Book news, reviews and recommendations
Those of you with long memories might recall M. L. Stedman’s debut, The Light Between Oceans, published in the UK back in 2012. I loved it which made me keen to read her new one, A Far-flung Life. Largely set in the 1950s and ‘60s on a sheep station in Western Australia, it follows the […]
I remember lots of brouhaha around Australian writer Madeleine Gray’s debut, Green Dot, but its premise didn’t appeal to me. Chosen Family looked much more interesting. It follows two friends, misfits at their all-girls school, who become platonic, cooperative parents of a daughter, determined to be better at the job than their own parents despite
Chosen Family by Madeleine Gray: You always hurt the one you love Read More »
I’ve enjoyed several novels over the past few years about the ownership of stories – Andrew Lipstein’s Last Resort springs to mind as does Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot – which is why I put up my hand for Dominic Amerena’s debut, I Want Everything. When our unnamed narrator is discharged from one of his many
I Want Everything by Dominic Amerena: Who owns the story? Read More »
I was delighted when I spotted a new Evie Wyld on NetGalley but less so when I read the blurb which mentioned a ghost watching his girlfriend grieving his death, the kind of device which sets off alarm bells for me. Set across several timelines and two continents, The Echoes unfolds Hannah’s story, revealing what
The Echoes by Evie Wyld: ‘Distance. The great reliever and creator of pain.’ Read More »
It’s seems an age since I reviewed Hannah Kent’s debut, Burial Rites. For a long time, it was one of my most visited posts and I’ve never been able to work out why. Despite enjoying it, I didn’t get around to The Good People but enthusiastically accepted when I was offered Devotion. Both her previous
Devotion by Hannah Kent: ‘My life was only ever a hand’s breadth’ Read More »
Billed as a novel, Michelle de Kretser’s Scary Monsters is split in two rather like Carol Shields’ story of a marriage from both sides, Happenstance. One part is set in early ‘80s France, the other in a near-future Australia. I could have tossed a coin to decide which half to read first or made a
Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser: A tale of two parts Read More »
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy into as many hands as I could. The pleasures of reading fiction are many and varied but broadly speaking they tend to fall into two
Blasts from the Past: Eucalyptus by Murray Bail (1998) Read More »
I spotted Kevin Wilson’s Tunneling to the Centre of the Earth on Netgalley, reminding me of how much I enjoyed his novel, Nothing to See Here. It’s a new edition of his first short story collection comprising eleven pieces. Knowing that many of them were written when Wilson was a student, my expectations weren’t particularly
Tunneling to the Centre of the Earth by Kevin Wilson: ‘I don’t think I belong here’ Read More »
It’s that old art theme again. Given the popularity of my Five Books I’ve Read… on the subject, it’s clear I’m not the only reader who favours it. Australian author Alison Booth’s The Painting has the additional lure of being partly set in Budapest which I loved when we visited it back in 2017. Set
The Painting by Alison Booth: The best kind of restitution Read More »
It was its setting and structure that attracted me to Claire Thomas’ The Performance, although that brightly coloured jacket played some part. A clever design which fits the novel well. As its title suggests, the backdrop for Thomas’ novel is a Melbourne theatre where three women are watching a performance of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days
The Performance by Claire Thomas: A night at the theatre Read More »
Towards the end of 2018 I was sent a review copy of a book that I wasn’t at all sure about. It looked a little too wacky for my taste but the publisher was a favourite of mine so I decided to give it a go. Not only did Robbie Arnott’s Flames end up on
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott: Dystopia, hope and redemption Read More »