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Miracle on Cherry Hill by Sun-Mi Hwang

I just finished Miracle on Cherry Hill by Sun-Mi Hwang. It is set in Korea and revolves around the later stages of the life of Kang Dae-su. It was a fairly gentle story that asked readers to think about the important things in life.

The author cleverly made the protagonist so stubborn in a way that was extremely frustrating. Hwang frequently manipulated the audience because she showed Kang knew the right thing to do but he rarely followed expectations. As a reader, I liked this because it helps people think about the fact that humans are quite contrary, even when they get older. The story also dealt with the idea of ownership, something that I often think about. Kang purchases a large property on Cherry Hill and tries to stop the community using it, even though they have played there, raised animals and grown vegetables on the hill for over thirty years. Just as Kang is stubborn, the community – often humorously - test him, further showing that humans don’t like being controlled by others. I would never recommend a book as universally appealing as this novel reminded me that humans can be quite fickle. However, if you are interested in contemplating life, if you want to see that Korean society is not that different to Australian society or you want a fairly quick read, you might want to check it out.

Scott Fisher

Wimmera by Mark Brandi

I recently finished Mark Brandi’s novel, Wimmera.

I enjoyed the book so much that before I finished it I purchased Brandi’s next book, The Rip. Wimmera tells the tale of two young boys growing up in a small country town. They spend their summer holiday fishing, playing backyard cricket and doing normal ‘kid’ things. Things start to change when a new neighbour moves in. The story starts when the boys are adults. Their lives have gone in separate ways and something brings them back together again and forces them to face their past.

I loved this book and it is one of the best contemporary Australian texts I have read in recent times. People who enjoyed the Jasper Jones novel or movie are likely to find this to be a satisfying read.

Laura Mitchell