tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36622997.post6499698124046154611..comments2024-03-14T04:35:06.209+13:00Comments on Beattie's Book Blog - unofficial homepage of the New Zealand book community: 'The Lie That Settles' launched in style at Unity BooksBeattie's Book Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505389626725979100noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36622997.post-7977953382721864262014-01-24T06:56:12.295+13:002014-01-24T06:56:12.295+13:00A very well written and deeply humane account of P...A very well written and deeply humane account of Peter’s journey through life plus his dogged determination to know his father’s identity, then decades later his quest to find him. I found this book captivating, absorbing and hard to put down! Like Wilf, I was moved to tears in several places.<br /><br />I attended Red Hill School in the early sixties where his mum Marion (MOF) served as Matron. This book is a great tribute to her. MOF had to be strict in her role as Matron and indeed she was. However, she could also be very kind and understanding. I have very warm memories of her.<br /><br />Well done Peter! <br /><br />Terry Wilson in Canada<br />24th January 2014 ( Red Hill School website – http://redhill.kkb.in.th/ )Terry Wilsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36622997.post-10911381050114512372013-12-27T02:30:50.709+13:002013-12-27T02:30:50.709+13:00The Lie That Settles.
When I heard Peter was publ...The Lie That Settles.<br /><br />When I heard Peter was publishing a memoir I said that I would be happy to write a review; well it would be easy, I write myself and have no difficulty in sitting down and running off a few hundred words so it was going to be a breeze.<br /><br />Or so I thought, now this is the easy bit. Peter has written a lucid and absorbing memoir. It is clear and to the point; free of the valedictory tone, the self justification that marks so many autobiographical works. It is honest and pulls no punches and the writing carries you along with the narrative.<br /><br />Now the bit that I found not at all easy; I have to declare an interest here, I am an old Red Hillian, a former pupil of the school where Peter grew up and where his mother was matron. I knew MOF and saw Peter several times in the early 1960s although I doubt he remembers me, he was working and living away from RHS, I was barely into my teens. <br /><br />It hadn’t occurred to me that having been there for a brief moment in Peter’s tale and having known some of the people involved would make writing about it so difficult. It did, it has, and I can only hope that these few words do the book some justice. The temptation was to write a memoir of my own but this is Peter’s tale not mine.<br /><br />When the book arrived I read it through in one sitting and I'm not ashamed to admit that in places it moved me to tears. It brought back many memories; it made people I thought I had known live again and in the case of MOF showed me what a truly remarkable woman she was. We were a strange community and I have come to realise that we were in many ways boys and staff (the ones who lasted) kindred spirits.<br /><br />I owe a great debt to MOF and the others, a debt that can never be paid. I am indebted to Peter for making the past live again and for shining a light on things that we were unaware of at the time. This book is more than a memoir; it is a tribute to a remarkable woman, Marion O’Farrell; it is a contribution to the history of a great school and a contribution to the social history of the times both MOFs and Peters.<br />Stuart 'Wilf' Wilshawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36622997.post-81638166314617956082013-10-11T23:40:54.184+13:002013-10-11T23:40:54.184+13:00'The Lie that Settles' made a strong impre...'The Lie that Settles' made a strong impression when I read it. Peter's deft and understated prose has stayed with me weeks later. He knows just when and how to put you right into the 'action' or leave spaces for your own imagination to fill. <br /><br />On one level it's a contradiction. A personal and reflective memoir of a private person who does not seek the limelight. The result is a nuanced story rich and revealing of the context that shaped the person Peter has become. Those more self-centered would have given context a lesser role but Peter is too honest to do that.<br /><br />Thus might we reflect more thoughtfully on our own lives and circumstances.Wren Greennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36622997.post-17271115797509315862013-09-26T09:18:57.689+12:002013-09-26T09:18:57.689+12:00This is a great memoir - elegantly written, humble...This is a great memoir - elegantly written, humble, absorbing, endearing and enlightening. Peter has been courageous in his frank account of his own life and generous in his revelations about others. The book reads as an honest record and avoids the self consciousness that can come from having one's reader sitting on one's shoulder. Peter just gets on with the tale, almost for its own sake. <br /><br />It feels like a privilege indeed to have read The Lie that Settles. There are many parts that have settled with me and left their own, positive, effect. Morice Crandallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36622997.post-69164846032931236952013-09-22T16:09:01.884+12:002013-09-22T16:09:01.884+12:00So sad Neale and I couldn't be at the launch b...So sad Neale and I couldn't be at the launch but loved hearing Peter on National Radio. Looking forward to buying our signed copy <br />Heather dalynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36622997.post-76636960885594729142013-09-21T19:16:58.106+12:002013-09-21T19:16:58.106+12:00it's lovely to read about the launch, as I was...it's lovely to read about the launch, as I wasn't able to get there from Golden Bay. However, the award-winning Page & Blackmore had them in stock, so I was able to get my copies there. It's a wonderfully interesting read on all sorts of levels. Peter writes and speaks so well about the rich complexities of his life, including as a ten pound Pom. I'm so pleased to see a deeply personal story come to life as a professionally presented and well-written story that many New Zealanders will enjoy -- and probably quite a few Poms, too! Congratulations, PeterPenny Griffithnoreply@blogger.com