The End of Time is a fabulous modern story about the differences and similarities between people of all races and religions. Told in first person with empathy and humour, it centres on on the story of two teenage Syrian brothers trying to reach the U.K. where they hope to leave the war behind them and […]
literary fiction
Review: The Paper Wasp, by Lauren Acampora
This a truly strange book that I somehow couldn’t put down. A very dark story, it’s the antithesis of Hollywood though it’s set in L.A. Reading The Paper Wasp was a little like watching film noir. You don’t really understand what it’s about and you arrive at the end none the wiser but somehow you […]
Review: This Taste For Silence – short stories by Amanda O’Callaghan
This Taste For Silence is a stunning collection of stories about silences. From comfortable ones to sinister ones, we’re reminded that among the constant noise it’s the silences that sometimes carry the most meaning. The balance of power in a marriage shifts, with shocking consequences. An elderly woman recounts a chilling childhood memory on the […]
Review: The Aunts’ House, by Elizabeth Stead
The Aunts’ House is a delightful coming of age story set in 1942 Sydney. Author Elizabeth Stead has conjured an ensemble of quirky, lovable characters that would make Charles Dickens envious. Angel Martin is an orphaned child foisted upon long-suffering boarding house mistress, Missus Potts. Enraged upon discovering Angel hasn’t brought the inheritance she’d counted on […]
Review: Improvement, by Joan Silber – novel or linked short stories?
I really enjoyed Improvement, by Joan Silber. The writing is gorgeous, the characters are simultaneously unusual and everyday, and Silber’s tracking of the way small actions impact lives around the globe and back again is intriguing and masterful. But I have a small bone to pick. Improvement is marketed as a ‘novel’. To me, it’s not a […]
Review: Once Upon A River, by Diane Setterfield
I absolutely adored Once Upon a River. Diane Setterfield can really spin a yarn, she has an incredible gift for understated storytelling. Reading this book felt just as though I was sitting by the fire with an ale in the dead of winter, over a hundred years ago. The story opens on a dark midwinter’s […]
