I'm not quite sure why I've been so lucky to get all these 5-star reads lately, but I'm sure not complaining. Hell, THE PAPERBARK SHOE is one of those books that would be a 10-star if there were one.

Goldie Goldbloom's first novel has already won some awards and I can easily see why. THE PAPERBARK SHOE is one of the most unique - i.e. "different" - stories to come down the pike in many years, with its protagonist-narrator Gin (Hoyle) Toad, an albino woman (and classically trained pianist) who was discarded into an asylum by an abusive stepfather to be rescued from there by an ugly, physically and emotionally flawed outback sheepman and farmer, Agrippas Toad.

There are so many things about this strange and beautiful novel that appealed to me: its remote outback setting in the wheat belt of western Australia is only one. And if there were any justice in the literary world, this book would be the biggest Aussie bestseller since THE THORN BIRDS. (And I could certainly see it as a movie too. Meryl Streep would have been perfect as Gin Toad - the Streep of 20-30 years ago, that is.) The World War II time frame and the forbidden love element with the Italian POWs are other reasons this story is so compelling and un-put-downable. Oh, don't get me wrong; this is no Harlequin bodice-ripper. Quite the opposite - the grit, dirt, drought and sometime near-grinding poverty of Toad's place is real enough at times to make you want to go take a shower. There is kinky sex here too, hetero-, homo- and maybe even bisexual, but never presented in an offensive manner. No, Goldbloom manages to pull off these elements of the plot in such a way that you will probably feel only sympathy (if not empathy) for these twisted, emotionally scarred and often desperately unhappy people. (The book's original title was TOADS' MUSEUM OF FREAKS AND WONDERS, which was probably a more apt and descriptive moniker, if a bit unwieldy.)

And the characters are what make this book as good as it is - and once again, lemme tell ya, books don't come much better than this one. First and foremost is Gin, the albino anti-heroine (abused misfit, brilliant musician, bereaved and sometimes reluctant mother, wife to an ugly little army reject whose mixed sexual inclinations and kinky habits are often repugnant and, finally, mistress and runaway). Then there is Toad, her husband, ugly and often cruel, but who becomes a curiously sympathetic character by book's end. And there is the enigmatic and sweet-talking Antonio, the Italian POW whose handsomeness and sympathy are too powerful for poor Gin to ignore. And the outback itself becomes a character here, in its cruel indifference and harsh and unforgiving weather which can starve and kill crops and stock alike - and do.

What more can I tell you about this book? Maybe only that I was sad to see it end. It is that good. If you're reading this review, then you must enjoy books. My advice? DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK! Goldie Goldbloom writes like an angel that has been to hell and got to know its denizens and then came back to tell their story. THE PAPERBARK SHOE is simply top-notch in every way. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir BOOKLOVER