Abraham Verghese’s—The covenant of water *****

Abraham Verghese’s—The covenant of water *****

When twelve-year-old Mariaamma’s father dies, she is forced to leave her Kerala village and marry a forty-year-old man. She knows nothing of the hereditary “condition” that runs through his family, but she becomes aware that her husband goes out of his way to avoid water. After her son’s birth, she notices he tries to avoid a bath and dislikes water poured over his head. What is this mysterious condition? It takes three generations before this comes to light, while family members lose their lives all too soon.

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Stephanie Scott’s—What’s left of me is yours *****

Stephanie Scott’s—What’s left of me is yours *****

When Sato wants to divorce his wife, he first seeks the help of a wakaresaseya agent, Kaitaro who is valued for his ability at enticing unwanted wives, and gains evidence to support a husband’s favourable break-up. But when he meets Sato’s wife, Rina, there is something about her that makes him want to turn his back on this job. Forced to take on the assignment, he begins to admire, then fall in love with Rina and plans to do everything he can so she gains a favourable divorce, retains her daughter, and marries him. But something goes wrong, and Rina is found strangled and Kaitaro convicted of murder.

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Michael Christie’s—Greenwood *****

Michael Christie’s—Greenwood *****

What first fascinated me about this book was its structure. Like the rings of a tree, the story begins on the outer ring in the future and heads to the centre—its heartwood—going back in time exploring a key member of the Greenwood clan to 1934. Then the story heads out across the rings to the opposite edge completing Greenwood lives until it ends with Jake in 2038.

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Janice P. Nimura—The doctors Blackwell *****

Janice P. Nimura—The doctors Blackwell *****

When Elizabeth Blackwell was eleven, she and her family left their home town, Bristol and sailed to New York. Their father’s finances centred around sugar refining, but when he died, Elizabeth found work until her two oldest brothers reached an age when they could support the family. Gradually, Elizabeth was determined to become a doctor, but in the 1800s, men did not wish to release their monopoly on the profession and Elizabeth found it difficult to find a university that would accept her. 

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