Tag Archives: AWW 2013

‘I Came to Say Goodbye’ by Caroline Overington

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , ,

I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington is a work of fiction however there are so many elements of the story that are chillingly familiar that you could well be reading a true crime book. The jacket blurb does enough to reel you in –

“It was four o’clock in the morning. A young woman pushed through the hospital doors. Staff would later say they thought the woman was a new mother, returning to her child – and in a way, she was. She walked into the nursery, where a baby girl lay sleeping. The infant didn’t wake when the woman placed her gently in the shopping bag she had brought with her. There is CCTV footage of what happened next, and most Australians would have seen it, either on the internet or the news… That is where the footage ends. It isn’t where the story ends, however. It’s not even where the story starts.”

I have some flimsy reasons for picking this book up, the main one being that it filled in the letter O on my alphabetical list of authors (I’m glad Overington got to profit from my OCD tendencies). However, it also counts toward the Australian Women Writers 2013 challenge and was in my TBR stack. Lastly, and perhaps most enticingly, it reminded me a bit of the Kelli Lane story. I’m not into true crime but the Kelli Lane story haunts me. Continue reading →

Stella Prize 2013

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , ,

stella-prize

The Stella Prize is a major new literary award for Australian women’s writing.

The longlist for the inaugural Stella Prize was announced today. Naturally, I’m cheering for Carrie Tiffany, given she’s an ex-work colleague and a lovely guest at my book group. Have I mentioned that she’s also written an amazing book? Little Hazel is one of my favourite characters. Ever. Continue reading →

‘Life in Ten Houses’ by Sonya Hartnett

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Life in Ten Houses by Sonya Hartnett is part of the Penguin Specials collection – books that can essentially be read in one sitting. For this reason, I feel a little sneaky including it in my AWW 2013 challenge or as part of my Off the Shelf challenge, although it qualifies for both.

Life in Ten Houses is Hartnett’s ‘memoir of homes’ – her description of the ten houses she’s lived in and how each has had an energy and presence that has pervaded what she was writing at the time. It’s also the story of Hartnett’s search for her elusive ‘Last House’ – the place where she will remain, happy and content.

The concept of the Last House took root when a builder who was doing some work on the first house Hartnett bought said “This won’t be where you’ll live forever.” On reflection, Hartnett says –

“The prediction, when spoken, had been cruelly teasing to one who, only partially employed, felt permanently impoverished and thus trapped where I stood, as the poor often are… Nonetheless, the words would become a mantra of my existence, at least for the following decade.” Continue reading →