In one moment, there was great kindness and great cruelty, and I saw it as the perfect story of our humans are. (Zusak on the Random House website) Zusak could hardly have chosen, for The book thief, a better setting to explore the best and worst of humanity than Germany during the Holocaust. The book … Continue reading Markus Zusak, The book thief
Review
The boys are back
I would like to say that the real star of Scott Hicks' latest movie, The Boys are Back, is the Fleurieu Peninsula because it is absolutely stunning. The rolling hills, the waving golden grasses, the glimpses of blue sea, not to mention wonderful stands of gums are enough to entertain even if the rest of … Continue reading The boys are back
Jennifer Forest, Jane Austen’s sewing box
...and so the current Jane Austen juggernaut rolls on. The latest that has come to my attention is Canberra writer Jennifer Forest's book Jane Austen's sewing box. Must admit that I was a little sceptical when I first heard of it, but I saw it, bought it, and was pretty impressed. It's a nicely produced book … Continue reading Jennifer Forest, Jane Austen’s sewing box
A.B. Paterson, The Man from Snowy River and other verses
Cover for The man from Snowy River and other verses (Courtesy: Sydney University Press) Is there an Australian out there who doesn't like Banjo Paterson? Who can't sing "Waltzing Matilda", or quote a line or two from "The Man from Snowy River" or "Clancy of the Overflow"? While some of the 12 titles chosen for … Continue reading A.B. Paterson, The Man from Snowy River and other verses
Tessa Hadley, Friendly fire
"Friendly fire", a short story by the English writer Tessa Hadley, is a simple story of two middle-aged women cleaners in an industrial warehouse, Pam who owns the cleaning business and her friend Shelley who is helping her out for the day. The story focuses on Shelley and nothing much really happens - it's more … Continue reading Tessa Hadley, Friendly fire
Murray Bail, The pages
It's not surprising that someone who calls herself Whispering Gums loved Murray Bail's previous novel, Eucalyptus, and so it was with some enthusiasm that I picked up his latest novel, The pages, a few days ago. My edition, unlike the one imaged here, is the hard cover one and, funnily enough, it looks like the … Continue reading Murray Bail, The pages
George Orwell, Bookshop memories
I do like to read a bit of Orwell every now and then - and for that reason, though I have other books of his to read in my TBR pile, I recently bought his essay collection, Books v. cigarettes, in Penguin's delightful Great Ideas series. I blogged about the first essay a couple of months ago. … Continue reading George Orwell, Bookshop memories
The gritty viewing gets grittier…
A few months ago I wrote a post called A day of gritty viewing. Since then I've blogged about more gritty Australian films: Disgrace, Beautiful Kate, and Balibo. And these aren't the only gritty films to have been produced in Australia this year. The latest to hit the cinemas, though, is Blessed (directed by Ana … Continue reading The gritty viewing gets grittier…
Price Warung, Tales of the early days
Okay, I admit it, I have convict ancestors (plural even!). Consequently, I was particularly interested to read Price Warung's 1894 collection of short stories, Tales of the early days, when I discovered it was part of the Australian Classics Library recently published by the Sydney University Press. My convicts include John Warby who, with another labourer, … Continue reading Price Warung, Tales of the early days
Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is illuminated
He invented stories so fantastic she had to believe. It's hard to know where to start writing about Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is illuminated, so I'll just start with a brief description of the plot. It concerns a search in the Ukraine by "the hero" (aka Jonathan Safran Foer) for the woman (Augustine?) who, he … Continue reading Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is illuminated
