Reading this book was such a "non-event" that I wouldn't even waste time reviewing it. I have given it one star for the cover ! ( )

Marsali Swift and her husband William have returned to Melbourne after what they hoped would be a permanent retirement tree change to the quaint property of Listowel, in the Victorian Goldfields township of Muckleton. They hoped for a quiet life full of rural splendour, delightful book clubs and country charm. Instead they become victims of a theft, a neighbour goes missing - presumed murdered, and they uncover disturbing facts about their little town’s violent past.

The style of writing is somewhat unusual, especially for the genre, and it may not appeal to all readers. The novel is set out in a journal/memoir style and is a combination of recollections of the events interspersed with random thoughts and observations relating to art, history, politics, the environment, literature and science. It’s kind of like being stuck next to Great Aunt Clara at a wedding after she’s had too many glasses of sherry. It is charming, confusing, informative and irritating all at the same time. Part of you want to leave the table, and part of you can’t drag yourself away.

The style of the novel allows for extensive descriptions of character and places. One can readily visualise Muckleton, its quaint streets and landmarks and eclectic mix of locals. It is worth pushing through to the end, even if the writing doesn’t set readily with you.

“Field of Dreams” by Carmel Bird will either earn a place in your top ten for the year or be left unfinished. Reader’s choice.

I received a free copy of this book through Sisters in Crime - Australia, in exchange for a fair and honest review. ( )

I was really looking forward to reading Carmel Bird's latest novel, and I am pleased to say that it does not disappoint!

The voice in this latest novel from one of our best-loved writers is just like one of my dearest friends. Chatty, discursive, and intelligent; knowledgeable about the history of the world and sensitive to its contemporary woes; warm, witty and kind. But reading Field of Poppies is not just like a long, leisurely intimate conversation with someone whose wisdom I treasure, it's also a perfect expression of the zeitgeist. (And if you want any confirmation of that, check out Australia Talks at ABC Online, to see the issues that are bothering other Australians).

The narrator is Marsali Swift, an older woman who is an irrepressible optimist reluctantly coming to terms with unpleasant truths. The 20th century was a dreadful century, but the 21st may even be worse. And there is no hiding from it. Marsali, a retired interior designer, and her husband William, still working part-time as a doctor, made a tree-change to the (fictional) town of Muckleton in Victoria's goldfields region, but the world found them there anyway.

Two events, she tells us right at the beginning, have propelled them back to urban life in the Eureka Tower in Melbourne. Their Muckleton house was robbed while they were on a jaunt to hear La Traviata at the Arts Centre in Melbourne, and a woman called Alice Dooley has vanished. As it happens, most of their eccentric possessions were recovered from the robbery, but Marsali still feels that her rural idyll has been violated. Her sense of security is shattered, partly because she has to face up to the fact that her sense of community is a myth. Robbery isn't just something that happens in the city, and what makes it worse is that in the countryside, it's committed by people that you know.

And while Alice was only an acquaintance, an eccentric divorcée who lived alone in the former matrimonial home and played a very valuable violin in a community musical group, Marsali feels her disappearance keenly. It is a sign that evil has come to Muckleton which in their retirement was meant to be a refuge from the meanness of city life. Marsali (though she's not religious) suggests a prayer vigil, and the community organises it, but Alice's disappearance remains an open wound.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/10/06/field-of-poppies-by-carmel-bird/ ( )