0349 | In a Free State | V. S. Naipaul
Context: Was reading this when I visited the National Orchid Garden of PNG outside Port Moresby. Amazing variety of the weirdest-looking flowers I’ve ever seen. REVIEW I don’t think I’ve…
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0348 | The Elegance of the Hedgehog | Muriel Barbery
Context: Found this at a friend’s house as I visited Port Moresby and enjoyed the pool after work each day. REVIEW This book sits right at the top of the…
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0347 | A Handful of Dust | Evelyn Waugh
Context: Was reading this from the front seat as we came in to land at Jackson Field, Port Moresby’s airport. REVIEW My, my, what a sad novel. At the start…
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0345 | The Maltese Falcon | Dashiell Hammett
Context: Was reading this on the balcony and a huge moth had decided to take up residence on our tablecloth. REVIEW As far as US detective novels that I’ve read…
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0342 | The Return of the Soldier | Rebecca West
Context: Our acoustic band had its debut as I was reading this. Great to be playing live music again! REVIEW Wow, where did this come from? Never heard of Rebecca…
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0340 | The Making of the Atomic Bomb | Richard Rhodes
Context: Just after I finished this off, a 7.3 earthquake with more explosive force than an atomic bomb smashed a pot in our living room from 100 miles away. REVIEW…
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0334 | In the Heart of the Country | J. M. Coetzee
Context: Spent over 2 hours burning unbelievable amounts of old paperwork from our office while I was reading this. Very satisfying! REVIEW Coetzee is turning into one of my favourite…
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0333 | Manub & Kilibob:Melanesian Models for Brotherhood | Rufus Pech
Context: Involved in final rehearsals for Cinderella while I finished this off. REVIEW After having had one of the strangest experiences of my life attending meetings of a group of…
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0330 | The Nose | Nikolai Gogol
Context: We got the first of what looks to be many bunches of bananas off our banana trees while I was reading this. REVIEW Brilliant. What an idea! Someone’s nose…
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0327 | Mutants – Armand Marie Leroi
Context: Mrs Arukiyomi brought me breakfast in bed the day I finished this one off. What a lovely surprise! REVIEW If you have hang-ups about the fact that you’re a…
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0315 | Conditions of Love: the philosophy of intimacy | John Armstrong
Context: Finished this off as we ploughed through torrential rain and whiteout cloud on our flight back to the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. REVIEW I rarely read non-fiction of…
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0310 | The Death of Ivan Ilych – Leo Tolstoy
Context: Started this at the Mapang Guesthouse in Port Moresby before heading back to the UK. REVIEW This is more of a short story than even a novella, but what…
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0308 | Blue Like Jazz – Donald Miller
Context: While I read this my father-in-law was losing his struggle for life. It turned out to be the last book I finished in his lifetime. REVIEW I don’t think…
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0305 | Making ‘Black Harvest’ – Bob Connolly
Context: Blogged this the day that I took part in The Amazing Race (hence the gear) – we came 3rd out of 20 teams. REVIEW On arrival in our current…
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0301 | Wewak Mission – Lionel Veale
Context: While reading this our gutters were so blocked up with pine needles that I had to remove all the downpipes and flush them out with a hose. REVIEW One…
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0290 | The Plague – Albert Camus
Context: Read this while we screened the Jesus Film on a generator at the Foursquare Church in Male, PNG. REVIEW It seems entirely appropriate that I should finish this book…
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0287 | Paddy Clark, Ha, Ha, Ha–Roddy Doyle
Context: While I read this, we did teacher training sessions for the teachers at Male Primary School. REVIEW Heard a lot about this Booker Winner (1993) but never had a…
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0284 | The Handmaid’s Tale–Margaret Atwood
Context: Read this while we hosted many villagers on our large veranda in PNG. REVIEW I’ve read a number of Atwoods but nothing comes close to this. Somehow she’s managed…