Wordsville

Published by Headline Review (Hachette), $29.99, pb, ISBN 9780755318124

There are over five million people in the United States with Alzheimer’s disease and many hundreds of thousands of others with forms of dementia. This statistic is likely to increase considerably because we are living longer. It is a devastating disease for the patient and for families and caregivers as they watch the person they know slipping away before their eyes.

It goes without saying that it takes very special people to care for those with dementia, particularly those with terminal or ‘end-stage’ dementia and this book is about Dr David Dosa and his team, which came to include Oscar, a cat with an uncanny knack for ‘knowing’ when a patient is going to die.

Dosa is a geriatrician based in Rhode Island, at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a facility for patients with terminal Alzheimer’s. Oscar the cat came to live on the third floor of the Center in 2005; it is not uncommon to have animals in dementia units as the patients derive a great deal of comfort from them. Dosa thought of Oscar as an ordinary, black & white tabby, not particularly sociable; in fact, at times, he was downright rude and unfriendly.

Oscar’s usual behaviour was to hide under a bed or stare out of the window; then his behaviour began to change and he seemed to take an interest in the patients, walking the corridors and ‘making the rounds’ with the staff. Inexplicably, he began to sit on the beds of dying patients, curling up close to them, staying with them until they had died. This did not happen once or twice but frequently until it became an indicator to staff that a patient was close to death. This meant that loved ones could be notified in time to come in and say goodbye.

In contrast to nursing staff, Dosa was initially very sceptical about Oscar’s so-called abilities. After all, how does a cat know when someone is going to die? So he decided to do some research and investigate the matter for himself. He spoke with families of those who had died about their recollections of Oscar. These conversations and recollections are reproduced with great sensitivity and delicacy in the book and Dosa explains that in order to preserve privacy, he has changed names and backgrounds and has created fictionalised compilations of characters. I don’t think this detracts in any way from the impact of the stories or from the mystery of Oscar the cat.

There is a possible scientific explanation for Oscar’s awareness of impending death due to certain chemicals which emanate from the human body when a person is dying. Animals are extremely sensitive to smells and could pick up on these chemicals. This may well be true but it doesn’t really explain why Oscar sat with people in their final hours as if providing comfort, often staying until the body had been removed. As Dosa concluded, not everything has a medical or scientific explanation.

Reading about people with terminal Alzheimer’s and hospice care is not a cheerful experience. However, considering the prevalence of this disease, it is important to know something about it and in a way, Dosa has created a mini-handbook on the subject. The book ends with some practical tips for caregivers and families of patients with dementia.

In addition, this is also a book for cat lovers, and each chapter opens with a pithy cat-related quotation. Making the Rounds with Oscar should have wide appeal as it covers a difficult, yet topical subject with great practicality and sensitivity.

©Paula Grunseit 2010

*** (three stars - good book, within its genre as per Bookseller+Publisher ratings system)

Published by UQP, $32.95 pb ISBN 9780702237751

This is not your average pregnancy/birth memoir; it is an unusual story of surrogate motherhood, of giving the ultimate gift—a child. Sue Phillips, married with three children was approaching the age of 40 when she decided to become a ‘gestational carrier’ for a couple who were unable to have a child because illness had resulted in the woman having a damaged uterus. Technically speaking, the couple contributed the genetic material and Phillips carried the child to term.

It sounded so straightforward at the outset but surrogacy presents a complicated web of procedure, interesting legalities and ethics, not to mention a plethora of invasive medical appointments (Phillips is not a fan of needles) and a minefield of personal intricacies and interactions. Phillips also faced a considerable challenge with her Catholic employer.

The strength of this book is not so much in the writing as in its content and relevance. Told in a simple format by Phillips, compiled from her diaries, minutiae sometimes detracted from the flow of the story. However, this is only the second book ever published on Australian surrogacy and deals comprehensively and personally with its various aspects. It will appeal to many readers, especially to women.

©Paula Grunseit 2010

This review from Bookseller+Publisher magazine (April 2010, Vol 89, No 7) was first published by Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2010 Thorpe-Bowker.

**** (four stars - an excellent book as per Bookseller+Publisher ratings system)

Published by Miscellaneous Press, $19.95 pb, ISBN: 9780646522005

Some would not agree that some of the best writing appears in blogs. Editor Karen Andrews throws down the gauntlet by introducing her anthology as “an experiment to see how this writing, these writers, stand up to the challenge of the page; or to put it another way, to put them in front of another audience which may be more page-loyal.”

It is impossible to list everything here; suffice to say bloggers (well-known and not so well-known) chosen for this first instalment embrace all manner of subjects from the sacred to the mundane including earthquakes, the GFC, food marketing, what makes a successful cultural blog, Bill Clinton, the death of a child, a bombing, lettuce, grandparents, triffids, writing the first draft of a novel, lists, Silverchair, a massacre in East Timor, writing for a living, ebooks, and mashups of ‘great books’. There are fragments, poems, short pieces, longer pieces. Tones are just as varied as subjects and can be hilarious, irreverent or elegiac. References, blog sources and bios are also included.

So, for those who are not blog readers, exposure to this significant array of voices and delicious flavours may be quite revelatory and may well produce some steady converts.

©Paula Grunseit 2010

This review from Bookseller+Publisher magazine (April 2010, Vol 89, No 7) was first published by Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2010, Thorpe-Bowker.

*** (three stars – a good book as per Bookseller+Publisher ratings system)

Published by Transit Lounge, $29.95 tpb, ISBN 9780980571738, April

Welcome to Oatlands, Tasmania, home of the femme-werewolf apocalypse. Sixteen-year-old Sally Hunter is seriously pissed off and she’s turning into a powerful ‘monster dog’, a werewolf with one hell of an appetite for flesh — human or animal and a growing se*ual appetite to match. A lot of people are disappearing, gruesomely murdered or eaten but who is responsible for all the carnage?

