When I returned to seriously reading Australian writers back in the 1980s, there were four women writers who caught my attention, and I have loved them ever since. They were Elizabeth Jolley (1923-2007), Thea Astley (1925-2004), Olga Masters (1919-1986) and Helen Garner (b. 1942). Garner, the youngest by a couple of decades, is the only … Continue reading Helen Garner, Cosmo cosmolino
Review – Short stories
Haruki Murakami, Blind willow, sleeping woman
Granted, my fiction contains more than its share of invention, but when I'm not writing fiction I don't go out of my way to make up meaningless stories. (from "Chance traveller", 2005) This is as good a way as any to commence my review of Haruki Murakami’s recent short story collection, Blind willow, sleeping woman, … Continue reading Haruki Murakami, Blind willow, sleeping woman
Jeffrey Eugenides, Extreme solitude
I've only read one work by Jeffrey Eugenides, and that was his grand saga of an immigrant family in America, Middlesex. I enjoyed its sweep and the insight it provided into the social history of twentieth century America from an immigrant point of view, and I liked the way he mixed light and dark in … Continue reading Jeffrey Eugenides, Extreme solitude
Shirley Jackson, Charles
Before I start this review, I have a technical question. Does anyone know why advice to bloggers about maximising your site always say not to use something like "here" for a hyperlink but, rather, to add the link to the actual name of what is being linked to? In other words, to make the link … Continue reading Shirley Jackson, Charles
Nathanael West, Business deal
This week's Library of America offering was (or "is" since it's still this week, but "was" cos I've read it - all this tense stuff can be so bothering!) Nathanael West's Business deal. It's short, and I'd just finished my novel for bookgroup, so I decided to read it. I don't know much about Nathanael … Continue reading Nathanael West, Business deal
Stephen Crane, When man falls, a crowd gathers
This week's Library of America offering is a sketch/article by Stephen Crane. Now, while I suppose most Americans have read what I believe to be Crane's most famous work, The red badge of courage, I'm afraid I haven't - and so, when this opportunity to read something by him arose, I was more than happy … Continue reading Stephen Crane, When man falls, a crowd gathers
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Appetite
"Appetite" is a short story by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, an American-born author of Iranian descent. It was recently published in The New Yorker, and you can read it here. It is, I have to say, a strange little story. The 25 year-old first-person narrator is a cook in a restaurant where he has been working since leaving school. … Continue reading Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Appetite
Kate Chopin, A respectable woman
Besides Jane Austen's works, there are only a few novels that I have read more than once. One of these is Kate Chopin's The awakening. I was trying to think of an adjective to describe it or my feelings upon reading it, but couldn't think of anything that wasn't clichéd. The best way to convey … Continue reading Kate Chopin, A respectable woman
Jack London, War
What do I know about Jack London? Not much really, except that he wrote adventure stories like Call of the wild and White fang, and, intriguingly, a study of London slums, People of the abyss. So, when this week's Library of America story was "War" (1911) by Jack London, I decided to read it. You can read it … Continue reading Jack London, War
Kevin Barry, Fjord of Killary
I hadn't heard of Kevin Barry when his short story published in The New Yorker this month, "Fjord of Killary", was brought to my attention. Kevin Barry is an Irish writer, born in Limerick in 1969, and this makes him 40 (or 41 this year). The first person narrator of the story is the same … Continue reading Kevin Barry, Fjord of Killary
Whispering Gums 