TIM FLANNERY Sunlight and Seaweed: An argument for how to feed, power and clean up the world. Reviewed by Tom Patterson
Tim Flannery sends us an urgent but optimistic message in Sunlight and Seaweed. Out of the ashes of investigative newspaper journalism little books have arisen: non-fiction, novella-length essays on topical subjects. Tim Flannery isn’t a journalist,...
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...
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...
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...
VANESSA BERRY Mirror Sydney. Reviewed by Tom Patterson
A series of delightful anecdotes about Sydney Vanessa Berry sets out her brief in Mirror Sydney early. This book is a description of Sydney that doesn’t seek to describe its ‘natural beauty’ but instead focuses on the ‘marginalia, the overlooked and the odd’. To...
ROSIE WATERLAND Every Lie I’ve Ever Told. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
Rosie Waterland gives a clear-eyed reckoning of her life in this new memoir. In Every Lie I’ve Ever Told, Rosie Waterland tells stories from her ruptured childhood – first laid bare in her 2016 memoir The Anti-Cool Girl – interlacing them with intelligent,...
BRADON ELLEM The Pilbara: From the deserts profits come. Reviewed by Bernard Whimpress
The Pilbara is an important book for anyone thinking about the world of work and how it might be shaped in Australia. Bradon Ellem tells us at the outset that his approach will be historical and geographical, that the past does not stay the same, and that the vast...
CASSIE LANE How to Dress a Dummy. Reviewed by Robin Elizabeth
How to Dress a Dummy speaks frankly of Cassie Lane’s battle for acceptance and will ring bells with many women. Cassie Lane is a former international model with a Masters in Creative Writing, but seems to be best known in Australia for dating AFL player...
JULIANNE SCHULTZ and JERATH HEAD (eds) Griffith Review #56: Millennials Strike Back. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Millennials write here about what affects their generation – it affects us all. This is a stunningly good collection of essays, memoirs, images, fiction, reportage and poetry. Written with flair and commitment, it is fresh and exciting. It is very timely, too....
ROXANE GAY Hunger. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
The gruelling honesty and intense focus of Hunger invite self-reflection in the reader. Roxane Gay has a gift for observation and the ability to articulate her thoughts into beautiful writing, no matter how ghastly the revelation. That she can find humour or hope...
HELEN HAENKE Helen Haenke at Rockton: A creative life. Reviewed by Jeannette Delamoir
The life of Helen Haenke highlights the vitality and value of regional arts and their crucial interconnections with place. Who was Helen Haenke? Where is Rockton? This non-fiction publication from the University of Queensland Press (edited by Joanne...
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