Whip Smart: A Memoir Picador, 2010 9780312561024 (Aus, US, UK) review by Annie Stevens Reading Melissa Febos’ memoir, Whip Smart, reminded me of when I first read Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. So graphic and stomach-churning is some of the content that I had to have short 'rests' between chapters. What makes Whip Smart even more … Continue reading Guest review: Annie Stevens on Melissa Febos’ Whip Smart
Other People’s Words
Guest review: Sam Cooney on The Lifted Brow no. 7
The Lifted Brow no. 7 ed. Ronnie Scott 2010 (website) Reviewed by Sam Cooney The Lifted Brow no. 7. It’s good. (Could I leave it at that? Yes.) Ronnie Scott’s short editorial is about penises, sneakers and a forgotten Halloween special. I will extract two declarations from the editorial that sum up this Brow: 'I’ve never … Continue reading Guest review: Sam Cooney on The Lifted Brow no. 7
Guest review: Chris Flynn on Justin Cronin’s The Passage
The Passage Justin Cronin (Aus, US) Orion 9780752897851 Reviewed by Chris Flynn It’s funny how movies influence books so much these days. The fact that The Passage was optioned by Sir Ridley Scott for $1.75 million within a week of Cronin settling on a $3.75 million publishing deal for his vampire apocalypse trilogy is unsurprising … Continue reading Guest review: Chris Flynn on Justin Cronin’s The Passage
‘What is a short story?’ Jon Bauer’s Sleepers Almanac and app launch speech
Last night, author Jon Bauer (Rocks in the Belly, Scribe) launched the sixth Sleepers Almanac and the new Sleepers literary app at the Bella Union Bar, Trades Hall, Melbourne. I thought his speech was wonderful, so with Jon's kind permission, here it is for you all to read: Have you ever had that moment on a … Continue reading ‘What is a short story?’ Jon Bauer’s Sleepers Almanac and app launch speech
Guest review: Lyndon Riggall on Kelly Link’s The Wrong Grave
The Wrong Grave Kelly Link Text 9781921520730 (Aus) Reviewed by Lyndon Riggall It took me a little while to work out exactly what The Wrong Grave was. A book of short stories, yes. But why these stories, and why in this order? You see, some of the tales featured here appear in her book Pretty Monsters and others … Continue reading Guest review: Lyndon Riggall on Kelly Link’s The Wrong Grave
Guest review: Raili Simojoki on harvest: issue 5
harvest: issue 5 reviewed by Raili Simojoki Harvest ’s gentle, reflective, sometimes anxious writing appeals to Gen Y romantics who, dissatisfied by the disconnected, disposable information generated by mass media, are drawn instead to the poetic, intricate, and meandering. Editor Davina Bell speaks directly to this audience in her essay ‘To my Generation of Precious … Continue reading Guest review: Raili Simojoki on harvest: issue 5
Guest review: Greg Westenberg on Maxine Clarke’s Gil Scott Heron is on Parole
Gil Scott Heron is on Parole Maxine Beneba Clarke Picaro Press Reviewed by Greg Westenberg The rhythm: insistent, consistent, beat-heavy in places but with enough sunlight in the words to take us out of the club, into a community’s irregular syncopation; the rhythm, that I couldn’t always get (white boys, everybody knows it, can’t … Continue reading Guest review: Greg Westenberg on Maxine Clarke’s Gil Scott Heron is on Parole
Alex y Robert by Wena Poon: virtual book tour
I met the talented, vivacious Singapore-born American writer Wena Poon last October, sharing a taxi ride from Denpasar airport to Ubud, Bali, for the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. In that taxi and during her panels I learnt that Wena was dauntingly 'together' - interweaving careers in writing and Law, travelling the world, and seeming like she … Continue reading Alex y Robert by Wena Poon: virtual book tour
Guest review: Sam Cooney on The Big Issue no. 359: Toasty Tales fiction special
The Big Issue no. 359: Toasty Tales fiction special Available now from street vendors, launched Wednesday 21 July at Readings Carlton Reviewed by Sam Cooney For me, The Big Issue is like a tub of Neapolitan ice-cream. It’s reliable. It’s unpretentious and doesn’t pretend to be anything except exactly what it is. You buy it every … Continue reading Guest review: Sam Cooney on The Big Issue no. 359: Toasty Tales fiction special
Exquisite restraint for maximum expression: an interview with Colm Tóibín (part two)
Brooklyn Colm Toibin (Aus, US) Picador 9780330425612 Part one of this interview can be found here. Tóibín has, to date, written or edited 21 books. I asked him which had been the most difficult to write, and which had been the most joyful. He said: ‘There’s a long story in the collection Mothers and Sons which I … Continue reading Exquisite restraint for maximum expression: an interview with Colm Tóibín (part two)
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