Meg’s Chapter No. 6
An Update
We hosted Kate Forsyth at the library in July, discussing her 50th novel The Changeling. It was a magical evening with Kate talking about her grandmother leaving Scotland as a young girl with all the Scottish folk lore stories that she was able to share and pass on to Kate and her sister.
A wonderful, joyful evening.
Kate explained that if her books takes the reader to a place where the physical surroundings drop away then she has told her story well. Putting words and ideas out into the world helps us all. Kate is not only a written storyteller but an oral one as well, as the community who attended the talk were enthralled hearing Kate talk about the Scottish stories and research that went into the writing of The Changeling. A wonderful, joyful evening.
On My Bookshelf
“The Changeling” by Kate Forsyth
If you love historical fiction with Scottish folk lore and a magical tale then read this wonderful novel. It follows the tale of Caiti NicNeven who discovers her true mother is queen of the faery folk. Fleeing her old life, Caiti finds a place at Mary Queen of Scots court.
Woven into the story is a delightful romance, the true tale of Scotland’s first witch-hunt and
the cooking of food from that era.
I absolutely loved this book.
“Detention” by Ralph Jackman
This is an interesting memoir detailing when Ralph Jackman swapped his career as a sports reporter to teaching at what he imagined would be a regular school. Instead, he found himself in the Melbourne Parkville Youth Detention Centre teaching literacy and numeracy to children who were vulnerable and, in some cases, damaged and marginalised. This memoir takes us inside a world few ever see. It is both heartbreaking and inspiring told with humour and love for the boys he helped. It was a real eyeopener for me and while at times hard to comprehend the circumstances of these boys, I couldn’t put it down.
A well written book and interesting read.
