I think Sally Rooney must have good sex. What other explanation could there be for the way she weaves sex into so much of her writing? Normal People, Conversations with Friends, and Beautiful World, Where Are You all feature an above-average amount of top-shelf intimacy. Funnily enough, all bestsellers. Before you power up your gadget […]
Category Archives: Book Club Fodder
September
25
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
posted by Ms A
Books about car dealers don’t often feature in the Booker Prize. In fact, I think this might be a first. Australian author, Peter Carey (himself the son of a car dealer) wrote two cracking books featuring car dealers but neither of them made it to the literary podium like The Bee Sting. In this case, […]
July
06
James by Percival Everett
posted by Ms A
This is Huckleberry Finn, but not as you know it. James is a sensational re-imagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of runaway slave, Jim. Apart from being a work-stopping, page-turner, it welcomes a whole new generation of readers to one of the most revered American novels of all time. I don’t […]
June
10
The Wager by David Grann
posted by Ms A
Steady yourself for this true story of ships, storms, starvation and survival. Written by American journalist and author David Grann (who also wrote Killers of the Flower Moon), and with the biggest bibliography I ever did see, The Wager is a stunning re-telling of a doomed British naval voyage that took place in 1741. The […]
May
01
Prima Facie by Suzie Miller
posted by Ms K
I am a Suzie Miller tragic. I love her plays and have seen two fabulous ones of late. RBG (about Ruth Bader Ginsberg, US Supreme Court Justice and gender equality ‘shero’) and Jail Baby. Both brilliant! Prima Facie, the one woman play, was made famous when Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) headlined in it in London’s […]
April
18
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
posted by Ms A
Kids, this is a complex one. A quote on the front cover promises “Elegant, dizzying, playful” but I think “Dark and difficult” would have been more apt. With themes of suicide, addiction, racial tension and grief, it is not exactly a breezy, crowd-pleaser, but please read on if you dare. Martyr! tells the story of […]
April
02
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
posted by Ms A
I think I injured my knee reading this book. That’s what happens when you find yourself immersed in a heavy book in the same awkward position for two hours at a stretch, especially when you are over 50. The irony of my reading injury is that the book was recommended to me by a doctor. […]
March
27
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
posted by Ms K
The extraordinary skill of Charlotte Wood is to craft her writing to accent and mimic the landscape and backdrop of her stories. Stone Yard Devotional is sparsely and dryly written but it’s deeply rich….like the harsh, barren Australian outback which is also home to breathtaking, raw beauty. Does that make sense, or have I drunk […]
March
12
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
posted by Ms A
In his 2023 Booker Prize winning book, Paul Lynch imagines the Republic of Ireland slipping into totalitarianism. Things kick off with a sinister knock on the door and it’s a slow but steady descent from there. The door belongs to Eilish; a scientist, wife, mother of four and primary carer of her elderly father, who […]
October
06
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
posted by Ms A
This novel is nothing short of a masterpiece. Pouring over it, made me want to read, review and even yearn to write. Alas, few could write like Lauren Groff. It’s winter in the early 1600’s, and a young servant girl escapes the unspeakable conditions of a colonial settlement in the Americas into the wild. This […]
Readhead 