Australian fiction
Dancing Home by Paul Collis
Fresh out of prison and driven by a hunger for drugs, revenge, and a hankering to reconnect with his grandmother’s country, Blackie embarks on a road trip back to Wiradjuri country. Along for the ride are former cellmate, Rips, and…
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 birds and wildlife. Before long, the hauntings begin. A strange…
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 book of memories, some my…
The Choke by Sofie Laguna
Sofie Laguna’s third novel for adults gave me that sweet reading moment we all pine for – when you realise that your lived world is colliding with that of the page. Reading becomes the sole purpose of the day. You…
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 the husband she barely recognises anymore…
City of Crows by Chris Womersley
It was during the reign of King Louis XIV that the Affair of the Poisons transpired, scandalising seventeenth-century France. Many members of the aristocracy were implicated, hundreds of people were arrested and more than 30 were executed. During this time…
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 early life in Lorraine. Alizadeh balances two stories: that of…
A New England Affair by Steven Carroll
Once upon a time T.S. Eliot (Tom), considered one of the most influential playwrights and poets of modern times, wrote: ‘I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope/ For hope would be hope for the wrong thing.’…
Common People by Tony Birch
In one of Tony Birch’s stories, a young character says, ‘You never told me that part of the story.’ Her friend Betty replies, ‘No, I didn’t. It was better to concentrate on the best part. That’s how stories work.’ This…
On the Java Ridge by Jock Serong
Jock Serong’s books don’t shy away from tackling topics that affect contemporary society and in On the Java Ridge, although this doesn’t dominate the narrative, they are there. In Quota, it was the ethics of the legal system…