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in books
Bird Cloud
Annie Proulx, Fourth Estate, $27.99
She may be garlanded with international laurels for her
quirky novels, but Canada’s Annie Proulx has never had
much luck with homemaking. Having given up on the
idea of the perfect house, which for her has always
meant somewhere in the wilderness, she writes in her
usual salty, unsentimental way about a block of land on
the prairie wetlands of Wyoming, where she builds a
new home for herself and her thousands of books. Full
of frustrations and setbacks, the house may not be ideal,
but it certainly sounds as full of character as its owner.
The Paris Wife
Paula McLain, Virago, $29.99
What a thankless task to be the first wife of a
womanising legend in his penniless days. That was the
fate of Hadley Richardson, a somewhat aimless young
American who was the first of Ernest Hemingway’s four
wives. And while she got to enjoy the society of Paris
intellectuals in the 30s like Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald
and Gertrude Stein, she had to put up with a great deal
of grief along the way. Tougher than she first seems,
Hadley stomachs the bullfights that obsess Hemingway
and help win him the fame that was his destiny.
LYN MCLEAN
T
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I
i s
F O R C E
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Sr>r^L
LIVING SAFELY IN
P *
A WORLD OF
ELECTROMAGNETIC
POLLUTION
The Force
Lyn McLean, Scribe, $35
This book will make you think about the electromagnetic
fields that permeate our lives. While links between living
under powerlines and certain forms of cancer are now
well established, less is known about the impact of
radiation from all the other electrical gadgets we take for
granted. Based on case histories and scientific research,
this study is alarming. It’s easy to ignore a potential
danger that is invisible, but McLean argues persuasively
that the community's health is being jeopardised and
electropollution must urgently be addressed.
on dvd
Summer Coda
Madman, $34.95
Set against the
backdrop of
Mildura's ruggedly
picturesque orange
groves, Rachael
Taylor and Alex
Dimitriades star
in this poignant Aussie film about trust,
friendship and finding a place to belong.
Due Date
Warner, $44.95
Jump in the car
and join Robert
Downey Jr, Zach
Galifianakis and
Jamie Foxx in an
hilarious road trip.
A modern-day
Planes, Trains & Autom obiles
from
the director of
The Hangover.
The American
Universal,
$39.95
Full of gorgeous
things to look at
- George Clooney
and scenic Italian
countryside - this
is the story of an
assassin’s journey to get out of the
criminal underworld once and for all.
on cd
REM - Collapse
Into Now
Warner Music,
$24.99
REM's 15th studio
album recaptures
the sound that
made them one of the most influential
bands of the 90s. If you loved
Autom atic
for the People,
this is well worth a listen.
go to
bhg.com.au
for more
book and DVD reviews
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Book reviews Caroline Baum; DVD reviews Cara Zaetta-Thomas: CD review Marc Glassman; photography Getty Images
