My reading group's next book is EM Forster's Howard's end which I first read at university in 1973. (My lovely Penguin Modern Classics edition cost me all of $1.20.) It's a delicious read and I'm falling in love with Forster all over again. My full post on it will go up some time next week, … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: EM Forster and downsizing
20th century literature
Vance Palmer, Battle (#Review)
Vance Palmer's short piece "Battle" is the first piece in this special Meanjin anthology. Meanjin is one of Australia's longest lasting literary journals. It was founded by Clem Christesen in 1940. As publisher Melbourne University Press says, it has, since then, "documented both the changing concerns of Australians and the achievements of many of the … Continue reading Vance Palmer, Battle (#Review)
Randolph Stow, The merry-go-round in the sea (#BookReview)
Randolph Stow is a writer I've been meaning to read for the longest time - since, would you believe, the 1970s? Embarrassing, really, given his significance. My plan had always been to read his Miles Franklin award-winning novel To the islands first. However, the first I actually bought was The merry-go-round in the sea - back in … Continue reading Randolph Stow, The merry-go-round in the sea (#BookReview)
Elizabeth Jolley, Poppy seed and sesame rings (#Review)
In her introduction to Learning to dance: Elizabeth Jolley, her life and work, a book that was intended to comprise only non-fiction to create a sort of autobiography, literary agent Carolyn Lurie wrote that Jolley would sometimes "draw so directly on her life" for her stories "that it seemed illuminating to include a small selection of … Continue reading Elizabeth Jolley, Poppy seed and sesame rings (#Review)
Elizabeth Jolley, The orchard thieves (#BookReview)
Elizabeth Jolley's twelfth novel, The orchard thieves, is a little different from most of the other Jolleys I've read. It's a little less black, a little less about alienation, but it's unmistakably Jolley in style and preoccupations. By preoccupations, I mean her interest in family relationships and dynamics - and, related to that, her humane, … Continue reading Elizabeth Jolley, The orchard thieves (#BookReview)
W. Somerset Maugham, The four Dutchmen (#Review)
Finally, an excuse to mention W. Somerset Maugham here - and the excuse is, as Aussie literary fiction followers will probably know, that Mirandi Riwoe's Stella shortlisted novella, The fish girl, is a response to (was inspired by) Maugham's short story "The four Dutchmen". I don't usually feel I need to read the original work … Continue reading W. Somerset Maugham, The four Dutchmen (#Review)
M.L. (Mollie) Skinner, The hand (#Review)
Pam of Travellin' Penguin blog read ML Skinner's short story "The hand" for a challenge she was doing, and, when I expressed interest in it, very kindly sent me a copy. "The hand" is a mysterious little story - and by little, I mean, little in that it takes up less than 7 pages of the anthology, … Continue reading M.L. (Mollie) Skinner, The hand (#Review)
Carson McCullers, Home for Christmas (#Review)
As you will guess from the title of this Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week, I meant to post on it closer to Christmas Day than I have in fact achieved. I chose it for two reasons - firstly the obvious seasonal one, and secondly because my first Carson McCullers post was an unusual piece and … Continue reading Carson McCullers, Home for Christmas (#Review)
Amy Witting, Afterplay (#Review)
Amy Witting's first novel wasn't published until 1977, when she was 59 years old, which is why she appeared in my late bloomers post a few years ago. She went on to publish five more novels after that - two of which I read and enjoyed long before blogging - and she was an accomplished … Continue reading Amy Witting, Afterplay (#Review)
Carmel Bird (ed), The stolen children: Their stories (#BookReview)
Commenting on my post on Telling indigenous Australian stories, Australian author Carmel Bird mentioned her 1998 book The stolen children, describing it as her contribution "to the spreading of indigenous stories through the wider Australian culture". It contains stories told to, and contained in the report of, the National Enquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and … Continue reading Carmel Bird (ed), The stolen children: Their stories (#BookReview)
