Reading Challenge Week 28 - A book with a place in the title.

So this week's reading challenge was to read a book with a place in the title. There are a lot of places in the world. There are places close at hand, and places far away. You could have a planet, a country, a county, a city, a street or the chair you're sitting on right now (although, that last one would be a very specific book and I'm not sure we'd have that in our library). It can be a real place, an imaginary place or a metaphysical place.

The place could be somewhere to go, somewhere to be, or somewhere one's been. Here or there. Anywhere. Nowhere. Erehwon...

Let's stop waffling about places and look at some books, shall we?

Louise Cottrell read The Australian Colonies: Their Origin and Present Condition, by William Hughes.

And now for some shameless self-promotion: Did you know that the JCU Library has a Special Collections? While we normally spruik the North Queensland Collection, we also have a Rare Book Collection. You know, the type where a Librarian guards the entrance like a dragon with its hoard? You’re welcome to use our treasures, but please wear gloves or the Librarian will kill maim be displeased with you.

This week I read The Australian Colonies: Their origin and present condition by William Hughes, published in 1852 (919.4 HUG, Rare Books). Written around 1850, the book provides a snapshot of an exciting period of Australian history, a time roughly 60 years since the landing of the First Fleet, the beginning of the Gold Rushes to Victoria and New South Wales, and 3 years before convict transportation ceased.

It’s a fascinating read but it is a product of its time, so expect flowery descriptions, political incorrectness and a patronizing opinion of anyone not British, male and upper class.

Oh, and there are cannibals, can’t forget the cannibals. Long live the Victorian fascination with the macabre!

Brenda Carter read Howard’s End by E. M. Forster.

Although Howard’s End is not a real geographic place in the sense of place names in A Passage to India or Out of Africa, it is the name of the country house in Howard’s End by E. M. Forster (820 FORS 1C HOW/STA) and the setting in which the characters converge and the main themes of the novel are explored.  Forster based his description of Howards End on his childhood home ‘Rooks Nest’ in Hertfordshire.

Howard’s End is a surprisingly modern novel, considering it was written in 1910. The somewhat bohemian Schlegel sisters are intelligent and independent. Their decisions are based on compassion and respect for the dignity of all, regardless of social status. In contrast, the actions of the wealthy Wilcoxes reflect their social and economic prejudices. As Forster evaluates the social conventions and moral choices of the Schlegels, their lower class friends and the Wilcoxes, the fate of Howard’s End becomes the symbol of the ‘new morality’ and reconciliation amongst the families.

Howard’s End has been adapted for theatre, television, film, radio and opera, but the novel remains the most satisfying form. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Howards End 38th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century – it is well worth a read.

Scott Dale read A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.

I love a book that starts with a map. Maps seem to appear much more often in fantasy books than in other works of fiction. I know that Treasure Island has a map but cannot think of many others outside the fantasy genre.

There was no mention in this week’s challenge that the place should be found somewhere here on Earth.

Earthsea is not a real place. Earthsea is an archipelago created by the author, and the setting for a series of novels that begin with A Wizard of Earthsea (810 LEG, curriculum collection). Earthsea is, like all archipelagos, bound by water. People generally believe that there are no lands beyond the archipelago but there are rumours of islands that exist past the mapped world.

We meet Ged from Gont as a young boy. Ged is gifted in the use of magic and soon leaves his village to go off to wizard school where he learns his trade from the masters. Something terrible happens along the way and Ged accidentally releases a power from another realm. This shadow-like entity almost kills Ged, and then goes about  hunting the young wizard, aiming to possess him and do all sorts of mischief to the world of Earthsea.

When I think of Earthsea I imagine a low, grey sky over rugged, windswept islands. If I had to compare the book to a fruit, I would choose a mangosteen because the action takes place in an interesting looking land, not everything is as it seems, and it leaves you wanting more.