I first came across Tarella Daskein back in 2021 when Bill (The Australian Legend) wrote a post about her as the result of her coming up in discussions and reading about Katharine Susannah Prichard. She then slipped my mind until a couple of months ago when I was searching around for a subject for my … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 15, Tarella Daskein
Women writers
Olga Tokarczuk, House of day, house of night (#BookReview)
About 30 pages into Olga Tokarczuk's novel, House of day, house of night, I turned to Mr Gums and said, I have no idea what I am reading, which is unusual for me. I certainly don't pretend to understand everything I read, but I can usually sense a book's direction. However, something about this one … Continue reading Olga Tokarczuk, House of day, house of night (#BookReview)
Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Sister Josepha (#Review)
It's a year since I've posted on a Library of America (LOA) story, but I was driven to post on this one for two reasons. I have just posted a review of "The scapegoat" by Dunbar-Nelson's first husband, Paul Dunbar, and, earlier this year, I reviewed "A carnival jangle", written by Alice Dunbar-Nelson, before marriage … Continue reading Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Sister Josepha (#Review)
Louise Erdrich, The night watchman (#BookReview)
Louise Erdrich's Pulitzer Prizewinning The night watchman is historical fiction about a community fighting back against a government set on "terminating them". Erdrich, whom I have reviewed before, is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota and it is the story of this community's response to something called the … Continue reading Louise Erdrich, The night watchman (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 14, Gertrude Mack
Gertrude Mack is the third of the Mack literary sisters, and by far the least known, though at the time she was well-recognised, with her activities and thoughts frequently reported in the newspapers. Her "disappearance" from view is most likely because, unlike her sisters, all her writing was for newspapers and magazines. She did not … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 14, Gertrude Mack
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 13, Amy Mack
In the first decades of the 20th century, a family of sisters made some splash on Australia's literary scene. I have already written about the eldest of them - Louise Mack - but there were also Amy (this post's subject) and Gertrude, all of whom appeared in newspapers of the time as writers of interest. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 13, Amy Mack
Helen Trinca, Looking for Elizabeth: The life of Elizabeth Harrower (#BookReview)
Like many, I was astonished when I read Elizabeth Harrower's The watchtower (my review), upon its publication by Text Classics in 2012. Astonished not so much for its writing, though that is excellent, but for its subject, which is what we'd now call coercive control. The astonishment comes from the fact that The watchtower was … Continue reading Helen Trinca, Looking for Elizabeth: The life of Elizabeth Harrower (#BookReview)
Gertrude H. Dorsey (Browne), An equation (#Review)
Gertrude H. Dorsey's short story is the third in the anthology Great short stories by African-American writers, which my American friend Carolyn sent me. It presented an unexpected challenge. Gertrude H. Dorsey (Browne) The biographical note at the end of the anthology is one of the shortest provided by the editors. It goes: Who was … Continue reading Gertrude H. Dorsey (Browne), An equation (#Review)
Winnie Dunn, Dirt poor Islanders (#BookReview)
When my reading group chose our books for the second half of the year, the shortlist for the Miles Franklin Award had not yet been announced. However, wonderfully, the three books we chose from the longlist, all ended up on the shortlist. One of those was Winnie Dunn's debut novel, Dirt poor Islanders. It is … Continue reading Winnie Dunn, Dirt poor Islanders (#BookReview)
Andrea Goldsmith, The buried life (#BookReview)
Titles are intriguing things, and we don't always pay them the attention they deserve, but the title of Australian writer Andrea Goldsmith's ninth novel, The buried life, is worth thinking about. It is the third novel I've read by Goldsmith, and, like the others, is a contemporary story focusing on relationships and the stresses her … Continue reading Andrea Goldsmith, The buried life (#BookReview)
