I have been wanting to write about the oddly titled Review of Australian Fiction for some time. I say oddly titled because, contrary to what it might sound like, this does not contain reviews but short fiction. Established in 2012, it is published, electronically (or digitally), every two weeks. Each issue contains two stories by Australian authors: one by an established … Continue reading Tony Birch and Ellen van Neerven in Review of Australian Fiction 10 (4)
Women writers
Alice Robinson, Anchor point (Review)
I love it when the book I'm reading picks up ideas explored in my previous book. Alice Robinson's debut novel Anchor point is, in reality, far removed from Mark Henshaw's The snow kimono (my review), but the first line of Henshaw's book - "There are times in your life when something happens after which you are … Continue reading Alice Robinson, Anchor point (Review)
Wendy Scarfe, Hunger town (Review)
A little over halfway through Wendy Scarfe's novel, Hunger town, one character says to another that "kindness needs to be a political way of life". It sounds a little naive I suppose, but in recent months the idea of kindness, in the political as much as the personal arena, has been playing on my mind. … Continue reading Wendy Scarfe, Hunger town (Review)
Helen Keller, I go adventuring (Review)
My reading has been so disjointed recently that I thought I'd look at recent Library of America (LOA) offerings for inspiration, and came across Helen Keller's "I go adventuring", an excerpt from her Midstream: My later life. It appealed to me because I haven't read anything by Keller since I was a teenager, and because this … Continue reading Helen Keller, I go adventuring (Review)
Kavita Nandan, Home after dark (Review)
When Kavita Nandan offered me her novel to review I was happy to accept because its setting - Fiji, Australia and India - intrigued me. I've read several novels set in India, and by Indian writers, but none set in Fiji or by Fijiindian writers. Moreover, as Nandan wrote in her email, and as the … Continue reading Kavita Nandan, Home after dark (Review)
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (Review)
Although I've titled this a review, as I do when I write about a book, this post on my latest read, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, is not really going to be a review. Like all her novels, it's been intensively written about from multiple angles, and in fact there are many themes and ideas I'd love to write about, but … Continue reading Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (Review)
Emma Ashmere, The floating garden (Review)
I had a little chuckle when, fairly early in Emma Ashmere's novel, The floating garden, we discover that our main character, Ellis Gilbey, writes a gardening column under the name Scribbly Gum! Good name, I thought. If it hadn't been for my school song inspiration, this would have been the name for me! There's another … Continue reading Emma Ashmere, The floating garden (Review)
Australian Women Writers 2015 Challenge completed
As most of you have heard now ad infinitum, I only do one challenge - the Australian Women Writer's Challenge. As in previous years, I signed up for the top level, Franklin-fantastic, which required me to read 10 books and review at least 6. I have now exceeded this. Although I plan to continue to add to the challenge, … Continue reading Australian Women Writers 2015 Challenge completed
Jane Austen, Emma Vol 3 (continuing thoughts)
I've now finished my re-read of Emma, and found that the theme of friendship, which I discussed in my Volumes 1 and 2 posts, did continue to play out in the last volume. In those previous posts, I suggested that Austen was presenting friendship as having both personal and social value, and I gave examples of different acts of friendship, some generous, others more questionable if … Continue reading Jane Austen, Emma Vol 3 (continuing thoughts)
Angela Meyer, Captives (Review)
Have you read any flash fiction? Some of the pieces in Pulse would qualify but, besides this, I hadn't read much until I picked up Angela Meyer's collection Captives, which I bought for my Kindle last year. I bought it for a few reasons: I enjoyed and reviewed the short story collection she edited, The great unknown; I follow her blog Literary Minded; and … Continue reading Angela Meyer, Captives (Review)
Whispering Gums 