The Bridge… About the Book: In 1970s Melbourne, 22-year-old Italian migrant Antonello is newly married and working as a rigger on the West Gate Bridge, a gleaming monument to a modern city. When the bridge collapses one October morning, killing 35 of his workmates, his world crashes down on him. In 2009, Jo and her … Continue reading Book Review: The Bridge by Enza Gandolfo
Prize Winning Books
#2019StellaPrize Shortlist
And here it is. The 2019 Stella Prize Shortlist. I have read one (Little Gods) and have another (The Bridge) on my radar for reading this month. The winner will be announced in the evening on Tuesday, April 9. If you're on Twitter, you can follow the excitement on the night via #2019StellaPrize.
Book A Day: The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Day 11: The English Patient In 1992 this novel was one of two titles that won the Man Booker Prize for fiction and this year it took out the special 50th anniversary Golden Man Booker. Seems I’m not the only one who thinks it's one of the greatest novels ever written. Haunting and harrowing, as … Continue reading Book A Day: The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Book A Day: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Day 8: Cloudstreet I've read most of Tim Winton's books, the novels and the short story collections, and Cloudstreet remains my favourite. I first read it after watching the ABC’s First Tuesday Book Club, back in the days when it was still named that, and Marieke had nominated it as one of her all time … Continue reading Book A Day: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
New Release Book Review: The Yellow House by Emily O’Grady
The Yellow House... About the Book: Even before I knew anything about Granddad Les, Wally and me sometimes dared each other to see how close to the knackery we could get. It was way out in the bottom paddock, and Dad had banned us from going further than the dam. Wally said it was because … Continue reading New Release Book Review: The Yellow House by Emily O’Grady
A Day of Lists
It's International Women's Day today and to celebrate, The Stella Prize has announced its 2018 Shortlist. The Stella Prize winner for 2018 will be announced on the evening of Thursday April 12. And in other prize listing news, the Australian Book Industry Awards has announced their 2018 longlist. It's interesting to … Continue reading A Day of Lists
Sunday Spotlight with Sophie Laguna
Recently longlisted for The Stella Prize, Sofie Laguna’s The Choke is a brilliant, haunting novel about a child navigating an often dark and uncaring world of male power and violence, in which grown-ups can’t be trusted and comfort can only be found in nature. I read The Choke prior to its release last year and was… … Continue reading Sunday Spotlight with Sophie Laguna
My Reading Life: The 2018 Stella Prize Longlist
The 2018 Stella Prize longlist of powerful books by Australian women is: The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar (Wild Dingo Press) A Writing Life: Helen Garner and Her Work by Bernadette Brennan (Text Publishing) Anaesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness by Kate Cole-Adams (Text Publishing) Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman (Hachette Australia) … Continue reading My Reading Life: The 2018 Stella Prize Longlist
Queensland Literary Awards 2017 Fiction Winner: The Birdman’s Wife by Melissa Ashley
The Queensland Literary Awards ceremony was hosted by the State Library of Queensland on 4 October. I am absolutely thrilled that Melissa Ashley has been awarded The University of Queensland Fiction Book Award for her novel The Birdman's Wife, published by Affirm Press. So well deserved! About The Birdman's Wife: Inspired by a letter found tucked inside … Continue reading Queensland Literary Awards 2017 Fiction Winner: The Birdman’s Wife by Melissa Ashley
New Release Book Review: Drawing Sybylla by Odette Kelada
Drawing Sybylla... About: Winner of the 2016 Dorothy Hewett Award for an unpublished manuscript, Drawing Sybylla is a novel about the challenges women writers have faced in pursuing the writing life. On stage, a woman named Sybil Jones is making a speech. She is talking about the significance of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story ‘The … Continue reading New Release Book Review: Drawing Sybylla by Odette Kelada
