I always have the best intentions to write thorough reviews of the books I read, but time is in short supply in December and I’m nine reviews behind… So, quick thoughts on a bunch of books:

Witness by Louise Milligan

This is the book I’ve pressed on most people this year. It’s not a fun read, but it’s important and informative. Milligan explores the experience of being a witness in the Australian legal system, drawing on recent trials for case studies, and her own experience during the legal proceedings associated with George Pell. Not surprisingly, Milligan reveals how grueling the system is, and how little is done to protect the emotional and mental well-being of witnesses. She finds that in the majority of cases, ‘seeking justice’ can be more traumatic than the crime itself, simply because in re-telling the story and being cross-examined, the witness is repeatedly re-traumatised.

Milligan is a journalist, and Witness is written in a clear and compelling style. But there’s also a lot of Louise in it, and she documents her feelings, thoughts and observations. I was happily surprised to discover that a large portion of the book examines the patriarchal legal fraternity, and how that has contributed to the current culture. It’s not a book that feels particularly hopeful, but it provides a starting point.

4/5

The Believer by Sarah Krasnostein

Alas, this was a ‘tale of two books’. In The Believer, Krasnostein links six case studies on the basis of what it means to ‘believe’. Unfortunately, the case studies were uneven and I got the sense that Krasnostein didn’t believe – was actively skeptical – and therefore didn’t write with the personal investment that she has shown in other work. And I say this because the case study that was most interesting to me, about a death doula, was written with such care and depth, and it stood in stark contrast to the example of the ghost-hunters, which read as flimsy. I wish this book had had a tighter focus, and that Krasnostein had been able to put herself there in a more convincing way.

2.5/5

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

I completely understand why people are in raptures over this novel – big, punchy historical sagas sing to an audience. Except me. There were bits I liked (especially the ending, but no spoilers). As is often the issue with sagas, so much happens. Most people lead ordinary lives, with one or two remarkable events, if that. The characters in Great Circle are bombarded – all of them, at every stage of life – and it stretched plausibility. Do stories need to plausible? No, of course not, but I can get distracted when they aren’t, and it’s why I don’t become fully absorbed in a book like Great Circle. Happily, my usual gripes about historical fiction (language and info-dumping) don’t apply here, but in summary, it was all a bit much.

2.5/5

I received my copy of Great Circle from the publisher, Random House UK, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley

I ripped through this spikey novel in two sittings (powered along by synchronicity between this and the memoir I had just finished), seduced by the big themes – exploration of a poisonous mother-daughter relationship and the reckoning that people do at end-of-life. The brilliance in Riley’s writing is what is left unsaid, allowing the reader to fill the gaps, or observe their own emotional reaction to the characters’ circumstances. The scene is set early around the toxic parents, but what emerges is less clear-cut. As with her debut, First Love, Riley nails the emotional suspense.

3.5/5

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

Sedaris is one of the very few writers who consistently makes me laugh out loud.

Although he always draws heavily on his childhood and family, this collection felt particularly intimate. Stand-out essays included The Girl Next Door, describing the time when he took pity on a girl in his apartment building whose mother was largely absent; Repeat After Me, when he visits his oldest sister, Lisa; Six to Eight Black Men – the Christmas story with a difference; and Baby Einstein, when his brother Paul and wife, Kathy, have a baby. It’s hard to quote Sedaris and get the full effect of his comic genius because, like the best comedians, the stories have a slow-build before looping back to an early detail that reveals itself to be the perfect punch-line.

4/5

All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton

I pounced on this book when it was released last year (because I loved Boy Swallows Universe) but it didn’t meet my expectations. Although it had many of the same ingredients as Boy (dysfunctional family, the hero’s journey, wonderful symbolism), it lent far too heavily on magic realism for my taste. It also lacked the humour of Boy. On the plus side, there were some wonderfully poignant moments, and the relationship between Molly and Greta is beautifully done. Looking through my grief lens, this story is an interesting portrayal of continuing bonds and legacy. I really enjoy Dalton’s writing, and I’m hoping that he hasn’t settled on a formula for his novels (his essay collection, Love Stories, is hovering near the top of my TBR stack, so looking forward to that).

3/5