Regular readers of my Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week posts will probably guess why I've chosen to write about this story: it's by an appealing American writer and it's about food. However, it's quite different from the other food stories. Firstly, while it's called "the great eaters" it's more of a little memoir essay … Continue reading Carson McCullers, The great eaters of Georgia (Review)
Northanger Abbey musings (1)
My Jane Austen group is reading Northanger Abbey - again - because this year is the 200th anniversary of its publication. However, I did write about the novel when we did it in 2015, so what to do? Well, the thing is that every time I read Austen something else pops into my mind to think about … Continue reading Northanger Abbey musings (1)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Arnold Haskell on the arts (3)
This should be my last post on Mr Haskell's survey of the arts in Australia, and it focuses on Radio and the Movies. First though, in his section on literature, he talked about Australian readers and bookselling. He wrote that the average Australian "is a great reader; more books are bought per head of population in … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Arnold Haskell on the arts (3)
Kate Chopin, Fedora (Review)
Time methinks for another Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week, particularly since one of their recent offerings was one of my favourite American authors, Kate Chopin. "Fedora" is the sixth story by Chopin I've discussed here, and is probably the shortest, more of a "sketch". In fact its original title was apparently "“The Falling in Love … Continue reading Kate Chopin, Fedora (Review)
William Lane, The salamanders (Review)
William Lane's latest novel, The salamanders, is a book that keeps you thinking from beginning to end. As I started it, I was thinking of it as a cross between Julian Davies' Crow mellow (my review), a satirical novel about a house party for artists and their patrons, and Emily Bitto's The strays (my review) about an … Continue reading William Lane, The salamanders (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Memory of the World and Dorothea Mackellar
If you're an Australian, did you know that last week seven new entries were added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Australian Register? If not, let me start at the beginning ... with UNESCO's Memory of the World programme. Established in 1992, it's the documentary heritage equivalent of the World Heritage Site programme which protects physical sites of natural … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Memory of the World and Dorothea Mackellar
Maria Katsonis and Lee Kofman (eds), Rebellious daughters (Review)
To rebel or not to rebel, that is the question. At least, it's the question that interested memoirists Maria Katsonis and Lee Kofman who, having written their own stories about "conservative upbringings and subsequent rebellions", wanted to discover what other women could reveal about that "universal life experience", the rebellion against parents. This book, Rebellious daughters, is, obviously, … Continue reading Maria Katsonis and Lee Kofman (eds), Rebellious daughters (Review)
Stella Prize 2017 Longlist
"I feel like we're at the Oscars for nerds" tweeted Tracey Spicer, ABC Journalist, at tonight's announcement of the 2017 Stella Prize Longlist. Love it. Nerds of the world unite! When the longlist (of 12) was announced last year, I had read and reviewed only one of the books. By the end of the year, … Continue reading Stella Prize 2017 Longlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: Arnold Haskell on the Arts (2)
Back in November, I wrote a post on the Arts chapter in dance critic Arnold Haskell's book Waltzing Matilda and focused on theatre and literature. In this post, I'll look at his discussion of the press. "compares ... favourably" Haskell starts by saying that Australia's press started in a "thoroughly unprincipled and worthless manner", though he doesn't … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Arnold Haskell on the Arts (2)
Jane Fletcher Geniesse, Passionate nomad: The life of Freya Stark (Review)
My reading group came to read Jane Fletcher Geniesse's biography, Passionate nomad: The life of Freya Stark, by a somewhat circuitous route - and it started with my blog. One of our members had read my Monday Musings post on 19th century travellers, and suggested that we read a 19th century travel writer. Somehow, as … Continue reading Jane Fletcher Geniesse, Passionate nomad: The life of Freya Stark (Review)
Whispering Gums 