In what frequently reads like prose poetry, Dusk imagines herself right through every aspect of the anguish of ‘transformation’ and beyond, tackling a number of taboos as she goes — menstruation, se*ually violent women, cannibalism, nihilism — to name a few. Her paintings, featured in the book’s cover artwork, also depict a disturbing, confronting story of the awakening of what lies within. She’s been inside the guts and psyche of ‘the beast’ and portrays its heightened sensory perceptions, its lust for the kill, its pain, its joys, its dreams.

There are moments of distilled beauty and home truths here but this is no simplistic, pretty coming of age story. Horror fans accustomed to dark humour and unrelenting rampages of gore should enjoy but the squeamish, those offended by details of bodily functions, graphic violence, se* or obscenities probably won’t.

© Paula Grunseit 2010  More about Anna Dusk at her website.

This review from Bookseller+Publisher magazine (March 2010, Vol 89, No 6) was first published by Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © 2010, Thorpe-Bowker.

Kat Mayo runs Book Thingo, a blog focused on reading (mostly) romance books down under.

Who taught you to read and how old were you?

My family is big on literacy, and my mum read stories to me at every
chance. You know those vignettes of childhood you remember, when you were too young to form memories that last more than a few seconds?
A lot of mine involve books or reading or storytelling. I had to check
the details with my Mum, but apparently I started paraphrasing bedtime
stories before I was three. By the time I was four, I could read simple books on my own and was on the road to being a voracious reader. One of our regular mother-daughter outings was to the bookstore. Bookstores have always been a bit magical for me, even now.

Which books did you love as a child?

My parents bought me a set of books (A Book For Me To Read) by Ruth Ainsworth and Ronald Ridout, which were the first books I remember reading on my own. Those books were very well used in our house, and I only wish I still had them to pass on to my kids.

My first biggest literary obsession was Nancy Drew. In fact, I consider those books my first foray into romance—Ned Nickerson was like, the most perfect boyfriend evah! I still remember my first Nancy Drew: The Ringmaster’s Secret. I wish I’d kept it!

I also fell in love with Hugh Walters, who wrote YA science fiction.
I had hardback copies of his books, which my parents forced me to leave behind when we migrated to Australia. I regret losing those books—they’re out of print now. In my first couple of years in Australia I discovered Enid Blyton. I devoured her books, and when I first saw ginger beer at the shops it was a moment of awe. The other two books that had a huge impression on me as child were The Riddle of the Trumpalar by Judy Bernard-Waite, and The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.

Aside from those, I loved anything with romance in it.
I read my first Mills & Boon—a chaste book I saved from my grandmother’s rubbish pile—when I was around 10, and turned to Sweet Dreams. My first Sweet Dreams was Never Say Goodbye by Janet Quin-Harkin, which had a hero who develops multiple sclerosis. That book made it to Australia, but it didn’t survive one of my bursts of room decluttering.

Which five authors (living or dead) would you like to have dinner with?

Krissy Kneen. I’ve just reread her memoir Affection and it speaks to me on such a profound level that I’d probably be thrilled just to watch her all through dinner.

Patricia A McKillip. We could dine on her words. Seriously.

Eloisa James. Not only is she a wonderful writer, I think she has a
wicked sense of humour and she’s a Shakespearean scholar. Plus she’s
living in Paris at the moment, so not only can she bring good dinner
conversation, she can bring pastries and wine.

Steve Dublanica (aka The Waiter). I love the depth of meaning he
imbues into his blog posts (and book) and his almost gentle commentary
on life and human foibles. I’m pretty sure he’d have excellent
anecdotes to share, not to mention tips on how to get the best
restaurant service throughout dinner.

Brooke Magnanti (aka Belle de Jour). Just think of the dinner
conversation: science, sex and the human condition. I find her utterly
fascinating.

Mind you, if I we were to have everyone together for dinner, I’d be in
such a state of fan-crazed anxiety I’d be useless all evening.

Name the last two books you have read and rate them out of 5 (5 is the best) You can add a few sentences to say why you liked or didn’t like them if you wish.

Excluding rereads, the last two books I read were:

Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie (4). Probably one of my favourite
Crusies. I love the way she layers the story, and her sense of humour,
as always, keeps the characters fun and the romance delicious.

Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh (3). It has some lovely emotional scenes, and the world building is relatively solid, but some scenes can get a tad overwrought, and there are other books in this series that I liked better.

Where is your favourite place to read?

On the couch or in bed. I’m not a fussy reader. I can read almost anywhere.

You are being sent to a remote island for who knows how long – which three books are you going to take with you?

I’m not sure I could survive on three books. I’d take: Prince of Midnight by Laura Kinsale, Affection by Krissy Kneen, Addition by Toni Jordan.

How do you organise your personal library at home?

Haphazardly.

Print or e-book?

Print, but that’s because I can’t afford an e-book reader!
More seriously, I’d probably go e-book (if I could) with my disposable fiction which might be a cruel term to use, but I think that’s how a lot of fiction (at least those I read) is marketed. I don’t necessarily enjoy them less, but most of them I read today and will barely remember next week. On the other hand, I wish I could get my keeper books in hardback because I’d love to be able to hand them to my kids one day. I love the thought of books as heirlooms. For me, there’s something poignant and exciting and mystical about reading a pre-loved and well loved book.

Kat is on Twitter @BookThingo
and her blog is at http://bookthingo.com.au/