Granted, my fiction contains more than its share of invention, but when I'm not writing fiction I don't go out of my way to make up meaningless stories. (from "Chance traveller", 2005) This is as good a way as any to commence my review of Haruki Murakami’s recent short story collection, Blind willow, sleeping woman, … Continue reading Haruki Murakami, Blind willow, sleeping woman
Author: Whispering Gums
Indigenous Australian stories – and digital technologies
In my recent on the literary road post, I referred briefly to Indigenous Australian stories. Rather coincidentally, I have just spent three days at a conference titled Information Technology and Indigenous Communities, hosted, primarily, by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) with the aim of exploring "the ever-increasing use of … Continue reading Indigenous Australian stories – and digital technologies
Hilary McPhee on Australian writing
I was going to write my next post on why I like short stories - as a prelude to my next review - when I heard on the radio today that Hilary McPhee has just edited a book of Australian short fiction. To most Australians, Hilary McPhee is - and if she's not she should … Continue reading Hilary McPhee on Australian writing
On the literary (cultural) road, in the Top End
Last month, Mr Gums and I holidayed in the Top End (of Downunder). I'm not quite sure where the Top End ends as it is a loose description for the northern part of Australia's Northern Territory, but I believe it encompasses all the areas we visited. For ten days, we explored Katherine and Nitmiluk National Park … Continue reading On the literary (cultural) road, in the Top End
The importance of tone
And I'm not talking muscle tone, as important as that is! This is a litblog after all, and so what I am talking about is the tone of a piece of writing. It's important to me - it's often what engages me first and what can keep me going when, say, the plot is weak … Continue reading The importance of tone
Louann Brizendine, The female brain
Beware - the F-word is coming! Yes, Feminism. It might be a dirty word in some quarters, but I regard myself as a feminist - 1970s style - and so I approached Brizendine's best-selling book, The female brain, with my cautionary antennae out. It's not the sort of book I would necessarily have chosen myself … Continue reading Louann Brizendine, The female brain
John M. Duncan, A Virginia barbecue
Now for something different from the Library of America - a little 3-page excerpt, titled "A Virginia Barbecue", from Scotsman John M. Duncan's Travels through part of the United States and Canada in 1818 and 1819, which was published in 1823. In it, Duncan describes a barbecue to which he was invited by Bushrod (what a … Continue reading John M. Duncan, A Virginia barbecue
What my bookgroup will be reading for the rest of 2010
I haven't done this before - that is, discussed my reading group in my blog - but I thought I'd share the schedule my group decided on last night for the rest of the year. Our practice is to make our selections twice a year: 6 books for the first half of the year, and … Continue reading What my bookgroup will be reading for the rest of 2010
Eva Hornung, Dog boy
I first read Eva Hornung when she was writing as Eva Sallis. It was her second novel The city of sealions, which is a pretty passionate and evocatively written exploration of cultural alienation and dislocation brought about primarily by migration. In some ways Dog boy explores similar concerns, but its alienation is played out in a … Continue reading Eva Hornung, Dog boy
Jeffrey Eugenides, Extreme solitude
I've only read one work by Jeffrey Eugenides, and that was his grand saga of an immigrant family in America, Middlesex. I enjoyed its sweep and the insight it provided into the social history of twentieth century America from an immigrant point of view, and I liked the way he mixed light and dark in … Continue reading Jeffrey Eugenides, Extreme solitude
Whispering Gums 