Melting moments is Australian writer and concert pianist Anna Goldsworthy's debut novel, following her highly successful memoir of a decade ago, Piano lessons (my review). Melting moments - for those not familiar with this Antipodean classic - are little shortbread-based biscuits (cookies) sandwiched together with buttercream. In titling her book by these little treats, with … Continue reading Anna Goldsworthy, Melting moments (#BookReview)
Debut fiction
Shokoofeh Azar, The enlightenment of the greengage tree (#BookReview)
I bought Shokoofeh Azar's novel The enlightenment of the greengage tree when it was longlisted for the 2018 Stella Prize, for which it was also shortlisted. However, it was its shortlisting this year for the International Booker Prize that prompted me to finally take it off the TBR pile. Born in Iran, artist and writer Azar … Continue reading Shokoofeh Azar, The enlightenment of the greengage tree (#BookReview)
Melanie Myers, Meet me at Lennon’s (#BookReview)
I was keen to read Melanie Myers' debut novel, Meet me at Lennon's, because it is set during the Brisbane of my mother's early teens, that is, wartime Brisbane when her school, Somerville House, was commandeered in 1942 by the Australian Military Forces and served as a US Army Headquarters for the rest of the … Continue reading Melanie Myers, Meet me at Lennon’s (#BookReview)
Elizabeth Kuiper, Little stones (#BookReview)
Announcing their 2019 longlist back in February (see my post), the Stella Prize judges said that they "wished for more representations of otherness and diversity from publishers: narratives from outside Australia, from and featuring women of colour, LGBTQIA stories, Indigenous stories, more subversion, more difference". Elizabeth Kuiper's debut novel, Little stones, may not exactly fulfil this wish … Continue reading Elizabeth Kuiper, Little stones (#BookReview)
Angela Meyer, A superior spectre (#BookReview)
A superior spectre may be Angela Meyer's first novel, but her already significant writing credentials, including being the author of the short/flash style fiction collection Captives (my review), and the editor of the anthology The great unknown (my review), ensure this is a confident debut. And it needed to be, because Meyer took big risks in this … Continue reading Angela Meyer, A superior spectre (#BookReview)
Trent Dalton, Boy swallows universe (#BookReview)
Two books came to mind as I was reading Trent Dalton's debut novel Boy swallows universe. One was Steve Toltz's out-there book about fathers and sons, A fraction of the whole (my review), and the other was Tim Winton's Breath (my post), which explores what it is to be a good man, but more on these … Continue reading Trent Dalton, Boy swallows universe (#BookReview)
Jamie Marina Lau, Pink Mountain on Locust Island (Guest post by Amanda) (#BookReview)
Late last year I hosted a review of Maria Tumarkin's Axiomatic by Amanda who had responded to my call on the Australian Women Writers Challenge for reviews of it and Jamie Marina Lau's Pink Mountain on Locust Island, which won the 2018 Melbourne Prize for Literature’s Readings Residency Award, and was shortlisted for the Readings Prize for … Continue reading Jamie Marina Lau, Pink Mountain on Locust Island (Guest post by Amanda) (#BookReview)
Jarrah Dundler, Hey Brother (#BookReview)
Is she ever going to write another actual review you've been probably wondering but yes, I am - and it's for the young protagonist book I mentioned in my recent Reading Highlights post. The book is Jarrah Dundler's debut novel, Hey Brother, which was shortlisted for the The Australian/Vogel Upublished Manuscript Award in 2017 under … Continue reading Jarrah Dundler, Hey Brother (#BookReview)
Emily O’Grady, The yellow house (#BookReview)
Although Emily O'Grady's debut novel The yellow house won this year's prestigious The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award for unpublished manuscripts by authors under 35, I wasn't sure at first that I was going to like it. I think this was because I was feeling I'd read a surfeit of books this year about young people living challenging lives … Continue reading Emily O’Grady, The yellow house (#BookReview)
Laurie Steed, You belong here (#BookReview)
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)
Whispering Gums 