One of the main reasons I read is to enter worlds unknown to me - physical worlds and more interior or personal ones. Anosh Irani's novel The parcel meets this criterion perfectly. It is set in the Kamathipura red-light district of Bombay/Mumbai, and its main character is a eunuch, or hijra, named Madhu. Brought up … Continue reading Anosh Irani, The parcel (#BookReview)
21st century literature
Ellen van Neerven (ed.), Writing black (#BookReview)
Writing black: New indigenous writing from Australia is one of the productions supported by the Queensland Writers Centre's if:book that I wrote about in a recent Monday Musings. It's an interactive e-book created using Apple's iBooks platform, and can be downloaded free-of-charge via the if:book page or directly from iBooks. Writing black was edited (and commissioned) by Ellen van … Continue reading Ellen van Neerven (ed.), Writing black (#BookReview)
Catherine McKinnon, Storyland (#BookReview)
It is still somewhat controversial for non-indigenous Australian authors to include indigenous characters and concerns in their fiction, as Catherine McKinnon does in Storyland. But there are good arguments for their doing so. One is that not including indigenous characters continues the dispossession that started with white settlement. Another is that such fiction brings indigenous characters and … Continue reading Catherine McKinnon, Storyland (#BookReview)
Heather Rose, The museum of modern love (#BookReview)
As I neared the end of Heather Rose's Stella Prize-winning novel The museum of modern love, I slowed down. I wanted, of course, to know how it was going to resolve, but I wanted to savour it too. It doesn't seem right to rush the end of thoughtful books like this. But, I have to … Continue reading Heather Rose, The museum of modern love (#BookReview)
Stephen Orr, Datsunland (#BookReview)
Two things I loved about Stephen Orr's novel The hands (my review) were its evocation of men, boys and their relationships, and its rural setting. And this is also why I liked Datsunland, his recent short story collection comprising thirteen short stories and a novella. It's a no-holds-barred exploration of the lives of boys and men. It is not … Continue reading Stephen Orr, Datsunland (#BookReview)
Phil Day, A chink in a daisy-chain (#BookReview)
You've "met" Phil Day, author of A chink in a daisy-chain, here before. He illustrated co-publisher Julian Davies' Crow mellow (my review) and Hartmann Wallis' Who said what, exactly, which I reviewed very recently. This time, though, Day is author as well as illustrator. It's a fun, mind-bending book - with the fun starting on … Continue reading Phil Day, A chink in a daisy-chain (#BookReview)
Min Jin Lee, Pachinko (#BookReview)
If you are looking for a big, engrossing read that takes you into a little-known world, then I offer you Korean-American author Min Jin Lee's Pachinko. It tells a story about the Korean diaspora in Japan over a period of 80 years, and was my reading group's pick for August. There wasn't a bored person … Continue reading Min Jin Lee, Pachinko (#BookReview)
Karenlee Thompson, Flame tip: Short fictions (#BookReview)
Short story anthologies usually have some sort of organising principle - a theme, perhaps, such as Australian love stories, or a prize, such as the Margaret River Short Story Competition - but single author collections tend to be looser. Not so Karenlee Thompson's Flame tip which she describes as containing "creative writing pieces that weave in … Continue reading Karenlee Thompson, Flame tip: Short fictions (#BookReview)
Susan Varga, Rupture (#BookReview)
Finally, eight months after receiving Susan Varga's poetry collection, Rupture, I've finished it. The delay had nothing to do with the quality of the book, but just with my ineffectiveness at keeping up with review books. I apologise to Susan Varga and all the other authors and publishers whose books I still have to get … Continue reading Susan Varga, Rupture (#BookReview)
Yuri Herrera, Signs preceding the end of the world (#BookReview)
While I was travelling in the USA last month, I wanted to read at least one book relating to the regions we were visiting. I started by looking for a novel set in/about the northwest, but then Yuri Herrera's Signs preceding the end of the world, set in the southwest, popped out at me, and … Continue reading Yuri Herrera, Signs preceding the end of the world (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 