I’m reading 20 classic, modern-classic or cult books. Read more about this project here. See the other classics here. Why did I want to read it? Frankenstein is one of my all-time favourite books, and yet I’ve never read anything else by Mary Shelley. I was also intrigued by the fact that Mathilda wasn't published in Shelley's lifetime due to the book’s ‘shocking’ theme. … Continue reading 20 classics #14: Mathilda by Mary Shelley
Reviews + Analyses
Books, poetry, journals and the occassional film…
Review of All the Way Home by Kristin Henry on Cordite
My latest review for Cordite Poetry Review is of Kristin Henry's compelling, neatly written verse novel All the Way Home. It's about Jesse, the son of a travelling salesman, who falls in love and takes his small family to go live on a commune in NSW. The book is full of tension, music, and careful imagery. Read the full … Continue reading Review of All the Way Home by Kristin Henry on Cordite
Dignified survival: Courtney Collins on The Burial
Allen & Unwin September 2012 9781743311875 (buy paperback, ebook) When Courtney Collins' debut novel The Burial landed in my pile last month, it went straight to the top. Set in the early C20th, it's inspired by the story of Australia's last bushranger, Jessie Hickman. Jessie has done something she can't turn back from, and spends the majority … Continue reading Dignified survival: Courtney Collins on The Burial
Home, strange home: Fishing for Tigers by Emily Maguire
Picador, 9781742610832 September 2012 (buy paperback, ebook) A version of this article was originally published in The Big Issue no. 415. Somewhere around the six-week mark of Emily Maguire’s 2008 visit to Hanoi, she realised she was in love: 'Actual love—the kind where you wake up smiling in anticipation, and you fall asleep deeply, deeply happy every … Continue reading Home, strange home: Fishing for Tigers by Emily Maguire
Guest post: Troy Martin on Ian McEwan’s Sweet Tooth
Jonathan Cape (Random House) 9780224097383 September 2012 (buy paperback, ebook) reviewed by Troy Martin This isn’t a spy drama. Ian McEwan’s Sweet Tooth is more than a novel of London or the 1970s. It’s bound with literary references, but you do not need a companion to English literature to enjoy this novel. That is the most … Continue reading Guest post: Troy Martin on Ian McEwan’s Sweet Tooth
Marilyn Monroe died 50 years ago + my favourite books about Marilyn
I've been thinking about Marilyn, particularly because she was born in the same year as my grandmother who just passed away. My Nanna had a whole 50 years more of life. She wasn't famous but she had a loving family (something Marilyn lacked and longed for). Arthur Miller said: 'To understand Marilyn best, you have to … Continue reading Marilyn Monroe died 50 years ago + my favourite books about Marilyn
Beneath the Darkening Sky by Majok Tulba
This is cross-posted from the Melbourne Writers Festival 2012 blog. Hamish Hamilton (Penguin) 9781926428420 July 2012 It’s taken me a little while to get over Majok Tulba’s unflinching novel about a young boy kidnapped by rebels and forced to become a soldier. On the cusp of adolescence Obinna is forced to witness unimaginable horrors, from … Continue reading Beneath the Darkening Sky by Majok Tulba
The Dinner by Herman Koch reviewed in the Australian
My review of black satire The Dinner, by Dutch author Herman Koch, has been published in the Australian. You can read the review here (it doesn't seem to be pay-walled). — Just wanted to let you all know I've been away all week with my family—sad circumstances, but we're all OK—and I'm very busy over the next … Continue reading The Dinner by Herman Koch reviewed in the Australian
Month of reading
I was stoked this month to be asked to contribute the 'month of reading' column to The Victorian Writer, the magazine of Writers Victoria. Below is a version of my column. — I was recently held up at Melbourne airport for seven hours. I tried to see it as a blessing: pure, uninterrupted reading time. I … Continue reading Month of reading
’70s-style dystopia: This Perfect Day by Ira Levin
This Perfect Day is a dystopian sci-fi novel, published in 1970, in the vein of Brave New World and Logan’s Run. People are born into a happy (read: bland) unified society, ruled by UniComp, which is literally a giant computer. Over the generations heterogeneity has been genetically blended out, and every member of ‘The Family’ … Continue reading ’70s-style dystopia: This Perfect Day by Ira Levin
LiteraryMinded 