Funny how things go sometimes. I may not have read Sue Milliken's memoir, Selective memory, had the publisher, Hybrid Publishers, not noticed my rather particular interest in film via my recent review of Margaret Rose Stringer's And then like my dreams. I'm glad they did because this book took me down memory lane ... Sue Milliken is … Continue reading Sue Milliken, Selective memory: A life in film (Review)
Review – Autobiographies/Memoirs
Harriet Ann Jacobs, The lover (Review)
It's a while since I read a story from the Library of America's (LOA) Story of the Week program, but when I saw Harriet Ann Jacobs' story "The lover" appear in its list of Top 10 stories from 2013 I felt it was time to rectify my tardiness - particularly with the movie, 12 Years a … Continue reading Harriet Ann Jacobs, The lover (Review)
Margaret Rose Stringer, And then like my dreams (Review)
I was, I have to admit, predisposed to like Margaret Rose Stringer's memoir, And then like my dreams, before I opened the cover. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed, but not, as it turned out, for the reason I expected. Here's why. Margaret Rose Stringer once worked as a continuity girl in the Australian film industry and … Continue reading Margaret Rose Stringer, And then like my dreams (Review)
Gabrielle Gouch, Once, only the swallows were free (Review)
Do you differentiate memoir from autobiography? I do. For me, a memoir, such as Gabrielle Gouch's Once, only the swallows were free, deals with a specific aspect of a person's life, such as a sportsman writing about his career when he retires from it or a person writing about her growing up, like, say, Alice … Continue reading Gabrielle Gouch, Once, only the swallows were free (Review)
Bill McKibben, Oil and honey (Review)
It's coincidental, but nicely appropriate, that the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) published its Provisional Statement on the Status of the Climate in 2013 last week, just as I was finishing US environmental activist Bill McKibben's latest book, Oil and honey: The education of an unlikely activist. It's likewise coincidental that, three days before WMO's announcement, … Continue reading Bill McKibben, Oil and honey (Review)
Dymphna Cusack, A window in the dark (Review)
Dymphna Cusack's A window in the dark has been glaring at me from my TBR pile for many years now. Not being able to stand it any longer, I decided to sneak it in before my next reading group book, Michelle de Kretser's Questions of travel. Posthumously published by the National Library of Australia, A window … Continue reading Dymphna Cusack, A window in the dark (Review)
Anita Heiss, Am I black enough for you (Review)
Anita Heiss's Am I black enough for you? is a challenge to categorise, so I'll start with writer Benjamin Law's description on the cover of my edition. He calls it "part family history, part manifesto" to which I'd add "part memoir" because "family history" does not really cover the self-description aspect of the book. For … Continue reading Anita Heiss, Am I black enough for you (Review)
Izzeldin Abuelaish, I shall not hate (Review)
Revenge is a concept that I just don't get. No, let me put that another way. I understand the emotions that give rise to the desire for revenge - though I've never, admittedly, been tested myself, not like, say, Izzeldin Abuelaish. What I don't understand is the belief that revenge is the answer, that it … Continue reading Izzeldin Abuelaish, I shall not hate (Review)
Francesca Rendle-Short, Bite your tongue (Review)
How much do you think about the first sentence of your review? Like me, you probably try to find some anchor or point of interest to lead off from, but my problem with novelist-journalist Francesca Rendle-Short's fiction-cum-memoir, Bite your tongue, is that I have too many angles to choose from. Which one do I use? Do … Continue reading Francesca Rendle-Short, Bite your tongue (Review)
Alice Pung, Her father’s daughter
Her father's daughter (2011) is Alice Pung's second memoir - if you can quite call this book a memoir. Unpolished gem (2006), her first, established Pung in the eyes of both critics and readers as a writer to watch. I agreed with them, but with some minor reservations. She certainly demonstrated the ability to write and … Continue reading Alice Pung, Her father’s daughter
Whispering Gums 