Page 4 of our 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…
In Love with George Eliot by Kathy O’Shaughnessy
I have been stuck at page thirty-nine of Middlemarch for going on four years now. So when the chance to read about being in love with George Eliot arose, I grabbed it in the hope of finding the spark…
Mozart: Piano Trios
There is something so assured in this recording of Mozart’s Piano Trios. A deft touch at the piano, a sense of style to the violin melodies and a warm rich tone for the cello. This is everything Moza…
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…
Your Own Kind of Girl by Clare Bowditch
Melbourne is a town of connections. I’m sure many of us have heard of Clare Bowditch, perhaps we have heard her on the radio, seen her on television, or follow her on Instagram. Perhaps you have sung…
The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
When Philip Pullman first announced that he was releasing three new books set in the world of His Dark Materials, he shared a few tantalising details about what to expect. Most provocatively, he expl…
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates has been a correspondent for the Atlantic and among his bestselling works of nonfiction is Between the World and Me, which won the National Book Award. Coates is also the current aut…
Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
Hold hands, close your eyes and take thirteen steps: that is how Becca Donoghue and her boyfriend disappeared, searching for the legend of Lucy Gallows. One year on and Becca’s sister Sara is intent …
Madame Badobedah by Sophie Dahl & Lauren O’Hara
Mabel lives at The Mermaid Hotel, which her parents manage. She is an imaginative ‘adventurer’ who often goes down to the nearby sea, the same sea Madame Badobedah travelled across when she was a you…
Attack of the 50 Foot Wallflower by Christian McKay Heidicker
Phoebe’s mum is the world-famous Loretta Lane – the woman with whom King Kong (who was actually a ‘giant sweetheart’) was infatuated. Her dad is an invisible giant man in the sky who warns Phoebe and…
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