Ice

by Louis Nowra | Horror |
ISBN: 9781741754834 Global Overview for this book
Registered by goodthinkingmax of Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on 5/18/2009
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7 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by goodthinkingmax from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Monday, May 18, 2009
This book was kindly given to me by Jubby to register for the Miles Franklin Shortlist Challenge. See drcris's Bookshelf for details.

Bookring:

freelunch
freepages
drcris
livrecache
jubby
tqd

(Feel free to change the order, depending on people's reading commitments)

Journal Entry 2 by goodthinkingmax from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, June 7, 2009
I was underwhelmed by Ice and found it a chore to finish. I found the historical aspects very interesting - colonial Australia, the advent of refrigeration and modern shipping and I was drawn in by the first few chapters when the iceberg arrived in Sydney. Many of the characters were also well drawn and engaging, although I did not warm to any of them or feel sympathetic. Once Malcolm's romance with Anne began I began to resist and become extremely irritated and was not moved at all by her fate, moved to rejoice perhaps! I found the move to the different settings very jarring. This first became evident when the story moved around the iceberg, Malcolm's childhood and then to the irritating romance. Later the parallel but tiny story of the modern day biographer in Sydney also did not flow seamlessly enough for me and made the novel seem quite unbalanced. I felt like I spent the novel being hurtled around uncomfortably into different plotlines, even though each one contained lots of interesting scenarios and characters.

I hope the rest of the Miles Franklin Challenge gang appreciate this more than I did!

Journal Entry 3 by freelunch from Cairns, Queensland Australia on Monday, June 15, 2009
received today, thanks goodthinkingmax.

I have a couple of rings ahead of this book (don't we all?) so it will be a few weeks before I get to it.

Journal Entry 4 by freelunch from Cairns, Queensland Australia on Sunday, August 16, 2009
I'm also finding this book a chore to read (so much so that I've just spent a weekend seeking out chores to keep me away from it) and so I'm not going to finish it. I read for fun, this is too much like hard work.

sending it on to FreePages today.

Journal Entry 5 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Sunday, August 23, 2009

"Ice" has arrived in Canberra on an almost spring like day.

It looks very interesting and I'm tempted to start it straight away, but joins the queue of bookrings I have here at the moment.

:-)

Thanks Freelunch for sending it on, I hope I don't have a weekend like that ;-)

Journal Entry 6 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Thursday, September 3, 2009
I found this a very absorbing read. So far, it is the MF 2009 short-listed book that I have liked the most. That's a bit of a surprise because I thought that Wanting would be my favourite.

Like a lot of Historical Fiction I was interested to google more about the main character and it is his photo from wikipedia that I've added to this JE.

I'll PM Dr Chris to see if their ready to receive this.

Dr Chris is having a reading break, and asked to be skipped for the moment. The next in line is livrecache, I have one other book to send to her that I haven't read yet, so I'll send them together as soon as I've finished it.


Journal Entry 7 by FreePages at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Monday, October 5, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (10/5/2009 UTC) at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia

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In the post today or tomorrow with one other book.

Enjoy Livrecache!

:-)

Journal Entry 8 by livrecache from Hobart, Tasmania Australia on Friday, October 9, 2009
Caught safely. I'm familiar only with Nowra's plays; (Cosi in particular. I'm curious to see how he goes as a novelist.)

Thanks for sharing.

Journal Entry 9 by livrecache from Hobart, Tasmania Australia on Sunday, November 22, 2009
Well, it took me a while to read this book, and aspects of it I found interesting (except I kept trying to equate it with 'actual' Australian history as at times 'real' were mentioned). Overall, I think it was contrived. I was hoping to say it was well structured, linking the importance of ice in early times with the dangers of what the word 'ice' has become in the world of recreational drug taking, but for me, it didn't work.

And I felt that Malcolm was extremely disturbed as a character. I mean really, his love of Ann was taken to the absurd ! (Those who've read the book will know what I mean.) I could understand that he wanted to find out how is dad dies. That was fine. And as GTM says, there was a lot of interesting stuff in the book

For some reason, this book reminded me of Carey' s earlier novels. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing.

Journal Entry 10 by livrecache at A BookCrosser, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Monday, November 23, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (11/23/2009 UTC) at A BookCrosser, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases

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On its way to another bookcrosser. I hope you enjoy it.

Journal Entry 11 by jubby from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Friday, November 27, 2009
Received in the post yesterday.

Thank you very much. The online reading group I joined (but rarely actually make the time to read each month's book) just read this book this month, and what I heard (or rather read in emailed messages) this book is just up my alley.

Thank you again Livrecache.

Just need to make the time to get to it quickly...

Journal Entry 12 by jubby from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, January 21, 2010
Thank you very much for making this a bookring Goodthinkingmax. This has been one of the best books that I have read in ages.

I really loved that megalomaniac qualities of the historical character Malcolm McEacharn. It reminded me of some of T.C. Boyle's well known novels (which I have enjoyed reading - thanks to Freelunch to introducing me and sharing his copies as bookrings).

The historical details were fascinating (and from what I can understand from wikipedia and the Australian biography encyclopaedia) and factually correct, while Nowra added his own flavour with empathy and originality by entwining his own story (grieving husband, with a comatose wife).

This was for me the resurrection of an Australian figure I'd never heard of made interesting. The conjecture about his below world and his obsession with his first wife had me staying up late and reading into the night, while his careful construction of the modern love story kept me thinking back to the Mandy Sayer memoirs that I had read a few years ago, and even had me googling to see if there is an Ice St. in East Sydney (there is!).

A wonderfully crafted and intriguing story, that I thoroughly enjoyed reading from beginning to end.

Thank you Goodthinkingmax for sharing.

Journal Entry 13 by jubby at Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, January 21, 2010

Released 14 yrs ago (1/19/2010 UTC) at Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Returned to Goodthinkingmax over a lovely impromptu brunch.

Journal Entry 14 by goodthinkingmax from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Forgot to journal that this book is home. Thanks everyone for looking after it. I will our miss our impromptu lunch/book exchanges now you are back at work jubby!

I will take this to the Sydney Bookcrossers' catchup and see if anyone would like to read it.

Released 14 yrs ago (2/9/2010 UTC) at Crown Hotel, Elizabeth St in Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia

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Releasing at the Sydney Bookcrossers' catchup at the pub.

Journal Entry 16 by markmcg from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Caught at Meetup. Thank you goodthinkingmax.

Journal Entry 17 by markmcg from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, February 18, 2010
I enjoyed the book very much. It actually made staying home from work sick yesterday quite tolerable! I loved discovering more and more about Malcolm's character, both the public and the not-so-public. Unlike other readers I didn't find the swapping between Malcolm's story and the modern day story jarring. At times I realised that the swap from one to the other had happened so quickly I had to reread a paragraph to work out where one dropped off and the other picked up. I didn't find the ending particularly strong but that was minor when compared with the enjoyment of reading the rest of the book.

Journal Entry 18 by markmcg from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Released at the Sydney Meetup, Crown Hotel, 13 April 2010.

Journal Entry 19 by Fleebo on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Caught at the Crown Hotel. Thank you!

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