The Flood by David Sachs

A gritty, no-sugar coating look at the break down of society after a cataclysmic event.  The Atlantic coastal cities were to be inundated by a record setting tsunami.  Approximately 2000 people were evacuated on the cruise ship Festival of the Waves, along with it's paying passengers and staff.  While they easily survived the tsunami's wrath, it was the successive waves of inhumanity that were their undoing.

Wow. I loved this book.  I felt it was a realistic portrayal of the various possibilities of such a disaster.  There was a mixture of the good, the bad and the very bad outcomes.

This story was carried by the differing leaders that emerged. One had a common sense, take charge approach, another a totalitarian grip on his followers, and a third found religion.  Change any one of the leaders and the story could have been very different.  As I was reading, I couldn't help think of some of the news coverage I have seen of natural disasters.  The majority of the survivors have no idea what to do and they wait for someone else to take charge, to tell them what to do, and then complain when they don't think enough is being done for them personally.  Mr. Sachs got this perfect.

The Flood has a well thought out story line.  It is believable even if it's not comfortable to read.  There were things that made me cringe and others that brought tears of joy.  This is a great debut novel and I am looking forward to future novels from this author.

Thanks to author David Sachs for my review copy and for use of the cover image.

SYNC - Young Adult Lit for Your Earbuds - Week 10

For an explanation of the program, visit this earlier post

 The Explorers Club by Nell Benjamin

A full cast dramatic reading

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

At Winter's End by Robert Silverberg

The earth was doomed. Devastation was going to fall from the sky for thousands of years and life on earth could not continue in it's present forms.  Of the six type of sentient being, four knew they would not survive, one decided to take their chance on the surface and the sixth moved far underground.  After 700 000 years, the death stars were gone and it was time to venture forth out onto the renewed surface.

The story is carried by several main characters.  Koshmar had long hoped that she would lead her people from their long shelter.  By maintaining their long standing traditions she sought to fulfil the prophecies  that had long sustained her.  I didn't really like this character, but then again, leaders aren't always meant to be loved when their job is to lead.

Thaggoran was the old man of the tribe, the chronicler, who died soon after they emerged.  The loss of so much of the tribe's history opened the people  up to new choices and opportunities.  Hresh was but a boy when he took up the role of the new chronicler.  His character added so much to the story as he had to re-create his job within their new life on the surface.  It was interesting to watch Hresh grow up and develop into a powerful man.

Finally, there is Torlyri, the offering woman.  While underground, her job was to maintain the peoples link to their prior surface life.  Once they emerge from their cocoon, her role mostly becomes obsolete but she realises that customs bring comfort to the people.  This led her to go it alone and define new ones. 

There is a struggle between old and new.  The people have to learn from their past and incorporate that which is helpful. but let go of the rest and use this information to forge their future.  The people seemed to respond in a realistic way to these challenges which made for good reading. 

I was pulled into the day to day events of this tribe.  I explored and learned with them.  I felt their anguish when they lost members and celebrated when new ones were born.  It takes a master story teller to make me feel for such imagined characters. I enjoyed every minute of this book.

The story of the people continues in The Queen of Springtime, also published under the title The New Springtime.


Cover Image from Robert Silverberg's Quasi Official Website

Needlework Tuesday - Easy Bag Projects

It's either been muggy hot or raining heavily, both are great staying inside and sewing days.  I kept busy working on two very different bags.  The first, Japanese Knot Bag, I had found online several years ago, printed out the pattern and then got distracted.  I was determined to finish it this week.
The pattern is by Helen at the blog Show Your Workings.  I didn't take pictures as I was sewing as the instructions are quite clear.  A few suggestions, in step 2, fold the fabrics right sides together and then they will be ready for the next step.  Step 5, when you are sewing the outer and the liner together, don't stitch into the seam allowance for the open end of the handles.

I was surprised at how easy it was to add the round bottom. I was expecting it to be a pain, but I pinned in quarters and then eighths and then sixteenths it went well with no puckering.  Now I need to add a removable base of like pink craft foam to help the bag stay round when in use.  To use the bag, you slip the long handle through the short one, and to carry you put your hand through the long loop.

Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you.

