Mark Rubbo's Top Five Upcoming Releases
Mark Rubbo takes a look at five important new Australian titles due for release over the coming months.
This coming season is a major one for Australian titles with five of our most acclaimed writers having books published in the next few months. They are Richard Flanagan with
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
, Alex Miller with
, Christos Tsiolkas with
, Tim Winton with
and Germaine Greer with
White Beech
.
At the time of writing I’ve finished three of them bar the Flanagan, which I’m about to embark on, and the Greer, out in November. The three I have read are exceptionally accomplished works, capping off a year of strong Australian writing which began with a terrific debut novel, Burial Rites, from Adelaide writer Hannah Kent, and Andrea Goldsmith’s wonderful novel The Memory Trap. I wouldn’t like to be a judge of literary awards this year – making a choice would be pretty hard. The first awards for the season will be the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, to be announced late January; the shortlist will be released early December in time for summer reading. Sadly, this year’s Age Book of the Year Awards is in abeyance; I’ve always thought it very effective in acknowledging Australian writing.
Miller’s
Coal Creek
will delight fans of his book
; a poignant and dramatic love story set in outback Australia and narrated by a young stockman, it’s a powerful, beautifully crafted work. I was amazed when Miller told me that he finished it in 10 weeks.
Barracuda is an amazing book. It’s a very angry work that examines ambition and failure and I think it’s Tsiolkas’s best yet. It will be quite controversial too – many will find the language and sex scenes confronting, but they are appropriate in the context of the novel. As expected, it’s also a strong attack on wealth and privilege.
Eyrie is about a journalist whose career is ruined when he exposes government corruption. He has hit rock bottom, but it’s through his relationship with a young boy and two women that he begins to find a way out. Age columnist, Nicolle Flint, had a go at Winton recently about his female characters, claiming, among other things, that they ‘appear stereotypical’, and inferred Winton is guilty of misogyny and sexism. As always, all Winton’s characters have problems, but it’s not limited to the women.
Wednesday 4 September is Indigenous Literacy Day, which aims to help raise funds to increase literacy levels and improve the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Australians living in remote and isolated regions.
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) was set up some years ago by authors, booksellers and publishers, and we need your support to help raise funds to buy books and provide literacy resources for children in these communities. It’s a wonderful initiative and we will be donating 5% of profits on the day to the ILF – or, you can make your donations directly here if you like.