The Emporium is a bustle of a place. People come and go. Some see magic everywhere. They have phone messages and answer their phone when it rings. Other people see less magic and a more commonplace shop selling quirky vintage wares. It depends on what they expect to see. A person looking for the impossible […]
australian fiction
Review: Growing Up Disabled in Australia, ed. Carly Findlay
It’s taken me a few weeks to sit down to write this review. Partly because I wanted to make sure I wrote something sensitive and useful. And partly because I usually try to draw an overarching theme but was finding that really hard for Growing Up Disabled in Australia. Then it dawned on me – […]
Review: The Mother Fault, by Kate Mildenhall
I really enjoyed The Mother Fault, as much for the journey as the dystopian setting of a near-future Australia. Fast-paced and easy to read, I chewed through this story in two sittings. Mildenhall manages to weave everyday parenting challenges – loss of identity, nostalgia for pre-natal careers, maintaining a marital relationship in the face of […]
Review: Dyschronia by Jennifer Mills
Exquisite writing and a devastating take on chronic illness, Mills’ depiction of the climate disaster that awaits Australia is a very dark read. This is a slow-paced and unrelentingly heartbreaking story. It’s not one you can skim your way through late at night. You will need to focus to have any hope of following the […]
Review: Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal, by Anna Whateley
I loved this story so much. We’re all conditioned to believe that if we follow ‘the rules’ we’ll be safer and our lives will be happier. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s literally the fabric that glues society together. Of course, the problem is, it’s seldom true. Bad things do happen to good people. […]
Review: The Choke, by Sofie Laguna
I’m working my way through my lovely box of library books while in Melbourne lockdown and finally got around to reading this much-raved-about book. I couldn’t put The Choke down, even though the subject matter is devastating and confronting. Sofie Laguna’s simple writing style evokes simple, yet complex, lives and beautiful Australian landscapes. The theme […]
