I would like to say that the real star of Scott Hicks' latest movie, The Boys are Back, is the Fleurieu Peninsula because it is absolutely stunning. The rolling hills, the waving golden grasses, the glimpses of blue sea, not to mention wonderful stands of gums are enough to entertain even if the rest of … Continue reading The boys are back
Were you an Argonaut?
Before the sun and the night and the blue sea, I vow to stand faithfully by all that is brave and beautiful; to seek adventure, and having discovered aught of wonder, or delight; of merriment or loveliness, to share it freely with my comrades, the Band of Happy Rowers. (from The ABC Weekly, 28 Dec … Continue reading Were you an Argonaut?
On the literary road, in Gippsland
The Gippsland area of Victoria is a particularly rich one in terms of Australia's literary history. It is also an area I've never visited before and so this week we decided to return home from Melbourne via the less common path, that is via Gippsland. Unfortunately our trip through the region was a quick one, … Continue reading On the literary road, in Gippsland
On the literary road
Back in the mid 1990s I bought The Oxford literary guide to Australia. Having not looked at it for a few years, I decided to take it on our current little road trip. Two days ago, for example, we drove through Gundagai and Tarcutta, both of which appear in the guide. Gundagai, NSW Most Australians … Continue reading On the literary road
Jennifer Forest, Jane Austen’s sewing box
...and so the current Jane Austen juggernaut rolls on. The latest that has come to my attention is Canberra writer Jennifer Forest's book Jane Austen's sewing box. Must admit that I was a little sceptical when I first heard of it, but I saw it, bought it, and was pretty impressed. It's a nicely produced book … Continue reading Jennifer Forest, Jane Austen’s sewing box
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, 2009
Nam Le's The boat has won the fiction category in the Prime Minister's Literary Awards. Much deserved too I say! Interestingly, the non-fiction prize was shared by two books: Evelyn Juers' House of exile, and Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds' Drawing the global colour line. Lisa, at ANZLitLovers, recently wrote about Juers' book - you can … Continue reading Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, 2009
A.B. Paterson, The Man from Snowy River and other verses
Cover for The man from Snowy River and other verses (Courtesy: Sydney University Press) Is there an Australian out there who doesn't like Banjo Paterson? Who can't sing "Waltzing Matilda", or quote a line or two from "The Man from Snowy River" or "Clancy of the Overflow"? While some of the 12 titles chosen for … Continue reading A.B. Paterson, The Man from Snowy River and other verses
Favourite Australian novel
Matt over at A Novel Approach has brought to my attention the Australian Book Review's poll to find our FAN, that is our Favourite Australian Novel. Not, they say, Australia's favourite novel (which would end up with books like Lord of the Rings on the list), nor our favourite Australian book (which could very well … Continue reading Favourite Australian novel
Tessa Hadley, Friendly fire
"Friendly fire", a short story by the English writer Tessa Hadley, is a simple story of two middle-aged women cleaners in an industrial warehouse, Pam who owns the cleaning business and her friend Shelley who is helping her out for the day. The story focuses on Shelley and nothing much really happens - it's more … Continue reading Tessa Hadley, Friendly fire
Murray Bail, The pages
It's not surprising that someone who calls herself Whispering Gums loved Murray Bail's previous novel, Eucalyptus, and so it was with some enthusiasm that I picked up his latest novel, The pages, a few days ago. My edition, unlike the one imaged here, is the hard cover one and, funnily enough, it looks like the … Continue reading Murray Bail, The pages
Whispering Gums 