The Same Man: George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh in love and war by David Lebedoff

At first glance there seems to be very little common ground between Orwell and Waugh. Orwell is most famous for writing 1984 and Animal Farm and Waugh for Brideshead Revisited. They were both born into middle class England but while Orwell shunned the class system Waugh was the ultimate social climber. Lebedoff writes that what they had in common "was a hatred of moral relativism. They both believed that morality is absolute, though they defined and applied it differently. But each believed with all his heart, brain and soul that there were such things as moral right and moral wrong, and that these were not subject to changes in fashion."

This fascinating book gives an insight into life in England in the early to mid-twentieth century and how the influential authors participated in and reacted to society. It can be found in the non-fiction section of Wagga City Library at 823.912 ORW. You can also find the novels of George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh.

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

Winner of the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for the Best Book in South East Asia and the Pacific, shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal 2009, shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Prize 2009. The Slap was also discussed on the ABC's First Tuesday Book Club. It is a gritty, confronting look at suburban life in Melbourne. It centres around a barbecue at which a man slaps a child who isn't his own. This event has great consequences for all present and the author tells the story alternately from the perspective of the different characters. It is thought-provoking on many levels looking, not only at parenting and children, but also at love, marriage and tradition.

This book has tended to provoke strong reactions in those who have read it. I did not like any of the characters in the novel and yet still found the book compelling. It is worth a read just to see what all the fuss is about but be wary if you are sensitive to swearing!

The Slap is available from Wagga City Library - you can reserve it here.

Coronation Talkies by Susan Kurosawa

A charming, funny, engaging novel set in India at the end of British rule. It tells the story of Lydia who enters into a hasty marriage with with an Englishman living in India and Mrs Banerjee who comes to the station to set up a talking picture theatre.

Lydia moves from her quiet, English village to the very wet Indian hill station of Chalaili. This sodden, not quite fashionable town is full of fascinating characters, Indian, English and Anglo-Indian. Mrs Banerjee is hilarious as she sets up Coronation Talkies and enliven the society in Chalaili.

There is gossip and scandal, love and hate, betrayal and blackmail and a lovely look at the end of England's rule in India.