Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: rebuilding

  • The Last of the Apple Blossom

    The Last of the Apple Blossom

    Beginning The Last of the Apple Blossom is a description of the fire that ravaged Hobart and its surrounds. It is so intense and visual that people who have experienced this terror firsthand may find this difficult to revisit. The first chapter begins with a young schoolteacher, Catherine, who sees the danger of the approaching fire and runs down to the nearby beach to see if it is a safe place for the students.  The date is February 7th, 1967. The students need to be seen to safety and then Catherine’s thoughts go to her family on their apple orchard.

    Sadly, the family property has perished, and her parents are stunned and shocked at their losses; family friends have all suffered in some way. The young lad who worked at the school drives over to help the families.

    Annie is a dear friend to Catherine and although a few years older, has always been a support to her. She writes some of the chapters and shares stories of her five sons.

    Annie’s husband Dave’s friend Mark and his son Charlie are staying with them as Mark’s wife has gone missing and he is unable to leave until she returns. Gradually as some normality is restored to the various families, Catherine finds herself drawn towards the shy, slightly awkward Charlie and his father Mark. As their friendship develops the township is disapproving but it this friendship begins to reveal secrets that Annie does not want to have ever see the light of day.

    As the days unfold, Catherine realises her parents will need her and she leaves her job and works hard to help restore their orchard and the thread of a community that can heal or regenerate even though the collapse of the Apple industry bodes ill for the small town.

    Shattered dreams and obstacles are to be overcome and as always dramatic situations such as this bring out the best and worst in people. For some, their dreams will end, and for others their dreams have just begun.

  • Home Fires

    Home Fires

    Living in Australia we are all too familiar with bush fires and the devastation they cause. With climate change it seems that we will experience more of these horrific scenarios and in suburbs that once would have been seen as safe. We all feel for people who have undergone the trauma and loss of a major fire. Fiona Lowe has set about to explore just what a huge and significant impact this has for years to come, and how the women in this story support and re build the town they once lived in.

    The story is set in the town of Myrtle, in the Otway Ranges in Victoria. It was a tight knit farming community, small but with established farms and small businesses, with a great sense of community spirit. This is a wonderfully distinctive Australian story and Fiona has a gift for drawing characters who are so real you could recognise them. The author has presented the story in such a way that it begins with chapters before the fire and after the fire. Indeed, the locals measure everything as BF and AF.

    In this clever way, we get to meet characters such as Claire. She grew up in Myrtle, trained as a Nurse and studied for many years. She went to PNG and was the sole medical consultant for people along the Sepik River. At age twenty eight she had returned home to Myrtle for holidays. Then she met Mat. Mat farmed with his family and had built up their sheep farm by diversifying with pigs. It was love at first sight and life seemed to full of wonderful opportunities ahead. But then came the fire.

    Sophie and Josh have just fulfilled their dream of moving to the country to raise their family. By scrimping and saving they have managed to buy an old farm that needs plenty of work; this was their dream. Then came the fire! Bec and her husband Adam are married and have two much loved daughters. Adam was badly burnt in the fire and spent many weeks in the burn’s unit of the hospital. When he came home, Bec realized she didn’t know this man whose personality had undergone such a huge change.

    The author presents us with scenarios that follow such trauma. The nightmares of the farmers who had to shoot their animals. The change in the teenager who was going through puberty. The woman who now dreaded getting pregnant for fear of not being able to protect a baby. The men who had been unable to save their homes, and the huge insurance rises for properties along with the devaluation of land values.

    But the main message to come from this story is the resilience shown by those who have lived with terror, and how these strong women together, overcome personality traits and rivalries to rebuild hope and a future.

  • Making Peace

    Making Peace

    All of us face tragedy in our lives at some time. If you are blessed like Hannah and have spent a calm and loving youth and young adult hood, it must seem like the world has come to an end. A happily married woman, Hannah was preparing for Christmas when she heard the news that her husband and parents had been killed when a truck ploughed into their car. Having never dealt with grief and loss, the young woman thought she would never recover.

    Luckily, Hannah had a small circle of friends and an Aunty across the road, who kept her from deep depression. The other factor in the young woman’s recovery was a cat that she rescued. Not being an animal owner before, she didn’t realize the cat was about to deliver two kittens into the household. She fell in love with the proud mother and her tiny children and made a happy and safe home for them. They in turn jumped on her lap and cuddled whenever they could.

    One of Hanna’s closest friends was a woman who was married and had young twin boys. Her name was Sam, and she had a wonderful gift for creating artistic pieces which she decided to put on a market stall, with Hanna’s help. This was very successful, and Sam decided to produce more of her own works. However, her domestic life was to undergo a huge adjustment, and Hannah repaid all the support she had received from Sam.

    During this time, a court case was being heard against the truck driver who had lost control of his vehicle and crashed into Hanna’s family car. He was in a desperate way, suffering from depression and separated from his wife and family. Knowing that the truck company who owned the vehicle was at fault for not servicing it properly, Hannah had never taken an interest in the court proceedings. She accidentally met the man and made it quite clear that she held no grudges, and completely   exonerated him from blame. In fact, he and his wife became included in Hanna’s circle of friends.

    The many varied elements in the story come together seamlessly to show that from disaster and tragedy, one can rebuild their life, and although never forgetting her past, Hannah through her caring nature, was able to help others.

    A lovely continuum which draws to a close much of what was left behind in at the conclusion of Finding Hannah.