http://cheryljorgensen.com.au Sun, 15 Oct 2017 14:52:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.23 Cheryl Jorgensen clean Cheryl Jorgensen tim@timmultimedia.com tim@timmultimedia.com (Cheryl Jorgensen) http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/wp-content/uploads/podcast_logo.jpg http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/category/podcasts/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/times-long-ruin-by-stephen-orr/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/times-long-ruin-by-stephen-orr/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:18:31 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=387 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/times-long-ruin-by-stephen-orr/feed/ 0 Cheryl reviews 'Time's Long Ruin' by Stephen Orr Cheryl reviews 'Time's Long Ruin' by Stephen Orr Cheryl Jorgensen clean 2:32 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-sinkings-by-amanda-curtin/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-sinkings-by-amanda-curtin/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:16:20 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=383 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-sinkings-by-amanda-curtin/feed/ 0 Cheryl reviews 'The Sinkings' by Amanda Curtin Cheryl reviews 'The Sinkings' by Amanda Curtin Cheryl Jorgensen clean 4:56 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-sense-of-an-ending-by-julian-barnes/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-sense-of-an-ending-by-julian-barnes/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:13:54 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=378 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-sense-of-an-ending-by-julian-barnes/feed/ 0 Cheryl reviews 'The Sense of an Ending' by Julian Barnes Cheryl reviews 'The Sense of an Ending' by Julian Barnes Cheryl Jorgensen clean 9:24 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-gatton-murders-by-stephanie-bennett/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-gatton-murders-by-stephanie-bennett/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:09:25 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=369 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/the-gatton-murders-by-stephanie-bennett/feed/ 11 Cheryl reviews 'The Gatton Murders' by Stephanie Bennett Cheryl reviews 'The Gatton Murders' by Stephanie Bennett Cheryl Jorgensen clean 7:17 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/radical-gratitude-by-andrew-bienkowski-and-mary-akers/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/radical-gratitude-by-andrew-bienkowski-and-mary-akers/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:06:41 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=367 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/radical-gratitude-by-andrew-bienkowski-and-mary-akers/feed/ 0 Cheryl reviews 'Radical Gratitude' by Andrew Bienkowski and Mary Akers Cheryl reviews 'Radical Gratitude' by Andrew Bienkowski and Mary Akers Cheryl Jorgensen clean 2:19 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/elizabeth-in-the-garden-by-trea-martyn/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/elizabeth-in-the-garden-by-trea-martyn/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 04:53:16 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=364 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/03/elizabeth-in-the-garden-by-trea-martyn/feed/ 0 Cheryl reviews 'Elizabeth in the Garden' by Trea Martyn Cheryl reviews 'Elizabeth in the Garden' by Trea Martyn Cheryl Jorgensen clean 3:11 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/02/waiting-for-robert-capa-by-susana-fortes/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/02/waiting-for-robert-capa-by-susana-fortes/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 01:09:33 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=283 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2012/02/waiting-for-robert-capa-by-susana-fortes/feed/ 0 Waiting for Robert Capa - by Susana Fortes, translated by Adriana V. Lopez. - “Robert Capa” is the name and persona invented by Gerda Taro to successfully market photographs taken by herself and Endre Friedmann in Paris in 1935. - Waiting for Robert Capa by Susana Fortes, translated by Adriana V. Lopez. “Robert Capa” is the name and persona invented by Gerda Taro to successfully market photographs taken by herself and Endre Friedmann in Paris in 1935. Gerda was born Gerta Pohorylle in Stuttgart, a Jewish citizen who fled the Nazis to Paris where she met Hungarian Endre Friedmann, also Jewish. He was taking photographs and developing them in the bathroom of his tiny flat with red cellophane wrapped around the light, as he had been shown by another emerging artist, Henri Cartier-Bresson. Gerta changed her name to “Gerda” because it sounded less Jewish, Endre became Robert Capa, Gerda’s creation of the successful American photographer who was rich, talented, and a womaniser. Gerda established herself as Capa’s agent, managing to get commissions for newspaper stories and  advertisements. Robert Capa was sent to Spain to cover the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. While he was away, Gerda developed her own distinct style of photography, but sold her pictures as Capa’s work without ever getting acknowledgement for them. Prior to conjuring Robert Capa from thin air, Gerta had been sharing an attic in the Latin Quarter with her friend, Ruth Cerf. Multilingual Gerta had easily been able to pick up poorly-paid work typing up scientific journals, but felt the need to do something more satisfying. Returning to her flat one evening, she found that the door had been forced, and stepping inside, that their living space and possessions had been trashed. Captain Flint, their pet parrot, was floating in a pot of boiling water, his neck broken. Racist slogans had been painted on the walls. Shocked and frightened, Gerta briefly gave way to tears, but then, realising that she was reacting as her tormentors wanted her to respond, she took the Leica camera that she had slung over her shoulder on her way home from work, and started photographing. She had found her profession: she would become an important witness to the cowardice and brutality of such thuggish behaviour. Waiting for Robert Capa is an imaginative reconstruction of the lives and work of Gerda Taro and Robert Capa, written by a Spanish author who has won several literary awards for her work, including the Premio Fernando Lara prize in 2009 for this one. Fortes dedicates much of the narrative to the love that grows between the two chief protagonists—at the expense of the daily events of those turbulent times that are probably far more interesting. Sometimes this becomes mawkish, though it may be that clumsy translation is to blame: It showed in the way they made love, holding on to each other tightly, because one day in the near future one of them or both of them could die, and then there would be nothing, not a damn straw to clutch at. The amazing foreshortening of her lying across the bed with his pyjamas on, tender