Our latest reviews
A Bitter Taste by Annie Hauxwell
In crime fiction, the downtrodden are frequently used as asides – bribed for information or killed off with little remorse. Annie Hauxwell’s A Bitter Taste takes us into their world, one that not every crime reader might be prepared for.
…
Viennese Romance by David Vogel
In 2012, poet and novelist David Vogel posthumously set the Israeli literary world alight with his unpublished manuscript, Viennese Romance. Scribed on 15 large sheets of paper in tiny writing, it was uncovered during a search for Vogel’s 1934…
No Safe Place by Jenny Spence
Elly Cartwright writes software manuals for Soft Serve. On returning home one evening after having a meeting with Carlos, the company’s brilliant and reclusive programmer, her Brunswick neighbour is shot and killed by a mysterious assassin. A second shot grazes…
The Son by Michel Rostain
Filmmaker Michael Haneke’s Amour (2012) offers viewers an unflinching look at death, or rather the less-talked-about aspects of dying. Chronicling the final days of an elderly woman being cared for by her husband in their Parisian apartment, Amour has an…
Every Parent’s Nightmare by Belinda Hawkins
A GAP year spent travelling through Europe has become the norm for most Australian teenagers but what happens when the adventure goes seriously wrong?
The aptly named Every Parent’s Nightmare is a true account of Jock Palfreeman, a 21-year-old Sydney…
Just Between Us
Female friendships are often stereotyped. There’s the saccharine BFF (Best Friends Forever) types, the pathological ‘Single White Female’ or the dysfunctional pull/push of the bully/doormat (think Rosalind Wiseman’s Queen Bees and Wannabes). However, this wonderful collection takes the time…
The Misogyny Factor by Anne Summers
In August 2012, Anne Summers delivered a speech at the University of Newcastle titled ‘Her Rights at Work: The Political Persecution of Australia’s First Female Prime Minister’. The speech detailed the sexist treatment that Julia Gillard has received in the…
Life in Ten House by Sonya Hartnett
Coming in at just over 70 pages, this latest addition to the Penguin Specials range is an evocative glimpse into a writer’s life.
Sonya Hartnett’s has been a rather peripatetic one, having lived in ten houses over the last ten…
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
I have to confess to being a fan of Colum McCann’s writing. When I read his 2009 novel Let the Great World Spin, I raved about it for months afterwards, so needless to say I was very excited to…
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
And the Mountains Echoed is Khaled Hosseini’s much-anticipated third novel, following bestsellers The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which combined sold more than 38 million copies worldwide.
Despite similar themes of love, loss and powerful yet fragile…
Browse our reviews by category
