MAJA LUNDE The Dream of a Tree. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The new novel from the Norwegian author of The History of Bees imagines a dystopian future where seeds are more precious than ever. The year was 2097 and Tommy was five years old. He was playing on the beach of the abandoned container harbour in Longyearbyen on the...
KATE KEMP The Grapevine. Reviewed by Sally Nimon
Psychologist Kate Kemp’s debut novel opens with blood spatters and goes on to unravel the secrets of a suburban street in 1970s Australia. The time is 1979. The place (namely Warrah Place) is suburban Canberra. It’s summer and the heat is oppressive, disrupting the...
ALEXANDRA ALMOND Thoroughly Disenchanted. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Alexandra Almond’s cosy fantasy demonstrates why you really should be careful what you wish for. In Australian author Alexandra Almond’s debut fantasy novel, lovers Genevieve and Oliver spent a weekend in an enchanting old house – that may or may not be haunted...
ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY Shroud. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Adrian Tchaikovsky imagines a planet inhabited by intelligent life yet toxic to the humans who urgently need to understand it. Hot on the heels of the third book in his incredible Tyrant Philosophers fantasy series, prolific and multi-award-winning British science...
SUN JUNG My Name is Gucci. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Gucci the Dalmatian narrates this novel of lives entwined from South Korea to Sydney over multiple lifetimes. I did not expect that a novel narrated by a dog would move and astound me so much. I was not prepared for the richness of My Name is Gucci by Sun Jung. I...
ASHLEY KALAGIAN BLUNT Cold Truth. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Set amid the ferocious cold of a Canadian winter, Ashley Kalagian Blunt’s new novel continues her exploration of the threats of life online. In her debut novel, Dark Mode, Kalagian Blunt dug deep into the murky world of stalking and the personal toll of...
INGA SIMPSON The Thinning Reviewed by Ann Skea
The new novel from the author of Understory explores what happens when mining dramatically changes life on Earth. We haven’t always lived on amber alert, ready to run. When Dianella was the photographer in residence and Dad the head astronomer, we used to have a...
CATHERINE JINKS Panic. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
In her new novel, Panic, Catherine Jinks provides a timely take on online mobs, conspiracy theorists, and sovereign citizens. Bronte is a young woman who, along with most of her generation, records pretty much everything about her life online. One drunken rant,...
MELANIE CHENG The Burrow. Reviewed by Sanchana Venkatesh
The arrival of a pet rabbit proves confronting as well as comforting for the fractured family in Melanie Cheng’s second novel. Amy, Jin, and their ten-year-old daughter Lucie live in an inner-city suburb of Melbourne. Set towards the end of the pandemic lockdowns,...
MARTINE KROPKOWSKI Everywhere We Look. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Martine Kropkowski’s debut crime fiction delves into the devastating consequences of the epidemic of violence against women. Melissa, Bridie and Cassandra are friends, bonded over the sorts of things that connect young mothers – pressure, expectation, exhaustion and...
EVA MENASSE Darkenbloom. Reviewed by Ann Skea
In Austrian writer Eva Menasse’s new novel, the residents of a small border town are shaken when uncomfortable truths from the past come to light. Darkenbloom is a fictitious small town on the Austrian–Hungarian border: ‘A region where great spiritual, national, and...
Recent Posts
- ALAN HOLLINGHURST Our Evenings. Reviewed by Catherine Pardey20 March 2025The Booker-winning author of The Line of Beauty delivers a novel about class, [ … ]
- MAJA LUNDE The Dream of a Tree. Reviewed by Ann Skea18 March 2025The new novel from the Norwegian author of The History of Bees imagines a [ … ]
- KATE KEMP The Grapevine. Reviewed by Sally Nimon13 March 2025Psychologist Kate Kemp’s debut novel opens with blood spatters and goes on to [ … ]
- ALEXANDRA ALMOND Thoroughly Disenchanted. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley11 March 2025Alexandra Almond’s cosy fantasy demonstrates why you really should be careful [ … ]