I know the sad truth. About everything. (Craig Silvey, Jasper Jones) In past posts, I've talked of enjoying coming-of-age novels (aka bildungsroman) and so today I thought I'd share 5 (cos 5 seems like a manageable number for a list like this - and gives you an opportunity to contribute your own!) Australian novels in … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The Australian bildungsroman
Literary style
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Barbara Hanrahan on the sun
When you read do you come across passages that you just want to hang onto forever - but (if you're a blogger) when you go to write your blog review you can't quite make them fit? I do, and have been pondering for some time what to do about it. Then, suddenly, it came to … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Barbara Hanrahan on the sun
On being a taxonomical reviewer
I was reading a review this morning of a poetry anthology, and the reviewer, one Dr. Martin Duwell I believe, said that the book "encourages the taxonomist in me". Ah, I thought, a person after my own heart ... because I too have a taxonomical bent in my approach to literature. (I am, it has … Continue reading On being a taxonomical reviewer
The long and short of it, novelistically speaking
The novella has ambivalence built into its DNA. It’s neither one thing nor the other and tends to make you think even as it lures you down blind alleys and serves up irresolute endings. (The Daily Beast) Readers of this blog know that I am partial to short novels, particularly novellas. I always feel a … Continue reading The long and short of it, novelistically speaking
On polishing Jane Austen’s halo
My American friend Peggy who, several years ago, very generously sent me the Pride and Prejudice Game, has now sent me a link to a short interview - with a transcript - conducted on NPR (National Public Radio) with Dr Kathryn Sutherland. Sutherland is the academic who has been researching Austen's manuscripts for the last three … Continue reading On polishing Jane Austen’s halo
Jane Austen’s manuscripts: Is she the writer we think she is?
Well, it's all over the web, Jane Austen's manuscripts are full, FULL they say, of errors. They're being formally launched tomorrow, Monday 25 October, so we can all see them then, though as far as I can tell they are already up: Jane Austen's Fictional Manuscripts. Is something more going up tomorrow? Or is this just … Continue reading Jane Austen’s manuscripts: Is she the writer we think she is?
On endings – in novels, that is
Australian writer, Amanda Lohrey, was interviewed on this morning's Bookshow about her new book, a collection of short stories titled Reading Madame Bovary, which Lisa at ANZLitLovers has well reviewed. I'm not going to talk about the interview here in any detail, but I did think she had something interesting to say about endings, particularly given the … Continue reading On endings – in novels, that is
Monday musings on Australian literature: In praise of the “taker-outers”
Today's Monday musings post is not solely about Australian literature but it was inspired by an Australian writer, Kate Jennings, about whom I've written a few times in the last month or so. In 2002 she wrote an essay titled "Bone and sinew", for our now defunct Bulletin magazine, in which she praises short novels … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: In praise of the “taker-outers”
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
On outdated books
Most readers at some time or other confront the issue of "datedness" in literature. This book is "dated", we say. The funny thing is that what seems dated to one person is often not so to another. So, what do we mean when we say a book is dated? The writer Fran Lebowitz is very … Continue reading On outdated books
Whispering Gums 