02-05-2016, 10:12 AM | #1 |
languorous autodidact ✦
Posts: 4,235
Karma: 44637926
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: smiling with the rising sun
Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage
|
Eucalyptus by Murray Bail
This is the MR Literary Club selection for February 2016. Whether you've already read it or would like to, feel free to start or join in the conversation at any time, and guests are always welcome!
Goodreads • Amazon Australia Canada India UK US • Kobo • Audible Australia UK US So, what are your thoughts on it? |
02-05-2016, 10:19 AM | #2 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 19,226
Karma: 67780237
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: none
|
I see a couple of members have read this book already. I'm hopefully getting to it soon, but I've got a bunch of ILLs lined up that if they appear I'll have to deal with first.
|
Advert | |
|
02-05-2016, 06:44 PM | #3 |
Snoozing in the sun
Posts: 10,137
Karma: 115423645
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch
|
I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, HomeInMyShoes. I loved it, and am looking forward to rereading it.
|
02-06-2016, 09:32 PM | #4 |
Indie Advocate
Posts: 2,863
Karma: 18794463
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: Kindle
|
Oooh great! An Aussie read - love it!
|
02-06-2016, 09:39 PM | #5 |
E-reader Enthusiast
Posts: 4,871
Karma: 36507503
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southwest, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5
|
Hawks, nature poems and now trees! I read that Murray Bail is known for both fiction and non-fiction which contributes to an interesting tone for this book. Looking forward to it! Thanks for volunteering nominations, Bookpossum!
|
Advert | |
|
02-07-2016, 01:44 AM | #6 |
Snoozing in the sun
Posts: 10,137
Karma: 115423645
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch
|
Thanks caleb72 and Bookworm_Girl! I hope it lives up to expectations. There's such a feeling of responsibility, isn't there.
|
02-07-2016, 05:22 AM | #7 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 44,748
Karma: 55645321
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Peru
Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One
|
Your U.S.A. Kindle link is not active. Here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=sr_1_2&sr=8-2 |
02-07-2016, 07:31 AM | #8 |
o saeclum infacetum
Posts: 20,229
Karma: 222235366
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: New England
Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5
|
|
02-07-2016, 04:12 PM | #9 |
Snoozing in the sun
Posts: 10,137
Karma: 115423645
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch
|
|
02-07-2016, 10:32 PM | #10 | |
Snoozing in the sun
Posts: 10,137
Karma: 115423645
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch
|
Eucalypts
I have just started reading and thought you might like to see a couple of the trees to which Bail refers. On page 2-3 he writes of the River Red Gum:
Quote:
Then he goes on to talk about the Ghost Gum, which is found in the centre of Australia and looks particularly striking in contrast with the red soil there. The second photograph shows one in King's Canyon. |
|
02-15-2016, 01:04 PM | #11 |
E-reader Enthusiast
Posts: 4,871
Karma: 36507503
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southwest, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5
|
I've just started to read this book. Here is an excellent article on Eucalypts on the Australian Government website. At the bottom of the article is a section on Literature and Poetry which mentions this book.
http://www.australia.gov.au/about-au...tory/eucalypts |
02-15-2016, 02:35 PM | #12 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,638
Karma: 28483498
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Ottawa Canada
Device: Sony PRS-T3, Galaxy (Aldiko, Kobo app)
|
I started to read Eucalyptus coincident with a polar vortex in this area bringing -30C temperatures. In that context, it is interesting to imagine a climate where the dominant tree species are adapted to a water-scarce, frost-free environment.
In some ways, the structure of this book reminds me of Moby Dick. Besides the ongoing references to the natural history of eucalyptus, there is a very rich stream of narratives which are not obviously related to the plot. There are some marvelous stories here, like that of Holland breaking in his step-father's shoes (I think there is a deeper meaning there). |
02-17-2016, 10:13 PM | #13 | |
Snoozing in the sun
Posts: 10,137
Karma: 115423645
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch
|
That's a very good article - thanks for finding it Bookworm_Girl. I did laugh at the final quote, which is from a spoof of Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales. It is quoted so seriously that I wondered if the person who put it in realised it was a spoof.
Good luck with the weather, bfisher! Indeed, it couldn't be much more different from ours, especially at this time of year! I finished my reread of Eucalyptus last night, and enjoyed it all over again. I had forgotten how funny it was in the sly references Bail makes. For example, the beginning of Chapter 3, describing the landscape: Quote:
I won't say anything more at this stage about the story itself, a wonderful Australian version of a fairy tale, except to say I love the way the central problem is resolved. |
|
02-17-2016, 10:20 PM | #14 |
Snoozing in the sun
Posts: 10,137
Karma: 115423645
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch
|
Gum Blossom
The article Bookworm_Girl shared with us reminded me about a couple of photographs I took several years ago in Western Australia, showing the cap coming off a blossom. The second photograph was taken about four minutes after the first one.
|
02-18-2016, 05:41 PM | #15 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,638
Karma: 28483498
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Ottawa Canada
Device: Sony PRS-T3, Galaxy (Aldiko, Kobo app)
|
Thanks for the blossom post, Bookpossum. When it comes to flowers, a picture really is worth more than a thousand words.
I'm always amazed at flowers, and how they transform their plants, and our feelings. It's hard to imagine the blooms that will be coming out of this in a few months: |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
convert to gutenberg format... upload to eucalyptus? | betovarg | Apple Devices | 0 | 05-31-2009 09:35 PM |
Eucalyptus | jsuplido | Apple Devices | 9 | 05-28-2009 10:12 PM |