KIM KELLY The Rat Catcher. Reviewed by Ann Skea
In her latest novel Kim Kelly blends a slice of Sydney’s history with an Irish love story. In February 1900, Sydney was sweltering in the sort of summer heat that, as The Rat Catcher’s Patrick O’Reilly says, sent ‘ale sizzling down your throat as if the amber...
VIKKI PETRAITIS The Unbelieved. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
After more than 25 years of writing true crime, Vikki Petraitis turns her hand to fiction. Australian true crime author Vikki Petraitis won the inaugural Allen and Unwin crime fiction prize for The Unbelieved, her first fictional outing. And while this is fiction, it...
ASTRID SCHOLTE League of Liars. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Melbourne-based Astrid Scholte’s new novel pits its characters against injustice. Liars … recount their stories perfectly. As though they’ve memorised the story from start to finish. However, the truth is organic. Details are remembered in bits and pieces....
DBC PIERRE Big Snake Little Snake: An inquiry into risk. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The Booker-winning author of Vernon God Little turns his attention to philosophy, mathematics, and the nature of cause and effect. DBC Pierre was in Trinidad to make a short commercial film with a parrot. Living in a house on a hill, beside which ‘someone had thought...
NATHAN HOBBY The Red Witch: A biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard. Reviewed by Kathy Gollan
Nathan Hobby explores the life of one of Australia’s most controversial writers. Katharine Susannah Prichard’s novel Coonardoo is her best-known and most accomplished work. Published in 1929, and serialised in the Bulletin, it’s a tragedy about sexual longing...
HOLDEN SHEPPARD The Brink. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Holden Sheppard’s second novel is more Lord of the Flies than teen exploitation story. Holden Sheppard’s Invisible Boys (2019) was a stunning debut that got a lot of attention when it was released. It’s a raw and real read – an honest novel about being young and...
DAVID McRANEY How Minds Change. Reviewed by Ann Skea
David McRaney explores how to convince people to change their views. The blurb on the back of this book states: ‘Our most deeply held opinions and beliefs can change – here’s how.’ It turns out that for some of the people whose stories science journalist David McRaney...
MATTHEW RICKETSON and PATRICK MULLINS Who Needs the ABC? Reviewed by Braham Dabscheck
Matthew Ricketson and Patrick Mullins make the case for Australia’s public broadcaster. If the title of Matthew Ricketson and Patrick Mullins’s book is a question, the subtitle – ‘Why taking it for granted is no longer an option’ – implies the answer: everyone....
MADELINE MILLER Galatea: A short story. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Madeline Miller reimagines Ovid’s story of Pygmalion and Galatea, the work of art brought to life. … he sculpted white ivory happily with wondrous art and wondrous skill and gave it form with which no mortal woman is born, and he fell in love with his...
TONI JORDAN Dinner with the Schnabels. Reviewed by Michelle McLaren
Toni Jordan’s sixth novel navigates post-lockdown Melbourne with a memorable family. Before the pandemic, Simon Larsen was a successful architect. He had everything a successful person would have – an expensive watch, a luxury car. He, his wife Tansy, and their...
MARK WORMALD The Catch: Fishing for Ted Hughes. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Mark Wormald follows Ted Hughes through rivers and streams to provide insights into his life, his poetry – and fishing. Mark Wormald is a scholar, a poet and a fisherman. In 2012, he made his way to the British Library to begin some research on the work of the poet...
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