Reviewed by Ian Lipke Robert Harris’s new book has at its centre The Indemnity and Oblivion Act 1660, an Act of the English Parliament. It was a general pardon for everyone who had committed crimes during the English Civil War and subsequent Commonwealth period, apart from certain serious crimes that were identified, and people named
Reviewed by Rod McLary T [or Timothy] is a tweaker – a slang term for someone who is addicted particularly to methamphetamines [or meth] – and is the protagonist of this uncompromising but lyrical novel describing the world inhabited by those who are dealing in or using – or both – illicit drugs. Just as
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Bruce Pascoe reminds Frank Byrne’s readers that “this is a very strong story of survival. A tragic reminder of the harshness and unfairness of the mission era but also the toughness and determination of our people”; while Jo Dutton writes that “Frank Byrne was a gentleman in every sense. He spoke softly
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The chief characters Sidonie (Sid) and Zennor (Zen) are good detectives- but definitely not dead, as the title suggests. It is a clever play on words, where ‘dead’ means, in current vernacular, excellent; but, at the same time, the clients for Sid and Zen are actually dead and fast fading away.
Reviewed by Ian Lipke The name Andrea Wulf has the hearts of both publishers and reviewers pumping at increased velocity. She is an author who was born in India, moved to Germany, but now lives in England. She is the author of several highly acclaimed books, the winner of numerous international awards, and most importantly,
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Burnt-out from policework, Detective Sergeant George Manolis flies from Australia to Greece for a holiday. Recently divorced and mourning the death of his father, who emigrated from the turbulent Prespes region which straddles the borders of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia, Manolis hopes to reconnect with his roots and heritage. However,
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Lucy Worsley has recently produced a biography of the writer, Agatha Christie, in which she shows unequivocally that the world in which her subject was born in 1890 had rules that defined what women could and could not do. Christie’s world, for example, frowned severely on women who had the temerity
Reviewed by Gail McDonald Di Morrissey is an Australian author who has written many novels centred around various locations in Australia. This book The Night Tide is no different in that it is set in the Pittwater area of Sydney’s northern beaches. Di Morrissey trained as a journalist working in newspapers, magazines, television, film, theatre
The winners of the 2022 Queensland Literary Awards have been announced. The winners in each category are: Queensland Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance ($25,000) Wounded Country (Quentin Beresford, NewSouth) Fiction Book Award ($15,000) The Other Half of You (Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Hachette) Nonfiction Book Award ($15,000) Lies, Damned Lies (Claire G Coleman, Ultimo). The winners,
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The Tap Cats of the Sunshine Coast initially appears to be a heartwarming tale of tap-dancing friends performing and enjoying life in the idyllic coast north of Brisbane. What starts as a picture of three friends who have known each other since schooldays, develops into one of conflict, challenge, self-discovery, and
Reviewed by Ian Lipke If you prefer an easy read, I suggest you look elsewhere than R.F. Kuang’s Babel or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution. This multi-barreled title is more than sufficient to persuade me to return the book to the shelves. The subtitle offers only confusion, yet
The shortlist for the 2022 Booker Prize has been announced. The six books shortlisted for the £50,000 (A$85,510) prize are: Glory (NoViolet Bulawayo, Viking) The Trees (Percival Everett, Influx) Treacle Walker (Alan Garner, Fourth Estate) The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (Shehan Karunatilaka, Sort of Books) Small Things Like These (Claire Keegan, Faber) Oh William! (Elizabeth Strout, Viking). The shortlisted titles
Reviewed by Richard Tutin I don’t think that too many people watching the Tour de France on their electronic devices or are lucky enough to stand roadside on the route of one of the stages give much thought, if any, to the behind-the-scenes makeup of the race itself. They see the riders giving their all
Reviewed by Rod McLary Someone once said that good book titles should be ‘short, evocative and unique’. On all three counts, the title of Chris Flynn’s new book succeeds admirably. The word ‘leviathans’ itself conjures up monsters of the deep or something large and formidable – but it can also mean something unknown or beyond
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke When I first read the title of this book, I envisaged a young girl growing up in the opal fields with her middle-aged father. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The opal miner in Fiona McArthur’s story is a mature woman who, unlike her husband, couldn’t settle for life in retirement