If Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa's The feast of the goat had been a traditional historical novel, chances are it would have started with the assassins concocting their plan and then worked chronologically to its logical conclusion. But, it is not a traditional historical novel, as is reflected in the structure Vargas Llosa has chosen to tell his … Continue reading Mario Vargas Llosa, The feast of the Goat
Literature by period
David Mitchell, Earth calling Taylor
And now for something a little different from novelist David Mitchell, a short story titled "Earth calling Taylor". You can read it online at FT.com. FT.com is the online version of the Financial Times, so it's not surprising that Ryan Taylor, the protagonist of the story, works in the finance industry. The story starts with Ryan … Continue reading David Mitchell, Earth calling Taylor
Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 1)
This year is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's first (published) novel, Sense and sensibility. To celebrate this, my local Jane Austen group plans to discuss the novel over the next three months, volume by volume. We tried this last year with Mansfield Park and valued the opportunity it presented to delve … Continue reading Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 1)
Barbara Hanrahan, The scent of eucalyptus
Writer-artist Barbara Hanrahan was born half a generation before I was and in the city of Adelaide not a country town in Queensland, but the childhood she depicts in her first novel, The scent of eucalyptus, could almost have been mine. Almost, but not quite, as I was brought up in a standard nuclear family … Continue reading Barbara Hanrahan, The scent of eucalyptus
Kate Holden, The Romantic: Italian nights and days
Book cover (Courtesy: Text Publishing) The romantic, by Kate Holden, is hard to categorise. In an interview with Richard Aedy on ABC Radio's Life Matters she comments that, despite the success of her memoir In my skin, she was "a little bit uncomfortable with memoir" because it felt a bit "narcissistic". And so this, her second … Continue reading Kate Holden, The Romantic: Italian nights and days
Katharine Susannah Prichard, The pioneers
Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883-1969) is probably not as well-known in Australia, let alone internationally, as she should be. She was born in Fiji, but grew up in Tasmania and Melbourne, travelled overseas and in other parts of Australia, before settling in Western Australia in 1919. She was a founding member of the Australian Communist … Continue reading Katharine Susannah Prichard, The pioneers
Vale Ruth Park
"Harp in the South silenced: author Ruth Park dead at 93" confronted me this morning on page 3 of our daily newspaper. I guess it had to happen, but it is nonetheless sad to see such a grand dame of Australian literature leave us. I have referred to her several times on this blog, three … Continue reading Vale Ruth Park
Alan Bennett, The uncommon reader
Light with bite is how I would describe Alan Bennett's delightful novella The uncommon reader. But, before I explain that further, a quick plot summary for those few who haven't come across it. It explores what happens when Queen Elizabeth II stumbles across a mobile library on the palace grounds and becomes obsessed with books and … Continue reading Alan Bennett, The uncommon reader
Tracy Chevalier, Remarkable creatures
Most readers experience, I think, periods of reading synchronicity when we read books in close succession that are related in some way. I am experiencing such a period now as Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable creatures is the third book I've read recently to deal in some way with the first decades of the 19th century. The … Continue reading Tracy Chevalier, Remarkable creatures
Peter Carey, Parrot and Olivier in America
It's not surprising, really, that after living in America for two decades Peter Carey should turn his pen to it. Having lived in the US twice myself, I well understand the fascination of trying to understand that large and paradoxical country. In Parrot and Olivier in America, then, Carey sets out to explore America through … Continue reading Peter Carey, Parrot and Olivier in America
Whispering Gums 