For the difficulties the idea poses, the world American writer Curtis Sittenfeld imagines in Rodham (published by Penguin Random House, 2020), is a little different to the one we’re familiar with. At least when it comes to presidents of the United States, and Hillary Clinton, nee Rodham, the former American Senator and Secretary of State. …
Born into This (published by University of Queensland Press, February 2021) is a collection of sixteen short stories, the debut work of Adam Thompson, an Indigenous author living in the Australian state of Tasmania. Set in Thompson’s home state, the stories look at the place of Indigenous, or First Nations, people in contemporary Australia, and …
From what I can tell, the title of The Earth Does Not Get Fat (published by UWA, April 2018), the debut novel of Melbourne based Australian writer Julia Prendergast, takes its inspiration from an old poem of the same name, composed by the Ngoni people of Malawi, in Southern Africa. The poem suggests the Earth …
Since when might a vacuum cleaner, and a cat, be enough to scare a world leader? British Prime Minister Jim Sams is terrified of both. Honestly, you think he would have bigger fish to fry. Steering his country through the then exit process from the European Union would surely be more frightening than the sight …
What’s the average half-life of the run-of-the-mill family secret? Couple of hours? A few weeks? Until the family reunion at the next long weekend? After all, how long do secrets remain secret? But how about something a little darker, more sinister perhaps, than “average”? How long might something like that remain under wraps, before being …
Italian author Paolo Cognetti, a mathematics student, turned filmmaker, writes with such warmth about the Dolomites, a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy, they almost feel like a person, in his novel The Eight Mountains (published by Simon & Schuster, 2016). At the centre of the story, is Pietro, who first comes to the Alps …
What would you do, were you in the following situation? You’ve recently inherited a large sum of money. Your future is financially secure. You no longer need to work. What then will you do with your new found free time? Travel the world? Read every book at the library? Heaven knows, do something that might …
If only we all could lead the charmed life. Or the mostly charmed life. One where everything just seems to fall into place. Like a fairy tale. Now we all know the fairy tale life is not all beer and skittles. There trolls and tragedies to confront. There are dangers and challenges to surmount. Which, …
If Lucky’s (published by Picador/Pan Macmillan Australia, 2020), the debut novel of Sydney based Australian writer Andrew Pippos, is anything to go by, then there’s far more to your local cafe than meets the eye. For instance, have you ever thought about the history standing behind the place where you wait for your coffee or …
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could travel back in time and change your life? If it were possible, what might you do? Right a wrong? Put something that’s on the wrong track on the right one? Or would you start all over again? If I could meet my past self, I’d …
