I was very sad to come to the end of Helen Garner's latest essay collection, Everywhere I look. It was such a joy - such a joy - to read. Garner ranges across a wide variety of subjects from a kitchen table to Russell Crowe, from some of the darkest things humans do to each other to … Continue reading Helen Garner, Everywhere I look (Review)
Review
Edith Wharton, Writing a war story (Review)
"Writing a war story" is quite different to the Edith Whartons I've read to date, and it was clear from the opening sentence - "Miss Ivy Spang of Cornwall-on-Hudson had published a little volume of verse before the war". It was the comic tone that did it. All the previous works of hers I've read, several novels and … Continue reading Edith Wharton, Writing a war story (Review)
Larissa Behrendt, Under skin, in blood (Review)
In my last review - that for Ali Cobby Eckermann's Ruby Moonlight - I shared the following lines: Jack knows the remainder of the conversation before it was spoke ya see any blacks roaming best ya kill 'em disease spreading pests ("Visitor", from Ruby Moonlight) Quite coincidentally, this point I was making, that it was not … Continue reading Larissa Behrendt, Under skin, in blood (Review)
Ali Cobby Eckermann, Ruby Moonlight (Review)
Ali Cobby Eckermann has been on my radar for a while, so when Lisa announced her 2016 Indigenous Literature Week, I decided Eckermann's verse novel Ruby Moonlight would be my first choice. This novel won the poetry prize and the book of the year in the 2013 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. I enjoy verse novels but … Continue reading Ali Cobby Eckermann, Ruby Moonlight (Review)
Julie Proudfoot, The neighbour (Review)
When Julie Proudfoot offered me her debut novel, The neighbour, for review I was more than happy to accept. After all, it had won Seizure magazine's Viva La Novella Prize in 2014, and you all know how much I love a novella. I must say it's a gorgeous looking book. I'm not one to judge books … Continue reading Julie Proudfoot, The neighbour (Review)
William Makepeace Thackeray, The luck of Barry Lyndon (#Review)
By the time I reached about the 30% mark (on my Kindle) of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel, The luck of Barry Lyndon, I was reminded of a monologue by English comedian Cyril Fletcher which my father had on an old gramophone record. It's about a "lunatic" (this was in less linguistically-sensitive times) who decided to write a … Continue reading William Makepeace Thackeray, The luck of Barry Lyndon (#Review)
Dorothy Johnston, Through a camel’s eye (Review)
When should I give up saying that I don't read crime? In the last seven years, I've posted nine reviews tagged crime fiction (of which one was a guest post). Perhaps just over one a year still qualifies as not reading crime? Then again, what's the point of saying it, if every now and then I do … Continue reading Dorothy Johnston, Through a camel’s eye (Review)
Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Some of the most vivid memories of my Sydney-based late teens and early twenties relate to spending time with Jewish people, business friends of my father. We went to parties in their homes, to weddings and bar mitzvahs. These were always happy, family-oriented occasions. I had crushes on the sons. I knew that most of these people had come … Continue reading Anna Rosner Blay, Sister, sister (Review)
Kate Chopin, A pair of silk stockings (Review)
Over the years, the Library of America's (LOA) Story of the Week has published seven short stories by Kate Chopin, and I've posted on four of them. Now comes my fifth. It was actually published in February. I noted it, printed it out, but have only now found time to sit down and read it, and of … Continue reading Kate Chopin, A pair of silk stockings (Review)
Washington Irving, The adventure of the German student (Review)
Washington Irving (1783-1859) is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" and "The legend of Sleepy Hollow", but in fact he was a prolific writer and, according to Wikipedia, is often credited as being America's first "man of letters". I was fascinated to read in Wikipedia that, as well as being a writer, he … Continue reading Washington Irving, The adventure of the German student (Review)
