Well, 2010 is officially over so I reckon I can now safely present my top fiction of the year! As I listed my top Aussie reads in my last Monday musings post, this post will exclude Aussie writers. Partly for this reason, I'm not going to list the usual 5 or 10 here, but just … Continue reading Top fiction, et al, from 2010
Reading
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
The long and short of it, novelistically speaking
The novella has ambivalence built into its DNA. It’s neither one thing nor the other and tends to make you think even as it lures you down blind alleys and serves up irresolute endings. (The Daily Beast) Readers of this blog know that I am partial to short novels, particularly novellas. I always feel a … Continue reading The long and short of it, novelistically speaking
David Mitchell, The thousand autumns of Jacob de Zoet
'Oh I found ways to live to tell the tale. It's my chief hobby-hawk is the noble art of survivin'.' 'Loyalty looks simple,' Grote tells him, 'but it isn't.' '...Expensive habit is honesty. Loyalty ain't a simple matter, Di'nt I warn yer...' It's interesting that some of the main themes of David Mitchell's The thousand … Continue reading David Mitchell, The thousand autumns of Jacob de Zoet
Monday musings on Australian literature: Dear Sir, or The cult of ugliness
As I was researching Ruth Park for last week's Monday musings, I came across some "Letters to the editor" in The Sydney Morning Herald and thought they were worth sharing. (As you read them do note how some of the letter writers sign themselves.) I'll start with a couple of letters criticising Park's novels: Sir, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Dear Sir, or The cult of ugliness
Ruth Park, Missus
Missus was the last written in Ruth Park's Harp in the South trilogy, but is the first in terms of chronology. The first two novels, Harp in the South and Poor man's orange, were published in 1948 and 1949 respectively, while Missus was not published until 1985. These first novels, which met with some controversy on publication, … Continue reading Ruth Park, Missus
Lionel Shriver, So much for that
Having had my own rather traumatic experience of the American healthcare system back in the 1980s I was rather keen to read Lionel Shriver's latest offering, So much for that. And, I wasn't disappointed - or, let me rephrase that, I found it an interesting and engaging page-turner though not a top-ten-of-the-year one. First a … Continue reading Lionel Shriver, So much for that
Kate Jennings on Gutless Fiction
Did I say in my review of Kate Jennings' Trouble that she's not backward in coming forward? If not, I do now and will cite as an example her essay "Gutless fiction" which was first published in The Australian Financial Review in 2005. The article was inspired by her becoming aware of "prejudices against so-called business fiction". Business … Continue reading Kate Jennings on Gutless Fiction
What is a classic: Guest post at DesertBookChick
Those who read this blog may have come across DesertBookChick (DBC) before. She's the one who doesn't like Jane Austen! In fact, she admits that, despite being a PhD, she's a bit anxious about classics in general. However, not one to shy away from a challenge, she has declared August Classics Month on her blog. … Continue reading What is a classic: Guest post at DesertBookChick
