By coincidence, really, my local reading group finally got around to reading Susan Johnson's Life in seven mistakes just as her next novel, My hundred lovers, is to be published. Johnson has written several novels now, though I'd only read one, The broken book based on the life of Charmian Clift, before this. I loved … Continue reading Susan Johnson, Life in seven mistakes (Review)
21st century literature
Deborah Robertson, Sweet old world (Review)
I may not have read Sweet old world by Deborah Robertson if Random House Australia had not suggested it to me - but I'm rather glad I did. Why do I say this? Because it isn't the sort of book I usually like to get my teeth into. It doesn't play with form, or voice, … Continue reading Deborah Robertson, Sweet old world (Review)
Peter Carey, The chemistry of tears (Review)
It may sound strange, but when I think of Peter Carey, I also often think of Margaret Atwood. Their works and concerns are very different, I know, but the thing is that both produce highly varied oeuvre. They take risks; they try new forms, voices and genres. This is not to say that I only … Continue reading Peter Carey, The chemistry of tears (Review)
Julian Barnes, The sense of an ending (Review)
I should have known I wouldn't be the first to think of it, but during my reading Julian Barnes' Booker Prize winning novel, The sense of an ending, I was suddenly reminded of TS Eliot's The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock. It was the melancholic tone, the sense of life having passed one by, … Continue reading Julian Barnes, The sense of an ending (Review)
PD James, Death comes to Pemberley (Review, sorta)
How do you review or evaluate a Jane Austen "sequel"*? Do we expect, want even, the author to channel Austen? I suspect the answer is as varied as are the readers of sequels, and it probably depends on why we read Austen. Those who are mostly interested in the stories and what happens to the characters … Continue reading PD James, Death comes to Pemberley (Review, sorta)
Chris Flynn, A tiger in Eden (Review)
Courtesy: Text Publishing Are all people redeemable, regardless of what they've done? This is the question that confronts us in Chris Flynn's debut novel, A tiger in Eden. I wondered, as I was reading this book, what inspired Flynn to write - in first person - about a man who was a violent thug during … Continue reading Chris Flynn, A tiger in Eden (Review)
Merlinda Bobis, Fish-hair woman (Review)
How do you classify a book like Fish-hair woman by Filipino-Australian writer, Merlinda Bobis? Darned if I know, but I'll have a go. It's part war story, murder mystery, political thriller, romance, and historical epic. It draws on the magical realist tradition of writers like Isabel Allende, but overarching all this, it is a book about … Continue reading Merlinda Bobis, Fish-hair woman (Review)
Izzeldin Abuelaish, I shall not hate (Review)
Revenge is a concept that I just don't get. No, let me put that another way. I understand the emotions that give rise to the desire for revenge - though I've never, admittedly, been tested myself, not like, say, Izzeldin Abuelaish. What I don't understand is the belief that revenge is the answer, that it … Continue reading Izzeldin Abuelaish, I shall not hate (Review)
Anna Krien, Us and them: On the importance of animals (Review)
I'll admit it right up front, I am not a vegetarian or a vegan. I like to eat meat. I wear leather shoes. I like to think, though, that the source of these products has had a comfortable life and a quick, stress-free death. But I'm kidding myself, I know. And Anna Krien's essay, Us … Continue reading Anna Krien, Us and them: On the importance of animals (Review)
Kyung-sook Shin’s Please look after mom (or mother) wins the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011
In late October last year, twelve books from across Asia were longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, and in January, they were whittled down to an unusually long shortlist of seven. Today, one emerged the winner: And woo hoo! It's our Shadow team's pick, Kyung-sook Shin's Please look after mom (or mother). Image: Matt … Continue reading Kyung-sook Shin’s Please look after mom (or mother) wins the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011
Whispering Gums 