I reviewed The Rosie Effect, Graeme Simsion's follow-up to The Rosie Project for the Weekend Australian. It's a warm read, and a successful sequel. Following is an extract from the review. — As with the first book, these incidents are humorous and cause cringing; the reader observes the miscommunication, the unravelling, and longs to step in as an … Continue reading Review of The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion in The Australian
Text Publishing
Craig Sherborne’s Tree Palace and Craig Sherborne, #555writers
Yesterday: The plane is just about to descend as I draft this. Craig Sherborne is sitting in the row in front and I've just finished his beautiful novel Tree Palace. I've been completely lost in the story of this family of itinerants, or 'trants', as they call themselves in the book. The family—connected by both blood … Continue reading Craig Sherborne’s Tree Palace and Craig Sherborne, #555writers
Review: Owls Do Cry by Janet Frame in Readings Monthly
I reviewed Owls Do Cry by Janet Frame (released with a new foreword by Margaret Drabble in the Text Classics series) for Readings Monthly, with the book still ringing in my head (hence the style of the review). When I read Frame I am reminded, too, that a writer might deliberately eschew grammar rules, in aid of rhythm or … Continue reading Review: Owls Do Cry by Janet Frame in Readings Monthly
Maria Takolander’s The Double
9781922079763 Text Publishing August 2013 One of the best contemporary short story collections I've read, Takolander's fictions are intellectual, dark, strange and often dystopian. The tone is of casual realism, but what's described is beyond that: fantastical, nightmarish or just off; my favourite kind of fiction. If you like Kafka or Beckett, or MJ Hyland … Continue reading Maria Takolander’s The Double
The books of life: By the Book by Ramona Koval
This feature interview was first published in The Big Issue no. 421. Text Publishing 9781922079060 November 2012 (buy hardcover, ebook) Ramona Koval’s enthusiastic explorations of literature would be familiar not only to those who enjoyed her long-running ABC Radio National program, The Book Show, but also to audiences at writers’ festivals around the world. As an interviewer, … Continue reading The books of life: By the Book by Ramona Koval
Guest review: Raili Simojoki on The Amateur Science of Love by Craig Sherborne
Text Publishing, June 2011 9781921758010 (trade paperback, ebook) Reviewed by Raili Simojoki If you’ve read any of Craig Sherborne’s writing, you’ll know not to expect a rosy-eyed view of the world. The Amateur Science of Love follows the grim journey of a love affair gone wrong. Colin leaves the unglamorous environs of his parents’ farm … Continue reading Guest review: Raili Simojoki on The Amateur Science of Love by Craig Sherborne
Guest review: Imogen Baratta on Blue Skies by Helen Hodgman
Text Publishing 9781921758133, March 2011 (Aus) (also UK) Reviewed by Imogen Baratta Helen Hodgman’s Blue Skies tells the story of an unnamed young wife and mother living in the 'heart shaped island' of Tasmania. The agonising banality of her day-to-day life plays out within the confines of stark, suffocating suburbia, amid the manicured lawns and … Continue reading Guest review: Imogen Baratta on Blue Skies by Helen Hodgman
Johanna Adorján’s An Exclusive Love
Translated from the German by Anthea Bell (Aus, US, UK) Text Publishing, September 2010 9781921656569 Johanna Adorján’s grandparents took their own lives in October 1991. In this reserved and moving book Adorján pieces together the last day of their lives, interspersing this narrative with details of her grandparents' pasts, pieces of her own story, and musings on various related … Continue reading Johanna Adorján’s An Exclusive Love
Byron Bay Writers Festival 2010 diary, part 2
A sun-drenched and possibly superficial series of blog posts On Friday I had my first three panels. I won’t go into too much detail, but there were highlights – such as being on stage alongside Tom Cho on one, and Krissy Kneen on another (and not as a chair, but fellow writer); meeting Susan Wyndham, … Continue reading Byron Bay Writers Festival 2010 diary, part 2
Both ways is the only way she wants it: an interview with Maile Meloy
As the title indicates, Both Ways is the Only Way I Want it (Text, May 2010 in Aus, Riverhead US), Maile Meloy's engaging collection of stories, is about the fear, desire, pleasure, confusion and complications of wanting it both ways and sometimes having it so. It's like Guido's dilemma in Fellini's 8 1/2 - he wants … Continue reading Both ways is the only way she wants it: an interview with Maile Meloy
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