by NRB | 15 Aug 2024 | Fiction, SFF |
The team that is James SA Corey – author of The Expanse – delivers the first instalment of an epic new science fiction series. Lovers of good science fiction will be aware of the name James SA Corey. It is the pen name of Ty Frank and Daniel Abraham who, as a pair,...
by NRB | 14 Aug 2024 | Non-fiction |
Fintan O’Toole takes a fresh look at the world’s most famous playwright and the resonances his plays hold for our own time. Fintan O’Toole takes issue with the way Shakespeare has commonly been taught and discussed since the nineteenth century. In particular, he...
by NRB | 13 Aug 2024 | Non-fiction |
Ariane Beeston’s memoir chronicles her experience of postpartum psychosis, a devastating but little-understood condition. Because I’m Not Myself, You See casts a spotlight on an issue I knew nothing about. Postpartum psychosis is the most severe form of postpartum...
by NRB | 8 Aug 2024 | Non-fiction |
A mysterious man named the Pirate and the beautiful island of Corfu feature in this memoir from the author of The Sorrow Stone. It is September 1990. Kári Gíslason and his friend Paul have been hitchhiking across Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Italy. They are now on a...
by NRB | 6 Aug 2024 | Fiction |
The new novel from the author of The Magician and A Guest at the Feast continues the story of one of his most popular characters. In Long Island, his sequel to the award-winning 2009 Brooklyn, Tóibín returns to familiar territory. Brooklyn begins with Eilis Lacey...
by NRB | 1 Aug 2024 | Fiction |
When Gail Parent published Sheila Levine in 1972 it wasn’t called a ‘sad girl novel’; in 2024 Sarah Rose Etter’s Ripe shows the trope’s enduring popularity. Content warning: suicidal ideation Over 50 years ago, Gail Parent wrote a dark satire about a young...
by NRB | 30 Jul 2024 | Fiction |
Winner of the 2023 Dorothy Hewett Award, photographer Kirsty Iltners’ first novel explores both darkness and light. If you want to freeze something fast, you increase the shutter speed – but it makes the image darker. Tom’s memories of his first encounter with Adeline...
by NRB | 25 Jul 2024 | Non-fiction |
In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, our need to understand the US feels more immediate than ever. What sort of society is America? Can it, in fact, even be regarded as a society? The country has an exalted view of itself as a land of...
by NRB | 23 Jul 2024 | Fiction, SFF |
In KA Linde’s latest fantasy series, humans and monsters live together under a tenuous peace treaty in an alternate New York. Kierse’s latest contract – to break into some rich guy’s house and steal a ring – seemed simple enough until she realised the rich guy,...
by NRB | 18 Jul 2024 | Non-fiction |
Sam Elkin’s memoir encompasses the politics of the queer community and the realities of gender transition. Sam Elkin has written an intriguing memoir which encompasses his transition to a transmasculine male and his work for the pilot queer legal service set up within...
by NRB | 16 Jul 2024 | Fiction |
The second novel from the author of A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing unpeels secrets in the life of a young Taiwanese translator. Fay’s widowed Taiwanese mother brought her to Australia when she was still a baby. Now, Fay is a well-qualified translator, teaching at...
by NRB | 11 Jul 2024 | Non-fiction |
At last, a wonderfully comprehensive biography of tennis legend Harry Hopman, who captained Australia’s Davis Cup teams to 16 wins from 21 Challenge Round finals. It is fortunate that Michael Sexton took on the task. A gifted writer, whose credits include the...
JUNE WRIGHT Mother Paul series. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm6 December 2024June Wright has faded from view, but in 1948 her novel Murder in the Telephone [ … ]
ANDREW O’HAGAN Caledonian Road. Reviewed by Catherine Pardey5 December 2024This new novel from the author of Mayflies is set in London, but Glasgow is [ … ]
IAIN RYAN The Dream. Reviewed by Ben Ford Smith3 December 2024Iain Ryan’s latest novel continues his fascination with 1980s Queensland and [ … ]
MARINA YUSZCZUK Thirst. Reviewed by Ann Skea28 November 2024Argentinian writer Marina Yuszczuk puts her twist on the vampire novel in [ … ]