Australian fiction
Leap by Myfanwy Jones
Three years on from a tragedy that claimed the love of his life, twenty-something Joe loses himself in menial work, parkour and his mentorship of a teenage delinquent, using burnout and exhaustion as a coping mechanism. When a beautiful nurse…
The Mothers by Rod Jones
I vividly remember Rod Jones’ 1986 novel Julia Paradise, the story of a Scottish psychoanalyst and his eponymous patient set in pre-war China. It quite justifiably caused a sensation with its exploration of female sexuality and earned the then…
The Lost Swimmer by Ann Turner
I knew The Lost Swimmer had won me over when I was standing in line at the supermarket and all I could think about was what was going to happen next in Ann Turner’s impressive debut novel. This suspenseful and…
The Wonder Lover by Malcolm Knox
Malcolm Knox is a respected literary editor and journalist, known to many for his Walkley Award winning exposé of the fraudulent literary memoir of Norma Khouri. In addition to his achievements in non-fiction, he is an esteemed writer of fiction…
The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine by Krissy Kneen
Krissy Kneen, at the beginning of her book, The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine, has us watching Brisbane rich girl, Holly, concealed in darkness, spying on two strangers hooking up in a swimming pool. Unlike…
Quicksand by Steve Toltz
It’s been several years since Steve Toltz published his sprawling debut, A Fraction of the Whole, and readers awaiting another dosage of fierce iconoclasm and dark-peppered wit will not be disappointed. With every bit of rambling dialogue and hilarious…
Coming Rain by Stephen Daisley
Set in 1956, Coming Rain delves into Australian bush mythology to examine romantic notions of mateship. Itinerant shearers, Painter and Lew, are a makeshift father and son team, unrelated but thrown together when Lew is placed in Painter’s care by…
Goodbye Sweetheart by Marion Halligan
This melancholic tale questions notions of security and knowledge in relationships. The protagonist, a successful lawyer, dies suddenly leaving behind his wife, his past wives, his lover, his kids and his brother. Each of these people has their own version…
The Life of Houses by Lisa Gorton
The Sydney Morning Herald once described Lisa Gorton as ‘one of the most sensuous and cerebral of Australian poets’, praise that could equally apply to her first novel, The Life of Houses. Gorton is already the author of two…
Captive Prince by CS Pacat
The first installment of the Captive Prince trilogy by Melbourne author C.S. Pacat is likely to take you by surprise. Before reading it I’d heard the premise –medieval-style fantasy with gay princes. Enough said, sign me up! What Pacat is…
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