By the time I reached about the 30% mark (on my Kindle) of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel, The luck of Barry Lyndon, I was reminded of a monologue by English comedian Cyril Fletcher which my father had on an old gramophone record. It's about a "lunatic" (this was in less linguistically-sensitive times) who decided to write a … Continue reading William Makepeace Thackeray, The luck of Barry Lyndon (#Review)
Month: June 2016
Monday musings on Australian literature: Recent books by Indigenous Australians
Next week, from 3rd to 10th of July, Lisa at ANZLitlovers is running her now annual Indigenous Literature Week. While she usually holds it during or near Australia's NAIDOC Week in order to support that program's goal of increasing awareness and understanding of indigenous Australian culture, she does in fact accept reviews of works by … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Recent books by Indigenous Australians
Jane Austen, a moral absolutist?
In my post on the Jane Austen Festival Australia a couple of months ago, I summarised the various papers presented at their day-long symposium. One of the papers was by a Marcus Adamson and his topic was "The ever absolute Miss Austen". Adamson's paper was a challenge to fully comprehend, partly because he referenced, in a … Continue reading Jane Austen, a moral absolutist?
Dorothy Johnston, Through a camel’s eye (Review)
When should I give up saying that I don't read crime? In the last seven years, I've posted nine reviews tagged crime fiction (of which one was a guest post). Perhaps just over one a year still qualifies as not reading crime? Then again, what's the point of saying it, if every now and then I do … Continue reading Dorothy Johnston, Through a camel’s eye (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: My Aussie reads of 1996
Today, I'm having a bit of fun - a little trip down memory lane, in fact. I was inspired in this by Canadian blogger Debbie (ExUrbanis) who recently wrote a post on her past reads. Ever on the lookout for ideas for Monday Musings, I leapt at this one. (I do a few ideas running around my head, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: My Aussie reads of 1996
Australian Women Writers 2016 Challenge completed
The time has come to write my annual completion post for my one challenge of the year, the Australian Women Writer's Challenge. As in previous years, I signed up for the top-level, Franklin, which involves reading 10 books and reviewing at least 6. I've exceeded this, and I plan to continue to add to the challenge, as I've done in … Continue reading Australian Women Writers 2016 Challenge completed
Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Some of the most vivid memories of my Sydney-based late teens and early twenties relate to spending time with Jewish people, business friends of my father. We went to parties in their homes, to weddings and bar mitzvahs. These were always happy, family-oriented occasions. I had crushes on the sons. I knew that most of these people had come … Continue reading Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers, loquacious?
It's a brave person who tries to characterise a nation's literature. But this is apparently what Australian-French writer Jean-Francois Vernay has done in his book A brief take on the Australian novel (published this year by Wakefield Press). I haven't read the book, but Lisa (ANZLitLovers) is currently reading it, and she challenged me to write … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers, loquacious?
Kate Chopin, A pair of silk stockings (Review)
Over the years, the Library of America's (LOA) Story of the Week has published seven short stories by Kate Chopin, and I've posted on four of them. Now comes my fifth. It was actually published in February. I noted it, printed it out, but have only now found time to sit down and read it, and of … Continue reading Kate Chopin, A pair of silk stockings (Review)
Charlotte Wood, The natural way of things (Review)
Well, I wrote this week's Monday musings on Australian dystopian fiction as a lead in to my review of Charlotte Wood's award-winning The natural way of things, but I wasn't expecting to get the perfect intro for my review! In the post's comments, author and publisher Anna Blay pointed us to an article by Maria Popova in … Continue reading Charlotte Wood, The natural way of things (Review)
Whispering Gums 