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This book written in 1992 encompasses the debate still around today about the legal system in all Commonwealth countries. Helena Kennedy QC, who rose through the ranks of the legal world in Britain gives an educated view on the need for change in the seemingly alien culture of the British courts.
The book starts with the discussion of the technicalities of being a lawyer when she graduated. The legal system was divided into inns, someone's knowledge as a lawyer was judged by how many dinners they attended at these inns and where they sat as well as how able they were in responding to criticism often from chauvinistic male counterparts. This reflects what was an issue in many Commonwealth countries that had taken the model of the English court system, only in the last ten years was the infamous wig taken away from lawyers, this perhaps explaining the prevalence of the generation of old white men who took over the judiciary in the 1960s and 70s desparate to maintain morals in a changing society.
One of the most interesting parts of this book for me was the discussion on the use of the partial defence of provocation. As has been proved in a recent case in New Zealand, it is far more likely to be of use to men claiming a women was attacking them, than women who when they commit murder often kill a spouse in their sleep after years of violent, sexual and psychological abuse. Many cases were highlighted to show that the law of provocation could only be used if the action was directly after another action, and would not work for women who had suffered extreme trauma at the hands of spouses. It shows the discrepancies in the legal system, when a woman killing her cheating husband who insults her sexuality goes to jail, while a man goes free who murders a women for the same reason as it seems men are seem as beyond control when sex is involved.
There was also a vivid discussion of racial discrepancies in the English courts. Black women for example are more likely to be considered immoral, less likely to receive probation and more likely to be torn apart by prosecuting council for being immoral and unwomanly. The same goes for immigrants, who are often criticised by judges and even asked whether they would support England in a cricket game as evidence of their immorality. Women lawyers of different races are also open to disgusting criticism often from judges about whether they represent the real English law - I suppose by that saying do they represent the old white men who until recently all but controlled the profession.
One thing I liked in particular about this book was that it wasn't upfront radical feminism, Kennedy reiterates throughout the book that many of the things which apply to women in courts can also be damaging to men, and can be a reason why abused men do not come forward. The last chapter summarised well what changes need to be seen in Commonwealth systems before they can be truly just.
Would highly recommend this to anyone, funnily enough it was on a recommended reading list for a Criminology paper I am taking and illustrates well what needs to be addressed and the countless injustices which have been served on both men and women.
This book which apparently differs greatly from anything else this author has written tells the story of a middle-aging man Lou who suffers from autism. The point of this book is not necessarily that he suffers though: he holds down a good job in analysing patterns, he attends fencing classes once a week and has a love interest and he associates with other autistic people who also work with him. The trouble comes when a boss at his company tries to force the employees into a new treatment which is said to have reversed autism in apes.
Up until this moment, Lou's place of work has created an environment which suits the needs of its employees. They have their own private gym and are not expected to interact too much with those who they call 'normal' people. One of the amazing lessons of this book is what constitutes being normal and how Lou discovers through his studies that he is relatively more normal than anyone thinks. Despite this he still faces difficulties in tasks that he thinks other people have no difficulty with; going through airport security, purchasing dinner and changing his stringent routine which sees him arrange his week with different tasks on each day.
This book is set in the near-future. A cure for autism in fetus development has been found and Lou and his colleagues are some of the youngest people who were born too early to take advantage of the treatment. Chips can also be implanted in people's brains to prevent criminal behaviour shunning the need for jails. Lou finds himself questioning what exactly the speed of dark is and this comes in at the end when he tries to decide if he wants change and what he is willing to sacrifice to follow his dreams.
I don't feel this review has done the book justice, I absolutely loved it and would recommend it far and wide.
This was recommended to me by my father in the library, he said it's a "classic" that I can't miss. Fred Hoyle was a renowned astronomer and physicist who wrote books as well, science fiction books. For this reason, I found this book extremely interesting, all of the fiction was backed up in scientific theory and often scientific fact. Some of the sections of the book even had footnotes where an equation to work something out was showed or similar.
The "black cloud" referred to in this book is one spotted by astronomers who seeing what effect it is going to have get a government-funded sanctuary to further research its effects and why it has come so close to Earth that it is in the same orbit around the sun. The characters are pretty delightful. I mentioned to my father at one stage the evident dislike of politicians, especially by Kingsley who has organised the sanctuary. My father then told me that this is shown in most of Hoyle's books, although there is always at least one likeable politician apparently.
This is definitely science fiction of the purest kind. Unlike Asimov, Scott Card or Clarke, Hoyle makes all of the events closer as her manages to ground them in explanations about what they mean. The characters become more and more engrossed as the book goes on and this results in an astonishing twist. I paticularly liked the inclusion of the character Joe, a simpleton who later features in an important part of the book.
Would highly recommend to anyone, paticularly if you are a space geek like myself.
To be honest, I've read quite a bit of this guy's work and this has been my least favourite so far. It tells the story of the worst day of a woman's life followed by a weekend which progressively gets stranger and stranger. Nothing about Robbins' books conveys a normal sense of what you would expect in a fiction novel. There is no over-reaching plot, climax or distinct characterisation but rather a combination of unreal and extenuating circumstances. This is what makes his books so different and so fantastic.
