BW9: March Gadabout

Devonport Library, New Zealand 

We are heading into March and will be cruising around the coast of Australia, stopping at a couple ports of call before sailing to New Zealand.   We'll stop in on the Dunedoo Bush Poetry Festival in New South Wales, drop in on Lian Hearn, best known for her Tales of the Otori series as she launches her new Tale of the Shikanoko series with Emperor of the Late Islands.  Plus, we'll be celebrating the 82nd birthday of our author flavor of the month  David Malouf,  I currently have  Ransom in my backpack.

In his first novel in more than a decade, award-winning author David Malouf reimagines the pivotal narrative of Homer’s Iliad—one of the most famous passages in all of literature.

This is the story of the relationship between two grieving men at war: fierce Achilles, who has lost his beloved Patroclus in the siege of Troy; and woeful Priam, whose son Hector killed Patroclus and was in turn savaged by Achilles. A moving tale of suffering, sorrow, and redemption, Ransom is incandescent in its delicate and powerful lyricism and its unstated imperative that we imagine our lives in the glow of fellow feeling.

Once we hit New Zealand, you better put on your walking shoes, because we'll be gadding about the continent, taking one of Auckland's Literary walks. Add to that learning more about the Maori culture, as well as taking the Haiku pathway in Katikati.  We'll be dropping in on our other author flavor of the month - Joan Druett, maritime historian and novelist.  I have Island of the Lost World on board and can't wait to read it.

Auckland Island is a godforsaken place in the middle of the Southern Ocean, 285 miles south of New Zealand. With year-round freezing rain and howling winds, it is one of the most forbidding places in the world. To be shipwrecked there means almost certain death.

In 1864 Captain Thomas Musgrave and his crew of four aboard the schooner Grafton wreck on the southern end of the island. Utterly alone in a dense coastal forest, plagued by stinging blowflies and relentless rain, Captain Musgrave—rather than succumb to this dismal fate—inspires his men to take action. With barely more than their bare hands, they build a cabin and, remarkably, a forge, where they manufacture their tools. Under Musgrave's leadership, they band together and remain civilized through even the darkest and most terrifying days.

Incredibly, at the same time on the opposite end of the island—twenty miles of impassable cliffs and chasms away—the Invercauld wrecks during a horrible storm. Nineteen men stagger ashore. Unlike Captain Musgrave, the captain of the Invercauld falls apart given the same dismal circumstances. His men fight and split up; some die of starvation, others turn to cannibalism. Only three survive. Musgrave and all of his men not only endure for nearly two years, they also plan their own astonishing escape, setting off on one of the most courageous sea voyages in history.


Using the survivors' journals and historical records, award-winning maritime historian Joan Druett brings this extraordinary untold story to life, a story about leadership and the fine line between order and chaos.

Join me as we sail the ocean's blue and check out Goodread's list of books set in New Zealand, books by New Zealand Authors,  as well as books set Australia, and Booktopia's list of top ten favorite Australia authors! 

Happy travels! 

**********************************************************************

Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading. Every week I will put up Mr. Linky which will close at the end of each book week. No matter what book you are reading or reviewing at the time, whether it be # 1 or # 5 or so on, link to the current week's post.