What would you say to a cross between chick lit, those mature-women-finding-themselves travel memoirs (like, say, Mary Moody's Au revoir or Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love), and Alice in Wonderland? Such a fusion is how I'd describe Catherine McNamara's first novel, The divorced lady's companion to living in Italy. Intrigued? Then read on ... The plot is simple. Marilyn … Continue reading Catherine McNamara, The divorced lady’s companion to living in Italy (Review)
Australian writers
Monday musings on Australian literature: Twenty Australian novelists in 1947
My Monday Musings of two weeks ago was about the first book in a series of four books on Australian fiction. The books were written by Colin Roderick and published by Angus and Robertson. The second book, which is today's topic, was published in 1947, two years after the first, and was titled Twenty Australian novelists. The novelists … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Twenty Australian novelists in 1947
Susan Johnson, Life in seven mistakes (Review)
By coincidence, really, my local reading group finally got around to reading Susan Johnson's Life in seven mistakes just as her next novel, My hundred lovers, is to be published. Johnson has written several novels now, though I'd only read one, The broken book based on the life of Charmian Clift, before this. I loved … Continue reading Susan Johnson, Life in seven mistakes (Review)
Deborah Robertson, Sweet old world (Review)
I may not have read Sweet old world by Deborah Robertson if Random House Australia had not suggested it to me - but I'm rather glad I did. Why do I say this? Because it isn't the sort of book I usually like to get my teeth into. It doesn't play with form, or voice, … Continue reading Deborah Robertson, Sweet old world (Review)
Peter Carey, The chemistry of tears (Review)
It may sound strange, but when I think of Peter Carey, I also often think of Margaret Atwood. Their works and concerns are very different, I know, but the thing is that both produce highly varied oeuvre. They take risks; they try new forms, voices and genres. This is not to say that I only … Continue reading Peter Carey, The chemistry of tears (Review)
Chris Flynn, A tiger in Eden (Review)
Courtesy: Text Publishing Are all people redeemable, regardless of what they've done? This is the question that confronts us in Chris Flynn's debut novel, A tiger in Eden. I wondered, as I was reading this book, what inspired Flynn to write - in first person - about a man who was a violent thug during … Continue reading Chris Flynn, A tiger in Eden (Review)
Merlinda Bobis, Fish-hair woman (Review)
How do you classify a book like Fish-hair woman by Filipino-Australian writer, Merlinda Bobis? Darned if I know, but I'll have a go. It's part war story, murder mystery, political thriller, romance, and historical epic. It draws on the magical realist tradition of writers like Isabel Allende, but overarching all this, it is a book about … Continue reading Merlinda Bobis, Fish-hair woman (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Louisa Atkinson, and indigenous Australians
Time for another Monday Musings highlighting an Australian literary pioneer, this time Louisa Atkinson. I came across Atkinson a few years ago when I was researching Australian women writers for Wikipedia. She's one of those women who achieved much in her field but who, I believe, is little known. She was a journalist, novelist and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Louisa Atkinson, and indigenous Australians
Anna Krien, Us and them: On the importance of animals (Review)
I'll admit it right up front, I am not a vegetarian or a vegan. I like to eat meat. I wear leather shoes. I like to think, though, that the source of these products has had a comfortable life and a quick, stress-free death. But I'm kidding myself, I know. And Anna Krien's essay, Us … Continue reading Anna Krien, Us and them: On the importance of animals (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Women writers and politics in the 1930s
I have written before about the fact that there's been two periods in Australian literature when women writers seem to have flourished. One was around the 1920s to 1930s and the other around the 1970s to 1980s. Today I want to write a little about this first period because, from the perspective of 80 plus … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Women writers and politics in the 1930s
Whispering Gums 