very worst that we can become. Remember, how I said it can hit too close to home? I see enough dystopian behaviour on the news, in social media, and in day-to-day reality that I do not need to immerse myself in it through a story.

However, is it worth reading? In short, yes. It is worth reading because of how effecting it is and how it leaves impressions and thoughts that will make you ponder long after the last page is read.

But enjoyable, no, and as an avid reader that counts for a lot in my books.

2.5 out of 5.