I Can See My House From Here: UTS Writers’ Anthology 2010 Reviewed by Sam Cooney University anthologies are often pedestrian and insular. Even worse, at times they smack of desperation - you can almost wring it from the pages like water from hair. ‘Here is my story,’ each writer seems to say. ‘This is what … Continue reading Guest review: Sam Cooney on I Can See My House From Here: UTS Writers’ Anthology 2010
Australian authors
Guest review: Raili Simojoki on Benjamin Law’s The Family Law
The Family Law Benjamin Law Black Inc. 9781863954785 June 2010 (Aus, US) Reviewed by Raili Simojoki. Benjamin Law’s first book, The Family Law, is a collection of themed essays about his eccentric yet endearing family. His shorter pieces offer quirky insights into eclectic topics such as green burial, sleep deprivation, homosexuality healing workshops, and 90s … Continue reading Guest review: Raili Simojoki on Benjamin Law’s The Family Law
Joel Magarey’s Exposure: A Journey
Exposure: A Journey Joel Magarey Wakefield Press (Australia) 9781862548237 2009 I write this review just moments after finishing the book, and really, I’m aching from it. Joel Magarey has just taken me on an adventure - around the world, through illness and through love. The narrative flows back and forth between periods in the '80s and '90s … Continue reading Joel Magarey’s Exposure: A Journey
Guest review: Sam Cooney on Clinton Caward’s Love Machine
Love Machine Clinton Caward Hamish Hamilton (Penguin) February 2010, Australia 9781926428024 Reviewed by Sam Cooney. I first encountered Clinton Caward’s writing last year in the lit journal Cutwater; his two short stories punched me in the gut with their corrosive and compelling strength, and the accompanying author interview struck some chords. (Indeed, I said so … Continue reading Guest review: Sam Cooney on Clinton Caward’s Love Machine
Vote for the author! Craig Silvey for Cleo Bachelor of the Year (oh, and he’s on the Miles Franklin longlist)
Not only is Jasper Jones author Craig Silvey longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, he's up for Cleo Bachelor of the Year! Go and vote for the lovely and talented (and yes, cute) Mr Silvey here. I chaired a panel with Craig and Eleanor Catton at the recent Perth Writers Festival, and remember one middle-aged … Continue reading Vote for the author! Craig Silvey for Cleo Bachelor of the Year (oh, and he’s on the Miles Franklin longlist)
Peter Goldsworthy on Gravel
Gravel Peter Goldsworthy Hamish Hamilton March 2010 (Australia) 9781926428192 Gravel is Peter Goldsworthy's new collection of short stories - amusing and moving - covering a range of predominantly white middle-class characters in conflict with their own egos. But there are also stories exploring erotic awakening (something Goldsworthy did well in Everything I Knew) and others where … Continue reading Peter Goldsworthy on Gravel
David Carlin’s Our Father Who Wasn’t There
Scribe February 2010 9781921640254 (Aus, US) David Carlin was six months old when his father, Brian, ‘went to sleep and never woke up’. His mother kept a photo of him on the bedside table, but otherwise, not much was spoken of his existence to David and his two older siblings, until they were much older. … Continue reading David Carlin’s Our Father Who Wasn’t There
Meeting Alex Miller part four: on re-reading, storytelling, and writing as a woman
See also – part one: on the origins of a contemporary story; part two: on wisdom and imagination and part three: on cross-eyed novels, the time we have, and liberties of language. My feature interview with Alex Miller on his new novel, Lovesong (Aus, US), was published in Readings Monthly. You can find it here. … Continue reading Meeting Alex Miller part four: on re-reading, storytelling, and writing as a woman
Meeting Alex Miller part three: on cross-eyed novels, the time we have, and liberties of language
See also – part one: on the origins of a contemporary story and part two: on wisdom and imagination. My feature interview with Alex Miller on his new novel, Lovesong (Aus, US), was published in Readings Monthly. You can find it here. When asked what his favourite is of all his novels, Miller smiled and … Continue reading Meeting Alex Miller part three: on cross-eyed novels, the time we have, and liberties of language
Cate Kennedy’s The World Beneath
Scribe September 2009 9781921372964 (Aus, Grove US) There’s no doubt Cate Kennedy is one of Australia’s most perceptive writers. Her short stories, which can be found in various journals and the collection Dark Roots, are rich in character and often contemplate moments of connection, all the misfires and failed connections, and their consequences. In The World Beneath, Rich wants to … Continue reading Cate Kennedy’s The World Beneath
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