Forecast: Turbulence

by Janette Turner Hospital

A breathtaking collection of nine short stories and one short memoir piece by internationally acclaimed Australian author Janette Turner HospitalViolent weather pervades this breathtaking collection, reflecting the cataclysmic emotions swirling through the lives of the protagonists. A loner becomes obsessed with the beautiful face of a neighbour, a child and his enigmatic grandmother sit out a hurricane, two fragile girls visit their stepfathers in prison and share a macabre ritual, a young woman is deeply ashamed of what her father has become ...Janette turner Hospital sensitively weaves stories of heartbreaking poignancy, shocking power and steadfast resolve, all honouring a universal how can we maintain equilibrium in a turbulent and uncertain world?the turbulent river rushes on. 'Everything flows,' wrote Heraclitus, 'and nothing stays fixed.'

Genres: Short Stories, Australia, Fiction, Ebooks

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Born in 1942, Janette Turner Hospital grew up on the steamy sub-tropical coast of Australia in the north-eastern state of Queensland. She began her teaching career in remote Queensland high schools, but since her graduate studies she has taught in universities in Australia, Canada, England, France and the United States.

Her first published short story appeared in the Atlantic Monthly (USA) where it won an 'Atlantic First' citation in 1978. Her first novel, The Ivory Swing (set in the village in South India where she lived in l977) won Canada's $50,000 Seal Award in l982. She lived for many years in Canada and in 1986 she was listed as by the Toronto Globe & Mail as one of Canada's 'Ten Best Young Fiction Writers'. Since then she has won a number of prizes for her eight novels and four short story collections and her work has been published in multiple foreign language collections. Three of her short stories appeared in Britain's annual Best Short Stories in English in their year of publication and one of these, 'Unperformed Experiments Have No Results', was selected for The Best of the Best, an anthology of the decade in l995.

The Last Magician, her fifth novel, was listed by Publishers' Weekly as one of the 12 best novels published in 1992 in the USA and was a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year'. Oyster, her sixth novel, was a finalist for Australia's Miles Franklin Prize Award and for Canada's Trillium Award, and in England it was listed in 'Best Books of the Year' by The Observer, which noted "Oyster is a tour de force… Turner Hospital is one of the best female novelists writing in English." In the USA, Oyster was a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year'.

Due Preparations for the Plague won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award in 2003, the Davitt Award from Sisters in Crime for "best crime novel of the year by an Australian woman”, and was shortlisted for the Christina Stead Award. In 2003, Hospital received the Patrick White Award, as well as a Doctor of Letters honoris causa from the University of Queensland.

Orpheus Lost, her most recent novel, was one of five finalists for the $110,000 Australia-Asia Literary prize in 2008.

Orpheus Lost was also on Booklist's Top 30 novels of the year in 2008, along with novels by Booker Prize winner Anne Enright, National Book Award winner Denis Johnson, Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, Michael Ondaatje, Ian MacEwan, Ha Jin, and Michael Chabon.

The novel also made the list of Best 25 Books of the Year of Library Journal, and Hospital was invited to be a keynote speaker at the annual convention of the American Library Association in Los Angeles in June 2008.

The Italian edition, Orfeo Perduto, has been so well-received in Italy that it will be a featured title at the literary festival on Lake Maggiore in June 2010 where Hospital will be a featured author.

She holds an endowed chair as Carolina Distinguished Professor of English at the University of South Carolina and in 2003 received the Russell Research Award for Humanities and Social Sciences, conferred by the university for the most significant faculty contribution (research, publication, teaching and service) in a given year.

Reviews

[Madara Jaudzeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very cheap so I took it. The cover intrigued me. Book itself is just a peace of fine art, deserves a higher price. Topics that are included in this book or the way they are described aren't often found in other books. Self harm, stalking, perhaps death, kidnapping- so much to read in there.
I just finished reading it and I'm feeling speechless. Each story so different! Everything I search in books is here . Endings never give you what you want to get. The author did an amazing job! For now this is one of my favourite books! For those who can't handle topics listed above, this book won't be good.

[Chris P · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are several beautiful and really moving stories in this collection. Turner Hospital paints emotions deftly and lightly and with a gratifying absence of schmaltz. As with most short story collections there are couple that fall a bit more flat but for the most part these are well-crafted and engaging stories which make for a most satisfying read.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit ordinary to be shortlisted for the PM's prize IMO. My review is here http://anzlitlovers.com/2012/06/11/fo...

[Sprinkled Pages · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read for class.

[Geoff Wooldridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is something of a mixed bag of short stories, several of them very short with a couple that are a bit longer.

Most of the stories, some set in the author's native Australia and others set in America where she now works and lives, have been published previously in magazines etc.

They have been brought together here in a small anthology loosely based on a theme of turbulent weather, but covering a wide variety of situations. Most have more to do with human relationships than the weather.

Some I really enjoyed, and others just left me wondering. There were a few really neat surprises, however.

Short story writing, it seems to me, is more difficult than writing a full novel. It's not easy to combine plot, characters, reader engagement and a satisfying ending in just a few pages. In this case, the level of success is variable.

