Belinda Castles is the author of Falling Woman and The River Baptists (for which she won the 2006 Australian/Vogel Award). Her latest novel is Hannah and Emil, which traces two characters across Europe, the UK and Australia and charts their complex struggles, and the love that pulls them through. Emil fights for Germany in WWI but is forced from his … Continue reading Treasures from the past: Belinda Castles on Hannah and Emil
Australian literature
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
Bits & bobs: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, Kibble & Dobbie
As you may have seen, my Melbourne Writers Fest pre-festival blogging is in full swing. I'll be cross-posting some of the longer posts over here, but do check in on the blog for Steph Convery and Mark Welker's posts, too, and to find out more about the festival. And please do come along to the … Continue reading Bits & bobs: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, Kibble & Dobbie
Parsley and blood: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
April 2012 Random House 9781741668452 (buy paperback, ebook) I love a good historical novel: the ability to contrast past and present, to be absorbed in a world that’s (mainly) unfamiliar, and to experience vastly different circumstances, pressures, and social customs. Kate Forsyth allows us to taste, smell and feel 16th Century Italy and late 17th … Continue reading Parsley and blood: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
Anna Funder’s All That I Am wins 2012 Miles Franklin
Anna Funder made her name with the much-hailed and widely published nonfiction work Stasiland. Her first novel, All That I Am—already a bestseller and winner of multiple awards—has just been awarded the Miles Franklin Literary Award for 2012. Congratulations Anna! Recommended reading: Miles Franklin winner Anna Funder finds out it's all about her, award coverage by Stephen Romei … Continue reading Anna Funder’s All That I Am wins 2012 Miles Franklin
Casual fate: Taking Shelter by Jessica Anderson
Published in 1989, by Penguin Jessica Anderson (1916-2010) won the Miles Franklin Literary Award twice, for Tirra Lirra by the River in 1978 and The Impersonators in 1980. Taking Shelter is one of her less lauded novels (they all sound quite different). I picked it up mainly because of one of the cover blurbs: 'A provocative … Continue reading Casual fate: Taking Shelter by Jessica Anderson
Closer to Stone by Simon Cleary
UQP, March 2012 9780702239229 (buy paperback) A few years ago I read and enjoyed The Comfort of Figs by Simon Cleary, and I was excited to receive his new book Closer to Stone in the mail. It's about a young Australian man who travels to Northern Africa in the mid '90s in search of his missing brother. As I … Continue reading Closer to Stone by Simon Cleary
Token Miles Franklin shortlist blog post
The Miles Franklin Literary Award 2012 shortlist has been announced. And I have absolutely nothing controversial to say about it! Despite the amount of Australian fiction I read (more than almost anyone I know) I haven't read them all. I'll at least get to the winner (after I hopefully find time to read the 2012 … Continue reading Token Miles Franklin shortlist blog post
Choosing to fly: When We Have Wings by Claire Corbett
Allen & Unwin, 2011 9781742375564 (buy Aus paperback, ebook, US/Kindle) The main theme, and dilemma, for the two main characters in When We Have Wings is an old one: how do we deal with technological progress, the divides it can create (between classes, between generations), and the power it may provide to a privileged few? More specifically, … Continue reading Choosing to fly: When We Have Wings by Claire Corbett
The isle of man: Sweet Old World by Deborah Robertson
Vintage, 9781741668254 March 2012 (buy paperback, ebook) This article was originally published in The Big Issue no. 402. Deborah Robertson’s latest book started out as a completely different project. The author of award-winning, bestselling novel Careless (2006) and the earlier short-story collection Proudflesh (1997) left her teaching position at Murdoch University—eventually relocating from Fremantle to … Continue reading The isle of man: Sweet Old World by Deborah Robertson
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