I was a contrary child. When my family went on long car trips, a few decades ago now, I would, in my sunny way, announce to my parents, "I hate trees, love bumpy roads". Guess what my parents were talking about prior to this pronouncement from their co-operative first-born? This refrain, as you can imagine, … Continue reading Hate trees! Love bumpy roads!
Geoff Dyer, Jeff in Venice, death in Varanasi
What, a few moments earlier, had seemed such a persuasive notion - that ridiculousness might be the animating principle of life - seemed, in the face of this more pedestrian idea of progress, abruptly ... ridiculous. No sooner had I thought this, than I'd suddenly had enough of walking. ("Death in Varanasi") Hmm ... what … Continue reading Geoff Dyer, Jeff in Venice, death in Varanasi
Monday musings on Australian literature: West Coast Writers
For the non-Australians among you, Western Australia is our biggest state and, for many of us, is further away from where we live than New Zealand. Moreover, its main population areas are on the coast: there is a lot of desert between the eastern states and where most Western Australians live. Consequently, it would be … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: West Coast Writers
Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 2)
...and because they were fond of reading, she fancied them satirical... (Lady Middleton on the Dashwood sisters, Ch. 36) In January, I wrote about Volume 1 of Jane Austen's Sense and sensibility, which my local Jane Austen group is reading volume by volume this 200th anniversary year of its publication. Unfortunately I missed the February … Continue reading Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 2)
What you call Cult Fiction, I call …
Recently I wrote a post on why I love ABC's Radio National, giving The Book Show as one of the reasons. Now, I will talk about why I love ABC TV. Or, at least, about The First Tuesday Bookclub and its spin-off Jennifer Byrne Presents. Both programs involve a panel discussing books. The First Tuesday … Continue reading What you call Cult Fiction, I call …
Monday musings on Australian literature: Japan and Australia
I had another post partly drafted for today but, due to the events of last week in Japan, I've decided to postpone that idea for another time. Australia (and we are not the only country in this) has a close relationship with Japan - much of it positive, some of it negative (this latter to do … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Japan and Australia
David Foster Wallace, All that
I have not yet read anything by David Foster Wallace and so when I came across his short story*, "All that", in The New Yorker, I jumped at the chance of an introduction. It has a first person narrator, who is looking back on his childhood and recalling, in particular, his fascination with magic and … Continue reading David Foster Wallace, All that
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Nam Le on a storm
Australia is not all surf, sand and sea, as much as the tourist industry likes to have it so. We actually do have "weather", as many quaintly call anything that is not fine, sunny and calm. It is, in fact, autumn here now ... after a rather unusual summer (in most parts of the country). … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Nam Le on a storm
Marie Munkara, Every secret thing
They all nodded, not knowing what the hell curry* was but getting gist of the story all the same. Marie Munkara leads us a merry dance with Every secret thing, her first book, which won the David Unaipon Award for an unpublished Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander writer. What exactly is this "thing" she presents … Continue reading Marie Munkara, Every secret thing
Monday musings on Australian literature: SPUNC has spunk
Yes, come here for your wit. I bet I'm the first one to have thought of that line! SPUNC*, in case you haven't heard of them and you probably haven't, is the Small Press Network (in Australia). The acronym actually stands for Small Press Underground Networking Community. It was formed in Melbourne in 2006 and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: SPUNC has spunk
Whispering Gums 