What Am I Reading?
Red, White and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston
The New York Times Bestseller Red, White and Royal Blue (Macmillan Publishers 2019) by Casey McQuiston is a contemporary, queer, funny romance between Alex, the First Son of the (female) US President and HRH Henry, heir to the UK throne. In this absolutely delightful,...
Edenglassie – Melissa Lucashenko
Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Melissa Lucashenko’s most recent novel Edenglassie (UQP 2023) is in my opinion her best yet, a true masterpiece of historical and contemporary timelines woven together into a powerful story of love and brutality, and all the...
The Bone Hacker – Kathy Reichs
Full disclosure: I am not a particular Kathy Reichs fan, despite the fact that she is an internationally bestselling author of 22 novels. And so my review of her latest, The Bone Hacker (Simon and Schuster 2023) is coloured by my bias. I do realise, however, that...
Gunflower – Laura Jean McKay
Talented author Laura Jean McKay stunned and polarised readers with her award-winning debut novel The Animals in that Country, so there has been great anticipation for her debut short story collection, Gunflower (Scribe 2023). These stories will bemuse, confuse, and...
Tom Lake – Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett is one of my favourite writers, both her fiction and her poignant essays. Her latest novel, however, Tom Lake (Bloomsbury Publishing 2023) missed the mark a little for me. This is not to say it is not an outstanding piece of writing – I don’t think...
The Naturalist of Amsterdam – Melissa Ashley
Brisbane author Melissa Ashley has made a name for herself with novels that reimagine or rediscover the lives of women overlooked by history, giving these women a voice and a life supported by meticulous research and an attention to detail that breathes authenticity...
Manhattan Dreaming – Anita Heiss
Wiradyuri author Anita Heiss has recently re-released her earlier works, and Manhattan Dreaming (Simon and Schuster 2010) has had a contemporary revision which maintains its relevance as a light-hearted romantic comedy combined with a powerful Koori protagonist forced...
Big Weird Lonely Hearts – Allen C. Jones
I really enjoyed Allen C. Jones’ debut novel so what a delight to read his debut short story collection Big Weird Lonely Hearts (Midnight Sun Publishing 2023), available by pre-order now for release in November. My recent reading of George Saunders’ interpretation of...
Lucy by the Sea – Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout’s spare and detailed writing, her careful observations, her evocative descriptions, her layered characters and their authentic dialogue contribute to making her one of my very favourite authors. Lucy by the Sea (Penguin Random House 2022) follows the...
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain – George Saunders
I was initially a bit intimidated to read George Saunders’ A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (Bloomsbury 2021), subtitled as it was: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading and Life. Good grief! What do I know about Russian writers? Very little....
Fat Girl Dancing – Kris Kneen
Raw, vulnerable, confronting, self-reflective and questioning, Kris Kneen’s memoir Fat Girl Dancing (Text Publishing 2023) is an examination of the body in all its manifestations, and specifically Kneen’s feelings about their own body, its capabilities, its strengths...
Perfect-ish – Jessica Seaborn
Jessica Seaborn’s debut novel #Perfect-ish (Penguin Random House 2023) is described as a ‘smart, funny and heartfelt anti-romcom’, and so it is, a bright, clever and sophisticated contemporary genre that focuses on women in their late 20’s or early 30’s who are...