Quite coincidentally, earlier this month, I read and posted on Willa Cather’s short story "The bookkeeper's wife" which commences with a young man, Percy Bixby, sitting in his office deciding to do something in order to keep his flashy fiancée Stella. That was published in 1916. I have now just finished Donna M. Cameron’s novel, … Continue reading Donna M. Cameron, The rewilding (#BookReview)
Women writers
Jane Austen, Lady Susan, revisited (#BookReview)
I have read Jane Austen's Lady Susan several times, including with my local Jane Austen group in 2014 (my review). That now being ten years ago, we decided it was time to read - and consider - it again. However, as my time was tight, I decided to try an audiobook version, and found a … Continue reading Jane Austen, Lady Susan, revisited (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 7, Grace Ethel Martyr
The forgotten writers I have been writing about vary greatly, and most will stay forgotten because, to be honest, their time has past and not all writing remains relevant. This is not to say, however, that they are not worth revisiting. They are, after all, part of our literary culture, and they paved ways, whether … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 7, Grace Ethel Martyr
Willa Cather, The bookkeeper’s wife (#Review)
Willa Cather, 1936 (Photo: Carl Van Vechten; Public domain, via Wikipedia) It's nearly two years since I posted on a Library of America (LOA) short story, and it's over a year since they published Willa Cather's "The bookkeeper's wife" as their Story of the Week. However, this morning I had a quiet moment and decided to … Continue reading Willa Cather, The bookkeeper’s wife (#Review)
Myfanwy Jones, Cool water (#BookReview)
When I was a little girl, I was allowed to watch a limited amount of television, and what I loved - yes, you can laugh at me - were the singing cowboys, like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. We are talking the 60s and I was constrained by what was on at the times I … Continue reading Myfanwy Jones, Cool water (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 6, Constance Clyde
"Forgotten" is a subjective thing, as I suggested with my fifth post in this series on Lillian Pyke whose reputation as a children's writer has survived in niche circles at least. My next subject, Constance Clyde, like Lillian Pyke, has entries in both AustLit and Wikipedia suggesting some notability, but I had not heard of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 6, Constance Clyde
Delicious descriptions: Charlotte Wood on silence and solitude
It's some time since I wrote a Delicious Descriptions post, but I want to explore Charlotte Wood's novel Stone Yard devotional (my review) just a little more. Although I finished it over a week ago, I keep thinking about its evocation of quiet lives in retreat - and what Wood might be saying. I am, … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Charlotte Wood on silence and solitude
Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard devotional (#BookReview)
Charlotte Wood's most recent novel, Stone Yard devotional, is set in the Monaro, a region just south of where I live. It's a landscape that is much loved by many of us, including Nigel Featherstone, whose My heart is a little wild thing (my review) is also set there. The Monaro is expansive country, a … Continue reading Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard devotional (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 5, Lillian Pyke
The subjects for my Monday Musings sub-series on forgotten Australian writers vary in the degree to which they've been forgotten, but those still remembered are only so in niche areas. Today's subject Lillian Pyke is one of these, in that although no longer well-known, her reputation as a children's writer has survived somewhat. Pyke, like … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 5, Lillian Pyke
Eli Funaro, The dog pit (#Review)
Eli Funaro's "The dog pit" is the twelfth of fourteen stories in the anthology, Great short stories by contemporary Native American writers. Like the previous stories by Thomas King and Duane Niatum, it was written in the 1990s. Eli Funaro Anthology editor Bob Blaisdell provides very little information about Funaro, and I have to say … Continue reading Eli Funaro, The dog pit (#Review)
