My first reaction as I started reading Laurie Steed's debut novel, You belong here, was, "oh dear, another novel about a dysfunctional family", but I was quickly disabused of that prejudice because while that is indeed the book's "genre", Steed writes it in such a fresh and engaging way, albeit seriously so, that I was … Continue reading Laurie Steed, You belong here (#BookReview)
Australian writers
Canberra Writers Festival 2018, Day 1, Pt 4: Indigenous Australians (2)
My first day of the Canberra Writers Festival ended with a bang - two hours with several of Australia's top indigenous writers, organised by FNAWN (First Nations Australia Writers Network). It was a not-to-be-missed event, and was divided into two parts: "Because of her I can": poetry readings with Ellen van Neerven, Yvette Holt, Jeanine … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2018, Day 1, Pt 4: Indigenous Australians (2)
Canberra Writers Festival 2018, Day 1, Pt 3: Indigenous Australians (1)
I planned to write a combined post for my last two events of Day 1, given both focussed on Indigenous Australians, but there was so much that I wanted to document (for myself, at least) that I decided to devote a post to each. There was, though, some overlap in terms of issues discussed, albeit … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2018, Day 1, Pt 3: Indigenous Australians (1)
Canberra Writers Festival 2018, Day 1, Pt 2: Two panels
My next two festival sessions were panels - firstly at the National Museum of Australia, and then after a quick jaunt over the lake, chauffeured very kindly by Mr Gums, at the National Library of Australia. This Festival is spread too widely, geographically speaking - but I've said that before ... The power, politics and … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2018, Day 1, Pt 2: Two panels
Canberra Writers Festival 2018, Day 1, Pt 1: A memoirist in conversation
It's the last weekend August which means it's the Canberra Writers Festival. This could become a habit. Wouldn't that be nice - to have a regular writers' festival here again, I mean. The Festival's ongoing theme is Power, Politics, Passion, which is particularly appropriate this year, given last week's shenanigans in Australian politics. (For those of you from … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2018, Day 1, Pt 1: A memoirist in conversation
Jenny Ackland, Little gods (#BookReview)
The universe is telling me something. Jenny Ackland's Little gods is the second novel I've read in a few months that is set in the Mallee region of northwestern Victoria, the other being Charlie Archbold's Mallee boys (my review). Interestingly, both are coming-of-age novels, both involve farms, and both have a death at the centre. … Continue reading Jenny Ackland, Little gods (#BookReview)
Tania McCartney and Christina Booth, The Gum Family finds home (#BookReview)
As many of you know, I recently became a grandmother - and if you know anything about becoming a grandparent you'll know that THE critical question is "what are you going to be called?" Well, I would like to be called Gummie - the name given me here by one of my favourite bloggers Guy … Continue reading Tania McCartney and Christina Booth, The Gum Family finds home (#BookReview)
Michelle de Kretser, The life to come (#BookReview)
Michelle de Kretser's Miles Franklin shortlisted novel, The life to come, makes for great reading but difficult blogging because, like her Miles Franklin Award winner, Questions of travel (my review), it is big, and covers a lot of ground. Where to start is the problem. However, I'll give it my best shot, starting with its form. … Continue reading Michelle de Kretser, The life to come (#BookReview)
Marie Munkara, Of ashes and rivers that run to the sea (#BookReview)
The stories keep on coming, the stories, I mean, of indigenous children stolen from their families and what happened to them afterwards. I've posted on Carmel Bird's compilation of stories from the Bringing them home report, The stolen children: Their stories, and also on Ali Cobby Eckermann's memoir Too afraid to cry. Now it's Marie Munkara's … Continue reading Marie Munkara, Of ashes and rivers that run to the sea (#BookReview)
Michelle Scott Tucker, Elizabeth Macarthur: A life at the edge of the world (#BookReview)
There's something special about reading a good, engaging history - and this is how I'd describe debut author Michelle Scott Tucker's biography Elizabeth Macarthur: A life at the edge of the world. There are, in fact, three prongs to my statement, namely, it is history, it is good history, and it is engaging history. I … Continue reading Michelle Scott Tucker, Elizabeth Macarthur: A life at the edge of the world (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 