The Tiger Man of Vietnam Frank Walker Hachette (Australia) October 2009 9780733623660 Reviewed by Pamela Wilson When you’ve got a story full of intrigue, deception, torture and murder, you’ve got the makings of a good thriller. When that story is true, you have the makings of a great one. Because of this, I snapped up the … Continue reading Guest review: Pamela Wilson on Frank Walker’s The Tiger Man of Vietnam
Reviews + Analyses
Books, poetry, journals and the occassional film…
Review of George Dawes Green's Ravens for ABC Radio National's The Book Show
I recently reviewed the thriller Ravens, by George Dawes Green, for The Book Show on ABC Radio National. Have a listen, here.
This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part two
Part One of this interview can be found here. Pictured: Emily Maguire and I before the Sleepers Salon in October. I ask Maguire about the setting. Is it pertinent for this story to be set in Sydney? She says it probably could have been a few cities, but ‘western Sydney is – the cliché is … Continue reading This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part two
This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part one
In Smoke in the Room (Aus), three characters end up in a share house in Sydney. Katie works on instinct and is weighted by an overwhelming empathy. Adam, an American, is grieving and needs to save money to get home. Graeme, an aid worker, has rid himself of possessions and simplified his existence. In this … Continue reading This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part one
Guest review: Lorelei Vashti on Linda Neil’s Learning How to Breathe
9780702237348 UQP September 2009 (Australia) Review by Lorelei Vashti When I was first offered this book to review I thought: Well, Ms Meyer, it seems that not only are you literary-minded but you’re also literally minded, because what you have given me here is a book about a Brisbane girl returning home to her family. … Continue reading Guest review: Lorelei Vashti on Linda Neil’s Learning How to Breathe
Guest review: Elena Gomez on Mic Looby’s Paradise Updated
9780980374667 September 2009 (Aus/ Kindle) Affirm Press If you didn’t already know that Mic Looby was once a Lonely Planet writer and editor, it’s not difficult to guess, reading his debut novel, Paradise Updated. In it, the satirically named 'SmallWorld' publishers dominate the guidebook industry and the bloke who made them what they are today, legendary … Continue reading Guest review: Elena Gomez on Mic Looby’s Paradise Updated
Mo Zhi Hong's The Year of the Shanghai Shark
Penguin New Zealand 2008 9780143008934 The Year of the Shanghai Sharkcharts a series of encounters, tales and incidents in one year of a boy’s life in Dalian, China. His immediate existence is determined by his Uncle, who possesses many big books and conducts dubious business, his best friends Po Fan and Xiao Wang, plus basketball, fast food … Continue reading Mo Zhi Hong's The Year of the Shanghai Shark
Guest review: Tom Conyers on Readings and Writings: Forty Years in Books
Jason Cotter and Michael Williams (eds) 2009 9781740668217 With Readings and Writings: Forty Years in Books, there doesn’t appear to have been an overriding theme or subject limitation placed on the contributors. Instead, the writers involved, who have all had supportive associations with Readings Books & Music (Melbourne) over the years, are given free reign. … Continue reading Guest review: Tom Conyers on Readings and Writings: Forty Years in Books
Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol goes well with cheap wine, corn chips and reading into the morning
The most blockbustery blockbuster of the year found its way into my lap and with curiosity piqued (and a break needed from festival preparations) I indulged in one solid reading session – cover to cover – and was mainly intrigued, despite a few small snags. In The Lost Symbol, Harvard Professor Robert Langdon is called … Continue reading Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol goes well with cheap wine, corn chips and reading into the morning
Guest review: Rhys Tate on Mary Richardson's Truckers
Truckers Mary Richardson Mark Batty Publisher June 2009 (USA) (Also available in Aus) 9780979966682 Reviewed by Rhys Tate. A few months ago, as an ex-truckie and sometime poet, I was invited to submit some lines to Sydney outfit Red Room and their collection of trucker poetry, a pairing even I find incongruous. My poem was … Continue reading Guest review: Rhys Tate on Mary Richardson's Truckers
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