I am so, so behind on reviews… I read some of these books months ago – a few lines on each is the best I can do 😀

Splinters by Leslie Jamison

If there’s one book in this list that I’ll regret not writing a really thorough review of, it’s Splinters. There were so many passages that I marked, thinking over what Jamison had revealed.

Jamison copped a lot of criticism for this memoir (about how she treated her ex-husband, her mothering decisions, and starting a new relationship) but I think her exceptionally fine writing and her honesty – because she does not claim to be without fault – makes this an interesting example of memoir. Her intensity, her focus, and her ability to capture complex feelings means I will always read what she writes.

4/5

I’m Sorry You Feel That Way by Rebecca Wait

Sometimes the right book comes along at exactly the right time. I was in need of something light, but not light-weight, witty but with enough emotional complexity to keep me interested – Wait’s novel fitted the bill perfectly.

It’s character-driven and includes interesting and complex characters, and a thorough exploration of family dynamics. Basically, a therapist’s dream novel!

3.5/5

The Buried Life by Andrea Goldsmith

And if there’s one book in this list that deserves a really thorough review, it’s Goldsmith’s beautifully written story about grief (in all its forms), The Buried Life.

There are lots of reasons to immerse yourself in this story (cheese, music, Melbourne, the fine detail of friendships) but you could also simply turn all your reading attention to the character of Tony – one of the vilest and most perfectly-rendered narcissists I’ve read in ages. I was cheering out loud for his comeuppance.

4/5

Say it Again in a Nice Voice by Meg Mason

Thought I was done with reading ‘mummy memoirs’ (actually, not sure I was ever that into them… anyway…) but Meg Mason is so funny and I made an exception for this memoir.

Mason begins her story at age 24, when she was newly married to a man ‘…essentially indistinguishable from a young Matt Damon…’. They decided to move to London when she landed her dream job writing for The Times, however, a surprise baby disrupts their plans. Ultimately, they return to Australia, have another baby, and settle into suburban life.

This may sound unremarkable but I enjoyed Mason’s humorous account of things that had also absorbed my life twenty years ago – basically the relentlessness, frustrations and joys that come with babies and toddlers. But Mason really won me with her observations of the small stuff, such as the naming of playgrounds. Our local park was known to my kids as The Massive Slide Park (because it had a really long slide) – it’s actual name was Victoria Park – one example of dozens where our experiences were similar. I think if I’d met Mason at the playground, we would have been best buddies 🙂

3.5/5

Vagablonde by Anna Dorn

You know when you read a terrific book and then you race out to buy everything the author has written and it’s disappointing? That.

Vapid characters, a thin and convenient plot set over an unlikely timeline, and all of it fuelled by an enormous quantity of drugs and alcohol… basically a hot mess. The only question that remains is do I bother with her other books? (Probably not).

2/5

On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle (translated by Barbara J. Haveland)

The story of a woman, Tara Selter, who has repeated the same day (November 18th) hundreds of times. It’s probably a little rude to say that this is a literary version of Stephen King’s 11/22/63 (and a zillion other groundhog day/ time travel stories) but it is, and for the reader, the focus is on the tiny shifts in details as you try to identify the way out of the time-trap.

This book was well-written and I found Tara’s decisions about staying in her house or leaving (to spare having to repeatedly tell her husband the story) an interesting angle, particularly as it highlighted the loneliness of her predicament. I didn’t feel that the story resolved in a completely satisfactory way but at least I wasn’t annoyed by a convenient tying up of loose ends!

3/5