Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Less than 40 miles from the front line of fighting, during the first World War, a group of three hundred and fifty women from the US, Canada and Great Britain worked to rebuild northern France from 1917 to 1924. This novel, The Librarians of Rue de Picardie, by Janet Skeslien Charles
Reviewed by E. B. Heath Ageing and death are currently hot topics in the publishing world. No doubt influenced by a wave of Baby Boomers now facing the inevitable. But they are not the only group chasing immortality. There are many in affluent countries who are opting for their bodies to be preserved using the
Reviewed by Rod McLary The subtitle to this ultimately hopeful book is Finding our way back to compassion, hope and humanity implying of course that compassion, hope and humanity were lost somewhere along the way. This is the story of the 2017 review of the Oakden Older Persons’ Mental Health Service in Adelaide. The book’s
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Bren MacDibble’s middle grade novel, 9-13 years of age, imagines the aftermath of a world impacted by global warming and a pandemic that devastates mainly the male population. The story is centred in a village of women and children who subsist in a caring community living off the land in a
Reviewed by Richard Tutin The mention of Italy conjures up many thoughts in our minds. It might be the food, the wine or the coffee. It could also be the days of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. In amongst the reminiscences, there is often the question about the way in which this
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve This slender volume by Sydney writer, Sara Haddad, comes at a time when the world’s eyes are trained on the catastrophic events that daily occur in the Middle East. While much of the West is appalled by the relentless destruction wrought by Israel, Sara Haddad’s book does not engage in the
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve A small community in 1990s Ireland is the backdrop of Alan Murrin’s first novel, The Coast Road. Its focus is on three women’s battle with lives constrained by having to deal with their country’s law which made divorce illegal even in the face of challenging marriages. Colette, a passionate, uncompromising character
Reviewed by Rod McLary Apparently, there are a number of ‘ghost cities’ in China all of which have the infrastructure but lack any population. These uninhabited cities are the inspiration for this imaginative and labyrinthine novel by Brisbane writer Siang Lu. There are a number of narratives running through the novel but the consistent one
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Ouyang Yu’s view of the modern world is humorously summed up when he suggests that if Shakespeare wrote the famous quote “To be or….”, it would become “To be or not to be entertained”…. The general population is obsessed with money, sex, distractions, food and are merely ‘animals with clothes’. Poetry,
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Rethinking the world financial system is not something most of us are capable of. Even understanding the world financial system is no picnic. This is a story of two Australians who not only understood, but who set out to shake things up. Their extensive research and experience led them to conclude
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Fleur McDonald first introduced readers to Detective Dave Burrows in the early 2000s when he was the main character in her novel. Since then, he has appeared as a secondary character in sixteen contemporary novels. In this story, Shock Waves, he is the main character but at a time when he
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Among the many books written by Karen Swan (20 books – two a year) is her Wild Isle series which tells of the dramatic evacuation of St Kilda in 1930. St Kilda, two and a half miles off the mainland of Scotland is a cliff-walled island in the North Atlantic that
Reviewed by Richard Tutin In a park in the City of Bendigo Victoria sits a small building that represents an enduring link within the annals of Australian history. I refer to the Joss House Temple that was opened in 1871 as a place of worship for the Chinese community who came to Bendigo in search
Reviewed by Rod McLary The Walker Brothers once sang ‘breaking up is so very hard to do’ and those of us who have broken up with a loved one will know exactly what the Brothers mean. In his debut fiction novel, Jonathan Seidler explores the break-up of a marriage. As with much else in life,
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Sister Viv is the latest novel written by Grantlee Kieza OAM. He held senior editorial positions at The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Courier-Mail for many years and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his writing. He once said that Australian children were not being