Kathryn's Inbox

Andrew Maunder takes a look of one of the highest selling and, most surprisingly, controversial authors of the twentieth century Enid Blyton, in this latest instalment of the Literary Lives series. Enid Blyton rose to fame in the 1920s and by the advent of the Second World War was one of the highest selling authors in the United Kingdom and in many other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand. Acclaim for the author soon turned to criticism with many pointing to the lack of depth in her stories and the peddling of values that as early as the 1960s were considered to elitist, sexist and racist. Following her death two biographies would draw an unflattering portrait of the author, portraying her as selfish and childish, first Barbara Stoney's biography and later, the more shocking A Childhood at Green Hedges written by Blyton's youngest daughter Imogen, in which she portrayed her mother as selfish and distant. Enid Blyton A Literary Life  acknowledges these cla

Fans of My Brilliant Career are in for a treat with this clever and thought provoking novel that looks at the life of beloved Australian author Miles Franklin from a different perspective. Shaped as a novel within a novel, Amy Brown tells the story of three different women. There is Ida, whose writing career has been put on hold after she finds herself forced to take the greater share of parenting and to put her husband's career first. The next section of the novel focuses on the novel that Ida is writing, an alternate version of My Brilliant Career that focuses on Franklin's sister Linda and finally, the third section focuses on Stella, a woman who is both similar and completely different from Ida who has been forced to put her own brilliant career on hold due to the pandemic.  My Brilliant Sister is clever and innovative. Each time I picked it up, I found myself reading a few extra pages than I intended. The three protagonists are easy to identify with--in spite of the fact

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Under what terms and conditions should people be allowed to come out? Is it fair that some people have an easier time than others? Those are the questions at the heart of Imogen, Obviously the latest novel from bestselling American author Becky Albertalli.  Imogen is at her heart, a people pleaser. But is that the reason why, after her sister and best friend come out, she decides to up her ally game, joining her high school's LGBTQI+ club and becoming a bit part of the group? There, she makes friends with Gretchen, whose own coming out has been traumatic and eventually led her to changing schools. And when she discovers on a visit that her best friend Lili, who came out shortly before leaving for college, has lied to her new friends, not only claiming that she came out in high school but that Imogen is her ex-girlfriend, Imogen goes along with it. Then, just to complicate matters even more, Imogen finds herself falling for Tessa, a girl from Lili's college and she starts wonde

Reader, be warned. Three Women is not easy reading. Is it compelling, however? Absolutely. Journalist Lisa Taddeo takes the difficult private lives of three very different women and turns it into a nonfiction novel and study of female sexuality. There is Maggie, who was sexually abused in high school by a teacher who is regarded as a pillar of the community, Lina who was drugged and raped by three boys at a party and later finds herself in an unhappy marriage and pining for her first boyfriend and Sloane who sleeps with other men while her husband watches.  Compiled over eight years, the author tells the stories of the three very different women, who have never met, who live in different parts of the United States and who have little in common, but for the fact that their sexuality is controlled by the people around them and fodder for gossip and discussion by others. There is an interesting look at class--Sloane who has money and who is married--is afforded a greater level of respect

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Aussie author Kylie Scott serves up a romance with an intriguing premise in End of Story. Susie has inherited a beautiful house from her aunt. A beautiful house in need of restoration. She hires the best company in town to do the job, and one of the builders just happens to Lars, the best mate of her ex. Susie and Lars aren't exactly friends and Lars was one of the witnesses to Susie's very humiliating break up with her ex. If that wasn't complicated enough ... whilst pulling back wallpaper Susie and Lars discover a divorce certificate, dated ten years in the future with both of their names on it. What is going on? Is it a sick joke? If it is real, then why is Susie feeling more and more attracted to Lars when a relationship between the two of them is doomed. This one had a great premise and there are some truly fun moments. However the novel is let down a little by the pacing--it is very slow. It also becomes very obvious, very early on that Susie and Lars would work well

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