Company, Max Barry, Scribe, 9781921215643, 2008 (Aus, US) Jones joins Zephyr as an enthusiastic employee, without even knowing what the company does. This doesn't seem to be an odd thing at Zephyr, where Jones' coworkers in the Training Sales department just accept that Zephyr is a ‘holdings' company, and get on with their menial, perpetual … Continue reading Capitalism is funny – a review of Max Barry's Company
Reviews + Analyses
Books, poetry, journals and the occassional film…
Loathing Lola – William Kostakis
Pan Macmillan, 2008, Australia, 9780330424165 Courtney Marlow becomes the star of new reality TV Show Real Teens despite the fact that she doesn't watch much reality TV. Her boyfriend, Liam, had encouraged her to audition. Is she following through just for him? And how will she cope with cameras in her face just months after … Continue reading Loathing Lola – William Kostakis
Helen Garner's The Spare Room left me staring at the wall
Text Publishing, 2008, 9781921351396 (Aus, US) The Spare Room left me staring at the wall of my bedroom. The illness of Nicola, the anger of Helen - a few weeks pass in a few reading hours, simply told but infinite. I stare at the wall and realise this novel will take hold of me over the years. … Continue reading Helen Garner's The Spare Room left me staring at the wall
Late Connections by Aileen La Tourette
2008, Ilura Press, 978921325052 It’s a shame to read a story that feels as though it has been wrestled into the wrong medium. Aileen La Tourette’s Late Connections might have made a good dramatic play with its style, overt exposition, and historical setting. We begin in Paris, where seamstress Annie Doulard works on the dress … Continue reading Late Connections by Aileen La Tourette
I Dream of Magda by Stefan Laszczuk
Allen & Unwin, August 2008, 9781741755015 (Aus, US/Kindle) A version of this review was first published in the July 2008 issue of BOOKSELLER+PUBLISHER magazine (c) 2008 Thorpe-Bowker (a division of RR Bowker LLC). George’s life consists of working in a bowling alley, staring wistfully at the tree where he and his ex shared their first … Continue reading I Dream of Magda by Stefan Laszczuk
Blood & Tinsel: A Memoir by Jim Sharman
9780522853773, Miegunyah Press, August, HB (Aus, US) A version of this review was first published in the June 2008 issue of BOOKSELLER+PUBLISHER magazine (c) 2008 Thorpe-Bowker (a division of RR Bowker LLC). Jim Sharman relays the story of his life rhythmically, like a play or film. Childhood memories of boxing sideshows are cut between … Continue reading Blood & Tinsel: A Memoir by Jim Sharman
A Very Short Introduction to the Absurd, My Absurd Moment, and Lester Burnham as Absurd Hero…
Albert Camus The Myth of Sisyphus was one of those books I attacked with dog-ears and pen marks. Whole pages are underlined in my well-thumbed copy, which I revisited when writing my novel manuscript Smoke & Dancing, and recently for my thesis. I think about my own steps to lucidity, when I acknowledged life’s inherent … Continue reading A Very Short Introduction to the Absurd, My Absurd Moment, and Lester Burnham as Absurd Hero…
Harvest #1 and Voiceworks #73: Carnivale – Journal Review
A loud established journal and a studious newbie are both aesthetically pleasing and intellectually stimulating. Voiceworks #73 is themed Carnivale and even more-so than previous issues revels in quality quirk as well as showcasing the colourful talents and opinions of Australian youth. In contrast to the oft blunt-ended pieces in Voiceworks, the first issue of … Continue reading Harvest #1 and Voiceworks #73: Carnivale – Journal Review
The Best Unpublished Books – Part Three (Children's/Young Adult)
Body Swap – Jerome Parisse Didn’t you just love those stories when you were a kid where magical things could happen in ordinary circumstances? Things like turning invisible, or wishing on objects? Well Jerome’s Body Swap has this mysterious magical quality that gets the imagination firing. 13 year-old William has moved to Fulton with his … Continue reading The Best Unpublished Books – Part Three (Children's/Young Adult)
The Best Unpublished Books – Part Two
The Ice Age – Kirsten Reed I think, if I’d read this book between the ages of 14-17, it would be my favourite book. Not that it only has young adult appeal. I still found that the laid-back protagonist, who doesn’t seem particularly fazed most of the time to be on the road with a … Continue reading The Best Unpublished Books – Part Two
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