and half-asleep. It is also sometimes difficult to locate the events occurring in this novel in time, as internal journeys in the characters’ minds take precedence over their physical movements. This, with the too frequent absence of verbs in sentences, becomes rather irritating. Even more irritating is the intrusive sentimental commentary from the author. An example is a description of Ruth Cerf: Attentive eyes, an understanding forehead, with that protective instinct that women used to have when they buttoned up a coat properly and wrapped their children’s scarves around them on chilly mornings. Or Robert’s effect on Gerda, who is described as  “A tad naive, gullible like all women. . .”, a statement which does not bear examination when seen in the context of Taro’s short but heroic life. Also somewhat unsettling are the leaps forward in time out of the narrative to inform the reader of the deaths of the main characters. We learn quite early in the story of both Robert’s and Gerda’s premature deaths, and we also learn of the demise of their friend Chim. Cheryl Jorgensen clean 10:47 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2011/07/the-first-fleet-the-real-story/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2011/07/the-first-fleet-the-real-story/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 01:10:10 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=261 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2011/07/the-first-fleet-the-real-story/feed/ 0 The First Fleet: The Real Story - Alan Frost - Black Inc: $29.95 - Australians have been led to believe for many decades that The First Fleet’s primary aim was to cleanse British society of its convict population by dumping it on these shores. The First Fleet: The Real Story Alan Frost Black Inc: $29.95 Australians have been led to believe for many decades that The First Fleet’s primary aim was to cleanse British society of its convict population by dumping it on these shores. Furthermore, it was believed the voyage itself was poorly planned and haphazardly equipped. Emeritus Professor of History at La Trobe University, Alan Frost, has recently published evidence to the contrary. In The First Fleet: The Real Story, Frost proves the venture was meticulously planned, well-provisioned, and, considering the fact that this was a long voyage of eight months and one week, amazingly safe. More than 1400 people were placed in Captain Arthur Phillip’s care and by the time they reached Botany Bay, there were only 32 deaths since leaving England. Twenty male convicts, three females and five of the children of convicts were amongst those who perished. This evidence belies the idea of any  on board being expendable, but rather  indicates that special care was taken to preserve the lives of all. Phillip, who became the first Governor of the colony, was making plans for it some months before he set sail. Perhaps the most time-consuming of his preparations was in ensuring the colony would be run under civil rather than military law. He provided for the good health and welfare of the prisoners who were to board his ships so that when they were removed from the filth, squalor and disease of the British gaols, they were bathed, given clean clothes, fed nutritious food for up to three months before the voyage as well as during it, and provided with the services of a doctor to treat their ailments. Hardly the effort required of someone who was meant merely to dump troublemakers on the other side of the world. Tellingly, Phillip often referred to his charges in official documents not as “convicts” but, with the marines and soldiers,  as “colonists”. This indicates the true intentions of the British government for imperial expansion. The English King, George 111, and Prime Minister William Pitt (who counted amongst his friends the reformer William Wilberforce) were also aware of the possibilities of trade benefits in establishing a colony so far from home. Arrived at Botany Bay, Phillip quickly determined that it was unsuitable for a large settlement, so investigated nearby Port Jackson and established the colony there, by the waters of Sydney Cove. After landing his charges and unloading the stores and stock, Phillip formally established his colony on 7 February 1788. He assembled all the colonists on the west side of the cove, the convicts sitting in the middle, the marines forming an encircling guard. He then addressed them, praising those who had behaved well on the voyage and exhorting them to make new lives for themselves in this new place. Small plots of land were given to the convicts which they could work in their free time as an inducement to reforming lives of drunkenness, indolence and lawlessness. Despite the  several “teething problems” of establishing a new colony, and over a year of an el nino-induced drought in 1790-91, Phillip left Sydney at the end of  1792 as it was beginning to flourish, dutifully fulfilling the carefully laid plans of the Pitt administration. The First Fleet: The Real Story is an exciting re-assessment of the origins of the British colony in Terra Australis. The fact that it barely mentions the Indigenous people who were a very real presence in Phillip’s Antipodean world,  does present  a problem, however. For this, dear Reader, I suggest you go to Inga Clendinnen's marvellous history, Dancing WIth Strangers. But rather than maintaining the imagery of our ancestors as human refuse marooned on the other side of the world, we now have a brighter picture of a citizenry who expiated their social sins to build a better society. Cheryl Jorgensen clean 9:25 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2010/11/death-and-the-virgin-by-chris-skidmore/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2010/11/death-and-the-virgin-by-chris-skidmore/#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:23:37 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=236 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2010/11/death-and-the-virgin-by-chris-skidmore/feed/ 1 Elizabeth 1 was in love with the married Robert Dudley. Did she have any part in the death of his wife? This intriguing mystery has tested the intellects and imaginations of people for generations. But some new evidence has come to light. Elizabeth 1 was in love with the married Robert Dudley. Did she have any part in the death of his wife? This intriguing mystery has tested the intellects and imaginations of people for generations. But some new evidence has come to light. Chris Skidmore weaves an enthralling tale based on careful and thorough research. Cheryl Jorgensen clean 5:56 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2010/11/the-same-man-by-david-lebedoff/ http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2010/11/the-same-man-by-david-lebedoff/#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 02:09:17 +0000 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/?p=213 http://cheryljorgensen.com.au/2010/11/the-same-man-by-david-lebedoff/feed/ 0 Cheryl reviews "The Same Man" by David Lebedoff Cheryl reviews "The Same Man" by David Lebedoff Cheryl Jorgensen clean 2:36