AustLit

'When environmental scientist Laura Alvarado is sent to a remote Antarctic island to report on an abandoned whaling station, she begins to uncover more than she could ever imagine.

'Reminders of the bloody, violent past are everywhere, and Laura is disturbed by evidence of recent human interference. Rules have been broken, and the protected wildlife is behaving strangely.

'On a diving expedition, Laura emerges into an ice cave where she is shocked to see an anguished figure, crying for help. But in this freezing, lonely landscape there are ghosts everywhere, and Laura wonders if her own eyes can be trusted. Has she been in the ice too long?

'Back at base, Laura’s questions about the whaling station go unanswered, blocked by scientists unused to outsiders. And Laura just can’t shake what happened in the cave.

'Piecing together a past and present of cruelty and vulnerability that can be traced around the world, from Norway, to Nantucket, Europe and Antarctica, Laura will stop at nothing to unearth the truth. As she comes face to face with the dark side of human progress, she also discovers a legacy of love, hope and the meaning of family. If only Laura can find her way . . .' (Publication summary)

'An unforgettable novel about love and trust

'Rebecca Wilding, an archaeology professor, makes sense of the past for a living.

'But suddenly, truth and certainty are turning against her. Rebecca is accused of serious fraud, and worse, she suspects – she knows – that her husband, Stephen, is having an affair.

'Desperate to find answers, Rebecca leaves with Stephen for Greece, Italy and Paris, where she can uncover the conspiracy against her, and hopefully win Stephen back to her side, where he belongs. There’s too much at stake – her love, her family, her work.

'But on the idyllic Amalfi Coast, Stephen disappears.

'In a swirling daze of panic and fear, Rebecca is dealt with fresh allegations. And with time against her, she finds help in the most unlikely of places, and uncovers the secrets that stand between her and Stephen – and the deceit that has chased her halfway around the world.' (Publication summary)

When nine-year-old Celia's socialist grandmother dies, she is left to the care of her largely disinterested parents and her own imagination, which peoples the world around her with Hobyahs, the threatening bogeymen from the story read by her schoolteacher. When the openly Communist Tanner family move in next door, Celia finds some comfort in their friendship. But in small-town Australia in the 1950s, in the midst of anti-Communist backlash and a rabbit plague, neither the Tanners nor Celia's pet rabbit Murgatroyd are safe from the patriarchal authorities that constrain Celia's life.

For a detailed analysis of the film, see Ruthless Culture (http://ruthlessculture.com/2009/10/07/celia-1989-against-the-world-of-men/). (Sighted: 7/6/2012).