Australian fiction
The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
This story begins in July 1914, several years after Esme hid her first word in The Dictionary of Lost Words. Another young woman is hard at work, this time at the Oxford University Press. The Press was (and still…
Prettier if She Smiled More by Toni Jordan
In a recent interview about writing, Toni Jordan talks about the importance of humour in conversations and within novels. She says it builds resilience and helps with anxiety. I could not agree more. Reading works by Jordan, famous for her…
Crushing by Genevieve Novak
Some people seem to find love like it’s easy. They achieve that Disney fairytale romance, and live happily together forever and ever. So, what about the people who don’t?
After Marnie is dumped by her boyfriend, her fifth in a…
Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas
Madelaine Lucas’s gorgeous debut opens with her unnamed narrator’s discovery of a photo of a man with a little girl: his daughter. She recognises him – Jude, older now than when his life was knotted with hers – the man…
The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop
One of the most wonderful and satisfying things about being a reader is following the careers of writers whose work you have found and loved, waiting expectantly for their next work, and then being rewarded when that anticipation is justified…
Resistance by Jacinta Halloran
Jacinta Halloran’s fourth novel has been much anticipated, as her previous titles have won awards, and been lauded by authors such as Helen Garner and Fiona Wright. The title, Resistance, refers to a psychological term for failing to engage…
The Wakes by Dianne Yarwood
Are you looking for a novel that is going to tease you a little? Perhaps you are after a story with characters in it that seem quirky enough, true enough, even, to remind you of people you know? Do you…
Once a Stranger by Zoya Patel
Zoya Patel, award-winning writer, editor and podcaster, and author of the memoir No Country Woman, a book that discusses themes of race, religion and feminism, brings us her first work of fiction. Once a Stranger is a moving novel…
One Illumined Thread by Sally Colin-James
I read One Illumined Thread in November 2022, not knowing I would be reviewing it, and now I find my brain searching for detail, worrying all I have is the essence of this enthralling book. So, join me in this…
Fed to Red Birds by Rijn Collins
In Fed to Red Birds, award-winning short-story writer Rijn Collins has written a love story about Iceland, its language and the magic of isolation. That may sound strange, but for protagonist Elva-Bjalla, it is a balm.
Named after a…
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