Tim Winton and Christos Tsiolkas have to be Australia's foremost contemporary writers about men and boys, Tsiolkas doing for urban/surburban males what Winton does for small town/rural ones. Winton's latest novel, The shepherd's hut, continues his exploration of males in extremis. It's strong, gritty, page-turning, and yet reflective too, which is not easy to pull-off. … Continue reading Tim Winton, The shepherd’s hut (#BookReview)
21st century literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: University of Canberra Book of the Year 2020
I wasn't necessarily planning to announce the University of Canberra's Book of the Year again this year, having written about it three times already - in 2012 when it was initiated, in 2014, when I checked to see how the program was going, and in 2018 to announce this year's book. However, next year's book … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: University of Canberra Book of the Year 2020
Jessica White, Hearing Maud (#BookReview)
Hybrid memoir-biographies take many forms. For a start, some are weighted more to biography while others more to memoir. As I wrote in my post on Jessica White's conversation with Inga Simpson, most of those I've read "have been mother-daughter stories, the biography being about the mother and the memoir, the daughter. White’s book is … Continue reading Jessica White, Hearing Maud (#BookReview)
Helen Garner in conversation with Sarah Krasnostein
To say I was thrilled when Son Gums' partner offered to buy tickets for us to see Helen Garner in conversation (last Saturday) would be an understatement. I have never seen Garner live before so that would be one bucket-list item ticked had I a bucket list! The fact that the conversation was to be … Continue reading Helen Garner in conversation with Sarah Krasnostein
Sue Ingleton, Making trouble: Tongued with fire (#BookReview)
In my recent post on Jessica White talking about her hybrid memoir-biography Hearing Maud, I commented that I'm intrigued by the ways in which biography is being rethought in contemporary literature. When I wrote that, I not only had White's book in mind, but Sue Ingleton's Making trouble. You can probably guess why from its sub-sub-title: "an … Continue reading Sue Ingleton, Making trouble: Tongued with fire (#BookReview)
Jessica White in conversation with Inga Simpson
Hearing Maud, author Jessica White told us in her conversation with Inga Simpson two weekends ago, was 15 years in the making. This is something I already knew, because, as the result of our involvement in the Australian Women Writers Challenge, I've met Jess and we've talked about this book. However, it was excellent to … Continue reading Jessica White in conversation with Inga Simpson
David Brooks, The grass library (#BookReview)
OK, I'm going to show my hand here. I love animals - and hate animal cruelty - but I am not vegan. More to the point though, I am cautious about animal rights activists because they can sometimes act out the very violence and cruelty on humans that they condemn for non-human animals. I was, … Continue reading David Brooks, The grass library (#BookReview)
Special Book and Event Giveaway for Jessica White’s Hearing Maud
Regular readers here will know that I very rarely do give-aways. However, when Jessica White, who is on the Australian Women Writers Challenge team with me and whose novel Entitlement I've reviewed, asked whether I'd be happy to do a giveaway for her latest book, Hearing Maud, and her conversation with Inga Simpson at Muse, … Continue reading Special Book and Event Giveaway for Jessica White’s Hearing Maud
Ros Collins, Rosa: Memories with licence (#BookReview)
Memoirs are tricky things. There are readers who love them, readers who hate them, and readers like wishy-washy me who sit in the middle. I sit in the middle because, for a start, I don't like to say "never" when it comes to reading. I sit in the middle because I couldn't cope with a … Continue reading Ros Collins, Rosa: Memories with licence (#BookReview)
ABR’s Top Twenty Aussie novels of the 21st Century
Ten years after publishing its first ABR readers fan poll, the Australian Book Review asked its readers again to nominate their best Australian novels, but to keep it to those published this century. In its intro to the resultant list, ABR says that Richard Flanagan’s novel The narrow road to the deep north emerged as the … Continue reading ABR’s Top Twenty Aussie novels of the 21st Century
Whispering Gums 