Tag Archives: book reviews

  Peace by Garry Disher. The title is of course ironic, because Constable Paul Hirschhausen, manning a small police station in country South Australia, is pretty much run off his feet. The nature of country policing is that, if you … Continue reading →

  Only: a singular memoir by Caroline Baum. Baum is the only child of Austrian parents who were traumatised by their Jewish family’s experiences during the Hitler regime, and on settling in England felt driven to make the best life … Continue reading →

  See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill. In 2014, young Luke Batty was bashed to death, in broad daylight, by his father. The nation was shocked into having a closer look at domestic abuse, which had tended … Continue reading →

    Sula by Toni Morrison.  How has it taken me so long to discover this major American writer? The story follows the paths of Sula and Nel, friends from childhood, growing up in The Bottom (paradoxically not low country … Continue reading →

The Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta. The writer takes us straight to the busy heart of Sydney’s inner West, and a cast of thousands, from mixed backgrounds, mostly Mediterranean. The narrative is pacy, often funny. Conversations are our main … Continue reading →

  When We Have Wings by Claire Corbett.  It’s 200 years in the future. Living standards for most people are fairly poor, the weather has deteriorated owing to climate change, but the elite occupying the cities are doing fine, thank … Continue reading →

Sophie and the Sibyl by Patricia Duncker – Sophie is a rich, lively, clever, cosseted young woman living on the family estate in Victorian England. Her literary heroine is George Eliot, whose books she devours and whom she longs to meet.  … Continue reading →