CLARE MOLETA Unsheltered. Reviewed by Linda Godfrey
Clare Moleta’s novel canvases big questions as a mother searches for her child in a hostile landscape. The opening scene of Clare Moleta’s debut novel describes two farmers standing in the rain. Their daughter runs towards them – she’s scared; she’s five years...
BRIOHNY DOYLE Echolalia. Reviewed by Amy Walters
The new novel from Briohny Doyle, author of The Island Will Sink and Adult Fantasy, explores motherhood and capitalism. In 2015, 35- year-old mother of seven Akon Guode drove her car into a lake in Melbourne’s outer west, resulting in the deaths of three of her...
CLAIRE THOMAS The Performance. Reviewed by Michelle McLaren
Set during a bushfire, Claire Thomas’s second novel juxtaposes the performance of a play with the inner lives of its audience. We turn to art for strange reasons. We see it as a ticket to help us escape from reality and somehow also as a way to make us more...
EMILY MAGUIRE Love Objects. Reviewed by Linda Godfrey
The sixth novel from the author of An Isolated Incident and Fishing for Tigers explores hoarding, shame and class. Narrated from the points of view of three people from the same extended family, Love Objects is a study of hoarding, violations of private spaces,...
MARIA LEWIS The Rose Daughter. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Aurealis award-winner Maria Lewis has created an imaginative world that is both compelling and addictive. ‘All the best characters have scars…not just the villains.’ Set in a fantasy universe shared with her other novels, but still satisfying as a standalone read, The...
ELLA BAXTER New Animal. Reviewed by Linda Godfrey
Grief and its consequences are at the heart of Ella Baxter’s New Animal. Ella Baxter’s debut novel is about a young woman attempting to make sense of her world and her body after she has experienced two serious bouts of grief. This needs to be said upfront...
CASSANDRA AUSTIN Like Mother. Reviewed by Jessica Stewart
Cassandra Austin’s second novel is a page-turner that weaves together themes of motherhood and family secrets. On an ordinary summer’s day in 1969, in a small Australian town, a new mother finds her baby missing from her cot. In this gothic novel, Cassandra...
IRMA GOLD The Breaking. Reviewed by Amy Walters
Canberra writer Irma Gold brings her passion for elephants to her debut novel. After losing her job as a receptionist, Hannah flees to Thailand where her money will go further. Here she encounters Deven, a fellow Australian expat working as a teacher, whose passion is...
REBECCA STARFORD The Imitator. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Set in wartime London, Rebecca Starford’s debut novel brings a true story of espionage to life. When I was halfway through this book I discovered, by accident, that it is based on real wartime espionage that occurred in London between 1939 and 1940. Evelyn, the...
ALISON BOOTH The Philosopher’s Daughters. Reviewed by Kim Kelly
The fifth novel from Australian author Alison Booth, The Philosopher’s Daughters is an intriguing and energetic historical fiction that takes us from the genteel world of 1890s London parlour-chat to the sun-crisped, trackless outback of the Northern Territory. The...
JACQUELINE KENT Vida: A woman for our time. Reviewed by Kathy Gollan
In this new biography Jacqueline Kent chronicles the life of political trail-blazer Vida Goldstein and finds parallels with politics today. Vida Goldstein spent her whole life advocating for the rights of women. She was one of the first women to run for election to...
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