Last week I read on Cat Politics' blog that Kate McGarrigle - one part of the Kate and Anna McGarrigle duo - had died just shy of her 64th birthday. How very sad. Like Cat Politics I discovered the McGarrigles in the 1970s, and over the years have acquired a few of their albums: Kate … Continue reading Vale Kate McGarrigle
Author: Whispering Gums
Australia Post’s new set of Living Legends
Does the choice of writers for Australia Post's Australian Legends of the Written Word look a little one-sided to you? Here is the list: Peter Carey David Malouf Colleen McCullough Bryce Courtenay Thomas Keneally Tim Winton The Guardian books blog - Australian writers' stamps send the wrong message - suggests so, and has a bit … Continue reading Australia Post’s new set of Living Legends
Don DeLillo, Midnight in Dostoevsky
Do reading synchronicities affect our comprehension? Well of course they do, since everything we do affects our comprehension to some degree doesn't it? Anyhow, I have just read Don DeLillo's short story, "Midnight in Dostoevsky" (you can read it here), and, as I read it, I couldn't help bringing to mind Salman Rushdie's The enchantress … Continue reading Don DeLillo, Midnight in Dostoevsky
Leslie Geddes-Brown, Books do furnish a room
There was no resisting this book - Books do furnish a room - when I saw it on a table in the National Library of Australia's bookshop. It's rare for me to buy a coffee-table book but ... this is one gorgeous book. It is lavishly illustrated with images of books in pretty well every room … Continue reading Leslie Geddes-Brown, Books do furnish a room
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
An interesting question to ponder when thinking about Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall is the significance of the title. While the place Wolf Hall, the family seat of the Seymour family, does get a few mentions it does not really function as a location. Wolves, however, are one of the subtle motifs running through the novel. … Continue reading Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Historical fiction…some brief thoughts
I have never really thought of myself as a reader of historical fiction but of course I have read quite a bit of historical fiction, not because I seek it as a genre but because some of the, for want of a better word, literary fiction that comes my way is, also, historical fiction. Take … Continue reading Historical fiction…some brief thoughts
Coffee-time counsel
En route to our hedonistic hiking location we traditionally stop for lunch at the historic and delightfully rustic Crackenback Cottage and Restaurant. We've noticed over the years that they seem to like to tease their guests with words and ideas...and of course these particular guests are not averse to that! My first example though comes … Continue reading Coffee-time counsel
Salman Rushdie, The enchantress of Florence
Where to begin? Salman Rushdie's latest novel, The enchantress of Florence is one of those books-writ-large: its canvas is broad, its structure a little complex and it has a large character set. In other words, you need your wits about you as you read this one. This is only my third Rushdie. Like most keen … Continue reading Salman Rushdie, The enchantress of Florence
Simon Armitage’s The odyssey
Mostly when we travel we listen to the radio or music, but on our recent trip we listened to a 3-CD dramatisation of Homer's The odyssey. The set was lent to us; the dramatisation was done by poet Simon Armitage for BBC-4. As my friend who lent it to us said, you need to get … Continue reading Simon Armitage’s The odyssey
Hedonistic hiking
"Hedonistic hiking" is the title of an article in a glossy little ("free at selected tourist outlets in Australia" but otherwise $24.95pa) magazine I picked up in Melbourne a couple of months ago. The mag is called essentials magazine: culture, culinary, adventure. Can you tell me how the word "culinary" fits in there syntactically? The … Continue reading Hedonistic hiking
Whispering Gums 