The impulse to mimic famous actors and singers, to do impressions of their voices and mannerisms, is a compulsion with some people, including me. It’s an impulse to be...
Read MoreThe lived experience of punitive cruelty colours these vibrant theoretical exchanges between Pussy Riot’s Nadya and Slavoj Žižek. ‘Virgin Mary, mother of God,...
Read MoreBeyond monogamy: Lee Kofman’s original, intelligent memoir explores the sexual landscape. In an increasingly censorious age, Lee Kofman’s memoir gives the finger to the...
Read MoreReading Bill Garner’s excellent history of camping in Australia, Born in a Tent (positively reviewed in the NRB), prompted me to think about his theory that camping...
Read MoreNostalgia casts a long shadow in this novel about small-town life and secrets. Although we associate the word ‘nostalgia’ with a wistful longing for the past, the term...
Read MoreThe world lost more than a household name when Colleen McCullough died on 29 January. Over 15 years, off and on, I published and edited Colleen McCullough in Australia....
Read MoreSome of the very best popular songs depend for their emotional power and resonance on an unspoken backstory. Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s ‘One for My Baby’, made...
Read MoreShortlisted for the 2014 NSW Premier’s History Award, this is a fascinating story of renovation and the recovery of more than just a house. Moruya’s old Presbyterian...
Read MoreThe father of cyberpunk returns with a new novel that deals in corporate wars, time travel and murder. William Gibson is one of the most famous science fiction authors...
Read More‘We all die, it’s just a question of when.’ Paul Newman in Hombre (1967). Some years ago it was discovered that my heart had been damaged by a couple of attacks, which,...
Read MoreThere are many reasons to love this book – it is a quiet, yet tough-minded, humane triumph. This multiple-prize-winning book (it won the Costa Book of the Year and the...
Read MoreThis draw is now closed. Congratulations to our winner – B Culloty from Queensland! Craig Davidson Cataract City Childhood friends grow up in Niagara Falls, known...
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{ I'm with you Julia. And I extend that to the aggressively English accents (whatever they are) you hear on BBC radio. I feel I am... } – The Godfather: Peter Corris on accents, 25 Feb 18, 6:01 pm 
{ I thought it pretty common knowledge that anyone who pronounced 'aitch' as 'haitch' was of blue collar, Catholic background - as I'm now in my... } – The Godfather: Peter Corris on accents, 23 Feb 18, 1:41 pm 
{ I would add that any politician who feels the need to be accompanied at a television interview by a 'noddy', or even worse, two 'noddies'... } – The Godfather: Peter Corris on disqualifications, 16 Feb 18, 1:53 pm 
{ Agree wholeheartedly - especially point #3 } – The Godfather: Peter Corris on disqualifications, 16 Feb 18, 11:01 am { What did you think of the TV series of "Bosch", Peter? I found the first episodes difficult - as the splendidly named actor playing Harry... } – The Godfather: Peter Corris on retrospectives, 09 Feb 18, 8:44 pm