Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: marriage

  • Thirty-Eight Days of Rain

    Thirty-Eight Days of Rain

    It’s raining when Androullah is diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and understands what it will mean to her ability to eventually have a baby. She is young, aged twenty-four, in love with her husband Giannis and still believes in the chance that she will be granted Cypriot citizenship, as will Giannis: eventually.

    As she and Giannis try to come to terms her diagnosis, he must to return to Australia as his visa has expired. While he is in Australia waiting for his new Visa, Androullah decides to experiment with extra-mariatal sex, a decision which, even though we are left unaware of what happened, almost destroys her marriage.

    Over one year the story unfolds, wrapped around the challenges of dealing with Immigration, the dreams that fail to come to fruition, the book that is almost but not quite accepted for publication and the dreariness of days of what seems like endless rain; 38 days to be precise.

    As Androullah emerges from the self-centeredness of young adulthood, to the more mature perspectives that sorrow and past tragedies bring, she becomes a far more dimensional character; a woman who eventually comes into her own strength and purpose.

    Thirty-Eight Days Of Rain is a delicate balance between growing up and grown up, which after a somewhat torturous beginning, moves into a better flow, as Androullah and Giannis finally understand what it is that is really important in their lives; parenthood, becoming Cypriots, family, their life together or chasing what seems to be an impossible dream.

    Eva Asprakis has chosen polycystic ovarian syndrome (POC), a condition that affects between 8-13 percent of young women of childbearing age, while up to 70 percent of women remain undiagnosed as the nucleus of story.   

    Within the structure of the story she details the effects, treatment of POC and the emotional toll it can take on young women trying to fall pregnant, while shining a light on what the World Health Organization considers as one of the most undiagnosed, common causes of infertility affecting women.

  • HIS ONLY WIFE

    HIS ONLY WIFE

    Peace Adso Medie is to be congratulated on an engaging and well-crafted first novel, His Only Wife. The characters are all interesting and many faceted, while the customs of the Ghanaian people are seamlessly relayed. The direct style of writing places the reader alongside the main character and narrator, Afi. She is a modern thinking woman who has a gift for sewing and creating women’s fashions.

    The opening sentence of the book shows us that Afi is a nervous and worried bride. According to tradition, an arranged marriage is to take place. The groom is a very wealthy man whose mother is a power in the village. She employs Afi’s mother and dictates the rules by which her community live.

    ”Elikem married me in absentia,” states Afi, setting the scene for mystery that is soon to be revealed. This young woman who has lived in humble surroundings is soon to be taken to an apartment owned by her husband where she will have every luxury including a car and driver at her disposal, and a large monetary allowance. But no husband.

    Weaving through time we see Afi beginning to reason and formulate her life path. She goes to a sewing and fashion school to develop her skills: her husband comes to visit her every so often. As she begins to understand the planning and plotting of her husband’s family, she realises that she will have to make a stand and establish her own path in life. This goes against all the customs and ways of her culture.

    Afi begins to realise that the husband who has become the love of her life, cannot share her feelings. The characters are good people, who grow and change as the story unfolds. Afi is a captivating character as is her story.

  • The Women and the Girls

    The Women and the Girls

    The Women and the Girls from Laura Bloom, has been set in the world of the ’70’s, the dawning of a massive change in society and the emergence of a strong focus on women’s rights, which crafts a thought provoking look at a variety of marital situations and how differently each individual situation can be addressed.

    When Anna, Carol, and Libby first meet at a school drop off they have no idea that each of them is burdened; on the surface, they are quite different, but their similarities are the discontent they have with their marriage, and the love of their children.  Each has reached a trigger point; Carol is the one who generates action from all of them.

    Recently arrived from England, Carol thought that her controlling husband would perhaps settle in a job and become more of a family man after they made their home in Australia, but when tension reaches the boiling point between them, she goes to Libby’s house. There she finds Libby so unhappy with her situation that action is needed.

    Anna owns a second house that she and her husband were going to renovate so the three women and their children make the huge decision to move into the house, each of them having much to think about and many issues to ponder. Each one supports the others and their skills are complementary; Libby loves to cook and make a family home with the children, Carol is creative and soon finds a job as a hairdresser. Anna is a wonderful organiser and overseer.

