Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Just when you might have thought the time travel, body exchange trope had, through sheer over use, ground itself into the nearest literary grave – it’s back. And, I loved it! Why? Well, to paraphrase William S, it’s all about hope springing eternal in young adult fiction. In It’s Not You,
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve A green-eyed talking ginger tabby is a quirky character to steer the reader’s attention into considering the value, importance and power of books. Fantasy, colourful and intriguing, equips a narrative that is both charming and thought provoking. Besides this well-read, even philosophical feline, who is able to quote from The Little
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Malachy is very difficult to read at times, as a reader’s tears blur the text which beautifully relates the birth and subsequent traumas baby Malachy and his family endured. Impossible not to be moved by the shock of realising that the little newborn is not facing a joyous childhood, carefree and
The final shortlist of six novels has been revealed for this year’s Booker Prize. As always, the lucky winners will be the readers. The final six includes debut novelist Patricia Lockwood with No One Is Talking About This. Damon Galgut makes the list for the third time with The Promise, and Richard Powers makes his second shortlist
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The art work on its cover accompanied by a line of music with lyrics reading “It moves both ways And all ways – like breath” is a perfect intimation of the book’s content. The writer devoted much of the fourteen chapters to both the impact and importance of kindness, as essential
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Inverell farmer and political lobbyist, Mal Peters, ‘talks the talk’ that politicians and bureaucrats have to hear if the Murray-Darling River basin is ever to be returned to its days of continued health. It is a very sick place. Peters explodes when talk of another reform process is mooted: …the Australian
The State Library has announced the 2021 winners of the literary awards. Queensland Premier’s Award for a work of State Significance Biting the Clouds by Fiona Foley University of Queensland Press The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson Hachette Australia. For the full list of all the winners,
The winner of the Award for 2021 is Truganini by Cassandra Pybus. The story of Truganini, a Nuenonne woman from Bruny Island off Tasmania, is shrouded in myth for almost two centuries. In this clear-eyed work, Pybus charts the ‘agonising accretion of unspeakable loss’ endured by Truganini, her people and other clans in 1800s colonial
Reviewed by E.B. Heath Even some of the best crime authors are so plot oriented that, in the telling, prose styles become formulaic, train tracks for speedy storylines. And the crime stands alone, left unconnected to broader community issues, like a cryptic crossword writ large and woven into a simulated time and place. None of
Reviewed by Ian Lipke How easy it is to remain in ignorance or completely forget important events, incidents that happened in history that should never have been allowed to recede from our memories? Who can admit to knowing the details of the Black War of the late 1820s that scourged the southeast of Tasmania? I
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke When I first saw the cover of this book, I had no idea as to the narrative that would be revealed. The cover depicts the painting Down on his Luck by Australian artist Fredrick McCubbin which has superimposed on it, Jean-Honore Fragonard’s The Swing, one of the best-known pieces of what
Review by Richard Tutin This edition of Griffith Review explores the concept of utopia. Since Sir Thomas More published his work on the ideal nature of a utopian society in 1516, many writers have added their thoughts on this topic raising questions about its nature and asking if a perfect society can exist. For More,
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve The vineyards and townships of South Australia’s Clare Valley are the delightful backdrop to this light-hearted romp with a dash of a possible murder mystery. It offers vicarious pleasures of gourmet meals, tantalising wine tastings, even pottery making and glass blowing. The characters are all ageing, nudging their sixties, but are
Reviewed by Ian Lipke Down around the Snowy ‘where the pine-clad ridges raise/ their torn and rugged battlements on high’ there’s a barney going on, and it’s a beauty. No confinement to angry words but rather ‘a fisticuffs at dawn’ sort of brawling. And the reason for all this ill-will remains blithely ignorant of all
Reviewed by Rod McLary If you ever have a young friend or relative who is feeling cranky with the world or – perhaps closer to home – a sibling, this may well be an excellent book to bring out and, in a comfortable place, read it aloud to them. The subtitle to this charming and