Reviewed by Gerard Healy Gideon Haigh could theoretically open the batting for Australian cricket writers and the bowling for the English cohort, he’s that good. He’s also a very versatile writer full stop. In this collection of writings about the cricket tests between Australia and England starting in 1882, he covers an eclectic range of
Reviewed by Ian Lipke This book is very much a tongue in cheek account by a Fijian-Indian-Australian who refers to herself as culturally confused. In fact she has one of the sharpest minds to be found in the world of fiction. She demonstrates this in her new book A Disappearance in Fiji where readers are
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Discovered in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland in 1831 were the Lewis Chessmen which may constitute some of the few complete, surviving medieval chess sets. When found, the hoard contained 93 artifacts: 78 chess pieces, 14 tablemen and one belt buckle. Altogether, the hoard held almost four full chess sets—only one
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve A book such as this is a welcome antidote to the horrors of the daily news cycle. It is an inspirational account of how a group of dedicated young people, recognising the value of education, devoted their skills and energies to establishing and supporting the school of St Jude’s in Tanzania.
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Looking for a new book to read is not easy. Within our favourite genres, there is so much choice. How can we decide before forking out our hard-earned cash and then find that our choice wasn’t as inspired as we thought it was? The answer lies in in a paragraph or
Reviewed by Clare Brook I Fear My Pain Interests You by Stephanie LaCava resonates like poetry, her writing is spare, economical and yet so meticulous in imageries of place and sentiment. LaCava describes psychological suffering and estrangement in her protagonist who cannot feel physical pain. A real condition, apparently, known as congenital analgesia. Given that
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Kookaburra Cottage is the fifth novel by Australian writer Maya Linnell, a former country journalist and radio host. Maya also blogs for Romance Writers Australia, loves baking up a storm, tending to her rambling garden and raising her three children. These aspects of her life are clearly reflected in her novels.
Reviewed by Clare Brook For those readers who grew up having a parade of incomprehensible English Kings marched into their brains, they might shy away from Stephen Bates’ The Shortest History of The Crown believing no good could come from attempting to master this royal pageant. But be assured Bates has provided a most interesting
Reviewed by Richard Tutin This book by Shlomo Sand was first published in 2013 and translated into English in 2014. It has now been republished in 2023. Unfortunately, there has been no real explanation as to why this has happened. Even so, Sand touches on a very important topic that affects not only him but
Reviewed by Ian Lipke James Hynes begins his story in a manner as creative as the story itself. Readers are in no doubt as to Sparrow’s ancestry, but yet are they? The story later reveals a very different origin. This is the story of a man whose name may well be Jacob, a man who
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve This impressive volume, possessing meticulously researched facts often resulting from primary sources, is bound to appeal to any scholar interested in the beginnings of the Indian/English connections and the establishment of what was to become the vast British Empire. The English, long regarded as a nation of shopkeepers, at this stage
Reviewed by Ian Lipke I read Death of a Bookseller in a state of apathy, mildly amazed that such vulgar writing could be sold as “deliciously dark, unsettling, and utterly addictive”. The book is said to be a thriller; I found not even the vestiges of a thrill. Maybe I’m a worn-out curmudgeon who has
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Identity is by well-known American writer Nora Roberts. I have read many of her 225 romance novels, those set in a world of magic, as well as her ‘In Death Series’ written under the name J. D. Robb and enjoyed them. She has also written under the pseudonyms Jill March and
Reviewed by Gerard Healy This is a first-class crime novel by American writer Dennis Lehane, with a plot that builds steadily towards a tense show-down. But it’s the characters that make the story stand apart from the everyday: the more moral ones have foibles, while the wicked seem ordinary. It is set mainly in a
Reviewed by Gail McDonald Hugh Mackay is an Australian psychologist, social researcher, and author of 21 books. He was a weekly newspaper columnist for 25 years and a regular commentator on radio and television. He has made a lifelong study of the attitudes and behaviour of Australians. The Therapist is the story of Martha Elliott,