ANDREW NETTE Orphan Road. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
The third novel from pulp fiction aficionado Andrew Nette is a delightful, knowing nod to the genre. Following on from the enjoyable Gunshine State, Orphan Road again features Nette’s antihero Gary Chance, a survivor of military service in Afghanistan, in a new...
KIRSTY JAGGER Roseghetto. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
Kirsty Jagger’s debut novel is a confronting story about growing up in the worst of circumstances, and how violence and poverty can happen to anyone. Potential readers will need to take into account the author’s note at the front of this novel: This book is...
KAREN BROOKS The Escapades of Tribulation Johnson. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The latest novel from Karen Brooks brings Restoration London to life, particularly the world of its theatres and playwright Aphra Behn. Papa always said I was unnatural – that I’d too much to say for myself. He said a great many other things besides, all of which...
JAMES HYNES Sparrow. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
James Hynes’ new novel spins a tale from the edge of the Roman Empire. I was initially perplexed by Sparrow, a historical novel that diverges from the usual focus of significant historical personalities and events. In this captivating tale, Hynes introduces us to an...
LUKE RUTLEDGE A Man and His Pride. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Luke Rutledge’s debut novel is both a social comedy and a moving story of coming out. Luke Rutledge has written a delightful comedy of manners set against the backdrop of the 2017 marriage equality plebiscite. It opens at a cracking pace, introducing us to 26-year-old...
MAT OSMAN The Ghost Theatre. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Mat Osman’s second novel swoops through a fantastical rendering of Elizabethan London. Magic, drama, theatre – and the birds: Everywhere birds. The sound hit you first: vast waterfalls of birdsong, overspilling like a treasure hoard. On first hearing it was a thick...
MEGAN ROGERS The Heart is a Star. Reviewed by Emma Foster
Debut novelist Megan Rogers has chosen the moody west coast of Tasmania as the backdrop for this dark family drama. Just as the atmosphere on the Apple Isle can often be bleak and unpredictable (characteristics that have lent themselves so well to the rise of the...
CATHERINE THERESE Things She Would Have Said Herself. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
Catherine Therese follows up her memoir The Weight of Silence with a novel featuring an abrasive yet sympathetic protagonist. My mother thought Catch-22 was one of the funniest books ever written. My dad thought it one of the saddest. Things She Would Have Said...
LÁSZLÓ KRASZNAHORKAI A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East. Reviewed by Ben Ford Smith
Without drama, plot or action, Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai has nevertheless created a compelling work of fiction. Susan Sontag once described novelist László Krasznahorkai as ‘the Hungarian master of the apocalypse’. Many of Krasznahorkai’s...
TASHA SYLVA The Guest Room. Reviewed by Ann Skea
In Tasha Sylva’s debut novel a young woman obsessively investigates her sister’s murder … and her houseguests. ‘33-year-old woman found dead in a London park’ The woman was Tess’s sister, Rosie, and in her grief Tess has become obsessed with finding...
SUE ORR Loop Tracks. Reviewed by Mary Garden
Sue Orr’s new novel brings a timely personal dimension to debates around abortion. Sue Orr’s Loop Tracks has been a bestseller in New Zealand since its release in 2021. Published by Victoria University Press (now Te Herenga Waka University Press), the novel has flown...
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