Bibliophile | ‘A Saint from Texas’ challenges class, sexuality & power
A Saint from Texas by Edmund White Bloomsbury Yvonne (pronounced Why-von in Texas) and Yvette (pronounced Why-vet) Crawford are twin sisters born in Ranger, Texas – once the oil capital of America before the wells ran dry in the 1930s. Their mother died in the 1950s and their father had millions in oil money in […]
Bibliophile | ‘Cinderella is Dead’ by Kalynn Bayron
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron Bloomsbury Variations of the Cinderella story have been told for nearly 2000 years and the mythology of the popular fairy tale lingers in our cultural ether even today. While the Grimm brothers’ tale is a lot darker than the Disney one, the possibility that magic can transform a destitute […]
Bibliophile | ‘Sam Bloom: Heartache & Birdsong’
Sam Bloom by Samantha Bloom, Cameron Bloom & Bradley Trevor Greive ABC Books The best-selling book Penguin Bloom captured the hearts and minds of people around the world, and the miraculous and heart-warming story has even inspired a major motion picture starring Naomi Watts. Full of the most marvelous photographs, it told how a wounded […]
Bibliophile | Paul Dalgarno delivers polyamorous romantic drama in ‘Poly’
Poly by Paul Dalgarno Ventura Press Melbournites Chris and Sarah Flood met in Hong Kong. He was working as a DJ and she was dancing professionally with Tasty Moves in Asia. Many years and two children later (7 year old Oliver and 5 year old Sophie), Chris can’t decide what to buy his wife for […]
Bibliophile | The future is grim in Charlie Archibold’s ‘Indigo Owl’
Indigo Owl by Charlie Archibold Wakefield Press This is Adelaide author Charlie Archibold’s second Young Adult novel and it is set on the futuristic planet of Galbraith. After Earth was destroyed by climate change and overpopulation, only private corporations had the money to colonise new planets and Galbraith was a huge pharmaceutical enterprise. It is […]
Bibliophile | ‘The Wreck’ tells the story of the women of our past
The Wreck by Meg Keneally Echo Publishing Meg Keneally is fascinated by marine history and the title of her second historical novel gives an indication as to what historical aspects have influenced her writing of The Wreck. In the nineteenth century, the sailing ship Dunbar was forced into the cliff face a little south of […]
Bibliophile | Fiona Palmer’s ‘Tiny White Lies’
Tiny White Lies by Fiona Palmer Hachette I love that Fiona Palmer thanks her teenage children, who were born in the age of technology, for being the inspiration for her family drama. Her main character Ashley Grisham is still recovering from her husband’s suicide eight months previously when she finds out that her only child, […]
Bibliophile | Bram Connolly teaches us ‘The Commando Way’
The Commando Way by Bram Connolly Allen & Unwin Bram Connolly spent 20 years in the armed forces from the age of 17. After rigorous training, he was deployed to Somalia at the age of 19 and also served several tours of duty in East Timor and Afghanistan. As a commander for the Australian Special […]
Bibliophile | Holly Watt considers the journalist’s role in ‘The Dead Line’
The Dead Line by Holly Watt Raven Books Casey Benedict works as an investigative reporter for the Post newspaper in London. When the fashion editor presents her with a taffeta and tulle skirt for a high end fashion shop, she sees there is a piece of white silk folded among the petticoats. Embroidered on the […]
Bibliophile | Peter O’Brien takes readers to ‘Bush School’
Bush School by Peter O’Brien Allen & Unwin In 2017 Peter O’Brien was invited to a reunion of students who had graduated from Balmain Teachers College sixty years before. At the gathering, it was suggested that those who had been sent to remote one-teacher schools record their experiences for historical interest. It wasn’t long before […]
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