Our latest reviews
Espana, Mischa & Lily Maisky
I was very glad when I opened the liner notes to see that the first question that was asked of the Latvian Cellist Mischa Maisky was, ‘why an album of Spanish music’? The answer? He simply loves them and believes…
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Daniel Handler isn’t quite as famous as Lemony Snicket. The Unfortunate Series of Events series catapulted the Snicket name into the upper-echelons of literary stardom. The series became one of the most popular among children, bazillions of the books were…
The Last Thread by Michael Sala
‘Australia Fair Lookout. Introspection strictly forbidden,’ reads a favourite Leunig cartoon of mine. I thought of this when reading Michael Sala’s fine debut novel, The Last Thread, for in it he summons a degree of self-examination which our culture…
The Longing by Candice Bruce
[[C_Bruce]] The indomitable Martin Shaw handed me this book saying, ‘You should review this. It’s right up your alley.’ With this recommendation, he was spot on. Those in art historical and gallery/museum circles will surely recognise the name. Now based…
American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar
American Dervish is the first novel from Ayad Akhtar, a Pakistani-American screenwriter and actor. Akhtar tells the story of Hayat, a young boy from a culturally Muslim family growing up in Wisconsin in the 1980s.When the beautiful and intelligent Mina…
Me and You and Niccolo Ammaniti
Me and You is a gem of a novel. Lorenzo is 14 years old and has no friends, which he knows concerns his parents. He devises the means to fit into social situations, but knows he is not part of…
Suddenly a Knock on the Door by Etgar Keret
Declared a genius by The New York Times, Israeli author Etgar Keret has a new, long-awaited collection of short stories, Suddenly a Knock on the Door. He’s been a hit at the Adelaide and Ubud (Bali) writers’ festivals…
Switched by Amanda Hocking
Move over, vampires: the trolls have arrived. Amanda Hocking, author of the Trylle Trilogy, is already a publishing phenomenon, selling millions of copies of her books and becoming one of the biggest-selling names in ebooks. Yet she’s only 26 and…
Baby Caught the Bus by Clairy Browne & the Banging Rackettes
The sassiest, most powerful new release of 2012 so far, Clairy Browne and her Banging Rackettes rock a huge rhythm-and-blues sound, filling your speakers with dark jazz and generally being so distractingly catchy that it’s about impossible to write a…
Secrets of a Lazy French Cook by Marie-Morgane Le Moël
French cook and writer Marie Morgane Le Moël arrived in Sydney ready to become a hard-bitten journalist. Things didn’t work out quite as she imagined – and she had not quite reckoned on feeling so homesick – so, she cooked…