Oh no! One of my favourite books has been made into a movie
In the Heart of the Sea is the book that led me to non-fiction. Nathanial Philbrick’s prose is gripping and evocative; his research academically rigorous. This is a book that grabbed me, gave me a good hard shake and turned me into a much better writer. At the time I pressed this book upon everyone…
Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar – book review
In 1855 the well-to-do Finch family falls on hard times and is forced live and farm in the Coorong, on the remote southeast coast of South Australia. Cue struggles with the landscape and clashes with the local Ngarrindjeri people. But first-time novelist Lucy Treloar subverts the typical white Australian pioneer story in interesting and complex…
Stella Count Redux – more of the same, I’m afraid
The sterling people behind the Stella Prize* have updated their 2014 analysis of Australian book reviews. This time they examined The Saturday Paper and Sydney Review of Books to discover which authors are reviewed, and who does the reviewing. The answers are, sadly, unsurprising. Or perhaps the results are surprising, given that one might expect…
Clive James – is it OK to speak ill of the dying?
Is it OK to speak ill of the dying? Probably not. But it’s somehow worse to speak ill of the dead so I’d best get my Clive James critique in now, while I still can. Latest Readings, Clive James’ latest book, is a collection of short essays about the books he’s read recently. And it…