Our latest reviews

Father's Day: Tony Birch

Reviewed by Jo Case, editor of Readings Monthly

Tony Birch won wide acclaim for his first story collection, Shadowboxing, set in 1960s Fitzroy. Father’s Day is another very Melbourne book, with recognisable settings such as Sydney Road, Brunswick and the St Alban’s train line. And again, his…

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Barley Patch: Gerald Murnane

Reviewed by Smiljana Glisovic, Readings Carlton

Words are not important. Or rather, they are only important in as much as a reader can find their way ‘across pages of text’ and into landscapes which they move through by virtue of their own imagining. Murnane assumes the…

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Smoke In The Room: Emily Maguire

Reviewed by Luke May, Readings St Kilda

Here is a smokescreen in a sunlit city, a place where cheap beer and primal sex preclude sleep and grief. American Adam dreams of his dead wife, Katie screws to ward off madness, and Graeme isolates himself in the past…

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The Essence Of The Thing: Madeleine St John

Reviewed by Michelle Calligaro, Readings Monthly Editorial Assistant

Madeleine St John, author of the wonderfully engaging The Women in Black, set in 1950s Sydney, turns her sharp eye and social observations to contemporary London.

Nicola, a young and happy publicist for an arts organisation, returns home to…

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Rocky and Gawenda: The Story Of A Man And His Mutt: Michael Gawenda

Reviewed by Kath Lockett, freelance reviewer

Michael Gawenda is probably best known for being the editor of The Age, but has since found fame and freedom in semi-retirement writing a blog about his daily walks around St Kilda with Rocky, his young shaggy dog of…

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Liar: Justine Larbalestier

Reviewed by Marie Matteson, Readings Port Melbourne

Micah is a compulsive liar but she has agreed to tell us the truth. So begins this psychological thriller with an unforgettable but unreliable narrator who is trying to be honest.

The book is divided into three parts, or the…

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Bruce Martin: A Life In Song: Bruce Martin

Reviewed by Maurice Smith, Classical Music Buyer for the City of Boroondara Library Service

Over the last few months, a number of discs have appeared featuring Australian artists, for which the recording industry must be complimented. It is wonderful to have Emma Mathews recorded in her prime. And now, to add to the list…

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Dreams Of Andalusia: Jewish, Arabic and Christian Songs of Medieval Spain: Belinda Sykes & Joglaresa

Reviewed by Catherine Koerner, Readings Hawthorn

Joglaresa are leaders in the improvisational and cross-cultural aspects of their repertoire, which is Medieval, Middle Eastern, Flamenco and Celtic music. The resulting sound on this CD is more like a street carnival band than a highbrow early music group…

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Turbulent Heart: Music of Vierne & Chausson: Steve Davislim, tenor, Guillaume Tourniaire, Queensland Orchestra

Reviewed by Catherine Koerner, Readings Hawthorn

The talented, internationally renowned Australian tenor Steve Davislim has released another stunning album, soon after his wonderful Benjamin Britten CD, this time with a program of rarely heard French romantic music by composers Chausson and Vierne. This is the aural…

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Piewoh: Ariana Savall

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom, Readings Carlton

The second of Savall’s CD had a high standard to live up to and it does it exceptionally well. Her gentle melodies beautifully complement her style of harp playing with some expert accompaniment from a variety of instruments such as…

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