Women’s Prize for Fiction US author Barbara Kingsolver has won the 2023 Women’s Prize for fiction, worth £30,000 (A$56,000), for her 10th novel, Demon Copperhead (Faber). Kingsolver is the first writer to have won the award twice, after previously winning in 2010 with her novel The Lacuna (Faber). Demon Copperhead is a reimagining of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, set in the Appalachian
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Gawler is a small town on the Adelaide plain, on the main road to the vineyards of the Barossa Valley. As the oldest country town in Australia, it was still very much a frontier settlement when Harry Coombe was born in 1859, his parents having met and married in the district
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Crime fiction is probably top of the list when popular appeal to readers is gauged. Producing a novel in this genre demands skill in plot, and of course, originality. The psychological thriller offers infinite possibilities because of the uniqueness of each individual. M.T. Edvardsson’s new novel, The Woman Inside, is a
Reviewed by Ian Lipke The Seven Sister Series, initiated by Lucinda Riley many years ago, will mean a lot more to readers brought up on the books than to those like myself, a newcomer entering at Book 8. However, one can rest assured that there is much to read from the eighth and final volume.
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke On reading the title of this book, King of Pride, I did not know whether the story to come would be about humans or animals. However, the cover also tells me that this book is the second in a King of Sin series and when I began reading about a conversation
Reviewed by Ian Lipke To align one’s name with an author who is highly regarded in the field of fiction is praise indeed. In the case of James Comey, the comparison is with John Grisham, the man widely regarded as having invented the legal thriller. Comey takes his readers deep inside the hate-filled and treacherous
Reviewed by Rod McLary This book is the most recent in the series Writers on Writers in which leading Australian writers reflect on another Australian writer who has inspired and fascinated them. In this one, Sarah Krasnostein reflects on Peter Carey and more specifically his True History of the Kelly Gang published in 2000. Peter
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
The Aurealis Awards were established in 1995 by Chimaera Publications, the publishers of Aurealis magazine, to recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers. The Aurealis Awards are intended to complement the Annual Australian National Science Fiction Convention’s Ditmar Awards and the Australian Children’s Book Council Awards and the various other state-based and national literary awards. Among the winning categories
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.