I just finished The Red Shoe by Australian author Ursula Dubosarksky. It took me a few tries to get into this book but once I did I really loved it. In the 1950's outside of Sydney this family demonstrates the quirkiness that exits in every family. Matilda, as the youngest tells most of the story to us. She has spies living next door that she spies on, an imaginary friend named Floreal who came out of the radio one night and a father who is out to sea and missed for most of the book. Matilda has two older sisters, Elizabeth and Frances who struggle with their own demeans. Elizabeth, the oldest, quits school one day and decides to have an emotional breakdown. Frances observes and rarely talks. The spies next door create a bit of mystery as well as a trip the family took to the "Basin" for a picnic a few years ago. Interspersed among this fictional family's unusual tale are real newspaper clippings from The Syndey Morning Herald delivering to the reader facts about a Soviet defection and other various real events of the day. I was intrigued by the cover of this book, sitting on the middle grade new shelf at the library and I am so happy I gave it a try. Wow, if I didn't have to go to school every day I would get a lot more reading and blogging done!!! Yeah Spring Break!!
3 comments:
Ah, Spring Break reading. . . my favorite.
This sounds very interesting. I pretty much thing anything Australian is fantastic, so I'll have to try it.
Thanks for being a follower; I can only assume you found me through Janssen since she has commented here. Leave a comment sometime; from your brief profile info, I think I'd be very interested to learn more of your ideas about stuff both relevant and irrelevant.
I have a 10 hour road trip tomorrow and hope my honey does most (read all) of the driving so I can read, read and read.
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