Historical fiction set in Townsville, Queensland, during an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900. The author tells us in an afterword that all the basic facts and characters are historic, but the interactions, and emotions etc are fictional.
It works - a very enjoyable read.
I found the start a bit clunky. The book opens with the two main characters meeting again after 20 years. The plot device is to have some issues hidden, and slowly unfold during the book. It mostly works, but the opening is unwieldy, with the reader not knowing names and events to make sense of the content.
But this is a small quibble. The books gets underway, and the reader is carried on a delightful journey. Although the basic plot - plague outbreak - is BIG, the book is not really plot driven - it is the people that carry you along.
I'll be looking for more by this writer. Line of Fire, set in Rabaul during Japanese occupation is next. ( )

This is a very nice book - well written and very informative about the state of medicine at the beginning of the 20th Century. Townsend is a fine writer, and he gives us a very nice picture of life in Australia. The story takes place in Townsville, a modest city on the northeastern coast of Queensland.

One major problem is that while he does an excellent job of writing about the handling of contagious disease in 1900, the author seems less adept at handling some of the more emotional undercurrents of the subplots in the book - perhaps a significant flaw, since Townsend is the one who put the subplots in there to begin with.

Primarily, the narrator, Lin Row, a physician on the area's Epidemic Council, has suffered the loss of a daughter to diphtheria. His relationship with his wife has become strained, and is brought up periodically throughout the story, but the "resolution," if one can count it as such, is fluffed over with no real insight being achieved.

And I suppose that is the biggest flaw in the book - there seems to be no real insight into the characters or the situation. Things are laid out, the story told, but there is no depth to anything. It's all just presented in a perfunctory fashion - Bob's your uncle, and all that.

An interesting summer read. Mostly harmless. ( )

2012 is the National Year of Reading and Australian readers are furrowing their brows trying to decide which books best represent their particular state.

The books shortlisted for Queensland (my state) are Brisbane, House on the Hill, Journey to the stone country. Tall Man, The White Earth and affection.

Voting opened a couple of days ago and closes 6 January. You can vote here or drop into your local library or bookstore and fill in a form.

I had read only The White Earth and so am determined to read the rest asap.

affection was a great read. I polished it off in a matter of days.

In terms of genre one could say that it is historical fiction. It is based on a true story but as the author says "I've rebuilt the skeletons of these characters from what evidence there is and fleshed them out with fiction."

The novel is set variously on Stradbroke Island, Brisbane and Townsville - the latter for the most part. I am familiar with all of these places and it was wonderful to read something of their history.

The characters were well drawn and the story of an outbreak of plague gripping. The descriptions of those struck down are rather gruesome if not salutary. These accounts were rather nicely offset by descriptions of the moth/butterfly collecting antics of the eccentric government bacteriologist Dr Alfred Jefferis Turner.

Add a dash of mystery and you have an eminently satisfactory read.

Others think so too, to the extent that it was was shortlisted for the 2005 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, the 2006 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for a first novel, and the 2006 Colin Roderick Award.

I commend it to you and am delighted to have found a new favourite author. ( )

This was a page-turner for me and I was sad to finally put it down. It was well written and a cleverly contrived blend of fact with fiction. I went on to google the areas mentioned in the book and the characters for I wanted more! The edition I read also had a helpful guide at the end of the book. ( )

Affection peeled back Townsville's layers for me - stand in Flinders Street, walk to Sturt Street, and imagine those Townsvillians brushing by. ( )