As always, Turner Hospital writes with elegance and wit - she is indeed a fine prose writer. But I was left feeling a little deflated and wanting something more for my money.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem of a book! Each story curls around to an often-unexpected conclusion, and the process of getting there is so delicious. My favourite story was Forecast: Turbulence because though Hospital left little clues scattered throughout, I didn't pick up on the ending until a couple of pages before. I just love that - being surprised by an ending, smiling at the author's cleverness. Highly recommended.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I preface these remarks by saying that I am not a huge fan of short story collections. Somehow this one didn't live up to what I was hoping for and I didn't read right to the end. However my very next book was Robert Drewe's The Bodysurfers which I enjoyed a lot, so I am able to be seduced by some short story collections.

[Margaret Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories are not really my thing. I prefer something longer..stories and characters to get my teeth into. Having said that, I love Janette Turner Hospital's writing and appreciate her skill in pulling you in from the the first page of each story. There is 'Turbulence' in every story, both weather-wise and within family relationships. A good book club choice and much to discuss.

[Tess Carrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I'm not a great fan of short stories, she is an exceptional writer and these little morsels make you want more.

[Emily Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Janette Turner Hospital at her finest. Striking prose and stories that crawl inside you, with cohesive connections to a grander theme.

[Cheyenne Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope Janette Turner Hospital isn’t following the old adage of “Write what you know”. Because if she is, she’s been exposed to some soul-draining things in her life. This collection of short stories, loosely themed around violent weather, covers things that will fall outside of many readers’ comfort zones: self harm, suicide, pedophilia, domestic violence, militia violence, death, and child kidnapping. The stories, however, aren’t out to shock. They’re told very matter-of-factly, in simple bleak prose that cuts, turns, and cuts again. Little is spelled out, there is no melodrama, no graphic depictions of any of the above, but the visceral horror is there in the undercurrents, the characters’ actions and reactions, and what isn’t said.

Nothing is black and white either. In one of the stand-out stories, “The Prince of Darkness is a Gentleman”, two sisters have mixed reactions to their pedophile father, but love is one thing in the mix.

My favorite story in the book, “Afterlife of a Stolen Child’ is about a toddler stolen from his stroller outside a bakery. Told from multiple points of view – including a man who believes he is that child – this is one small nugget of grief after another, and just when you think you know where the story is going, it twists and twists again, in small, subtle ways.

These stories are absolutely stunning. Perfectly, quietly written, and so utterly powerful and compelling.

This was a free ebook download from The Australian as part of it’s month of Australian writing. Although JTH was born in Australia, most of these stories are American based, where she now lives.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

See when I rate books on Goodreads (and just in general), my enjoyment of the novel usually plays a big part in it. So I'm saying this, I did not like this book very much at all. But it isn't a criticism on the author or the novel itself (the writing style was actually really poetic and vivid at times which I loved!) it is due to the subject matter. So dark and disturbing... I personally find it hard to read about stalkers and self-mutilation and abduction (probably as most people do).

All in all, I didn't like this book, but I respect it. I respect how the author wove the weather into all of the short stories to create some link between them. And how they were all about troubled people facing horrifying pasts or scary presents.

"In the eyes of the children I teach, I watch for storm warnings and I never stop looking for signs of the weather underground."

[Helen O'Toole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually read short stories but I picked up this hard cover book for a bargain $1 at a garage sale. I had heard of the author before & knew that she was brought up in Brisbane. There should be a warning on the cover because the themes of these stories are very confronting. For example child abduction, pedophilia, gender change, stalking. The skill she has as a writer is that you settle into a seemingly innocent story and then, pow, there are descriptions of horrors that you would prefer you'd never read.
The final story is beautiful as it is an homage to Brisbane and to her parents in their final weeks of life. You can hear the cicadas and smell the frangipani flowers and picture the Brisbane River flooding the low lying suburbs. I will be looking out for more of her work.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weather features in many of these wonderful short stories by one of my favourite writers. Often it is a weather event (a hurricane or a flood) that intersects with the emotional turbulence of the characters Turner Hospital creates. I always love her language, the way she faces the dark underside of life – and her wisdom.

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fluctuating between a 2-3 star rating.

According to Goodreads, 3 stars indicates you 'liked it.' I didn't like it at all. It was dark- unexpectedly so. Despite the author's intriguing writing style, I personally felt overwhelmed reading about certain issues raised up in the novel...

Thus I rate based on the quality of the book itself.

[Newtown Review of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout this collection characters’ emotional states are reflected in the weather, or described in terms of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes or the isobars on a weather map.

Read full review here: http://newtownreviewofbooks.com/2012/...

[Kassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised as to how much I enjoyed this book.

The series of short stories were haunting and beautiful, I found myself wishing that a few of them didn't end.

It wasn't one of my favourite books but it was definitely good and a very quick read.

[Cath Allgrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heard Janet at the Writers Festival, great talk. Brilliant writer, so descriptive. this book of short stories kept me engrossed. A great find.

[Robyn Mundy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine collection of short stories. The final, a memoir, seemed an odd inclusion and provincial in nature. I might have connected with it more had I been familiar with the landmarks.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the writing, some of the stories were quite dark but atmospheric, want to delve into them more. This is a book I shall return to.

[Ros · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mix of stories Australian and US. Short but interesting. The stories are beautifully crafted so that I felt as if I wanted to immediately reread. Highly recommended.

[Chai1965 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slim volume but the stories and one piece of non-fiction pack a punch.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of short stories. Some of them were a bit too dark for my taste.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm not fond of short stories but this has a wonderful range of strong narratives and characters.

[Michael Burge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written paradoxical life moments and journeys.