Australian Fiction reviews
The Bee and the Orange Tree by Melissa Ashley
I have been having a good run of ‘books with strong endings’ lately. Alice Robinson’s The Glad Shout’s nailbiting conclusion; the protagonist’s Shakespearean revelation in Fernanda Torres’s Glory and…
Damascus by Christos Tsiolkas
Damascus is one of the standout novels of the year, delivered to us by the incomparable and singular writer who is Christos Tsiolkas, an author who reinvents himself with every single one of his book…
Act of Grace by Anna Krien
Anna Krien will be known to readers as the author of two works of narrative nonfiction, Into the Woods and Night Games – both important explorations into Australian life and culture. In her ambitious…
The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
Charlotte Wood is an accomplished Australian writer. She won the 2016 Stella Prize for her feminist dystopian novel The Natural Way of Things, which received many other awards as well.
The Weekend f…
There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett
With its pared back, elegant writing, Favel Parrett’s When The Night Comes is one of my favourite Australian novels. Her new book There Was Still Love examines loss, exile and compromise with the sam…
Maybe the Horse Will Talk by Elliot Perlman
It’s a long time since Elliot Perlman’s last novel The Street Sweeper and it’s so good to see him back. Perlman’s work looks at social issues through the prism of a mighty fine story. He’s looked at …
Bruny by Heather Rose
In 2017, Heather Rose won the Stella Prize for The Museum of Modern Love; a meditation on art and life in New York City. Her new book Bruny, set in Rose’s home state of Tasmania, couldn’t be more dif…
The Breeding Season by Amanda Niehaus
Debut novelist Amanda Niehaus is both a scientist and a writer, and she brings these passions to The Breeding Season. Elise and Dan, a couple in their thirties, experience a late-term pregnancy loss …
The Old Lie by Claire G. Coleman
Claire G. Coleman’s debut novel, Terra Nullius, made waves as it was shortlisted for the 2018 Stella Prize, along with many other awards. This year she’s back with a new science-fiction novel, explor…
Here Until August: Stories by Josephine Rowe
In Here Until August, a young man rows across an azure lake above a sunken town, carrying the ashes of his mother in a biscuit tin; an insular couple weathers an icy Canadian winter, listening to the…
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