KERRIE DAVIES Miles Franklin Undercover. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Author Kerrie Davies explores Miles Franklin’s life in the decades after the success of My Brilliant Career. A book is written in solitude and in a crowd, at night, in the early morning, on weekends, and in thoughts and in dreams. So writes Kerrie Davies in her...
SALLY ROONEY Intermezzo. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
Irish writer Sally Rooney is known for her succession of bestselling literary novels. Intermezzo is her best yet. In her first novel, Conversations with Friends, a young woman, Frances, enters into an obsessive affair with an older man, a jaded, not overly successful...
ROBERT MANNE A Political Memoir. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Robert Manne’s memoir charts the life of a public intellectual and independent thinker unafraid of a fight. A Political Memoir is an important work that says a lot about Australia and the sort of country we are. As well as some personal history, Robert Manne provides...
IRMA GOLD Shift. Reviewed by Naomi Manuell
Set in South Africa, the new novel from the author of The Breaking is both a family drama and deeply political. Irma Gold’s second novel explores the vital things we share through art and human connection. Arlie is a 30-something Melbourne photographer with a talent...
MARK LILLA Ignorance and Bliss: On wanting not to know. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
In Ignorance and Bliss, political scientist Mark Lilla gives a timely examination of why we can be so keen to avoid the truth. The Enlightenment, aka the Age of Reason, is based on the assumption that we want to acquire knowledge about ourselves and how the world...
EMMA DONOGHUE The Paris Express. Reviewed by Justine Ettler
The new novel from the author of Room and Akin delivers an Agatha Christie feel, a historical train derailment, and identity politics. In the search for an original twist, some crime writers are turning to literary and experimental tropes like hybrid genres and...
FRANCESCA DE TORES Saltblood. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Francesca de Tores’ novel is swashbuckling historical fiction, featuring unconventional women, war, and piracy on the high seas. Francesca de Tores makes it clear from the start: Mary Read and Anne Bonny are real historical figures – but I am no historian. In...
FIONA HARDY Unbury the Dead. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Melbourne author Fiona Hardy has broken very different ground with her crime fiction debut Unbury the Dead. Hardy is well-known in crime fiction circles as a Melbourne bookseller, crime fiction reviewer and, more recently, an award-winning author of children’s...
CLEM BASTOW and JO CASE (eds) Someone Like Me: An anthology of non-fiction by Autistic writers. Reviewed by Kylie Mason
This diverse anthology challenges stereotypes by bringing together Autistic women and gender-diverse writers to share their experiences. In their introduction to Someone Like Me, editors Clem Bastow and Jo Case say: Spending time with these twenty-five essays, piecing...
RACHEL MORTON The Sun Was Electric Light. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Set in Guatemala, Australian Rachel Morton’s debut novel of a young woman searching for her place in the world is already a prize-winner. Ruth is in her thirties and is disillusioned with life. She had moved to New York because it was the ‘furthest place’ from her...
DAVID MARR My Country: Stories, essays and speeches. Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
In this collection, David Marr presents 50 years of his thinking and writing about Australia. David Marr is one of Australia’s leading journalists, and he has been commenting on things Australian for over fifty years. In his preface he says, ‘Curiosity, mischief and...
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KERRIE DAVIES Miles Franklin Undercover. Reviewed by Ann Skea13 May 2025Author Kerrie Davies explores Miles Franklin’s life in the decades after [ … ]
SALLY ROONEY Intermezzo. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart8 May 2025Irish writer Sally Rooney is known for her succession of bestselling literary [ … ]
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