Yesterday I posted my review of Sara Dowse's novel As the lonely fly, which centres on the lives of three sisters (well, primarily, two sisters, and the daughter of the other sister), and today, playwright Joanna Murray-Smith mentioned another book about sisters, Shirley Hazzard's The transit of Venus, when giving her Top Shelf on Radio National's … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Sisters in Australian fiction
Australian literature
Sara Dowse, As the lonely fly (#BookReview)
Some books grow out of their author's desire to engage the reader in an issue they feel passionate about, such as Jane Rawson on climate change in A wrong turn at the Office of Unmade Lists (my review) and Charlotte Wood on the scapegoating of women in The natural way of things (my review). Sara Dowse's … Continue reading Sara Dowse, As the lonely fly (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: NLA Publishing, and some free e-Books
I was idly following links around the 'net over the weekend and somehow ended up at NLA Publishing's site. For those of you who don't know, they are the publishing arm of the National Library of Australia. I first mentioned them back in 2011 when I referred to publisher Alec Bolton as the person who established … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: NLA Publishing, and some free e-Books
Monday musings on Australian literature: ABDA 2017 Shortlist
Five years ago, I wrote a Monday Musings on book design, in which I featured three book designers. I've mentioned book design occasionally since then but, having just seen the shortlist for this year's ABDA (Australian Book Design Awards) which are sponsored by the ABDA (the Australian Book Designers Association), I've decided to write another … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: ABDA 2017 Shortlist
AS Patrić, Black rock white city (Review)
With that extended conflict known as the Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001) now over for more than a decade, we are starting to see books written about them. I've reviewed two on this blog to date, Aminatta Forna's novel The hired man (2013) (my review) on the Croatian War of Independence, and Olivera Simić's memoir Surviving peace (2014) (my review) on … Continue reading AS Patrić, Black rock white city (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Aussie novels titled with foreign place names
I've done two Monday Musings posts inspired by Tony (from Tony's Book World) - one on novels with real place names in their titles and one with fictional. To complete the trifecta, I thought why not look at Australian novels with foreign place names in their titles. This turned out to be rather fun to do. Many … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Aussie novels titled with foreign place names
Maxine Beneba Clarke, The hate race: A memoir (Review)
This is how it changes us. This is how we are altered. Maxine Beneba Clarke's Stella Prize short-listed memoir, The hate race, is one powerful book. I've been reading about racism since my teens during the Civil Rights years, and have read many moving novels and memoirs. Clarke's book holds its own in this company. The … Continue reading Maxine Beneba Clarke, The hate race: A memoir (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Aussie novels titled with fictional place names
Last week, inspired by Tony (from Tony's Book World)'s post, I posted on novels with places in their titles. I limited my titles then to "real" places, but in my research I came across many books with fictional places in their titles, so, well, you know what I decided to do with that! There are good reasons for … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Aussie novels titled with fictional place names
Carmel Bird, Family skeleton (Review)
I love a cheeky writer, and Carmel Bird must be the doyenne of cheeky writers, so it goes without saying, really, that I thoroughly enjoyed her latest novel Family Skeleton. The cheekiness starts with the epigraph, which, as she is wont to do, is a quote from her fictional character Carillo Mean. As Bird has … Continue reading Carmel Bird, Family skeleton (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Aussie novels titled with place names
I was searching around for a light, fun idea for this week's Monday Musings, as life is a bit busy at present, when up popped in my inbox Tony (from Tony's Book World)'s post on novels with city or town names in their titles. That seemed like just the thing: it demanded a little thinking but … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Aussie novels titled with place names
