How often do you read a book that connects in some ways with something you've recently read or thought about? Kate Jennings' award-winning Moral hazard, my latest read, links pretty directly to our discussion about autobiographical fiction in my Monday Musings post on Robert Dessaix two weeks ago. Dessaix, you may remember, criticised Garner's The spare room (and other works) arguing she was just … Continue reading Kate Jennings, Moral hazard (Review)
Australian literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: Blak and Bright
I should have written about the Blak and Bright last Monday, as the Festival was held last weekend, but unfortunately I only heard about it - my inattention, I'm sure - a few days ago, via an ABC RN program (which you can listen to online). However, although the actual Festival is now over, I think it's still … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Blak and Bright
Delicious descriptions: Gerald Murnane’s landscape and imagination
A couple of years ago I reviewed Gerald Murnane's The plains. I found it a mesmerising book, but a challenging one to fully get my head around, to grasp and hang onto what I'd grasped. Then a couple of days ago, I reviewed his memoir, Something for the pain: A memoir of the turf. It … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Gerald Murnane’s landscape and imagination
Monday musings on Australian literature: Spotlight on Robert Dessaix
Last year, I published a guest post by Annette Marfording, who was, for many years, the Program Director of the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival. At the time of this post, she had just self-published her book, Celebrating Australian Writing: Conversations with Australian Authors, containing a selection of interviews she'd conducted over many years with a wide range of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Spotlight on Robert Dessaix
Stella Prize 2016 Longlist
The announcement of the Stella Prize Longlist is a red-letter day for the Australian Women Writers Challenge ... and also for me of course. So, today, I share the list with you. The shortlist will be announced on March 10. The judges look good to me: writer Emily Maguire, memoirist/essayist Alice Pung, author/academic Brenda Walker, … Continue reading Stella Prize 2016 Longlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: National Libraries Day (UK)
Caroline of Book Word blog has written a wonderful post about National Libraries Day in the UK, which took place just this last weekend, on Saturday, 6th February. Caroline provides three witnesses to argue for the value of libraries: Peter Balaba, Head Librarian, Nakaseke Community Library, Uganda, who talks about the outreach programs they provide in a book-poor … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: National Libraries Day (UK)
Steve Toltz, Quicksand (Review)
Aldo Benjamin, the anti-hero of Quicksand, accuses wannabe-writer-friend Liam of having "such little imagination". You could not, however, accuse the novel's author, Steve Toltz, of this. Quicksand reads a bit like a 19th century satirical novel transplanted into the 21st century. It is big in size (though not as big as his first, A fraction of the whole), broad in subject … Continue reading Steve Toltz, Quicksand (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: New Australian releases for 2016
With the first month of 2016 already gone, I thought it was time I had a look around to see what new works are in the pipeline this year from our Aussie authors. This is a serendipitous list, partly because tracking down this information isn't easy and partly because I'm more interested in providing a flavour … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: New Australian releases for 2016
Halina Rubin, Journeys with my mother (Review)
I've read a lot of World War 2 literature over the years, but very little from the Polish point of view, so I was more than willing to read Halina Rubin's Journeys with my mother when it was offered to me a few months ago. Rubin was born in Warsaw on 27 August 1939. Note the date: her mother, … Continue reading Halina Rubin, Journeys with my mother (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Aussie writing duos
My inspiration for Monday Musings comes from various sources - my own interests, roving around Trove, news articles or stories I come across, or other bloggers. Today's post was inspired by Lisa's (ANZLitLovers) post on Gert Loveday's novel, Writing is easy. Gert Loveday is a collective pseudonym for two sisters, Joan Kerr and Gabrielle Daly. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Aussie writing duos
