Our latest reviews
Rain Birds by Harriet McKnight
Pina and Alan have lived in Boney Point, a town in rural East Gippsland, for decades. When Alan develops early-onset dementia, the fiercely independent Pina struggles to give up her life to care for …
Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings
Call your spouse, tell them you have an important work meeting. Slip on a pair of green contact lenses, slide on a black wig, and get in an unassuming taxi. Find the bar you need – the note is writte…
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent
Sometimes, it’s a single character that makes a novel unforgettable; sometimes an intense plot puts you in a book’s grip; other times still, it’s the writer’s craft that draws you in and keeps you th…
The Burning Girl by Claire Messud
Claire Messud is the accomplished author of acclaimed novels The Woman Upstairs and The Emperor’s Children. The Burning Girl, is a mesmerising history of the friendship between two teenage girls. Jul…
The Last Days of Jeanne d'Arc by Ali Alizadeh
Ali Alizadeh blends historical research and poetic sensibilities to imagine Jeanne d’Arc’s life, moving between her imprisonment and execution at the hands of the English, her heroic exploits and her…
Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young
Ashleigh Young is a voice to fall in love with. Her debut essay collection was recently named a winner of the prestigious Windham–Campbell Prize, and has just now become available in Australia thanks…
How to Fall in Love with Anyone by Mandy Len Catron
A couple of years ago, an essay was published in the New York Times under the undeniably compelling headline, ‘To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This’. It outlined 36 questions supposed to spark intima…
The Museum of Words by Georgia Blain
I hadn’t read Georgia Blain until her last novel, Between a Wolf and a Dog, published early last year. Immediately I regretted not having read her work sooner, as it was clear from the first page tha…
Richard Strauss by Louise Alder and Joseph Middleton
Recently, while perusing the shelves at Readings, I was thrilled to discover young British soprano Louise Alder’s debut Strauss recording. My excitement was twofold: I recognised her as an acquaintan…
The Book of Dirt by Bram Presser
The opening chapter of Bram Presser’s debut novel about the Holocaust and how to make sense of it begins with some caution. Caution that could really apply to all literature of trauma. ‘This is a boo…
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