Title: Tiddas
Author: Anita Heiss
Published: Simon and Schuster AU March 2014
Status: Read from March 03 to 05, 2014 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}
My Thoughts:
Tiddas is Anita Heiss’s fifth novel, an engaging story of friendship, life, love and five strong women.
The tiddas (sisters) are lifelong friends having grown up together in Mudgee. Now approaching midlife, each lives in and around Brisbane providing each other with support, love and friendship. Over a period of a year we are witness to their lives, their relationships with one another, and with themselves and with others, as they each journey towards a personal epiphany about what they value in each other and themselves.
These are women we can likely relate to in one way or another, smart, savvy, socially aware, they are varyingly wives, mothers, daughters, cousins, in law’s and of course tiddas. Each of the friends are distinct characters, struggling with their own issues, Xanthe is crushed by her inability to fall pregnant, her obsession placing strain on her marriage and her friendships. Izzy, on the verge of becoming Australia’s ‘Oprah’ and who has never expressed a desire for a child, is horrified to discover she is unexpectedly pregnant. Veronica’s self esteem has crumbled in the wake of her husband’s desertion for a younger woman and Ellen, who has always been content to play the field, is questioning her aversion to commitment. Finally best selling author, Nadine is drinking far too much, alienating her tiddas and her extraordinarily patient husband with drunken tirades she barely remembers the next morning. They variously evoke admiration, sympathy and laughter and I thought their personal journeys, and their sisterhood, to be portrayed realistically.
Three of the women, Izzy, Xanthe and Ellen are Aboriginal and their cultural heritage plays a large part in the novel. I did sometimes feel a little overwhelmed by Heiss’s socio-political agenda, the emphasis on Aboriginal issues is integrated in some contexts, such as the women’s book club discussions and the way in which the women related to their family and their mob, but I thought it came across as intrusive, even preachy, in some instances.
Tiddas is a slight departure from Anita Heiss’s chicklit backlist, including Manhattan Dreaming and Avoiding Mr Right, that each focused on a twenty something single woman searching for love. I personally appreciate the maturity of the characters, and their conflicts, in Tiddas.
An engaging, warm and amiable novel this is a lovely novel. I enjoyed spending time with the Tiddas, just as I do with my own friends.
I published a Q&A with Anita Heiss earlier today, CLICK HERE to read it!
Available to Purchase From
Simon and Schuster AU I I Booktopia I Amazon AU I AmazonUS
***
GIVEAWAY
Thanks to Simon and Schuster Australia
I have 1 print edition of
Tiddas
to giveaway
**Open to Australian residents only**
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Entries Close March 16th, 2014
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I love Anita Heiss, she’s an inspiring woman.
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She certainly is!
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It sounds like a great read. I have a group of friends from school and we have been in and out of touch for over 40 years and when we get back together it always seems like it was only yesterday. I wonder how our story would read?
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We can all be on our own journey, but being TIDDAS, we are on one path. I wonder which sister I will relate to?
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Even if I don’t win I am certainly going to find a copy of this book, it looks like it’ll be a great read.
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Anita’s new book sounds perfect for our book group. I’m always on the lookout for quality commercial fiction that offers something more than women talking to other women about men! Smart and savvy readers will agree that Anita offers us plenty of other topics to discuss.
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Sounds like a great read, perfect to escape into. Of course I love my family, but everyone needs to escape and have some time to one’s own sometime!
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I already have TIDDAS on my wish list. This promises to be a fabulous read.
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this looks a great story to read Anita Heiss is a great lady
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This really sounds like a wonderful book. So far, I don’t see it available in the US, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for it!
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cant wait to read this one
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I’ve just found my Mother’s Day present!
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Great to hear about her new book, would love to read it.
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I’ve never heard of Anita Heiss, however this is on my ‘to read’ list.
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I’ve read a couple of her books and I love her writing 🙂
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Sounds like my kind of book. Thanks for the opportunity 😀
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cant wait to read!!!
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Looking forward to spending a lazy afternoon reading this book.
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I haven’t heard of this author before but I love the idea of reading something set fairly locally 🙂 Fingers crossed
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