The Godfather: Peter Corris on Maugham again
I’ve written before about my admiration for Somerset Maugham’s short stories and how, after selling off my entire library when I could no longer read print, the only three volumes I kept were the set of Maugham’s stories. I was in the habit of reading a couple of my...
BILL WILKIE The Daintree Blockade: The battle for Australia’s tropical rainforests. Reviewed by Suzanne Marks
Bill Wilkie draws us into the heart and soul of the protest movement, revealing the courage, passion and dedication of those who fought to protect Daintree. At first glance this book could be taken for yet another coffee-table tome, printed impressively on...
Spring 2017 Giveaway #9
Four more great books to win in our bumper spring giveaways. To go in the draw simply email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with ‘SPRING #9’ in the subject line and your name and address in the body of the email by 6pm Thursday 2 November 2017. As we cannot...
MATT WATSON Fabulous Phil: The Phil Carman Story. Reviewed by Bernard Whimpress
A rivetingly flawed biography of one of the most talented Australian Rules footballers to ever pull on a boot. Let’s begin with the flaws. This is a book with 55 chapters and books with so many chapters usually see me casting them aside – they’re just too bitty. It...
Spring 2017 Giveaway #8
Yes! Spring is still springing at NRB, even though it feels more like summer. To go in the draw to win four more marvellous books, simply email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with ‘SPRING #8’ in the subject line and your name and address in the body of the...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on electricity
Eventually the endless media discussion about power prices got to me and, in an idle moment, I fell to counting up the number of sources of electricity and appliances in our relatively spacious one-bedroom flat which is, mercifully, fairly easy to heat and cool. Here...PHILIP MILLER All the Galaxies. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
A great deal goes on in All the Galaxies as boy and his dog search the secular afterlife, while Scotland groans under a dystopian vision. All the Galaxies is a book that is hard to categorise. It is an odd mixture of dystopian vision, some light...
Spring 2017 Giveaway #7
Be quick … another chance to win in our Spring 2017 giveaways. To go in the draw to win these four great titles, simply email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with ‘SPRING #7’ in the subject line and your name and address in the body of the...
BRIOHNY DOYLE Adult Fantasy: Searching for true maturity in an age of mortgages, marriages and other adult milestones. Reviewed by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
We have arguably privileged lives yet we feel close to desperation – the paradox at the heart of Briohny Doyle’s Adult Fantasy. I grew up through the 1980s and 90s believing the mantra of you can do anything. As I hastily finished an undergrad...
Spring 2017 Giveaway #6
To go in the draw to win these four fab titles, simply email editors@newtownreviewofbooks.com.au with ‘SPRING #6’ in the subject line and your name and address in the body of the email by 6pm Tuesday 24 October 2017. As we cannot afford to post giveaway...
The Godfather: Peter Corris on the outstanding success of Malcolm Turnbull
This may seem to be an unusual heading given my stated political leanings and the observable political facts, but bear with me. It’s based on a single premise, which will become clear. Turnbull, although he claims to have been raised in somewhat straitened...
Recent Posts
ZEYNAB GAMIELDIEN Learned Behaviours. Reviewed by Sally Nimon5 March 2026The new novel from the award-winning author of The Scope of Permissibility [ … ]
TIM AYLIFFE Dark Desert Road. Reviewed by Viv Ronnebeck3 March 2026Tim Ayliffe’s new thriller Dark Desert Road delivers claustrophic tension [ … ]
CAMERON SULLIVAN The Red Winter. Reviewed by Robert Goodman26 February 2026Australian Cameron Sullivan’s debut fantasy features a demon, a monster, dark [ … ]
MICHAEL BURGE Dirt Trap. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm24 February 2026Twenty years have passed since the brutal death of James Brandt’s beloved [ … ]