"The lady and with the little dog" was an out-of-left-field recommendation for my reading group for two reasons. One is that it is a single short story - not even a whole collection which we have done before. And the other is that the member who recommended it did so on the basis of its … Continue reading Anton Chekhov, The lady with the little dog (#Review)
Review – Short stories
Chris Womersley, A lovely and terrible thing (#BookReview)
Described as "twenty macabre and deliciously enjoyable stories for readers of Fiona McFarlane and Lauren Groff", Chris Womersley's newest book - his debut collection of short stories - wasn't necessarily a natural fit for me. I haven't read Lauren Groff, but I have read and really liked Fiona McFarlane's clever, memorable, The night guest (my … Continue reading Chris Womersley, A lovely and terrible thing (#BookReview)
Nadine Gordimer, Harald, Claudia, and their son Duncan (#BookReview)
There are authors I read long before blogging whom I really want to document here, in some way. One of these is Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer who first came to my attention in 1983 with her memorable, confronting 1956 short story collection, Six feet of the country. Nadine Gordimer, as I'm sure you know, had … Continue reading Nadine Gordimer, Harald, Claudia, and their son Duncan (#BookReview)
Rudyard Kipling, The Janeites (#Commentary)
The topic for my local Jane Austen group's March meeting was "Jane Austen in the trenches" which, I realise, sounds a bit anachronistic, given she died in 1817, nearly a century before the trenches we're talking about. But, you see, Jane's fame didn't start in 1995 with Colin Firth and that wet shirt. No, her … Continue reading Rudyard Kipling, The Janeites (#Commentary)
Jennifer Down, Pulse points (Guest post by Amanda) (#BookReview)
Amanda is on a roll, reading several Aussie women writers, so when she offered me a review of Jennifer Down's collection of short stories, Pulse points, of course I said yes. I love her opening explanation of why she loves short stories - I couldn't have said it better myself. Amanda's review I love short … Continue reading Jennifer Down, Pulse points (Guest post by Amanda) (#BookReview)
Capel Boake: Three short stories
Having written about Capel Boake in my last Monday Musings, I couldn't resist checking out some of her short stories. Bill's AWW Gen 2 Week concluded yesterday, but I hope he'll accept this post as a contribution. Boake's stories are easily accessible in Trove. In fact, I was spoilt for choice, so just picked three at random. … Continue reading Capel Boake: Three short stories
Katharine Susannah Prichard, Christmas tree (#Review)
Commenting on my recent post on Katharine Susannah Prichard's short story "The bridge", Prichard biographer Nathan Hobby, pointed us to an online version in Trove of her short story, "Christmas Tree", which he describes as the best of her early work. It's about farmers, droughts and banks. Seemed very appropriate (to us in Australia right … Continue reading Katharine Susannah Prichard, Christmas tree (#Review)
Katharine Susannah Prichard, The bridge (#Review)
Time for another post on a short story available online, but not, this time, from the Library of America. Indeed, it's not even American, but one of our own - Katharine Susannah Prichard's (KSP) "The bridge". As far as I can tell it has been published at least three times: in 1917 in the Weekly … Continue reading Katharine Susannah Prichard, The bridge (#Review)
HC Gildfind, The worry front (#BookReview)
The first thing to note about HC Gildfind's short story collection, The worry front, is its striking, inspired cover. Designed by Susan Miller, it features a weather map which captures the central motif of the title story, but it also suggests the unsettled lives which characterise the book. Gildfind, however, writing a post on the … Continue reading HC Gildfind, The worry front (#BookReview)
Elizabeth Jolley, Poppy seed and sesame rings (#Review)
In her introduction to Learning to dance: Elizabeth Jolley, her life and work, a book that was intended to comprise only non-fiction to create a sort of autobiography, literary agent Carolyn Lurie wrote that Jolley would sometimes "draw so directly on her life" for her stories "that it seemed illuminating to include a small selection of … Continue reading Elizabeth Jolley, Poppy seed and sesame rings (#Review)
