Reviewed by Rod McLary The great late crime novelist P. D. James once said ‘all fiction is largely autobiographical’ and this observation is borne out by Josh Silver’s debut novel HappyHead. The author says [in ‘Josh Silver – in his own words’ at the conclusion of the novel] that, like his protagonist Seb Seaton, he
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Wow! The Iron Widow is a wild Young Adult read. Xiran Jay Zhao expands on concepts drawn from a range of pop culture and Chinese mythology to deliver an imaginative Sc Fi retelling of the only female emperor in Chinese history – Wu Zetian. In this, Zhao powerfully forwards the idea
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Few educated Australians could immediately speak with authority when prompted by the name Barron Field. This Colonial administrator and law maker was born into wealth and admitted to the bar in 1814. Although law was his career, his passion was literature. This was the time of the Romantic movement when Field
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Australians love their sport. Television and streaming networks pay big money to get the rights to broadcast all forms of sport from cricket and football through to car racing and the summer and winter Olympics. Some networks specialise their focus on one or two different formats. Others such as the Seven
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Dominic Smith has the gift of transporting a reader to an unfamiliar world, but brings it to life with writing that is carefully chosen, beautiful and haunting. In the Last Painting of Sara De Vos, it was the era of the great Dutch Masters. In his latest novel, Return to Valetto,
Reviewed by Rod McLary While the history of the transportation of many thousands of convicts to Australia from 1788 to 1868 is well-known to most Australians, the fate of thousands of abandoned children is less well-known. But their stories are critical to a fuller understanding of our history. But who are these abandoned children and
Reviewed by Richard Tutin When Oliver Smith’s The Atlas of Abandoned Places was listed in the catalogue I couldn’t resist asking if I could review it. There is something about reading the stories of forgotten buildings and places that holds my attention. I am not alone in this because as well as books such as
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The title itself indicates an exciting tale is about to be revealed and it instantly captures a reader’s attention with its positive message – having life is tremendous. The bygone revolutions, agrarian and industrial, have made way for the new age of science and technology. As a result, educators are beseeched
Reviewed by Richard Tutin We like to think that the days of Empire and Imperial might are over. Much has been written about the exploitation exercised by the British Empire during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries on countries such as India and Africa. The effects of this still live on to the present day. After
Reviewed by Rod McLary The final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was handed down in December 2017. For many people, it was perhaps the first time that the extent of child sexual abuse in trusted and respected organisations was exposed. The Royal Commission conducted 57 case studies and
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Tariq Ali does not like Winston Churchill. He dislikes the war-time leader of Great Britain with a passion. Everything Churchill stood for such as his love of the British Empire, desire to defeat the Axis powers during World War II and his aim to remove Adolf Hitler from the Chancellorship of
Reviewed by Clare Brook Whatever Next? Lessons from an Unexpected Life is a memoir of a privileged life by Anne Glenconner. Born Lady Anne Coke, the eldest daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester in 1932, she grew up at Holkham Hall in Norfolk, England. This is her second memoir, the first published in 2019,
Reviewed by Rod McLary Australia in the nineteenth century was largely uncivilised and violent. Much of the violence was directed at the Indigenous peoples as the spreading European settlements encroached more and more on the Indigenous lands. In retaliating, the Indigenous peoples were essentially protecting the lands they saw as being taken away from them
Reviewed by Patricia Simms Reeve This is a first novel by Joanna Jenkins, herself a partner in an international law firm before deciding to write full-time. Her experience has given this thriller a marked ring of authenticity as she recounts the stresses and demands of a large, successful firm that is driven to acquire lucrative
Reviewed by Gerard Healy This is a Young Adult novel with dollops of darkness mixed in with some light. The story centres on fifteen-year-old Emily and her twin brother Alex, who live with their ailing father on a rural property outside Warrnambool, Victoria. Now the author of this fine little book is Paul Jennings and