Book reviews of mainly modern & contemporary fiction
So, another year draws to a close, which means it’s time to sum up my reading over the past 12 months. I read 68 books, quite a bit down on previous years, but I read a higher percentage of women (62 per cent) than ever before. Over the course of the year I gave myself… Continue reading My favourite books of 2018
Fiction – hardcover; Little, Brown; 384 pages; 2019. Review copy courtesy of the publisher. Having read Jane Harper’s previous two novels — The Dry and Force of Nature — both of which I loved, I was super excited to hear there was a third in the offing and managed to secure myself a review copy… Continue reading ‘The Lost Man’ by Jane Harper
Fiction – Kindle edition; Faber & Faber; 320 pages; 2011. The Donor is typical Helen Fitzgerald fare. It’s dark and edgy and asks the question that all her novels seem to ask: if you were thrust into this moral dilemma, what would you do? The moral dilemma in this tightly plotted and fast-paced story set… Continue reading ‘The Donor’ by Helen FitzGerald
Fiction – paperback; Text Classics; 352 pages; 2014. First published in 1960, The Catherine Wheel features all of Elizabeth Harrower’s literary trademarks: a young woman, a claustrophobic relationship, a brooding atmosphere and brilliant psychological insights. Set in London during the 1950s, it’s a grim portrait of both the city and the troubled life of a… Continue reading ‘The Catherine Wheel’ by Elizabeth Harrower
Fiction – paperback; Text Publishing; 237 pages; 2017. Eva Hornung’s novel The Last Garden begins in dramatic fashion. On a mild Nebelung’s afternoon, Matthias Orion, having lived as an exclamation mark in the Wahrheit settlement and as the capital letter at home, killed himself. Matthias has already shot dead his wife, Ada, and destroyed many… Continue reading ‘The Last Garden’ by Eva Hornung
Fiction – Kindle edition; Giramondo; 264 pages; 2017. Immigration, including how we deal with refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants, is arguably the issue of our times. Felicity Castagna explores this often controversial subject in her novel No More Boats, which has been shortlisted for this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award. In Australia, the slogan “no… Continue reading ‘No More Boats’ by Felicity Castagna
Fiction – paperback; Pushkin (Vertigo); 304 pages; 2018. Emma Viskic’s debut novel, Resurrection Bay, is an unconventional slice of noir set in Melbourne, Australia. It’s unconventional because the main character, Caleb Zelic, is profoundly deaf but is such a skilled lip reader that few people realise his inability to hear. It’s also unconventional because it’s not… Continue reading ‘Resurrection Bay’ by Emma Viskic
Fiction – Kindle edition; Allen & Unwin; 214 pages; 2017. Nicole Trope’s domestic suspense The Secrets in Silence employs a dual narrative to tell the story of two troubled people — a teenage girl and a middle-aged woman — and how their lives become entwined in a strange and unusual way. Tara, a young teenager,… Continue reading ‘The Secrets in Silence’ by Nicole Trope
Fiction – Kindle edition; Fourth Estate; 400 pages; 2017. Review copy courtesy of the publisher. I read Catherine McKinnon’s Storyland about a month before it was longlisted for the 2018 Miles Franklin Literary Award. I’ve been in two minds about reviewing it, because it’s not available outside of Australia* — which makes it frustrating for… Continue reading ‘Storyland’ by Catherine McKinnon
Fiction – paperback; Penguin Modern Classics; 234 pages; 2007. I first read The Well, by Elizabeth Jolley, in the late 1980s, when my sister pressed it into my hand and told me I would love it. I have only vague memories of it, so when Lisa at ANZLitLovers announced she was going to host an Elizabeth… Continue reading ‘The Well’ by Elizabeth Jolley
Reading Matters 