SHADY COSGROVE What the Ground Can’t Hold. Reviewed by Jacqui Dent
The past makes uneasy company for five avalanche survivors trapped in the Andes. Shady Cosgrove’s novel is quietly arresting to the very last page. ‘Snow falls in layers. Maybe the top one looks fine but there are more below. A warm day melts them …’ He balled...
CJ SANSOM Lamentation (Shardlake #6). Reviewed by Peter Corris
A novel of intrigue, heresy, violence and betrayal set in the turmoil of 16th-century England. Beginning with Dissolution in 2003, this the sixth book in Sansom’s highly successful Matthew Shardlake series of novels set in the reign of the second Tudor king – Henry...
JOAN LONDON The Golden Age. Reviewed by Robyne Young
At its heart The Golden Age is about transformation, both for its characters and their culture. Joan London’s first novel, Gilgamesh, delivered a remarkable reading experience and a master class in writing. Inspired by the world’s oldest known poem of the same name,...
MICHELLE DE KRETSER Springtime: A ghost story. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
The award-winning author of Questions of Travel delivers a delicious reinvention of a familiar form. Michelle de Kretser’s new novella charts the relationship of Frances and Charlie as they embark on a new life together. They’ve moved interstate from Melbourne...
RICHARD POWERS Orfeo. Reviewed by Virat Nehru
This sophisticated meditation on the nature of genius was longlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize. Richard Powers is primarily a philosopher who’s managed to disguise himself as a literary novelist. He sets up his literary canvases as projects of philosophical...
TRACY FARR The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt. Reviewed by Jeannette Delamoir
Longlisted for the 2014 Miles Franklin Literary Award, Tracy Farr’s first novel cheekily rewrites history. A Russian scientist developed the world’s first electronic musical instrument, the theremin, during the late 1920s; Farr relocates its invention from the...
PADDY O’REILLY The Wonders. Reviewed by Michelle McLaren
Paddy O’Reilly’s third novel is a riotously clever, dark-hearted look at fame and the human body – and what happens when the two collide. Leon is in his mid-20s, single and working in an office in Melbourne when he dies for the first time. He’s...
FAVEL PARRETT When the Night Comes. Reviewed by Robyne Young
The fragility of life and the beauty of the Antarctic combine in Favel Parrett’s new novel. I came to the reading of Favel Parrett’s When the Night Comes with my heart still full of the memory of the tears shed over the young characters in her debut novel, Past the...
DANIELLE WOOD Mothers Grimm. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Inspired by the famous fairy tales, these stories are a shocking joy to read. This wonderful title has been lurking in the zeitgeist for over 200 years. I don’t think it’s been used before and that is perhaps because it was waiting for this book. It’s a title that is...
DAVID MITCHELL The Bone Clocks. Reviewed by Kylie Mason
The author of Cloud Atlas returns with a genre-bending new work, long-listed for the 2014 Booker Prize. David Mitchell has made a name as the kind of writer who loves to take risks. His novels experiment with literary forms and genres, offering readers intricate...
JANETTE TURNER HOSPITAL The Claimant. Reviewed by Michael Richardson
Above all, The Claimant is an examination of identity. In the author’s note that follows her new novel, Janette Turner Hospital writes that ‘The Claimant is The Great Gatsby in reverse.’ It is an apt description. Spanning decades and continents, told from the point of...
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