MELISSA FERGUSON The Shining Wall. Reviewed by Dasha Maiorova
In Melissa Ferguson’s imaginative and original debut, Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal clones inhabit a bleak and desperate dystopia. The Shining Wall questions the nature of humanity and compassion in a world bereft of both. The depiction of an unhappy future, societal...
KELLY RIMMER The Things We Cannot Say. Reviewed by Kim Kelly
Kelly Rimmer’s fifth novel ranges from family stresses in present-day Florida to uncovering secrets from the darkness of Poland during World War II. Australian author Kelly Rimmer is establishing herself as a master of gritty journeys of the heart, of families...
KATHERINE COLLETTE The Helpline. Reviewed by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
Katherine Collette’s Germaine may not be ‘good with people’ but The Helpline charms and delights. The plot of The Helpline sounds a bit dull: late-thirties mathematician Germaine Johnson is made redundant from her role at an insurance company and,...
BARBARA SANTICH Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries: Two years in France. Reviewed by Jeannette Delamoir
A charming gastronomic memoir of two years in France from Barbara Santich, Wild Asparagus also creates a multi-dimensional portrait of a country on the cusp of political and social change. On New Year’s Day, 1977, Barbara Santich and her husband John jetted from...
ROSALIE HAM The Year of the Farmer. Reviewed by Linda Funnell
The author of The Dressmaker returns with The Year of the Farmer – a novel of romance and skullduggery in a small farming community. Part mystery, part romance, part social comedy and part slapstick, The Year of the Farmer brings together an engaging cast...
MOLLY MURN Heart of the Grass Tree. Reviewed by Sally Nimon
Kangaroo Island is an enduring presence spanning multiple generations in Heart of the Grass Tree. Not too tight, not too loose. You have to keep adding in the rushes – not all at once, she said – like adding to a family. Keep it growing. When you finish you can’t see...
KRISTINA OLSSON Shell. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
The struggle over the building of the Opera House is part of Australia’s ongoing quest for a national identity and the country’s truncated sense of itself at this time resonates through Shell. Shell is set in Australia in the months before the sacking...
HEATHER MCNEICE Yak on Track: An unforgettable adventure in the last Himalayan kingdom. Reviewed by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
Yak on Track shares McNeice’s 16-day trekking adventure in Bhutan, while offering a traveller’s insights into the country’s history and culture Nestled in the Himalayas between India and China, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a nation of forested mountain peaks...
HEATHER ROSE The Museum of Modern Love. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
This Stella Prize-winning novel from Heather Rose is a masterpiece of introspection. Passages linger in the mind; her evocative prose demands that we stop and ask What would I do? Rose has wrapped this novel around the life and work of the performance artist Marina...
LOUISA DEASEY A Letter from Paris. Reviewed by Jeannette Delamoir
In this search for her father, Louisa Deasey affirms the value of love, generosity, and – crucially – encourages thinking about what a successful life really is. Louisa Deasey’s father, Denison Deasey, died when she was a child. With only one photograph of them...
LIANE MORIARTY Nine Perfect Strangers. Reviewed by Sally Nimon
In her latest novel the bestselling author of Big Little Lies takes a group of disparate strangers into a health retreat that may not be quite what it seems. Nine Perfect Strangers is the latest release from Australian author Liane Moriarty, known to many through...
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