    Time and a tranquil environment help the women sort out the problems they have and possible solutions, while understanding their housing arrangement is a temporary haven. Their issues are varied and challenging, while the children’s needs must always be addressed. Friendship and support helps each of the women to move on, but what they have learned about themselves, their marriages and expectations will hold all of them in good stead.

  • The Austen Girls

    The Austen Girls

    As many of you know Jane Austen was a writer of wonderful fiction stories about life in the Georgian era, but more specifically the Regency period, writing about ordinary people and the society in which they lived. Her more well-known novels are Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility amongst others.

    But what of Jane Austen and her wider family of nieces and brothers, and the life she and they lived, when the main purpose from birth for all girls, was to marry well. Lucy Worsley in her latest historic novel The Austen Girls brings the world of the Regency marriage ‘mart’ alive through the eyes and emotions of Aunt Jane’s nieces Anna and Fanny.

    Anna has always been told she must marry well. She has the looks and the breeding but her father is a farmer, whereas her cousin Fanny has both the breeding and the money but also has to marry well, but there is not as much pressure to succeed and succeed well.

    As the girls look forward to their first local Ball with great excitement, they begin to wonder what the night and their future holds in store for them.  Sadly, the Ball does not go well for them which sets off a chain of unprecedented events which will see Anna returning to the farm in anger and despair, leaving Fanny deeply hurt and upset.

    Fanny begins to question why Aunt Jane, who lives with them, but often goes to London, has never married and where she gets her wealth from, as it obviously does not come from her father, Jane’s brother. It is not until tragedy strikes, with the local parson being arrested for thieving that the other life of Aunt Jane becomes very real, as she and Fanny set out to try and get Dominic Drummer released from prison.

    The Austen Girls holds every element of romantic fiction, Regency style, between the pages and under Lucy Worsley’s skilled hands comes vibrantly to life, creating a work of fiction Jane Austen would consider as really rather excellent.

     

  • Love Around the World

    Love Around the World

    Same sex marriage and parenting is a real component of modern-day life. In celebration of this Fleur Pierets and illustrator Fatinha Ramos have created a colourful children’s book, Love Around the World, discussing marriage between same sex couples, putting into context same sex marriage, to present to children answers for their never-ending questions about the many different people who are a part of their everyday world.

    When Fleur Pierets asked Julian P. Boom to marry her it was a very exciting day for them both; a great event they considered would be the very best decision they could possibly make. They lived, slept and worked together, so getting married seemed to be absolutely the right thing for them.

    But as they a were a same sex couple, a woman and woman, there were only 28 countries, out of the 195 countries that make up the world, where they were legally allowed to get married, and so they set off on an epic adventure, to travel the world and get married in each and every one of the 28 countries; Love Around the World is their story.

    They began their adventure in The Netherlands, where Julian was born, and then on to the vibrant pulsating scene of New York. They came to Australia where they went to a smoking ceremony, believed to have healing powers. France is the most romantic country in the world; getting married in Paris was wedding number 4, and then on to Belgium, where Fleur’s mother clapped the loudest.

    A clear, graphic style, presents the story with colour and joy as the couple travel around the world, celebrating their love for each other. It is not until the final page there is the suggestion, carefully worded, that something is very different, because in the middle of their trip to Mexico orange blossoms are used to symbolise their love.

    As a foot note and not to spoil the next edition of this story as it is far from over, Julian was diagnosed with Brain Cancer, sadly loosing her battle not long after they married in Paris; marriage number 4.

    Love a Around the World is a tribute to her and a continuation of a voyage begun, but not yet complete.

     

  • Without a Doubt

    Without a Doubt

    Dave Burrows takes a retrospective look back to Barrabine and his time spent there as a young Detective working his way to up to a coveted position in the Stock Squad, in one of the most suspenseful stories crafted by Fleur McDonald, Without a Doubt.

