Our latest reviews

The Beethoven Obsession by Brendan Ward

Reviewed by Alan Vaarwerk

In the world of classical music, the 32 piano sonatas from the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven are considered the pinnacle of the art form, collectively recognised as ‘the greatest piano music ever written’. In the late 1990s, only a…

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Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia by David Hunt

Reviewed by Steve Bidwell-Brown

Talented comedy writer David Hunt has created a remarkable work of pop history with Girt – a well-researched, engaging and articulate lampooning of Australia’s earliest colonial years.

Taking an early cue from Tim Flannery’s controversial view of Indigenous Australians as…

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Tampa by Alissa Nutting

Reviewed by Nina Kenwood

The text on the back of my advance copy of Tampa, Alissa Nutting’s new novel about a female sexual predator who is obsessed with 14-year-old boys, reads ‘you won’t necessarily be able to say you enjoyed this book

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American Dream Machine by Matthew Specktor

Reviewed by Joe Rubbo

At the beginning of Matthew Specktor’s second novel, American Dream Machine, a young Beau Rosenwald is given a copy of Coriolanus and some parting words of advice from his mentor: ‘The story of one bloodbath can prepare you for…

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Quercus by June Tabor, Iain Ballamy & Huw Warren

Reviewed by Paul Barr

June Tabor has been a mainstay on the English folk scene since the late 60s, along with her longtime saxophonist Iain Ballamy and pianist Huw Warren. The real surprise with Quercus is that it crops up under the wing of…

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The Accident by Kate Hendrick

Reviewed by Kim Gruschow

Kate Hendrick’s debut traces the butterfly effect of a fatal car crash on a stormy night, following the lives of three teenagers who each narrate a part of the book.

Sarah is recovering both physically and mentally from the accident…

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The Key To The Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

After their dad dies, the lives of May and her sisters are changed forever. The family have been left with little money, and May’s mum has started working night shifts to help keep them financially afloat. May is left to…

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The Big Dry by Tony Davis

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

George and his younger brother Beeper are home alone, desperately hoping their father will return after he went to the shops and never came back. It hasn’t rained for years and times are tough for everyone. The landscape is getting…

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The Girl Who Brought Mischief by Katrina Nannestad

Reviewed by Emily Gale

This is a little heartbreaker of a story. Think Pollyanna meets Anne of Green Gables with a dash of Heidi. It’s set in Denmark in 1911, so younger readers may need a bit of context to start with, mainly…

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Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? by Tanya Lee Stone and Marjorie Priceman

Reviewed by Angela Crocombe

I’ll bet you’ve met plenty of doctors in your life. And I’ll bet lots of them were women. Well, you might find this hard to believe, but there once was a time when girls weren’t allowed to become doctors.

Thus…

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