Review
The singular adult fantasy that is a Marian Keyes novel
The Irish writer brings one of the Walsh sisters back to Ireland after heartbreak in New York.
- by Jessie Tu
Latest
Michael Ondaatje’s latest work is in praise of long love and experience
The writer’s first collection of poetry in more than 25 years replaces the idea of ageing as diminution with a blazing and sensual testament to what is held close.
- by Felicity Plunkett
The 19th-century scientists complicit in body mutilation and theft
Cassandra Pybus uncovers the details of the harvesting of Indigenous Tasmanians’ skeletons.
- by Philip Deery
‘Not well received’ at Harvard, these two writers maintain the rage
Writer Tony Birch reflects on how Miles Franklin Award-winner Kim Scott has intrigued and inspired him.
- by Jane Gleeson-White
Part mystery, part hostage thriller, this is our fiction pick of the week
Our reviewers assess recent fiction and non-fiction publications.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
Blast off for stories that will move you to laughter, tears, and fear
Ceridwen Dovey’s latest speculative stories, all set in space, unfold with fierce clarity and breezy wit.
- by Carmel Bird
How pop music met its Waterloo in ABBA
What is it about ABBA’s songs that generate so much ardour? English music writer Giles Smith tries to find out.
- by Michael Dwyer
A glorious debut novel with shades of Zadie Smith and George Saunders
After winning the 2016 Vogel’s Literary Award with a collection of short stories, Murray Middleton spent eight years on his first novel.
- by Helen Elliott
The letters between two great writers revealing their hidden stories
Years of correspondence between Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower reveal much about their unusual friendship.
- by Gail Jones
This book takes you on the run across colonial NSW. Danger lurks at every corner
In the sequel to her novel Benevolence, Julie Janson has produced a gothic historical novel that does justice both to the sorrow and the story of what Aboriginal Australia suffered in the 19th century.
- by Eddie Hampson
The Beach Boys tell their own story of triumph and tragedy
It’s not all good vibrations, as our reviewers reveal in this week’s pick of fiction and non-fiction releases.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll