Beryl FletcherBesprekingen

(8.5)When 70 year old Alice is approached to give an oral history of her life, she accepts willingly in a desire to have her story heard.
She grew up in England, the illegitimate child of a serving girl. When they fall on hard times she is sent to an orphanage. As a young teenager, after learning of her mother's death she is transported to a supposed better life in New Zealand. She reveals personal and secret details of her life and that of her daughter's.

I loved the portrayal of the women in this story, of their role in New Zealand society and what it was like to conceive a child out of marriage, the social pressures and dependence of women and the gradual evolution of their roles in New Zealand.
The setting and characters are beautifully depicted.

Beryl Fletcher (born 1938) is a notable New Zealand novelist. She won the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best First Book, for the Asia/Pacific region in 1992 for her first novel, The Word Burners and I see from Wikipedia that she has been Writer in Residence at the University of Iowa, at Waikato University (NZ), at Ledig House in New York and at the Randell Cottage (NZ). But interestingly, all her five novels and her memoir have been published by Spinifex Press right here in Melbourne.

Juno & Hannah is the story of two sisters who flee from a fundamentalist sect living in dense New Zealand bushand in the 1920s. The sense of isolation and hope of a better life elsewhere is cued in by the cover image, the light shining through the trees as if to lead the women out of dark ignorance and into a more welcoming world.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2016/09/08/juno-hannah-by-beryl-fletcher/

Von allen Büchern, die ich bisher aus der "Edition fünf" gelesen habe, ist dieses hier am ehesten "Mainstream". Es erzählt aus mehreren Perspektiven eine Frauen-Generationen-Geschichte aus Neuseeland, beginnend bei Alice (bzw. ihrer Mutter Elva noch in England) bis hin zu Pixel, einem jungen computerbegeisterten Mädchen. Das Buch ist gut geschrieben. Die Charaktere sind interessant. E lässt sich also wirklich gut und einfach lesen. Ich habe es eigentlich in einem Zug durchgelesen.
Interessant war die Geschichte von Alice und Joy. Alice kommt aus England nach Neuseeland- sie ist arm und allein. Nur ihre Freundin Emily, die mit ihr aus dem englischen Waisenhaus nach Neuseeland geht, hält zu ihr. Doch Alice kann in Neuseeland Fuß fassen. Allerdings erfährt sie dann doch auch Grausamkeit. Dies macht auch das Verhältnis zu ihrer Tochter Joy schwierig. Joy wird mit 15 schwanger und möchte das Kind unbedingt behalten. Das scheint in den 1950er Jahren unmöglich zu sein. Dieser Handlungstrang war wirklich toll und interessant. Weniger interessant, weniger gut gezeichnet fand ich Marlene, Joys Tochter und deren Tochter Pixel. Mit diesen beiden kommt nochmal in neues Thema ins Buch, die Leihmutterschaft. Diese komplizierte Geschichte war mir etwas zu viel des Guten, zumal das Thema auch nicht befriedigend aufgelöst wird. Die Antwort ist irgendwo in der Mitte: Es gibt wohl definitiv biologische Bande, denn sonst könnten sich Marlene und Joy nicht sofort so gut verstehen. Aber sie sind dann auch nicht übermäßig wichtig, wie die Beziehung zwischen Pixel und Marlene oder Pixel und Alice zeigt. Kurz gesagt fand ich den Marlene/Pixel-Strang weniger interessant und weniger überzeugend herausgearbeitet als den Joy/Alice-Strang. Dennoch, weil das Buch so "süffig" geschrieben ist, bekommt es eine recht hohe Punktzahl.

Gothic-influenced novella set in 1920s New Zealand about two young women who run from a religious commune. For my full review, please see Whispering Gums: http://whisperinggums.com/2014/01/11/beryl-fletcher-hannah-and-juno-review/

This is the second of this author's books that I have read. It again has a strong feminist theme.
Khryse, a film-maker is writing a script loosely based on the Iliad. As she progresses the lives of her flatmates
provide material for her script. Elena seeks refuge from her violent husband with daughter Hermione and discovers a surprising co-incidence. Audrey finds her relationship with Joff is becoming an obsession. Brissie is having an affair with her boss, Khryse's uncle and when Finn's lover dies tragically, Finn turns to Dolly, Audrey's Mum for comfort.
This is a rollicking read while also observing the evolving lives of women in New Zealand in the 1980's.
I especially enjoyed the familiar setting of Auckland, Raglan, the Coromandel and particularly Te Aroha, where we lived for the first seven years of married life.½

This is a the first book written by this author and she won the Commonwealth Writers Prize First Book Award in 1992. This is not surprising, as the story looks at the rise of feminism and the challenges faced by educated lesbian women to be accepted in 1960's New Zealand.The book tells the tale of Sally and her two daughters Isobel and Julia, as they face challenges and changes in their lives. Each seeks meaning and order in their own way. It comes across as a an accurate portrayal of societal attitudes to women's roles in the changing times and I suspect much of this story is based on the author's personal experience. Recommended although, be warned it contains a verbally challenging piece of writing which was at times uncomfortable to read.