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The power of a hidden truth

20/2/2017

Lewisville
by Alexandra Tidswell

Lewisville is a story that spans three countries and fifty-six years. Pretty impressive considering that the novel fitted comfortably within my hands as I devoured it from cover to cover.
     It begins in 1815 when a young, dirt-poor English girl, Martha Grimm, despite desperately wanting to, is told she will never be allowed to learn to read and write and must stay and look after her mother as all eldest daughters are expected to do. But Martha Grimm is ambitious, and despite this dismal prospect, sets out to change her fortune in the world, no matter what the cost might be to herself and those around her.
     We follow her journey, from rags to potential riches, that takes her and daughter Mary Ann from motherland England to a fledgling 1840s Wellington, New Zealand.
     As a reader of many genres, I’ve never been a fan of historical fiction – often weighty tomes of historical fact ladled over fictitious characters and mixed in with the repetitive nitty-gritty of their everyday lives. Lewisville however, is a wonderful, can’t-put-it-down page-turning read.
     The story is based on a family’s hidden truth revealed, explored and embellished by a descendant, the author herself. I can tell that this is a debut novel. Why? Because you can feel that a whole life has been invested into this work. The story is imbued with a passionate desire to bring an obsession to light, a need to free the characters in one’s head out into the world for all to see.
What would you do if you discovered that one of your ancestors had hidden a momentous truth by laying a shroud of mystery over it, a mystery that would have a false rumour-effect for the generations to come? This novel is what Alexandra Tidswell did with that discovery.
    Lewisville is a fantastic read, whether you’re a Kiwi looking at how it was in early Wellington settlement, an Australian observing the early convict-colony to goldrush settlement days, or English knowing what life used to be like within and without service in the 1800s. What would you do to better your lot in life? Read Lewisville and discover how Martha Grimm bettered hers.

Review by Penny M Geddis

Title: Lewisville
Author: Alexandra Tidswell
Publisher: Mākaro Press
ISBN: 978-0-9941379-0-6
RRP: $35.00
Available: Paper only

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Understanding achievement-oriented personality

9/2/2017

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All or Nothing: Bringing balance to the achievement-oriented personality
by Mike McKinney

Do you describe yourself as ‘goal-directed’? Or ‘extremely competitive’? Do you have a strong desire to achieve? To win, at all costs? Do you push yourself to your very limits? Or maybe this describes your partner. Maybe you’re a manager and think this type of personality is all positive. If so, this book is a must-read.
     In spite of being useful for others, the book is addressed primarily to the person who sees him- or herself as an All or Nothing person. Unusually, some of it is written in the second person (e.g. “You will be pleased to hear that the goal of shifting this behaviour is not to turn yourself into an ‘average’ or ‘lazy’ person.”)
     The key to the underlying theme in the book is the word ‘balance’ in the sub-title. Although career (or sports) uber-motivated people are often highly successful, there are costs. McKinney’s aim is to present the evidence for the achievement of balance, which is not only helpful for the All or Nothing person’s sense of contentment and that of the family but, in the long run, is conducive to achieving long-term goals.
     The All or Nothing person wants perfection. Unfortunately, the world being as it is, perfection is only sometimes achievable. Mood-related problems like depression and anxiety can result when things don’t go according to plan (even the most well-developed and beautifully devised designs) and can proceed to the dreaded ‘burn-out’. When things go wrong and working to the nth degree is no longer fun, A/N people can suffer from a sudden and devastating loss of self-confidence, and a drain of their energy reserves and maybe even crash – give up altogether – meaning not only the task, but the job and everything else as well. Change (such a frightening word when the A/N person knows that hard work and lots of it has always been the secret to success) is key. As McKinney says:
You will have noticed by now [p 119] that this book is not about eliminating or ‘curing’ problems. Rather, it presents an approach of understanding what factors are operating within the individual at a given time and then considers how to modulate these.”
     Some niggles: why did the publisher choose to print the book in a wafer-thin grey font, and, worse, put the case histories in boxes using the same typeface but now on a grey background which reduces contrast even further? Easy reading is restricted to perfect lighting conditions. Second, somehow the editing allowed McKinney’s propensity to split his infinitives remain uncorrected and every one of them jars. Third, someone should have told him that exclamation points are better restricted to emails. Little niggles, but each one takes the reader away from the message. And that message is important.
     The world needs a dose of All or Nothing, but never to the extent that people hurt themselves. The A/N person is his/her own worst enemy, of course. McKinney never tries to sell his points, merely pointing out that being a successful person is possible with a smidgeon of flexibility, a healthy regard for important people in your life and the introduction of pleasurable activities that provide their own rewards. Balance.

