9780702236433, UQP, 2008 (Australia) This book opens in the past, with the sight of a body falling from a bridge. In the present, Robert O'Hara makes small gestures - planting fig trees, comforting his distraught girlfriend after an attack on them both, easing his way into an old man's life to learn the secrets of his own … Continue reading The Comfort of Figs by Simon Cleary
Australian authors
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
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
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
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
Eating Lolly by Corrie Hosking
First published in the Summer 2007/2008 issue of BOOKSELLER + PUBLISHER magazine (c) 2008 Thorpe-Bowker (a division of RR Bowker LLC) http://www.bookseller+publisher.com.au/ Fourth Estate, 9780732285999, February 2008 (Aus, US/Kindle) Mumma is sent away to an island to have her illegitimate daughter. She emotionally smothers her new baby and curbs her own anxieties with the comfort … Continue reading Eating Lolly by Corrie Hosking
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