This book comes with multiple warnings. The first is that it deals with very distressing themes and the second is that you won’t be able to put it down. My Absolute Darling is a debut novel from American author Gabriel Tallent. It is a best seller, page turner and probably available at airports around the […]
Author Archives: Ms A
July
15
The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti
posted by Ms A
I am sure this book has inflated property prices in the Italian Alps. When you read about the small Italian family and their holidays spent climbing mountains you will know what I mean. Set over at least 30 years, The Eight Mountains is about relationships and how different people escape and/or embrace life and fear. […]
June
24
The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton
posted by Ms A
It’s been too long since I lost myself in a Tim Winton book. If you are Australian, chances are you’ve read a few of them. It turns out lots of people overseas read Tim Winton too, although how on earth they can make sense of the heavy Australian slang and vocabulary is a mystery to […]
May
30
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Guest review by Mr D.
posted by Ms A
I resisted reading The Handmaid’s Tale for a long time. I can’t quite put a finger on why. In part it was because of my ignorant understanding that it was some sort of totalitarian chic-lit. In part, I have to also admit there was something I didn’t quite like about Margaret Atwood. Something undefinable about […]
April
30
Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan
posted by Ms A
I wasn’t going to review this book. I’m a busy reader with a highbrow rep to protect and it just didn’t seem worthy to me. That said, when I hear that so many people are reading and talking about it, I couldn’t resist throwing my 2 cents in. Apparently, it’s even on the NSW Bar’s […]
April
02
Dunbar by Edward St Aubyn
posted by Ms A
Ok I haven’t been blogging much over the last few months but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. I just haven’t read anything rousing enough to blog about. This book however hit me like a veritable first glass of champagne; going straight to my head and heart and leaving me with a book hangover […]
January
02
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
posted by Ms A
Every good holiday requires a good book. Frankly, it is beyond me why airlines don’t offer book sales with flight reservations. They could easily make recommendations according to destination, demographic and flight length and it would be a whole lot more fun than amazon. Instead of a little shopping basket icon there could be a […]
December
10
The Choke by Sofie Laguna
posted by Ms A
It’s the early 1970’s and a ten-year-old girl is slipping through the cracks. Abandoned by her mother and neglected by her father, she is forced to live with her alcoholic grandfather in a broken-down property near the banks of the Murray River. Surrounded by men, guns and beer – this young girl is far from […]
October
22
Days without End by Sebastian Barry
posted by Ms A
It scares me how many times I walked past this beautiful book. In the days of big publishing houses and even bigger marketing budgets, it is not at all uncommon to get enticed by a cover and find on reading it that the writing doesn’t quite match the hype. The opposite is true with this […]
August
28
New Boy by Tracy Chevalier
posted by Ms A
Ok so I haven’t been posting like Ms K but it doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading and thinking about books. For those of you who have been holding off starting something new until you’ve heard from me (pay attention both of you) I am sorry. All I can say is the wait has been […]