In this one, after a stock market crash before the Easter weekend, a stockbroker, Gwendolyn stresses about her future. We then follow her from looking for her boyfriend's pet monkey who has escaped and getting to know another man, Larry Diamond who attempts to expand her purely stock-oriented mind and searching for her friend Q-Jo who is a tarot card reader who has mysteriously failed to turn up home and cannot be found anywhere. Gwendolyn, over this weekend which she begins with what she believes is the "worst day of my life" discovers what she really wants; sexually, career-wise and for herself.
As usual, Robbins uses his brilliant prose and infinitely random mind in a new way. The book is full of metaphors and it wouldn't do me any harm to read it again just to remember some of the more brilliant ones. Plus monkeys are one of my favourite animals so that also helps.
I read a book by this author a couple of years ago while house-sitting called Blue Diary. I'd been told her work was a bit like that of Jodi Picoult. While they both examine contemporary issues and both write fiction, the similarities seem to end there.
This book tells the story of two women, one who reads people's fortunes through tea leaves and one who seeks her aid one day. Lila (the fortune teller) has a past she has hidden from her husband and most others that know her that comes spilling out after she meets Rae, a young girl who's useless boyfriend has left her pregnant and almost penniless. Although Lila seeks to repel Rae no doubt because of her own memories surfacing, Rae keeps coming back.
There were a number of interesting components to this book, one being the art of fortune telling. When Lila begins to see things in the leaves she doesn't want to see her profession becomes a problem. Like the backyard of her and her husband's house, nothing will grow there. She is infertile and will never have the child she hopes for; until spurred by memory she seeks out the baby adopted out by her parents without her consent. This leads her on a journey to where her husband grew up.
The book was interesting in that it brought up a lot of issues that women have faced. Firstly that of being blamed for pregnancy and unwantingly having a baby adopted out to avoid shame on the family. It also looked at Lila's suicide attempt and how instead of reaching out her parents sent her away. Although she has stemmed the flow of emotion from the loss she has suffered early in life, when Rae comes along, all the emotion comes spilling out forcing her to remember her past.
Rae on the other hand is stuck in a relationship with a man who expects her to do what he says and then disappears at random intervals. He abandons the relationship for good when he discovers her pregnancy leaving her with no income or emotional support that she so desperately needs causing her to turn to Lila.
The book is written exceptionally well, the metaphors surface throughout the pages and the struggles gone through by these two women as well as the continuing support from Richard (Lila's husband) despite expecting the worst from him keeps it readable and as the lives are exposed, you can feel the grievance still suffered. I would highly recommend it.
Patricia Grace is arguably one of the best authors New Zealand has ever seen. I first read a short story by her in high school for NCEA called "Flower Girls" which slowly but surely exposed a dark side to a family, written between the lines. This novel holds a breadth of knowledge encapsulated in the viewpoints of four of the characters.
Gran Kura, the oldest character who acts as a grandmother tells her story throughout the pages starting from a childhood attending a school where speaking Maori was banned even where it was the only language a child knew properly. Her stories from childhood to adulthood and experiencing continuing disregard by government authorities, act as a poignant backdrop to the grievances that are exposed and that follow throughout the book. As an adult, she become a Maori language activist, seeking to never speak English again.
Tawera, the great-grandson of Gran Kura is perhaps the most interesting character in the book, his older sister died before she was even born and her eyes taken out for studies by the hospital (of course without the permission of family). Tawera experiences a special bond with his sister throughout his childhood acting as her eyes which were stolen and never replaced. His childhood experiences are all coloured by her voice telling him to include her or to tell her what something looks like. To me, this story brought up the initial maltreatment of the first baby's death by the hospital and her spirit has stayed in the womb and attaches on to Tawera when he is born.
Paania, Tawera's mother loses her abusive husband in the same car accident that kills her first child. Her story is highlighted through the pages, firstly fighting against a husband who doesn't seem to care; secondly dealing with the loss of her first child; thirdly experiencing discrimination in her place of work and also watching Tawera grow up. Her role by the end of the book is furthered when she begins to address the grievances that her mother in law (Kura) has told her all about.
Mahaki is a lawyer working in a community office. After the council tries to sell the local iwi some land after having stolen it from them in the first place, he spearheads an attempt at peaceful protest against the council who will not accept their argument. This battle represents all the battles because of colour exposed throughout the book.
This book not only addresses characters in a phenomenal way but also shows the foundations of the Maori grievances that still exist until this day. Especially the anecdotes by Gran Kura show how a colonised race can lose out. You should read this book.
Imagine that other planets got to us before we got to the moon. Imagine that halfway through the space race, space travel came to a grinding halt when we were invaded by aliens. Aliens who appeared above us and watched over us with capabilities far beyond what humans had come to. This is the world that Clarke takes us to in this exceptional science fiction novel and if I had half the imagination of this man and half the scientific brain I would be a happy girl.
This novel written in 1954 takes you to a world where nothing is as it seems. As well as focusing on the scientific, there is also a huge part of the book dedicated to paranormal and psychic phenomena. As well as this, the human characters are developed through each passage of time after the invasion to the point where you find yourself almost being able to predict their movements.
Every chapter is also a surprise. In a book such as this, it is impossible to know where you will be taken next, to what time, to what people. This is done effectively throughout the book.
I would highly recommend this, especially if you are interested in science fiction. I also recommend by the same author 2001: A Space Odyssey.
