Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian Gothic (19th century)

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A few months ago I wrote a post on Horace Walpole's The castle of Otranto which is regarded as a pioneer in the Gothic novel tradition. I thought then that it would be good to explore how the Gothic translated to Australia where we have no castles in which the supernatural can rattle and clang. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian Gothic (19th century)

Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011: Reviews from the week December 4-10

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Week 4 of our Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 longlist reviewing project and we're moving along with ... Jamil Ahmad's The wandering falcon (Pakistan) by Stu of Winston's Dad. He, like Lisa who has already reviewed it, liked it for what he felt to be its authentic portrayal of the tribespeople of an area that … Continue reading Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011: Reviews from the week December 4-10

Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Andrew O’Hagan’s Maf meets some bedbugs

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I can't not share at least one humorous little treasure from Andrew O'Hagan's The life and opinions of Maf the dog and of his friend Marilyn Monroe, because I think my review focused a little too much on the serious. Some of the delights of the book, if you suspend your disbelief, can be found … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Andrew O’Hagan’s Maf meets some bedbugs

Monday musings on Australian literature: Women of letters

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Letter-writing has a long literary tradition - both fictional and non-fictional. Epistolary novels, according to Wikipedia, go back to the 1400s, and I'm sure if you're a reader you've read at least a few. My favourite Australian example is a gut-wrenching young adult novel Letters from the inside by John Marsden. But these are not my … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Women of letters

Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011: Reviews from the week November 27 to December 3

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Week 3 of our Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 longlist reviewing project brings you ... Mahmoud Dowlatabadi's The colonel (Iran) from Lisa of ANZLItLovers. This sounds quite different in style and structure, but worth reading, particularly since it's from a country whose literature is little known to me. Yan Lianke's Dream of Ding Village (China) from Matt … Continue reading Shadow Man Asian Literary Prize 2011: Reviews from the week November 27 to December 3

Andrew O’Hagan, The life and opinions of Maf the dog and of his friend Marilyn Monroe

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Andrew O'Hagan's The life and opinions of Maf the dog and of his friend Marilyn Monroe is a fun - though also serious - book, so I'm going to start with something trivial, just because it will provide a laugh to those who know me: Like all dogs, I take for granted a certain amount … Continue reading Andrew O’Hagan, The life and opinions of Maf the dog and of his friend Marilyn Monroe

Monday musings on Australian Literature: Guest post from Louise of A Strong Belief in Wicker

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This week's Monday Musings is my second Guest Post in the series. It comes from the lovely Louise of A Strong Belief in Wicker. I first "met" Louise through an online bookgroup and we quickly discovered that we lived within a few hours' drive of each other. Consequently, we have also "actually" met several times … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian Literature: Guest post from Louise of A Strong Belief in Wicker