Page 5 of our reviews
Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
Megan Abbott was a guest of the Melbourne Writers Festival in 2017, and I heard her speak in a session titled, ‘The Dark Side of Womanhood’. Abbott, a literary thriller writer, spoke about her enjoym…
Bailar Cantando: Fiesta Mestiza en el Peru
Many regulars at Readings will know of Jordi Savall, the viola de gamba player and truly awe-inspiring early music specialist from Spain. Since the 1970s, Savall has been revolutionising period music…
A Superior Spectre by Angela Meyer
In the near future, Jeff is dying. Haunted by his dark past and current deterioration, he abandons Melbourne, and his long-suffering partner Faye, for the relative remoteness of Scotland. Once there,…
Natural Born Loser by Oliver Phommavanh
Grade Sixer Raymond is resigned to his fate as a natural born follower but when a new principal arrives at Barryjong Primary School determined to shake things up, he somehow finds himself cast in the…
No Country Woman by Zoya Patel
Zoya Patel was born in Fiji to Indian parents, and came to Australia at three years old. In her thoughtful debut essay collection, she grapples with the idea of identity, and the often confusing expe…
Happy Never After by Jill Stark
Five years after publishing High Sobriety, Jill Stark returns with Happy Never After, somewhere between a follow-up memoir and investigative journalism.
Where High Sobriety explored Stark’s and the …
The Biographer’s Lover by Ruby J. Murray
If you enjoyed the recent work of Gail Jones, this novel about the worth of art, set in Melbourne’s north and Geelong, will also delight you. I loved to read about the brick terrace in Carlton, the a…
Handel: Acis and Galatea
No sooner have Acis and Galatea declared their love than the evil giant (read: sexual predator) Polyphemus tears their union asunder. After doggedly but unsuccessfully pursuing Galatea, a jilted Poly…
I Am Out With Lanterns by Emily Gale
The title of Emily Gale’s latest young adult novel is inspired by an Emily Dickinson quote: ‘I am out with lanterns, looking for myself’. This simple yet evocative metaphor sets the focus for this wo…
Radiant Shimmering Light by Sarah Selecky
Eleven Novak’s name is her brand; a teacher of enlightenment and spirituality with a powerful online presence. Eleven is beautiful, inspirational and successful and each year takes a group of followe…
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