William Lane's latest novel, The salamanders, is a book that keeps you thinking from beginning to end. As I started it, I was thinking of it as a cross between Julian Davies' Crow mellow (my review), a satirical novel about a house party for artists and their patrons, and Emily Bitto's The strays (my review) about an … Continue reading William Lane, The salamanders (Review)
Australian literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: Memory of the World and Dorothea Mackellar
If you're an Australian, did you know that last week seven new entries were added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Australian Register? If not, let me start at the beginning ... with UNESCO's Memory of the World programme. Established in 1992, it's the documentary heritage equivalent of the World Heritage Site programme which protects physical sites of natural … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Memory of the World and Dorothea Mackellar
Maria Katsonis and Lee Kofman (eds), Rebellious daughters (Review)
To rebel or not to rebel, that is the question. At least, it's the question that interested memoirists Maria Katsonis and Lee Kofman who, having written their own stories about "conservative upbringings and subsequent rebellions", wanted to discover what other women could reveal about that "universal life experience", the rebellion against parents. This book, Rebellious daughters, is, obviously, … Continue reading Maria Katsonis and Lee Kofman (eds), Rebellious daughters (Review)
Stella Prize 2017 Longlist
"I feel like we're at the Oscars for nerds" tweeted Tracey Spicer, ABC Journalist, at tonight's announcement of the 2017 Stella Prize Longlist. Love it. Nerds of the world unite! When the longlist (of 12) was announced last year, I had read and reviewed only one of the books. By the end of the year, … Continue reading Stella Prize 2017 Longlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: Arnold Haskell on the Arts (2)
Back in November, I wrote a post on the Arts chapter in dance critic Arnold Haskell's book Waltzing Matilda and focused on theatre and literature. In this post, I'll look at his discussion of the press. "compares ... favourably" Haskell starts by saying that Australia's press started in a "thoroughly unprincipled and worthless manner", though he doesn't … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Arnold Haskell on the Arts (2)
Monday musings on Australian literature: The cost of literary awards
I must get better at noting who posts links on social media that I later take up and use on my blog. Today's post was inspired by an article posted on Twitter (I think) early last December last (and I now thank whoever it was who posted it!) The article is by The Sydney Morning … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The cost of literary awards
Louisa Atkinson, A voice from the country: January (Review)
Louisa Atkinson, as I wrote in a post a few years ago, was a pioneer Australian writer. She was a significant botanist, our first Australian-born woman novelist, and the first Australian woman to have a long-running column in a major newspaper. It was a natural history series titled A Voice from the Country which ran in The Sydney Morning Herald for … Continue reading Louisa Atkinson, A voice from the country: January (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Some Australian adventurers
Regular readers here may remember that last year I wrote a few posts (this, this and this) inspired by books I found while clearing out my late aunt's house. Well, here comes another. It's inspired by a book that was probably a school text because my aunt wrote her name and her school in the front cover. The book is Some … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Some Australian adventurers
Monday musings on Australian literature: Angela Savage and setting in fiction
I have several ideas for my next few Monday Musings, but another one popped up on the weekend as I was perusing my Twitter feed. I don't check Twitter regularly enough - it's impossible to keep up with all the social media sites don't you think? - but when I do I regularly find a … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Angela Savage and setting in fiction
Delicious descriptions: Louise Mack’s dialogue and satire
Over Christmas, during one of my conversations with Son Gums, he commented how he tires of meaningless conversations, conversations, for example, in which people discuss a television series they've seen but say nothing of note. He mimicked the sort of conversation he meant ... well, imagine my surprise when, in one of those surprising synchronicities, … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Louise Mack’s dialogue and satire
