I must be about the last person on earth to read Barack Obama's autobiography, Dreams from my father. However, that's not going to stop me adding my voice to the accolades heaped on the book! When it was originally published in 1995, it was subtitled "A story of race and inheritance". This does not appear on … Continue reading Barack Obama, Dreams from my father
Reading
Jim Crace, Being dead
The old "so many books, so little time" mantra means that I very rarely read a book more than once (other than my Jane Austens of course), but I have read Jim Crace's Being dead twice. I love this book. I know some find the subject matter unappealing but I find it not only fascinating … Continue reading Jim Crace, Being dead
Elizabeth Jolley, My father’s moon
'No one,' she says, 'can write anything till they've had experience. Later on perhaps. You will write later on.' (Elizabeth Jolley, My father's moon, 1989) Although fiction demands imagination, it must be based on some kind of genuine experience. (Elizabeth Jolley, "Only Connect", essay first published in Toads, 1992) My father's moon is the first … Continue reading Elizabeth Jolley, My father’s moon
J.M. Coetzee, Diary of a bad year
J.M. Coetzee is one of those rare novelists who pushes the boundaries of what a novel is. The progression from his mid-career novel, the spare but terrifying Disgrace (1999), through Elizabeth Costello (2003) to Diary of a bad year (2007) is so dramatic that there are those who question whether these last two are even … Continue reading J.M. Coetzee, Diary of a bad year
Orhan Pamuk, Snow
One of my rules of reading is that when I have finished a book I go back and read the first chapter (or so) and any epigraphs the author may have included. These can often provide a real clue to meaning. This rule certainly applies to my latest read, Snow, by Nobel Prize winner, Orhan Pamuk. … Continue reading Orhan Pamuk, Snow
Too many books?
No, this is not one of those "too many books too little time" posts. This is way more serious! This is about something I read in the July issue of goodreading (why I read this magazine is beyond me really, but I do). What I read was this, from one Ken Duncan who is apparently … Continue reading Too many books?
Pramoedya Ananta Toer, This earth of mankind
Nationalism, in today's western world, is pretty much a dirty word - and yet it is the idea of nationalism which underpins Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer's Buru Quartet, of which I have just read the first book, This earth of mankind. Toer's concept of nationalism was formed under colonial rule of his country by … Continue reading Pramoedya Ananta Toer, This earth of mankind
Steve Toltz, A fraction of the whole
I reckon the voters for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards inaugural People's Choice Award got it right when they chose Toltz's A fraction of the whole as the first winner. Not necessarily because it is the best book of the year, because I'm not sure that it is, but because it is such a life-writ-large … Continue reading Steve Toltz, A fraction of the whole
Christos Tsiolkas, The slap (Review)
You could easily give yourself away when reviewing Christos Tsiolkas’ latest novel, The slap. For example, do you align yourself with the uncompromising, emotional earth mother Rosie or the rational, cool and collected but somewhat more willing to compromise Aisha? Do you rail against the liberal use of expletives, the relaxed attitude to recreational drug … Continue reading Christos Tsiolkas, The slap (Review)
