Ransom ~ David Malouf

Ransom is a beautifully written re-imagining of one of the stories from The Illiad.  

Patroclus is dead and the grieving Achilles, who has taken his revenge on Hector, is tormenting Hector's father King Priam by dragging the body behind his chariot around the walls of Troy.  Each night the gods restore Hector's body so that Achilles must repeat the process day after day.

There is no honour in what Achilles is doing, the body should and must be given up for decent burial rites but Achilles is in deep distress and feels that the gods are mocking him by restoring Hector's defiled flesh each night.

King Priam cannot stand to see his son so treated and decides to talk to Achilles face to face, man to man, and ransom Hector's body.  At first his advisors are against this, feeling that someone should go in his stead, but this is something Priam must do  himself, and not as a King but as a father.  He decides to remove all trappings of his wealth and wear just a white robe; a simple carter, his wagon, and his two donkeys are hired to carry Priam and his ransom to Achilles.

What happens on the way is no less a surprise to Priam than it is to Somax the carter, which gives him a story to tell his grandchildren and great grandchildren in the years to come after Priam has fallen at the hands of Achilles' son.

I absolutely loved this little novella. Having read The Illiad a couple of years ago, it was wonderful to find myself back in this classic story.

Maxine

Family Matters ~ Rohinton Mistry

When the elderly Nariman Vakeel breaks his ankle his world, and that of his immediate family, changes forever.

Set in Bombay, it appears Nariman is lucky for he lives in a spacious apartment with his adult step children Coomy and Jal, but after the accident Coomy struggles to deal with Nariman's daily toileting to the point she feels he cannot live there any more.  He is taken by ambulance to live with his biological daughter Roxana who lives in a two roomed flat with her husband and two young boys.  Already lacking adequate space the only place they can put 'Grandad' is on the living room couch.  The couch and the living room is Nariman's world for the next few weeks.

I absolutely loved this story, you are quickly drawn into the lives of this family.  The bitter Coomy, the hard of hearing Jal and the beautiful Roxana who must keep the family together despite the daily trials.  

I felt so many emotions whilst reading it - I felt absolute love for Roxana, the imposition put upon her by Coomy only makes her stronger.  She takes care of her father and all his needs without complaint.  I felt anxiety at her husband Yezad who makes some terrible decisions to improve their financial situation so that they can buy the necessary medicines for Nariman, who also suffers from Parkinson's.  I felt anger too at Yezad who will not stoop to help his father-in-law with his toilet requirements and will not allow his two sons to help either.

Nariman's story unfolds through torturous dreams and you feel sorrow for this man who was once a professor and who now suffers his illness and situation with the greatest of dignity.

This is a very thought provoking novel as there are many other secondary characters that are wonderful but tragic, like Mr Kapur the owner of the Sporting Goods Emporium where Yezad works. He loves Bombay as a woman, and hates to see her falling from grace beneath the corruption of those in power.  His strong opinions and Yezad's own deviation from the straight and narrow will be Mr Kapur's downfall.

This really is a wonderful read, and I felt sorry to say goodbye to Roxana and her beautiful boys on finishing the novel.

Maxine