Penguin Aus ISBN 9780143009634 (paperback, August 2009) It's 1964 in small-town South Australia and Robert Burns (like the poet) is on the cusp of adolescence. 'Happiness is a default state', he narrates, looking back. Reading it, no matter when or where you grew up, one can relate to that simplicity, the time before 'adult' aspects of … Continue reading Peter Goldsworthy's Everything I Knew
Australian fiction
Sexy romance + serious issues: Toni Jordan on Addition
Addition (Text, Aus/Polebridge, US) is a sexy, smart, funny and totally refreshing read. It's the story of numerical-obsessive Grace, and her unique navigation of life. When Grace meets Seamus, her lifestyle comes into question - the counting, the obsession with dead mathematician Nicola Tesla, the careful structures of her daily life. Can she fall messily … Continue reading Sexy romance + serious issues: Toni Jordan on Addition
Eva Hornung on Dog Boy, writing and activism
In October 2006, I was sitting at the airport in Bali after the Ubud Writers' and Readers' Festival, and Eva Hornung (then Sallis) and her gorgeous little boy came and sat next to me. I had seen her speak during the festival, and read her book Fire, Fire, which I found quite confronting. We … Continue reading Eva Hornung on Dog Boy, writing and activism
Things We Didn’t See Coming by Steven Amsterdam
Sleepers Publishing, 9781740667012, 2009 (Aus, US) Things We Didn't See Coming is a series of vignettes, from different stages of the unnamed protagonist's life in a dystopian alterno-present/future. It is a post-apocalyptic story, but told in a hard-boiled, yet highly resonant literary style. The sentences are sharp, the character is hard and the environment is … Continue reading Things We Didn’t See Coming by Steven Amsterdam
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
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
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