≫ PDF Foreign Correspondence A Pen Pal Journey from Down Under to All Over Geraldine Brooks 9780385483735 Books

Foreign Correspondence A Pen Pal Journey from Down Under to All Over Geraldine Brooks 9780385483735 Books

Download As PDF : Foreign Correspondence A Pen Pal Journey from Down Under to All Over Geraldine Brooks 9780385483735 Books

Foreign Correspondence A Pen Pal Journey from Down Under to All Over Geraldine Brooks 9780385483735 Books

I started reading Geraldine Brooks' books when another Author recommended "A Year of Wonders" - a fascinating look at the plague-village in the UK. Since then I have been addicted to her intelligent style of writing. My only disappointment is that this wonderfully skilled author hasn't written more. As this is a memoir rather than a historical novel, I didn't know what to expect. But as I grew up in the suburbs of Sydney, I found myself transported back to my childhood as the fine details of her early years are explored. As so often is the case, it is the small details that give these memoirs poignancy...and Geraldine Brooks is consistently accurate with the details. You can almost smell the home cooking and feel the excitement of exploring new things as a youngster as you read through the early pages.
As her book progresses, lightly touching on her amazing career, I became more aware of just what a person with a vision can achieve. When she explores what happened to some of her friends from those years, and how their lives diverged it left me wondering about the things which shape our lives, for better or for worse.
I personally found that this book took me on a journey that was thought-provoking, sometimes sad, and at other times inspirational - but always interesting.


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Foreign Correspondence A Pen Pal Journey from Down Under to All Over Geraldine Brooks 9780385483735 Books Reviews

This book is supposed to be about an Australian girl who locates and finally visits her diverse teenage pen-pals after years have lapsed and they are all adults. Geraldine Brooks writes from her own true-life experience, and contrasts her teen fantasies with the realities she finds in each of her friends' lives. The search for the adult pen-pals covers only about the last third of the book, however.

The most interesting part, for me, was the author's descriptions of growing up in Sydney, AU in the 60's and 70's. I have a connection to Australia because my sister lives there, so my interest may be greater than that of the average reader. I found this a pleasant and easy read, with a mild "surprise" at the end.
In addition to the fact that Geraldine Brooks can write like a dream, this is such a great story (a non-fiction story) of growing up -- she chases down 5 of the penpals she'd had as a kid in Australia. Her travels take her to rural France, to a Palestinian home in Israel (people are oppressed, but joyful), to an Israeli home in Israel (people are paranoid and scared), and to a couple other places. Anyone who has had penpals or who is interested in an inside-out sort of understanding of the world would enjoy this. It made a great book for my wild-women-talk-about-books circle.
When I bought this book, it did not immediately imply to me that it was biographical. Just because it was by Geraldine Brooks, simply I bought it. This was a most surprising and enjoyable biography. Glad to have read it, this story reaffirmed how much pleasure this talented and clever writer seems to provide me with. If you like biographies, this is a charming view of a talented author's life. Highly recommended.
Brooks is always a go to author for excellent writing that is both absorbing and just a pleasure to read. This book was autobiographical, giving insights into what has made her such an outstanding writer and her personal background. Unlike her other books, this one is really a series of stories about her life through the influences of her experiences with her pen pals both as a child and meeting them later in life. As such, it does not absorb you as deeply as her historical fiction novels, but does truly show parts of her.
I have always enjoyed Geraldine Brooks' stories an writing. This story was unique because it was her biography of her very active life as a journalist and reporter for the Wall Street Journal and others. She traveled all over the world to cover war stories and other important stories. She had a very unique family life lived mostly in Australia. She had pen-pals in various places around the world, because of her worldly curiosity as a child, and followed up later by visiting all the pen-pals about twenty years later. A good read!
Australian born Geraldine Brooks spent many years as a foreign correspondent covering the Middle East. I loved her book, "Nine Parts of Desire" which was about Muslim women, and I have followed her life somewhat as she is often mentioned by her husband, Tony Horwitz, in his books "Confederates in the Attic", "Baghdad Without a Map," and "One for the Road." I find her an excellent reporter and in this memoir, "Foreign Correspondence," she turns the spotlight on herself.
As a child growing up in a lower middle class neighborhood on a street actually called "Bland Street", she yearned for a larger world. And so she developed pen pals. There was a girl from New Jersey, another one from France, and even one from an upper class neighborhood just a few towns away. And then there were two Israeli boys, one an Arab and one a Jew. As an adult, she found these old letters in her father's basement and, now more than twenty years later, she decided to look up each of these people. What follows is the result of her quest and some wonderful insights into world events from a personal one-on-one perspective. It was fascinating.
As a teenager in the early seventies she was aware of the new consciousness developing, even reaching her in her protective Catholic school. She had an active imagination and the gift of using words well. It's not surprising that she developed pen pals and that they influenced her life so much. Her gift of words certainly reached me too. I shared her sense of wonder and enthusiasm as she looked forward to each letter. I felt her straining to break the bonds of her loving but restrictive world. I felt her hopes and dreams and frustrations. And then, later, I shared her discoveries as she searched out the people who had meant so much to her early life. She writes with a clear voice, painting a picture with details, taking me on her quest to discover the world and eventually to discover herself. The book is short, a mere 210 pages but she sure does pack a lot into it. It's a wonderful read. Highly recommended.
I started reading Geraldine Brooks' books when another Author recommended "A Year of Wonders" - a fascinating look at the plague-village in the UK. Since then I have been addicted to her intelligent style of writing. My only disappointment is that this wonderfully skilled author hasn't written more. As this is a memoir rather than a historical novel, I didn't know what to expect. But as I grew up in the suburbs of Sydney, I found myself transported back to my childhood as the fine details of her early years are explored. As so often is the case, it is the small details that give these memoirs poignancy...and Geraldine Brooks is consistently accurate with the details. You can almost smell the home cooking and feel the excitement of exploring new things as a youngster as you read through the early pages.
As her book progresses, lightly touching on her amazing career, I became more aware of just what a person with a vision can achieve. When she explores what happened to some of her friends from those years, and how their lives diverged it left me wondering about the things which shape our lives, for better or for worse.
I personally found that this book took me on a journey that was thought-provoking, sometimes sad, and at other times inspirational - but always interesting.