Luck in the Greater West by Damian McDonald28 November, 2007Luck in the Greater West explores the circumstances and interconnections of a disparate group of inhabitants of the vast suburban sprawl that is greater western Sydney
Natural History by Neil Cross28 November, 2007Natural History is an unusual literary thriller set in a failing animal refuge, home to dysfunctional apes which have been rescued from abusive owners.
Ocean Road by Glyn Parry28 November, 2007It’s summer, 1976—Frank, Laura and their son Toby are holidaying at a seaside cottage, but this is a summer of uncertain times where a marriage and three lives are changed forever.
The Storm Prophet by Hector Macdonald28 November, 2007A tale of shipwreck with a difference,
The Storm Prophet is difficult to sum up. It is set in an alternate present, when an election for the position of ‘First Citizen’ is taking place.
Towards Another Summer by Janet Frame28 November, 2007For fans of Janet Frame’s work,
Towards Another Summer will be another encounter with a much-loved friend. Those unfamiliar with this brilliant and eccentric New Zealander, as famous for her traumatic life story as for her crystalline prose, might start here.
The Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly22 November, 2007Six Sacred Stones, the sequel to
Seven Ancient Wonders, takes us on the next whirlwind adventure of Jack ‘Huntsman’ West Jr and his motley crew of incredibly intelligent scientists, mathematicians, army-trained combat fighters and genius children, one of whom is his adopted daughter.
A History of the Great War by Peter McConnell22 November, 2007A History of the Great War is told through the eyes of Ida Hallam, a dowdy woman with slim prospects who, for all intents and purposes, is ‘left on the shelf’—until she catches the eye of the man she marries, Ralph Mitton.
The Big Score by Peter Corris22 November, 2007A good short story is hard to beat. It needs to engage the reader, have enough substance and detail to tell the story and end in a satisfactory and conclusive way, all within a few pages.
Floodtide by Judy Nunn22 November, 2007I must admit I started reading this book with a certain degree of scepticism. Although a convert to the underrated talents of Di Morrissey in terms of penning the contemporary Australian epic, I was unsure if Judy Nunn was similarly maligned by those who do literature with a capital ‘L.’
The Memory Room by Christopher Koch22 November, 2007In Hobart in the late 1960s, Derek Bradley meets fellow university student Vincent Austin. Austin is slightly older, charismatic and unusually conservative in those radical times. The pair become firm friends. Then one wet winter night, Derek sees Vincent talking to a young woman, and is introduced to Erika Lange.
Remember Me by Derek Hansen22 November, 2007When you are young, it’s easy to think that you are at the centre of everything—especially when you are a young writer.
Remember Me is a confessional novel sparked by the rediscovery of the ‘essays’ the narrator wrote at school in 1950s Auckland, on topics such as ‘my home’, ‘the burden of responsibility’ and ‘the importance of washing your hands.’
The Riven Kingdom: Godspeaker Book Two by Karen Miller22 November, 2007The first thing that struck me is how different the setting is from the first book in the series,
Empress of Mijak. Unlike Mijak, which is a bleak land dominated by a strict and bloodthirsty God, Ethrea is a nation instantly recognised by fantasy readers.
Skin and Bone by Kathryn Fox22 November, 2007Kathryn Fox’s third crime novel following
Malicious Intent and
Without Consent does not feature Dr Anya Crichton, the main character in the first two books, but instead centres on detective sergeant Kate Farrar, whom we last met in
Malicious Intent.
The Trout Opera by Matthew Condon22 November, 2007Wilfred Lampe has experienced a whole century in the Snowy River town of Dalgety. He’s a part of the landscape, its consistencies and its alterations. The Olympic Commitee have him in mind as a representative of the values of Australia. But how can one life, so full of contradictions and challenges, be summed up in one brightly lit ceremony?
Vinyl Inside by Rachel Matthews22 November, 2007Vinyl Inside, Rachel Matthews’ debut novel, is the honest and quietly assertive story of Elsie, a middle-aged woman living a simple life with her long-time partner Sterling (a stud in Speedos), in Splashes, a typically Australian caravan park.
The Quiet Girl by Peter Hoeg5 November, 2007Peter Hoeg's second novel,
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow, was a huge success and I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed it .
The Quiet Girl, however, is very different. It is a strange and confusing story.
The Lost Dog by Michelle de Krester1 November, 2007Michelle de Kretser showed us in
The Hamilton Case what a gifted writer she is, offering a multilayered and mixed-voice narrative which was at once a rich family history and a cracking good murder mystery.
Landscape of Farewell by Alex Miller30 October, 2007Readers familiar with
Journey to the Stone Country will feel a comforting sense of deja vu right from the start of Alex Miller’s superb new novella.
The CEO by Peter Ralph30 October, 2007The CEO is a pacy business thriller reminiscent of Douglas Kennedy’s
The Job and some of John Grisham’s books, but with a couple of major differences: it is set in Melbourne, and in those novels, you are always rooting for the hero.
The Devil's Footprints (Novel) and Gift Songs (Poems) by John Burnside4 September, 2007The Devil's Footprints is a strange and haunting book written by a poet who seems always to have a sense of some shadowy presence which exists just on the limits of consciousness.
Stride's Summer by Jenni Overend *1 July, 2007Stride’s life is thrown into disarray when his father dies.
Scatterheart by Lili Wilkinson **1 July, 2007Hannah Cheshire is London ‘Quality’. Her father absconds, leaving her to survive alone.
I am by Kate Forsyth & Rosie Street *1 July, 2007I Am was written by Kate Forsyth in response to the dearth of children’s books written in the first person.
Getting Air by Debra Oswald **1 July, 2007Debra Oswald’s latest is a fast-paced novel, told from the first-person perspective of Zac, who is 15 and growing up in a small, rural town.
The Dog Who Loved a Queen by Jackie French **1 July, 2007Jackie French, pillar of Australian juvenile fiction, brings us the second in her series of historical tales told from the point of view of animals.