Nonfiction

Oppositions by Mary Gaitskill

Reviewed by Tye Cattanach

In The Observer’s review of Mary Gaitskill’s new book, Oppositions, Abhrajyoti Chakraborty writes: ‘Gaitskill is gloriously trenchant, but never gimmicky, in these unsparing essays’. There it was, the word I had been futilely casting about for in my own…

Read more ›

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

Reviewed by Stella Charls

Ann Patchett has made a habit of keeping me company over Melbourne lockdowns. In March 2020, as the world began to shut down, I immersed myself in her multilayered family saga, The Dutch House. In our second lockdown I…

Read more ›

Doing Politics: Writing on Public Life by Judith Brett

Reviewed by Julia Jackson

In recent years, avid readers have been rewarded with collections of writings by Don Watson, David Marr and Robert Manne. Now, it’s Judith Brett’s turn, with this excellent collection that brings together some of her best written works, from journal…

Read more ›

Another Day in the Colony by Chelsea Watego

Reviewed by Kara Nicholson

Professor Chelsea Watego is a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman who grew up on Yuggera country. She recently joined Queensland University of Technology within the School of Public Health and Social Work to lead a $1.7 million project to…

Read more ›

Adrift in Melbourne: Seven Walks by Robyn Annear

Reviewed by Chris Gordon

Quite frankly, reading anything written by Robyn Annear is a complete joy. She writes as if it’s just you and her chatting away, strolling through the streets of our wonderful city. I consider this book essential reading for anyone who…

Read more ›

Signs and Wonders: Dispatches from a Time of Beauty and Loss by Delia Falconer

Reviewed by Chris Gordon

Every now and then, I am completely delighted when a book comes along that seems to be an extension – an elegant and well- crafted extension – of my own thoughts. DeliaFalconer’s Signs and Wonders has found the words for…

Read more ›

The Luminous Solution: Creativity, Resilience and the Inner Life by Charlotte Wood

Reviewed by Tye Cattanach

In the preface of The Luminous Solution, Charlotte Wood muses upon the bookshelf positioned directly behind her writing chair. Wood is unsentimental about keeping the vast majority of books she reads, preferring to release them into the world and…

Read more ›

Fulfillment by Alec MacGillis

Reviewed by Alison Huber

On the face of it, Amazon has made consumption very easy for a lot of people in America and elsewhere in the world: order goods online at discounted prices, and the items will arrive at your door before you could…

Read more ›

Lies, Damned Lies by Claire G. Coleman

Reviewed by Jackie Tang

Noongar writer Claire G. Coleman blazed onto the local literary scene like a comet with her debut novel Terra Nullius in 2017. With its ingenious blend of historical and speculative fiction, it challenged many readers to rethink and reimagine the…

Read more ›

The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan

Reviewed by Alison Huber

Oxford University academic Amia Srinivasan may be known to some readers for the title essay of this collection, which appeared in the London Review of Books in 2018. The piece uses the grim phenomenon of recent violent crimes committed by…

Read more ›