Our latest reviews
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Katherine Heiny blew me away with her short-story collection, Single, Carefree, Mellow, and it became my go-to Christmas present in 2015. When I heard her novel was forthcoming, I could only hope tha…
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
I doubt I will enjoy another book in 2017 more than Rachel Khong’s Goodbye, Vitamin. This small miracle of a novel about family, friendship and memory is equal parts laugh-out-loud hilarious and acut…
The Gulf by Anna Spargo-Ryan
This is a book that tears your heart out. At times you may even stop reading, and flinch, as if the words on the page could physically hurt you. Yet, for all that, it is lucid and contained. Anna Spa…
No More Boats by Felicity Castagna
No More Boats follows two previous works of fiction by Australian author Felicity Castagna: a collection of short stories and a YA novel, which won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. This latest is…
Argosy by Bella Li
In my other life, as a poetry editor for a youth-oriented quarterly journal, I consistently find myself frustrated by the lack of works in the Australian poetry scene that dabble in the historical. B…
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant lives in Glasgow, is about to turn 30 and has worked in the same office for nine years. Everything about her life is structured: from the clothes she wears to the food she eats and t…
Some Tests by Wayne Macauley
When Beth wakes one morning feeling a bit off, she decides not to push through what could just be the malaise of modern life. Instead, she sees a doctor. From there her life quickly unravels as she t…
Gravity Well by Melanie Joosten
We are told not to judge a book by its cover, but the stunning image on the cover of Melanie Joosten’s Gravity Well portrays her compelling protagonists exactly as they are when the novel opens. Eve,…
Adult Fantasy by Briohny Doyle
Briohny Doyle is a thirty-something millennial. The only daughter of a pair of middle-class, educated baby boomers, Doyle has a PhD but works as a greengrocer; she has a long-term partner, but they l…
River: Season 1
SPOILER ALERT… Fifteen minutes into British crime drama River and you are hooked.
River (Stellan Skarsgard) and his partner ‘Stevie’ (Nicola Walker) discuss the virtues of singing out loud and relea…
Browse our reviews by category
