Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Occasionally, in some popular Scandinavian television series, the Nordic indigenous minority, the Sami, appear. Stolen is a gripping account of life in the tundra of northern Sweden, where a group of Sami live in a small village. Reindeer are an integral part of their lives; their knowledge of the herds’ ways,
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend It is said of Genevieve Novak that she writes character-led romantic comedies, perhaps the genre needs expanding, the first category being unlikely fantasy in-a-perfect-world- romcom, or, in the case of Novak’s Crushing, truth-revealing, the-thinking-person’s-romcom. Novak’s writing is insightful and witty, her characters messy, fun, and, finally, brave, as they realise that
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This is not the first book that I have read with a similar plot. A small group of people finds themselves in an out-of-the-way place, isolated when something unexpected happens. It is what happens to them that makes this story different. For me this story was overly seasoned with sexual innuendo,
Reviewed by Gail McDonald This is a great story for young children of two to five, of a mother and child who visit a beach on a windy day. The story focuses on the child and her dog exploring the deserted beach finding strands of seaweed and a tiny pink heart shaped shell. On each
Reviewed by Rod McLary Even though this is the author’s second book [his debut novel was Twelve Secrets] I had not previously heard of him. As the novel’s title is Eleven Liars and the previous one is called Twelve Secrets, there is more than a suggestion that we are at the beginning of a series
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Stephanie Bishop is a well-known writer according to the critiques I’ve read. The critics, to a woman, are fulsome in their praise, yet when I review her latest book The Anniversary, I’m thrown into doubt. She begins by telling us that novelist JB Blackwood has taken a holiday with her husband
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Michael Meehan has set his tale in the early 1700s in France during the long reign of King Louis XIV. The lad Antoine Forqueray and later his son Jean-Baptiste had the unenviable reputations of being the only musicians in France capable of performing at a highly sophisticated level on the viola
Reviewed by Tricia Simms-Reeve When our lives are battered by interest rate hikes, cost of living pressures and the environmental devastation of floods or fire, it is a very welcome relief to read Toni Jordan’s latest novel. She handles a family’s dramas with clever humour and delightful descriptions. Her characters’ everyday lives, although ordinary, are
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Simply Lies is an uncomplicated title that describes more than adequately the latest yarn by David Baldacci. The characters create a mindset in which to tell a lie and then maintain it with the simplicity of truth. One chapter begins with a character introduced as Arlene Robinson. She is most plausible
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The 21st Century has seen a marked change in attitudes. Many traditional beliefs have been questioned and people are more prepared to speak out to support their ideas. The children’s book, Jamie, by L. D. Lapinski highlights some of these changes. The main character and narrator is 11 year old Jamie
Reviewed by Richard Tutin I don’t think Australian cricket lovers have really come to grips with the depth and diversity of the modern form of the game. Though they are familiar with the traditional cycle of tests, one day internationals and now T20, they may not be aware of how many countries field teams and
Reviewed by Rod McLary Sebastian Barry is one of our finest writers. His previous novels have twice won the Costa Book of the Year [in 2008 and 2017], the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and two have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Days Without End and A Thousand Moons, his two most recent novels,
Reviewed by Rod McLary Readers will come to this new book by Eleanor Catton with memories of her winning the Booker Prize in 2013 with her novel The Luminaries. Aged just 28, she was the youngest-ever winner; and The Luminaries was a complex and lengthy historical mystery. Ten years later, Birnam Wood is a different
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Juan Gómez-Jurado is a new writer to my stable. I was impressed. The publisher has made a feature of the fact that the writer is new and exciting, a practice that makes me look askance at the claims for the merits of the book. In this case, however, the inflated descriptions
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Inner Song is the life in print of a woman most Australians will never have heard of. This does not make her less worthy of the plaudits that are finally beginning to be attached to her name, but simply describes what happens to those whose head stretches above the pack, if