Comedienne Judith Lucy says her family’s ‘view of normal wasn’t always everyone else’s’ and she’s not kidding! She had her first shower at 15. Until then, her mother had told her the shower was broken. The maggots her father Tony bred for fishing sat ‘next to the milk and cans of TAB’ in the fridge and he drank too much, wore makeup and was not nice to their cat. Her mother ‘based her look on Elizabeth Taylor and Cleopatra’ and while her parents fought constantly, she and her brother were close. The bombshell that she was adopted was dropped when she was 25. B is for boys, X is for Xmas as Lucy reveals everything including her sexual encounters, a disastrous overseas trip, her struggle with alcohol and depression, meeting her birth mother, and the death of her adoptive parents. Courageous, brutally honest, hilarious, sad and moving, this is ultimately a tribute to the parents she loved and still misses. ‘It’s my parents who made me who I am-God help me!’ she says. I’m a long-time Lucy fan so listening to her reading this book is a real treat. A must-listen for fans, but not if swearing offends.
Paula Grunseit is a freelance reviewer and former deputy editor of Good Reading magazine
The Peasant Prince by Li Cunxin After a handful of awards The Peasant Prince, based on the hugely popular Mao’s Last Dancer (the true story of Li Cunxin), is now out in audio book.15 November, 2008
The Lucy Family Alphabet by Judith Lucy Comedienne Judith Lucy says her family’s ‘view of normal wasn’t always everyone else’s’ and she’s not kidding! She had her first shower at 15.15 November, 2008
The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville The story of Daniel Rooke (based on the life of William Dawes) starts with a socially inept, solitary child with a passion for numbers and the stars.15 November, 2008
The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide Delia Bennet has terminal cancer and is contemplating how to prepare herself and her young family for her inevitable demise.15 November, 2008
Buddhism for Busy People by David Michie David Michie seemed to have it all. Happily married, with a high-flying job in corporate PR in London, he was living ‘the life’.15 November, 2008
Genesis by Bernard Beckett In the year 2075, on the island Republic (once New Zealand Aotearoa), we witness young Anaximander before exacting examiners, seeking admission to the extremely elite Academy.1 October, 2008
Maelstrom by Michael MacConnell, read by Sean Mangan Relentless action marks this debut action thriller set in Boston and the US east coast. Harry Reilly, retired from active FBI duty, believes that a copycat killer is working in the shadows of other serial killers.10 January, 2008
Turner’s Paintbox by Paul Morgan, read by Humphrey Bower Paul Morgan’s first novel The Pelagius Book drew comparisons from some reviewers to the work of David Malouf. His second, Turner’s Paintbox, published earlier this year by Viking, is a more conventional story set in contemporary Sydney. Gerard Moyne is an art consultant who is on a steady trajectory to international success and wealth.10 January, 2008
Audio Book Reviews It is a thing of ‘moocow’ innocence, with childish thought and memory tenderly evoked. It is also a thing of great hunger for personal identity. Stephen Dedalus, the central character of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, visualises himself in terms of the world … the universe. Boundaries between himself and the greatness of everything are sought, defined and expressed with ever-increasing hunger for the knowledge of beauty, art and meaning. James Joyce’s remarkable semi-autobiographical novel is truly a great (and very accessible) work of literature, and its beautifully layered and lyrical quality is ideally realised in audio form.27 October, 2006
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