Bloomsbury/Allen & Unwin February 2010 9780747548409 (Aus, US/Kindle) Reviewed by Matthia Dempsey Emerging from their teens, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe first encounter each other in 1960s New York, a recognition as much as a meeting. Smith has fled the aftermath of an unplanned pregnancy and adoption, and the factory future that faces her in … Continue reading Guest review: Matthia Dempsey on Patti Smith’s Just Kids
Reviews + Analyses
Books, poetry, journals and the occassional film…
Perth Writers Fest 2010 diary, part two: re-reading Alex Miller’s Prochownik’s Dream
Yesterday was my Q&A with Alex Miller, mainly focusing on his new novel Lovesong. I'm happy to report the session (where we actually covered a lot of ground, and got some great audience questions) will be available as a podcast on 720 ABC Perth. Watch this space. I'll write more about my sessions and general … Continue reading Perth Writers Fest 2010 diary, part two: re-reading Alex Miller’s Prochownik’s Dream
Guest review: Lyndon Riggall on Stephen King’s Under the Dome
9780340992579 Hodder 2009 (Aus, US) I sometimes wonder when Stephen King will stop. Having published more than 150 books, it’s hard not to wonder when the ideas will dry up. What’s next Stephen, a killer broom monster? A giant ribbon that wraps itself around its victims and strangles them of life? A giant dome that … Continue reading Guest review: Lyndon Riggall on Stephen King’s Under the Dome
David Carlin’s Our Father Who Wasn’t There
Scribe February 2010 9781921640254 (Aus, US) David Carlin was six months old when his father, Brian, ‘went to sleep and never woke up’. His mother kept a photo of him on the bedside table, but otherwise, not much was spoken of his existence to David and his two older siblings, until they were much older. … Continue reading David Carlin’s Our Father Who Wasn’t There
Guest review: Elena Gomez on Janine Burke’s Source: Nature’s Healing Role in Art and Writing
Allen & Unwin November 2009 (Aus) 9781741759177 The meticulous research that went into this book is a testament to renowned art historian Janine Burke’s passion for art and its influences. In Source, she explores the resonating impact of nature and environment on the works of various writers and artists of the modern era. I have … Continue reading Guest review: Elena Gomez on Janine Burke’s Source: Nature’s Healing Role in Art and Writing
Eleanor Catton’s The Rehearsal
Granta 2009 (Aus/NZ, US) 9781847081162 All the world’s a stage… A novel as a performance, more – a novel as flirtation (the performance of flirting): self-conscious, inviting yet exclusive. The reader is all the roles, all the characters and all the actors – for in The Rehearsal there are layers of fictional existence – blended, … Continue reading Eleanor Catton’s The Rehearsal
Collected Stories – Richard Yates
Vintage 9780099518549 (Aus, US) When a man is fired from his job in the story ‘A Glutton for Punishment’, he realises he has enjoyed the failures in his life. The character in this – like many of the other characters in Richard Yates’ Collected Stories – runs over a conversation in his head, with his … Continue reading Collected Stories – Richard Yates
Cate Kennedy’s The World Beneath
Scribe September 2009 9781921372964 (Aus, Grove US) There’s no doubt Cate Kennedy is one of Australia’s most perceptive writers. Her short stories, which can be found in various journals and the collection Dark Roots, are rich in character and often contemplate moments of connection, all the misfires and failed connections, and their consequences. In The World Beneath, Rich wants to … Continue reading Cate Kennedy’s The World Beneath
Guest post: Allison Browning on Alice Sebold’s Lucky
It was in an impassioned conversation with Miss Angela Meyer on the floor of a particular writers' festival venue, relishing the taste of ginger beer, that I expressed my love for the sparsity of Chloe Hooper's writing in The Tall Man. Angela and I continued to chat about those writers who have an understated way of inciting … Continue reading Guest post: Allison Browning on Alice Sebold’s Lucky
Guest review: Rhys Tate on Eoin Colfer’s And Another Thing…
And Another Thing... Eoin Colfer Penguin 9780718155148 (Aus, US) Reviewed by Rhys Tate I’ll admit when I heard that Eoin Colfer was ghostwriting a sixth Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy volume, nine years after the death of original visionary Douglas Adams, I fired up the torches and pitchforks and got me a good old fashioned … Continue reading Guest review: Rhys Tate on Eoin Colfer’s And Another Thing…
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