    Dave is struggling to cope with his wife Melinda who is getting more and more depressed by the day and a workload that never seems to decrease; his eighteen-month-old daughter Bec, the love of his life, seems to be the only stable thing in his home life.

    Things come to a head when Melinda’s parents decide to come to Barrabine for a visit and things go terribly wrong, as Mark continues to bait Dave, as he has never ever accepted that Dave was good enough for his only daughter. Melinda decides to return to Perth to be with her parents and Dave is offered an opportunity to go undercover on what could very easily be the most dangerous case of this life.

    He accepts, because what else is there to do to get motivated once again, but knows all too well that if things do go wrong, and they very easily could, it will be the absolute end of his very tenuous marriage and family life.

    Dave discovers in the lead up he is not a fit as he thought he was and his persona as a hard bitten, down on his luck, angry, aggressive stock handler needs to be fool proof, so sets about cutting back the beer, running and trying to cope with the changes in his life.

    All too soon he finds himself in Nundrew, as far from his old life as possible and out to stir up as much trouble as he can in his new persona, which he finds surprisingly easy to do. Bulldust, the owner of a mustering squad with a tough reputation, decides to hire Dave as he is one man short for the coming muster, which is exactly where Dave needs to be.

    When the action begins, fast and furious, Dave begins to really understand his life could well and truly be on the line if things do go wrong and his cover is blown.

    Without A Doubt was written in five days, an abrupt about face ten days out from deadline. The decision to put Dave Burrows undercover was a one that created a riveting, tightly knit, engrossing storyline from Fleur McDonald, as all-time favourite Dave Burrows challenges the very real world of stock rustling, murder and betrayal.

     

     

  • My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen

    My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen

    Sometimes these outrageous stories hit the marketplace at exactly the right time: in Australia the issue of sexuality and lifestyle is currently a red hot issue. Through the eyes of Chris Bellows, a young teen who, like a lot of young people is struggling with his sexuality, we enter the world of alternates and choices.

    Chris is a member of a seriously dysfunctional family. After the death of Chris’s much loved mother, his father marries socialite Iris, who happens to like the contents of a wine bottle, a whole lot better than she likes the world about her.

    Sadly, his father dies, leaving Chris in a world that suddenly seems to have gone complete bizarre; a world where he is treated like the unpaid help, the Cinderella of the household, at the beck and call of not just his stepmother, but also is step-siblings. The family are facing severe financial constraints:  the solution: to marry the gorgeous Kimberly off to the highest bidder. The campaign is to be launched at the Autumnal Ball where ‘the most eligible Batchelor in America’, in the person of J.J. Kennerly, will be with his family.

    Plans are laid, money is spent and when the family depart, leaving Chris sitting on the steps of his home in something like despair, he looks up to see none other than Diana Ross, obviously not THE Diana Ross looking at him, and that is when things begin to get seriously interesting.

    Coco Chanel Jones is Drag Queen, performing at the Autumnal Ball, when she realises she has left her purse at home, the cab driver dumps her unceremoniously in the street. She enlists Chris’s help to get to the event in time and in doing so, unlocks the door to a world he vaguely understood existed: a world where to be different was the norm and to accept your sexuality was a tough challenge, but one that was well understood.

    Of course, Kimberly meets up with the wonderful JJ Kennerly and things appear to be moving on a little when Chris, who has been smuggled into the ball and JJ Kennerly meet up unexpectedly, eyeing each other with that certain look, leaving both to wonder just what has happened so unexpectedly. He and Chris fall in love. Although Chris and JJ do attempt to keep the relationship a little on the clandestine side, or at least they think they have, both families discover what is going on and are horrified, if not scandalized! Or are they really!

    David Clawson has, in a most entertaining and enjoyably outrageous manner, created what could easily be considered as the ‘gaye’ version of Cinderella, circa 2017, which while it deals with the many aspects of sexuality, also deals sensitively with the emotions, heartache and despair felt by many when they realise that the ‘normal’ societal lifestyle is not for them.

    Perfect for this age where marriage equality and sexuality is an open forum discussion, marriage rights are changing across the world and people are beginning to be accepted for who they are, not their sexual preferences. After all what is really ‘normal.’