If ever there was a "zeitgeist" book, Bernadine Evaristo's 2019 Booker Prize winning novel, Girl, woman, other is it. It might be an English-set novel about black British women, "the embodiment of Otherness", but its concerns, ranging from ingrained inequality, racism and sexism to newer issues such as globalisation, are contemporary - and relevant far … Continue reading Bernadine Evaristo, Girl, woman, other (#BookReview)
Women writers
Jane Austen, Juvenilia, Volume the second (#Review)
Last November, my Jane Austen group read the first volume (my review) of Jane Austen's Juvenilia, with a plan to read the next two volumes during 2021. This month, we read the second volume, which contains pieces written, it is believed, between 1790 and 1793, when Austen was 14 to 17 years old. As with … Continue reading Jane Austen, Juvenilia, Volume the second (#Review)
Leah Swann, Sheerwater (#BookReview)
I've been wanting to read Leah Swann's Sheerwater, having read and enjoyed, a few years ago, her short story collection, Bearings (my review). However, I didn't get around to buying a copy, so was pleased to see it available as an audio book when I was looking for listening matter for our recent Melbourne trip. … Continue reading Leah Swann, Sheerwater (#BookReview)
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
Tsitsi Dangarembga, This mournable body (#BookReview)
Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga's This mournable body was my reading group's February book. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, it is Dangarembga's third novel, and is a sequel to Nervous conditions (1988) and The book of not (2006), neither of which I've read. These novels are written in English, the language of Dangarembga's schooling, though she … Continue reading Tsitsi Dangarembga, This mournable body (#BookReview)
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
Elizabeth Harrower, The long prospect (#BookReview)
Oppression and tyranny, power and manipulation in human relationships are the stuff of Elizabeth Harrower's writing, at least in my experience of it, and so I found it again in her second novel The long prospect. Unlike The watch tower (my review), however, which explores the more traditional domination of women by a man, The … Continue reading Elizabeth Harrower, The long prospect (#BookReview)
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
Gene Stratton-Porter, The last Passsenger Pigeon (#Review)
I have passed up reading and/or posting on so many Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week offerings over the last months - sadly, because there have been some excellent selections chosen for their political relevance. However, when I saw a sentimental favourite, Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924), pop up, I knew I had to break the drought. … Continue reading Gene Stratton-Porter, The last Passsenger Pigeon (#Review)
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
Whispering Gums 