Larissa Behrendt's latest novel After story has been on my wishlist since it came out last year, so I was thrilled when my reading group chose it as our 2022 NAIDOC-Week read. What self-respecting reader, after all, doesn’t like a literary tour? After story, for those who haven't caught up with it yet, is framed … Continue reading Larissa Behrendt, After story (#BookReview)
Review
Jeanne Griggs, Postcard poems (#BookReview)
If you love travel, you would enjoy Jeanne Griggs' poetry collection, Postcard poems, which comprises postcard-sized poems ostensibly sent from locations around the USA, and further afield. Like all good travel writing, though, these poems offer more than just simple travel. However, before I discuss them, I should introduce the poet. Some of you will … Continue reading Jeanne Griggs, Postcard poems (#BookReview)
Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 3, redux)
I've called this post "Vol. 3, redux", although it is my first post on volume 3. The reason is that for my Jane Austen group's 2011 slow read of Sense and sensibility, I wrote posts on volumes 1 and 2, but not on volume 3 as I missed the meeting, and never did write up … Continue reading Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 3, redux)
Nigel Featherstone, My heart is a little wild thing (#BookReview)
In late May, I reported on the Canberra launch of Nigel Featherstone's latest novel, My heart is a little wild thing - and now I bring you my thoughts on this finely-observed book about a man's reaching for his own life. I'm going to start with a reflection on a question authors of books like … Continue reading Nigel Featherstone, My heart is a little wild thing (#BookReview)
Evelyn Araluen, Dropbear (#BookReview)
The final line of "Gather", the opening poem in Evelyn Araluen's collection Dropbear, announces her intention - "got something for you to swallow". Well, I can tell you now, if you haven't already read the book, she sure has. Dropbear, self-described by Araluen as a "strange little book", won this year's Stella Prize, the first … Continue reading Evelyn Araluen, Dropbear (#BookReview)
W.E.B. Du Bois, “Strivings of the Negro People” (#Review)
W.E.B. Du Bois by James E. Purdy, 1907, gelatin silver print, National Portrait Gallery, which has released this digital image under the CC0 license While I knew of W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963), it wasn't until I read Nella Larsen's Passing earlier this year that I was inspired to read something by him. Americans will probably … Continue reading W.E.B. Du Bois, “Strivings of the Negro People” (#Review)
Stephen Orr, Sincerely, Ethel Malley (#bookreview)
Like Lisa, I'm a Stephen Orr fan, but for some reason it took me forever to finish his latest book, Sincerely, Ethel Malley, partly I think because while its characters are engaging, it's a novel that deserves concentration which I seem to have in shorter supply this year. This is not meant to discourage readers, … Continue reading Stephen Orr, Sincerely, Ethel Malley (#bookreview)
Leah Purcell’s The drover’s wife (#filmreview)
We have been talking about decolonising over at Lisa's blog, and it just so happens that last week I went to see actor-writer-director Leah Purcell's feature film The drover's wife: The legend of Molly Johnson. If you are Australian, or are knowledgeable about Australian literature, you will immediately guess that this would have been inspired … Continue reading Leah Purcell’s The drover’s wife (#filmreview)
Damon Galgut, The promise (#BookReview)
Damon Galgut's Booker Prize winning novel, The promise, is one of those novels that grabbed me intellectually and emotionally from its opening pages. The plot, itself, is straighforward. It concerns a White South African family's promise to give a house on their property to their Black maid, whom their grandfather had acquired "along with the … Continue reading Damon Galgut, The promise (#BookReview)
Ryan O’Neill, An Australian short story (#Review)
If you haven't heard of this story by Ryan O'Neill, you are in for a surprise. It was first published in The Lifted Brow, an online literary magazine, in 2012. Its title tells you nothing, but, before I tell you more, I should introduce Ryan O'Neill for those who haven't heard of him. I had … Continue reading Ryan O’Neill, An Australian short story (#Review)
