Non-Fiction reviews
Summertime by Danielle Celermajer
In January of 2020, at the height of what has come to be known as Black Summer, Danielle Celermajer wrote an article about Jimmy the pig. Celermajer lives on a property in rural New South Wales where…
Eating With My Mouth Open by Sam van Zweden
Sam van Zweden’s debut book, Eating with My Mouth Open, is a collection of essays that dismantle the ideas and expectations around weight and well-being through the lens of food writing. Her story wi…
Coming of Age in the War on Terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Since 9/11, Muslim communities have become one of the most frequently targeted minorities in Australia. From tabloid media and political rhetoric to the national curriculum, the Australian imaginary …
Literary Lion Tamers by Craig Munro
Everyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with publishing, and I frequently read books about books, so I was thrilled to see Literary Lion Tamers published. Craig Munro has had an impressive career – …
Witness by Louise Milligan
Louise Milligan won the Walkley Book Award for her first book, Cardinal, which forensically and compassionately detailed the stories of several of the victims who made allegations of sexual abuse aga…
The Palace Letters by Jenny Hocking
Would these historic letters between the Queen and the governor-general about Kerr’s dismissal of the Whitlam government be recognised as Commonwealth records and opened for public access? Could we n…
A Letter to Layla by Ramona Koval
Ramona Koval’s A Letter to Layla examines what it means to be human. In an affectionate account of Homo sapiens’ origins, she explores what has given us our current dominance of the planet. All life …
The Doctor Who Fooled the World by Brian Deer
On day one of Dr Andrew Wakefield’s hearing for serious professional misconduct, the staff of the UK’s General Medical Council (GMC) took turns to read out ninety-three pages of charges against Wakef…
Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald
I adored H is For Hawk, Helen Macdonald’s memoir of grief and falconry, which took an unconventional approach to the wellworn idea that the natural world has healing power. Macdonald explored its bea…
Having and Being Had by Eula Biss
Having and Being Had is the new book from American essayist Eula Biss and, as with her two previous very good works, this is the kind of enthralling read that opens up your thinking in new and exciti…