In previous years, I’ve posted a list of all the books that I’m aware of that are eligible for the Stella Prize. And then followed it up with a post of my predictions. Unfortunately, I’m seriously pressed for time at the moment and none of that happened.
Here’s the official longlist, announced this afternoon – Continue reading
I never thought my footy pre-season would include Helen Garner… but then came her glorious memoir, The Season.
But this is not an ordinary book about football. As Garner explained –
Blokes I know get excited when I tell them I’m trying to write about footy … I think they’re imagining the books they would write. Their books would be full of facts and stats and names and memories. They have been formed by footy. I can’t do it their way. I don’t know how. I get panicky. The only thing I can think of to say is, ‘It’ll be a nanna’s book about footy.’ Short silences fall. Continue reading
It’s only February and yet, I’m ridiculously behind on reviews (there’s more to come).
Continue reading
It’s that time of year when I have to catch up on reviews (one of these books I read back in April!) – Continue reading
Clear by Carys Davies Continue reading
Thanks for Having Me by Emma Darragh recently won the Readings New Australian Fiction Prize 2024. I can see why it caught the eye of the judges – it’s all about structure. And the small, but well-observed domestic details.
The novel follows three women from the same working-class community in Wollongong, New South Wales. Their stories are told as stand-alone episodes but as the book progresses, it becomes clear how their stories are interlinked. Maryanne, a mother in the late 1970s, sacrifices everything for her family, but as her two daughters become teenagers she realises that she has lost touch with her true self, and takes drastic action.
Every year, Christmas had felt less like something they did and more like something that was done to them. At least it felt that way to Mary Anne. Continue reading
If you were born between 1970 and 1975, and grew up in Australia – more specifically, Melbourne – Myf Warhurst’s memoir, Time of My Life, is for you (obviously I meet the readership criteria).
Warhurst is known for her career in radio and television – predominantly on Triple J and as a team captain for the much-loved Spicks & Specks music trivia show. More recently, she became SBS’s Eurovision commentator, alongside comedian Joel Creasey. Continue reading
After Story by Larissa Behrendt Continue reading
Every time we experience grief, it is different. It’s why I keep reading grief memoirs – they always provide a new perspective. Love, Death and Other Scenes by Nova Weetman offers extraordinary insight into many aspects of grief.
Weetman’s memoir opens with the memorial of her husband, playwright and director Aidan Fennessy.*
It is like being at a party where the guest has forgotten to arrive. Everyone is waiting for you. And you are nowhere and everywhere. In all the conversations. In all the memories. But gone too. Continue reading
My second book in a row with a beautiful cloud cover. But that says nothing about the actual content of The Luminous Solution by Charlotte Wood! Continue reading