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)
Author: Whispering Gums
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)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Dystopian fiction
For some reason, I'm often drawn to dystopian fiction. In my younger days I read Nevil Shute's On the beach (probably my first book of this ilk) and then, of course, George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's A brave new world, moving later on to books like Margaret Atwood's A handmaid's tale and Cormac McCarthy's The road, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Dystopian fiction
My literary week (2), or so
No, I'm not going to write weekly "My literary week" posts - my last one was, anyhow, two weeks ago - but sometimes things happen that I want to share, and bundling them up seems the best way to do it. Miles Franklin Award Shortlist The shortlist for Australia's best known literary award was announced last … Continue reading My literary week (2), or so
Washington Irving, The adventure of the German student (Review)
Washington Irving (1783-1859) is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" and "The legend of Sleepy Hollow", but in fact he was a prolific writer and, according to Wikipedia, is often credited as being America's first "man of letters". I was fascinated to read in Wikipedia that, as well as being a writer, he … Continue reading Washington Irving, The adventure of the German student (Review)
Sonya Hartnett, Golden boys (Review)
Although Sonya Hartnett has written a large number of books, for children, young adults and adults, I've never read her, which is something I've been wanting to rectify. My opportunity came in May when my reading group scheduled her latest novel, Golden boys, for discussion. It was shortlisted for several awards last year, including the Miles Franklin Award - … Continue reading Sonya Hartnett, Golden boys (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Spotlight on Charlotte Wood
This is the third in my occasional series of Spotlight posts inspired by Annette Marfording's Celebrating Australian Writing: Conversations with Australian Authors. (See the end of this post for links to the first two.) Since Charlotte Wood won this year's Stella Prize, the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction (NSW Premier's Literary Awards), and has just been shortlisted for … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Spotlight on Charlotte Wood
Finlay Lloyd: Celebrating 10 Years of Publishing
This weekend I attended a delightful event run by the National Library of Australia's bookshop. It was an afternoon of author readings to celebrate the 10th anniversary of independent small publisher Finlay Lloyd, which is based in Braidwood, about an hour's drive from here. It is run by two men, author Julian Davies and artist Phil Day. … Continue reading Finlay Lloyd: Celebrating 10 Years of Publishing
Whispering Gums 