See my review in the June issue of The Short Review...
Reviews + Analyses
Books, poetry, journals and the occassional film…
The Best Unpublished Books – Part One
From the Deep End Table – Christopher Currie I tracked down Chris after reading an amazing story of his in Voiceworks a couple of years ago, called 1969. It was about Woodstock – the summer of love. I found his writing to be incredibly insightful, subtle, and beautiful. I was instantly a fan. Chris has … Continue reading The Best Unpublished Books – Part One
Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta
Picador, 2008, 9780330448291 (Aus, US) Mary sits in a dingy motel room in 1972 trying to figure out who she’s going to be. It is difficult to choose a name. She needs to be faceless, to blend. She needs to appear bland, harmless. No that she had meant to do any harm. In 1998 Jason … Continue reading Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta
Stick This in Your Memory Hole by Tristan Clark
Aduki, November 07, 9780980335125 (Aus, US) There are many ways of endearing people to your worldview. A carefully reasoned argument set out in engaging prose, or an impassioned cry for justice related to your own experiences, perhaps. Another way would be slamming them violently and repeatedly with your no-holds-barred attack on all things current, to … Continue reading Stick This in Your Memory Hole by Tristan Clark
The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry
Scribe, February - Trade Paperback, 9781921215605 (Aus, US) Scribe have wisely decided to reinvigorate cold war spy novel The Miernik Dossier , which centres around paranoia, suspicion and misconceptions. A mixed band of secret agents (American, British, African and suspected Soviet) travel from Switzerland, through Eastern Europe to the Sudan. American spy Paul Christopher attempts … Continue reading The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry
Misconceptions by Sophie Townsend
First published in the May 2008 issue of BOOKSELLER + PUBLISHER magazine (c) 2008 Thorpe-Bowker (a division of RR Bowker LLC) http://www.bookseller+publisher.com.au/ Bantam, 9781741667844, May 2008 (paperback) Sophie Townsend’s debut novel is both tender and readable. Best friends Ruth and Mim have been each others’ rock through countless experiences, including the death of Ruth’s mother … Continue reading Misconceptions by Sophie Townsend
Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy
What happened to feminism? Ariel Levy asks. Her book explores how a predominant culture of ‘surfaces’ has produced women who admire ‘sexiness’ without necessarily being sexual. What happened to pleasure?The interviews Levy presents and the sub-cultures (eg. ‘Girls Gone Wild’) she immerses herself in are disturbing, in that most of these women feel lost and … Continue reading Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy
Feather Man by Rhyll McMaster
This review was first published in Idiom 23, 2007. In the opening pages of Feather Man (Aus, US), amongst the stench of wet chook feathers and shit, something is taken from the young female character. ‘Lionel robbed me of naturalness’ she later reflects. It is a beginning and it is an end. ‘Sookie’ (as her … Continue reading Feather Man by Rhyll McMaster
Greenbeard
Greenbeard is a new lit/arts mag edited by Mariana Sabino. Its flavour is international, with writers from Europe, India and Australia. Mariana is quite a fan of my writing and my blog and has included four of my pieces in the first issue - two book reviews, a film review and my short story Dead … Continue reading Greenbeard
I’m Afraid of the Five-Blade Razor – Book Review and Commentary
Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough - Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss. Allen & Unwin, 2005, 9781741146714 (Aus, US/Kindle) Three years ago Clive Hamilton half-jokingly referred to the possibility of the five-blade razor. It comes as no surprise that his prediction has come true, and emphasises why Affluenza continues to be an extremely relevant … Continue reading I’m Afraid of the Five-Blade Razor – Book Review and Commentary
LiteraryMinded 