9780143009573 Penguin (Aus, US/Kindle) In an active, atmospheric introduction, a woman and her two children arrive at the gate, and then the house, of the woman’s childhood. The woman, Olivia, explains to her mother she ‘had to come home’ and is accepted. Soon arrives Olivia’s grief-stricken brother and wife, with their baby’s body (who has … Continue reading Julia Leigh's Disquiet
Australian literature
Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part eight: why Australian literature?
Instead of doing this session by session (as the last two days are a blur) I'll just write it as it comes out. * First of all, Why Australian Literature? looked at our national literature and it's current 'crisis', that of globalisation and the possible 'swamping' of other voices and literatures. The panel featured Peter … Continue reading Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part eight: why Australian literature?
Melbourne launch of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature
The Red Rotunda at the Cowen Gallery at the State Library of Victoria is filled with silver-haired literary giants, and a young woman enters, sweaty and carrying two bags (she has walked from work). She sees a couple of familiar faces but is too intimidated to talk to them. She clasps a glass of champagne and … Continue reading Melbourne launch of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature
Kate Grenville's Dark Places
A LiteraryMinded review of an Australian classic. Dark Places Kate Grenville Macmillan 1994 + Text Publishing 2008 (Aus, US) Dark Places charts the life of a pitiful, self-absorbed and knowingly empty man, Albion Gidley Singer. From a young age he attempts to fill a void that exists within him - a void associated with his lack … Continue reading Kate Grenville's Dark Places
Guest review: Sam Cooney on Mark Mordue's Dastgah
Dastgah, Mark Mordue Allen & Unwin (2001, Australia). Also published overseas. Review by Sam Cooney. Dastgah is an account of Australian writer, journalist and editor Mark Mordue's first trip overseas: a one-year journey through the regions of India, Nepal, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Iran, and the cities of Paris and New York. The … Continue reading Guest review: Sam Cooney on Mark Mordue's Dastgah
Thoughts on 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Breath, by Tim Winton
Breath, Tim Winton, Penguin, 9780143009580 (Aus, US) Breath is my first Tim Winton. Yes, I know. He's just not someone I had gotten to yet. And yes, I will read Cloudstreet, eventually. Last week, Breath was awarded our nation's most prestigious literary prize - the Miles Franklin Literary Award, which is for books that in … Continue reading Thoughts on 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Breath, by Tim Winton
Big fat round-up post + May haiku comp winners
Hey gang. Are you cool? Be cool. Only got about a quarter of the response to this month's haiku comp - doh! The them was 'the richness of the internet'. Thinking I might have to do it only every two months, or perhaps the topic was hard? Nonetheless, there were a few good'uns. The winner … Continue reading Big fat round-up post + May haiku comp winners
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
Turner's Paintbox by Paul Morgan
Viking, 9780670071364, 2007 (Australia) Gerard Moyne is an extremely successful Sydney-based art consultant, art lover, and all round philosophical aesthete. He falls for the independent, earthy, and oft-scattered Julia. They're not exactly opposites, but nor do they complement each other entirely. Their relationship, and its undoing (it begins with this) are chronicled, alongside the narrative … Continue reading Turner's Paintbox by Paul Morgan
The Sinkings by Amanda Curtin
UWAP, 9781921401114 (Aus, US) Amanda Curtin's atmospheric novel begins with a bizarre and horrific murder at the Sinkings, in Western Australia, 1882. Flash forward to the present and reclusive, aging writer/editor Willa is reflecting upon the daughter that has gone away from her. Tying these two narratives together are the hermaphroditism of both 'Little Jock' - … Continue reading The Sinkings by Amanda Curtin
LiteraryMinded 