What Am I Reading?
Ghost Wall – Sarah Moss
Ghost Wall (Granta Books 2018) is a slim novella of breathtaking simplicity and beauty by Sarah Moss. Set over a couple of days in the heather-clad moors of Northumberland, this is a story about adolescent Silvie and her parents who are living in a hut and practising...
The Happiness Glass – Carol Lefevre
The Happiness Glass (Spinifex Press 2018) by Carol Lefevre is a slim compendium volume of fiction, non-fiction essays and memoir exploring the ideas of homesickness, infertility, adoption, parenting and familial estrangement. The fictional character Lily Brennan...
The Kowloon Kid – Phil Brown
Author, poet, travel writer and memoirist Phil Brown has often written about his life, but his latest book The Kowloon Kid (Transit Lounge 2019) is a special account in that it depicts a time of upheaval and coming of age amidst a place of great beauty and...
Good Girl Bad Girl – Michael Robotham
Good Girl Bad Girl (Hachette 2019), the latest psychological thriller from crime writer Michael Robotham, is a fast-paced, tense narrative with an immersive plot filled with leads, tangents, red herrings and sub-plots, and featuring two new characters that are sure to...
The Glad Shout – Alice Robinson
The Glad Shout (Affirm Press 2019) by Alice Robinson is a taut and tension-filled novel that combines both a compelling narrative with a tender exploration of the complexities of relationships. The book opens with Isobel, her partner Shaun and their three-year-old...
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World – C.A. Fletcher
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book (a gift from one of my boys) but I was surprised and delighted. With an engaging hero, a unique voice, a fast-paced plot and two huge plot twists at the end that I did not see coming, this novel is a fantastic read: A Boy...
The Fireflies of Autumn – Moreno Giovannoni
The Fireflies of Autumn (Black Inc 2018) is a novel that is a compendium of stories by Moreno Giovannoni, all set in the area of San Ginese in Italy. The epithet reads: Migrants never arrive at their destination, and the stories revolve around generations of families...
A Meal in Winter – Hubert Mingarelli
A Meal in Winter (Portobello Books 2013) by Hubert Mingarelli is a lovely gem of a novella written in simple language that packs a powerful punch. On one day, in the midst of a European winter, three German soldiers set out on a mission into rural Poland, searching...
Hare’s Fur – Trevor Shearston
What a delight to read Hare’s Fur (Scribe 2019) by author Trevor Shearston. This slim book – almost a novella – is a joy from start to finish. With literary language that sings from the pages, and a story that is poignant and moving, Hare’s Fur is a beautiful...
Griffith Review 65: Crimes and Punishments – edited by Ashley Hay
Griffith Review is one of Australia’s leading publications for new writing, offering diverse voices in prose, fiction, essays, memoir and poetry. This latest quarterly edition: 65 Crimes and Punishments (Text Publishing 2019), edited by Ashley Hay, explores our...
The Astrid Notes – Taryn Bashford
I’ve always admired writers who can take a secondary character from one book and then continue to develop their story in another book – a different story from a new perspective. Taryn Bashford has achieved this in The Astrid Notes (Pan MacMillan 2019), a companion...
The Harper Effect – Taryn Bashford
The Harper Effect (Pan MacMillan 2017) is a YA story by Sunshine Coast author Taryn Bashford. I wanted to read this one before I launch into Bashford’s new book The Astrid Notes (just released…review forthcoming) because it features some of the same characters. And...