In the lead-up to the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, I’ll be putting up a series of (short) reviews of books I’m reading in preparation. The Lake Woman, Alan Gould, Arcadia, 9781921509346 Alec Dearborn is an Australian in British service in WWII. In his first moments of war he parachutes from an attacked plane (over … Continue reading Bellingen Readers and Writers Fest 2012 special: The Lake Woman by Alan Gould + The Rip by Robert Drewe
Australian literature
Bellingen Readers & Writers Fest special: A Common Loss by Kirsten Tranter
In the lead-up to the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, I’ll be putting up a series of (short) reviews of books I’m reading in preparation. A Common Loss, Kirsten Tranter Fourth Estate, 2012 9780732290825 (paperback, ebook) This is a fabulous, understated thriller and character story. A group of friends, who met in college, catch up … Continue reading Bellingen Readers & Writers Fest special: A Common Loss by Kirsten Tranter
Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2012 special: The Sea Bed by Marele Day
In the lead-up to the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, I'll be putting up a series of (short) reviews of books I'm reading in preparation. The Sea Bed, Marele Day Allen & Unwin, 2009 9781741758412 (paperback, ebook) The Sea Bed is set around an island with a tradition of ‘sea women’, who, for generations, have dived, … Continue reading Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2012 special: The Sea Bed by Marele Day
Up in the air: an interview with Carrie Tiffany on Mateship with Birds
Picador, February 2012 9781742610764 (paperback, ebook) A version of this article was published in The Big Issue No. 399 Carrie Tiffany’s debut novel Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living was published in 2005 to high praise. Now, her second novel Mateship with Birds—a compelling and elegant meditation on family, desire and country life—confirms the author’s attraction … Continue reading Up in the air: an interview with Carrie Tiffany on Mateship with Birds
Melancholy tales of loss and gain: Inherited by Amanda Curtin
UWA Publishing 9781742582931 November 2011 (paperback, browser-based ebook) A version of this review was first published in the Sydney Morning Herald's Spectrum magazine on the weekend of 7-8 January. In Amanda Curtin’s atmospheric debut novel The Sinkings, as in her new collection, the past seeps into the present. In Inherited, each stunning story contains multiple layers … Continue reading Melancholy tales of loss and gain: Inherited by Amanda Curtin
Recently read: Foal’s Bread, White Noise + The Swimming-Pool Library
Foal's Bread, Gillian Mears, Allen & Unwin, 9781742376295 (paperback, ebook) A slow read – but think ‘slow’ as in that positive movement of slow food, slow travel – picked up each morning over breakfast. Set in Northern NSW, quite near where I grew up (and author Gillian Mears grew up) in the interwar and WWII … Continue reading Recently read: Foal’s Bread, White Noise + The Swimming-Pool Library
New ejournal: Review of Australian Fiction
I've just sampled the first issue of a new ejournal called Review of Australian Fiction, which will publish a short story by one established and one emerging author each issue (fortnightly). You can subscribe to all six issues in Volume One for $12.99, or buy them individually. There will be four volumes each year. Info … Continue reading New ejournal: Review of Australian Fiction
20 Classics #10: The Well by Elizabeth Jolley
I’m reading 20 classic, modern-classic or cult books. Read more about this project here. Why did I want to read it? There are way too many Australian authors I haven’t read. People told me I’d click with Elizabeth Jolley. When was it published? It was first published in 1986, which makes it a very young ‘classic’ (a little younger … Continue reading 20 Classics #10: The Well by Elizabeth Jolley
2012: National Year of Reading & my reading challenges
Despite the fact that I am still working through 2011's challenge (20 classics) I am going to add books by Australian women (for reasons laid out in the Australian Women Writers 2012 Reading & Reviewing Challenge page, here) to my 'challenges' for 2012. 2012 also happens to be the National Year of Reading in Australia. I've … Continue reading 2012: National Year of Reading & my reading challenges
Recently read: non-reviews of The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, Flying with Paper Wings, The Cook
This is cross-posted from Southerly, where I am blogging in December. The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary by Andrew Westoll, UQP (Aus), 9780702238468, July 2011 (paperback) This book has been near the top of my pile since July and I finally picked it up to start reading on a flight to Sydney recently. I am an … Continue reading Recently read: non-reviews of The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, Flying with Paper Wings, The Cook
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