Our latest reviews
Stay Well Soon by Penny Tangey
The cover of Stay Well Soon hints at only one side of this wonderful contemporary story about an Australian girl who has just begun Year 5, because although there is certainly sadness and loss for Stevie, she is such a…
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
Here, Meg Wolitzer has given us a delicious, utterly absorbing novel of epic scope, concerning six characters who meet as teenagers in 1974 at an exclusive summer arts camp. They ironically refer to themselves as ‘the interestings’, and we follow…
The Telling Error by Sophie Hannah
Nicki Clements is driving her son’s sports uniform to school when a police blockade puts a dent in her travels. It’s at the barricade that she sees him: the police officer who knows a piece of her secret, one which…
Capital by Rana Dasgupta
Difficult Pleasures by Anjum Hasan
Anjum Hasan’s Difficult Pleasures has been picked up by the excellent Brass Monkeys Books, an Australian-owned publishing house that has built a terrific reputation for bringing Indian-focused titles to Australia’s attention. The work of Hasan is a worthy addition to…
Wrecking Ball: Deluxe Edition by Emmylou Harris
Back in the mid-nineties, my musical world was transformed by a handful of albums. Among them, Gillian Welch’s Revival, Richard Buckner’s Bloomed and Emmylou Harris’s Wrecking Ball each played a major part in my discovery of country music. With…
Kat Jumps the Shark by Melinda Houston
I suspect if you lived in Melbourne’s inner-north, one of the chief delights of Melinda Houston’s wry novel would be recognising each place she is writing about. There is a particular joy in having your local cafe, park or street…
Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
Alice is a teenager dying of leukaemia. She makes a bucket list, and while most of her wishes are what one might expect, she includes a few acts of revenge for those who have wronged her. Given her health is…
The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry
Those familiar with Sebastian Barry will be aware of his fascination for family stories interwoven with Irish history, and that the cast of characters in his previous work frequently return to breathe life into new fiction. The Temporary Gentleman is…
Look Who’s Back by Timur Vermes
It’s a setup as bold as it is absurd: Adolf Hitler wakes up inexplicably in 2011 Berlin. Things have changed – there’s no Nazi party, no bombings; the modern Germany is liberal, multicultural and run by a woman. Hitler is…
Browse our reviews by category