Review by ‘Kiw1’

Title: All or Nothing: bringing balance to the achievement-oriented personality
Author: Mike McKinney
Publisher: Exisle Publishing
ISBN: 9781925335262
RRP: $34.99
Available: bookshops

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From judicial murder to fanatical terrorism

4/2/2017

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Look Away, Dixieland
by M J Burr

From the opening pages of Look Away, Dixieland, with a rigged court martial and judicial murder in America’s war torn southern states in 1865, to the book’s fast-paced final chapters in 2009-10, MJ Burr takes his readers far beyond the mere facts of events in the American Civil War and deep into the destructive, obsessive mind of a man who is still fighting that war in our times.
     Look Away, Dixieland portrays the final months of the Civil War from the Confederate point of view, as described in an account written by Jim Shields, a Virginian cavalryman who survived the war and founded a family tradition which is still respected four generations later in the 21st century.
     Through Shield’s story, Burr breathes life into the Southerners, both military and civilian, who inhabited the states of America which became known as Dixie.
     As Shields’ story unfolds, we learn of the brave and tragic events leading up to the fabricated charges of desertion and treason, and resulting execution of his friend and fellow cavalryman, Billy Brodie. Jim Shields and Billy Brodie are the heroes of their cavalry unit, while cowardice, bullying brutality, over-zealous patriotism and non-acceptance of the South’s defeat are embodied in the family of Abner Quealey and his equally obnoxious son, Amos.
     When Jim Shields’ journal is discovered in 2010 and found to contain a mystery, who better to solve it than the brilliant duo of his History lecturer great-great grandson, Brodie Shields and criminologist Ellen Newstrom! However, in setting out to unravel the journal’s riddle, Brodie and Ellen put themselves on a deadly collision course with the latest incarnation of the wicked Abner and Amos Quealey. Hartford Quealey is in fact masterminding a series of terrorist acts aimed at forcing the American government to grant long-awaited self-government to the southern Dixie states.
     History enthusiast Burr has combined his passion for, and knowledge of, events with his strong belief that those events are more memorable when seen through the eyes of the fleshed-out ordinary people who participated in them: an approach which, in Look Away, Dixieland, very effectively takes the dryness out of the bare bones of the facts. His Confederate characters are convincing and likable and blend fluidly with his present-day Quealey and cohorts who are chillingly hateful. I found the relationship between Brodie IV and Ellen rather soppy and self-congratulatory but this is a minor irritation in a cleverly told story.
     In the final pages of the book, Burr builds tension with a series of short, snappy chapters. Brodie and Ellen survive Look Away, Dixieland by an almost comical chain of events, and just when our guard is down, thinking Ha, ha! They were lucky to get out of that alive, Burr takes us by surprise and winds the suspense up again to the final dramatic scenes.
     Look Away, Dixieland is a great read in the genre of faction or fictionalised fact – a gripping historical-contemporary thriller combined with a sweet and tragic 19th century romance. It will have curious readers reaching for their encyclopaedias/search engines to refresh the lyrics of Dixie and confirm the exact position of the Mason-Dixon line. At the same time, Look Away, Dixieland is thought-provoking: to paraphrase Burr’s quote from Marie-Jeanne Phlippon Roland, What crimes will still be committed in your name, oh Liberty?
     It’s good to know that Burr has other historical novels in the pipeline, including one set in New Zealand’s not so distant past.

Review by Review by Carolyn McKenzie
Carolyn McKenzie, freelance proofreader, copy editor, translator from Italian to English.
She offers accommodation at reasonable rates for FlaxFlower writers
in Thames (Waikato) and Ventimiglia Alta (Liguria, Italy ). [email protected]

Title: Look Away, Dixieland
Author: M J Burr
Publisher: Cliowrite Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 9780-473-35196-0
RRP: Print US $11.99; Kindle US $4.59
Available: ebook or print from Amazon, or print copy from author at [email protected]

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The power of a hidden truth

Understanding achievement-oriented personality

From judicial murder to fanatical terrorism

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​The power of a hidden truth

Understanding achievement-oriented personality

From judicial murder to fanatical terrorism

FlaxFlower Reviews

Archives

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The power of a hidden truth