 When I finished the Japanese Knot bag, I jumped right into the next one, the Pick-a-Pocket Purse from All People Quilt.  The pattern is designed to be cut from yardage, but I was using fat quarters and had to make some changes.  The outside pockets I pieced with the print being more than half the length.

 When I folded the outside pocket, the print extended to the inside.

 the main print that goes behind the pocket and extends to the top of the bag, I had to piece both on the hidden bottom and for the lining. Not a problem, dark fabrics on the inside of a bag make it difficult to find the item you want.

 The pattern says to layer up the parts and sew on the handles, I added an extra step and lightly quilted the main fabric with the batting to give it a bit more body.  I should have cut the pieces a bit wider as the quilting always seem to shrink the piece. oh well, live and learn.  From this point I followed the instructions.

 I am really pleased with how this turned out.  As for size, he pocket between the handles easily fits a large cell phone.  

I am having fun with the bag making and have a few more lined up thanks to last weeks readers who left me suggestions and links to patterns. The success of these bags is getting me enthused; I might even get carried away and finish one of the quilts that's been pinned on my design wall for way too long. 

Do you have a project to you'd love to share, one that you feel would be inspirational to others. It can be one you wrote about in the past or that's currently on your work table.  I can be any medium, not strictly needlework, I'd enjoy seeing it.  Mister Linky is waiting below. 

 

In the Land of the Long White Cloud by Sarah Lark

Women didn't have a lot of choice in the direction of their lives in mid nineteenth century England.  Helen Davenport was working as a tutor when a notice in her church bulletin led her to accept a marriage proposal to an unknown sheep farmer in New Zealand.  Gwyneira Silkham's future was determined when her father lost a hand of cards to a self proclaimed sheep baron also from the Christchurch area of New Zealand.  These women's lives were tied together from the time they set foot on the ship that transported them to their new homes.

Marrying a gentleman in a newly settled English colony had seemed exciting and romantic to both ladies.  It was only after they left the ship that they realised how little they were prepared for the hardships of living in such a new colony.  Distances between farms was huge, communication was as fast as a horse could travel.  Both women had to chose whether to embrace their Maori neighbours and learn their language, about their culture and beliefs or to follow their husbands lead and treat them at best as hired help.

I feel that Gwyn and Helen reacted very much as women of that time period.  Once they arrived in New Zealand, they had little choice but to accept their circumstances and make the best of them.    We spend a lot of time with Gwyn, her husband Lucas and Helen and learn lots about them.  We see the three of them learn and grown from the situations they find them selves in.  .

I have an affection for anything kiwi and this book was no exception.  I read it compulsively.  I loved the glowing descriptions of the breath taking country side  as well as the gritty ones of the towns and roads.  Of course, you can't tell a story of this time period of New Zealand without talking about sheep. They are central to this tale.  Yes, there are sheep and all that goes with them, but it doesn't overwhelm the entire story.   Author Sarah Lark has a good balance between the storyline of the people and the sheep talk and tied them together well.

While reading this book, I did feel a distance between the author and the tale.  It seemed that it was a story written by someone who had never been to New Zealand and that she was only imagining what it would be like to stand on it's soil, to view a flock of sheep on a hill, or to crest a peak and view the land unfolding below her.  Whether author Sarah Lark has visited Christchurch or this connection was lost due to the work of the translator D. W. Lovett, it was still a captivating read which I very much enjoyed.

The story continues in Song of the Spirits and then in Call of the Kiwi.

Sarah Lark is a pen name of Christiane Gohl.  She also publishes under Ricarda Jordan and Elisabeth Rotenberg. 

Thanks to Amazon for use of the cover image.

SYNC - Young Adult Lit for Your Earbuds - Week 9

For an explanation of the program, visit this earlier post

 Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja

Echoes of an Angel by Aquanetta Gordon

based on a true story

Happy Canada Day

As I was walking around the small area where I live, I noticed this tiny Inukshuk newly arrived in one of the gardens.  Such a great image to see and think of when I appreciate all that it means to me to call Canada my home.

Inukshuk can be used in several ways, one of which is to mark a direction, another is a means of saying "I was here". 

Learn more about the inukshuk:

The Canadian Encyclopedia
Sustainability Television