Cindy Solonec's Debesa is one of those curious hybrid biography-memoirs that are appearing on the scene. Its subtitle describes it as The story of Frank and Katie Rodriguez, implying biography, but in fact, Frank and Katie are Solonec's parents and so the book also incorporates some of her own story as part of the family. … Continue reading Cindy Solonec, Debesa: The story of Frank and Katie Rodriguez (#BookReview)
Review – Autobiographies/Memoirs
Alison Croggon, Monsters (#BookReview)
Alison Croggon's Monsters: A reckoning is a demanding but exhilarating read, demanding because it expresses some tough feelings, and exhilarating because of the mind behind it, the connections it makes and the questions it asks. Coincidentally, it has some synchronicities with my recent read, Sarah Krasnostein's The believer. Both talk about "uncertainty", and both conclude … Continue reading Alison Croggon, Monsters (#BookReview)
Alf Taylor, God, the devil and me (#BookReview)
It was a complete coincidence that, as I was writing last week's Monday Musings post on diversity and memoir, I was also reading a First Nations memoir, but such is the reading life, eh? The memoir, Alf Taylor's God, the devil and me, is, however, both very much a memoir but also its own thing, … Continue reading Alf Taylor, God, the devil and me (#BookReview)
Marie Younan with Jill Sanguinetti, A different kind of seeing: My journey (#BookReview)
In many ways, Marie Younan's A different kind of seeing: My journey is a standard memoir about a person overcoming the limitations of her disability which, in this case, is blindness. It's told first person, chronologically, from her grandparents' lives through her birth in Syria to the present when she is in her late 60s … Continue reading Marie Younan with Jill Sanguinetti, A different kind of seeing: My journey (#BookReview)
Bill curates: Best Young Australian Novelists
Bill Curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue’s vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. Today, what I'd like to know is where do all the Best Young Novelists go? Emily Maguire, who's featured in this post from 2013, wrote one about Gundagai a few years … Continue reading Bill curates: Best Young Australian Novelists
Bill curates: Ruth Park
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue’s vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. This is a most enjoyable project as I read every post and usually the comments too. Which is why I'm still only up to Oct. 2010. Today, because I can, I've … Continue reading Bill curates: Ruth Park
Bill curates: Charles Dickens and Australia
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue’s vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. I'm such a fan of Monday Musings - I guess we wouldn't be here if we didn't all enjoy talking about books, and writing, and authors, and translators, and publishers - … Continue reading Bill curates: Charles Dickens and Australia
Bill curates: Some Australian expat novelists
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue’s vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. I'm a bit over seeing my name up the top here, but Sue has asked me to keep going for a little longer, and how could I possibly say no. This … Continue reading Bill curates: Some Australian expat novelists
Bill curates: Dymphna Cusack’s A window in the dark
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue’s vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. During the latter part of January we will look at some of Sue’s older posts which have relevance to my Australian Women Writers Gen 3 Week, Part II, 17-23 Jan, 2021. Dymphna … Continue reading Bill curates: Dymphna Cusack’s A window in the dark
Wendy Scarfe and Allan Scarfe, A mouthful of petals: Three years in an Indian Village (#BookReview)
Husband and wife writers, Wendy and Allan Sharfe, first published A mouthful of petals, the story of their three years in the remote Indian village of Sokhodeora, in 1967. It is not, however, their only book. Wendy Scarfe has written poetry and several novels, two of which I've reviewed here, Hunger town and The day … Continue reading Wendy Scarfe and Allan Scarfe, A mouthful of petals: Three years in an Indian Village (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 