Our latest reviews
First Person by Richard Flanagan
Probably Australia’s largest fraud case involved John Friedrich, executive director of the National Safety Council of Australia. Friedrich embezzled almost $300 million from a number of banks through…
Soon by Lois Murphy
A fleet of forebodingly official-looking vehicles arrives one winter solstice in the West Australian town of Nebulah. The vehicles disappear as mysteriously as they appeared, and with them go the bir…
The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
Writer and lawyer Sarah Krasnostein first met Sandra Pankhurst at a conference for forensic support services. Sandra’s business card advertises ‘specialised trauma cleaning’: ‘hoarding and pet hoardi…
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
Imagine living in a world where every act you undertake is politicised, against your will. For some readers, this will be a reality. Kamila Shamsie’s latest novel, Home Fire, depicts this very phenom…
Il Diavolo by Accademia Arcadia
Many people know the story of the Devil’s Trill Sonata by Tartini. How he dreamed one night he made a pact with the devil, who took up Tartini’s violin and played ‘a sonata so wonderful and so beauti…
Prime Suspect 1973
It’s very satisfying to go back in time and watch the origin story of a character you’ve come to know well from a long-running series. In Prime Suspect 1973, that’s exactly what happens, as newcomer …
Thornhill by Pam Smy
Thornhill is a beautiful book, from its striking greyscale silhouetted cover to the pages in-between. The book contains two stories set in two different times. Mary’s story is set in 1982, in a child…
The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst
Spanning 70 years, Alan Hollinghurst’s long-awaited new novel begins with a group of friends at Oxford during World War II and follows the ensemble over the years and generations. The book is divided…
Lotta Sea Lice by Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile
‘I cherish my intercontinental friendships…’ Australian indie-rock sensation Courtney Barnett croons on ‘Continental Breakfast’ – moments later American spacey-rock sensation Kurt Vile adds, ‘Somewhe…
Friend of My Youth by Amit Chaudhuri
This loving, gentle book evokes the chaotic colours and sounds of Bombay through the eyes of an expatriate writer, returning to his childhood home. Weaving through time at an eddying pace, Amit Chaud…
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