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A readers’ guide to the novels of Richard Flanagan – Reading Matters
This week, Richard Flanagan won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, becoming the first writer to win both the Booker Prize (for fiction) and the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. This guide gives an overview of the eight novels he has written during his 30-year career
‘Theory & Practice’ by Michelle de Kretser – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Text Publishing; 183 pages; 2024. Michelle de Kretser’s new book, Theory & Practice, includes a revealing quote that sheds light on its structure and style: An artist once told me that she no longer wanted to make art that looked like art. I was discovering that I no longer wanted to write…
‘Boxes’ by Pascal Garnier (translated by Melanie Florence) – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Gallic; 169 pages; 2015. Translated from the French by Melanie Florence. This is the fourth Pascal Garnier book I have read this year, and while enjoyable, it is probably my least favourite so far. This novella is less noir and more psychological, and the author's trademark dark humour is not as apparent.…
‘Alone’ by Beverley Farmer – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Giramondo; 126 pages; 2024. Harrowing would be an excellent word to describe Beverley Farmer's debut novel, Alone. Yet it is also brave, audacious and intense, and I reckon it will be on my best of list at the end of the year. But be warned: it contains writing of a sexual nature…
‘Adrift on the Nile’ by Naguib Mahfouz (translated by Frances Liardet) – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Anchor Books; 176 pages; 1994. Translated from the Arabic by Frances Liardet. First published in 1966, Adrift on the Nile is by Egyptian writer and Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006). It’s a story about a group of disillusioned intellectuals in 1960s Cairo who gather on a houseboat to smoke, drink and party…
‘The Front Seat Passenger’ by Pascal Garnier (translated by Jane Aitken) – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Gallic; 140 pages; 2014. Translated from the French by Jane Aitken. The trope of discovering a partner's affair after their death has a long history in fiction, but in the hands of French writer Pascal Garnier (1949-2010), it becomes something wholly original — and slightly frightening. Fatal accidentIn The Front Seat Passenger, first…
‘Mourning a Breast’ by Xi Xi (translated by Jennifer Feeley) – Reading Matters
Non-fiction - paperback; Giramondo; 368 pages; 2024. Translated from the Chinese by Jennifer Feeley. Mourning a Breast is an astonishing and compelling memoir by Hong Kong writer Xi Xi (1937-2022) about her journey with breast cancer. Despite its serious subject, the book is uplifting, as Xi Xi (real name Cheung Yin) not only survives but…
‘Sandwich’ by Catherine Newman – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Doubleday; 232 pages; 2024. Sometimes you pick up a book that perfectly matches your mood, even when you’re unsure if it’s right for you. I devoured Catherine Newman's Sandwich while recovering from surgery a few weeks back, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. It's really easy to read (I mean that…
‘Swallowing the Sun’ by David Park – Reading Matters
Fiction - Kindle edition; Bloomsbury; 246 pages; 2012. I've been enjoying exploring some older novels lately, ones that have been lingering in my TBR for years, which is how I came to read Swallowing the Sun by Northern Irish writer David Park. Originally published in 2004, the story follows a husband and father struggling to cope…
‘Held’ by Anne Michaels – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Bloomsbury; 226 pages; 2023. I loved Anne Michaels' 1996 novel Fugitive Pieces, a poignant story of a young Polish boy orphaned during the Second World War who must begin his life afresh but is haunted by events of the past. The Canadian writer's latest novel, Held, published last year, shares similar themes.…
‘Badenheim 1939’ by Aharon Appelfeld (translated by Dalya Bilu) – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Penguin Classics; 148 pages; 2005. Translated from the Hebrew by Dalya Bilu. Aharon Appelfeld's Badenheim 1939, first published in 1980, is regarded as a classic of Holocaust fiction. It's written in a simple allegorical style, which relies on the reader knowing the historical context and recognising the growing signs of impending disaster,…
‘My Friends’ by Hisham Matar – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Penguin; 461 pages; 2024. I was disappointed that Hisham Matar's My Friends didn't make the shortlist for the 2024 Book Prize for which it had been longlisted. I loved this deeply immersive novel. It is a beautiful ode to friendship and literature and a compelling examination of what it is to be…
‘Seize the Day’ by Saul Bellow – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Penguin Modern Classics; 128 pages; 2011. Saul Bellow's Seize the Day, first published in 1956, centres on a failed actor trapped by his life choices but unwilling to take the necessary action to get himself out of a hole. It's the story of a mediocre man who blames everyone but himself for his…
‘The Women Behind the Door’ by Roddy Doyle – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Jonathan Cape; 272 pages; 2024. Roddy Doyle is the master of authentic dialogue, as his latest novel, The Women Behind the Door, firmly attests. He is also very perceptive about what makes women tick — and what they talk about. The story crackles with sharp, often witty and heartbreaking conversations — frank,…
‘The Forgiven’ by Lawrence Osborne – Reading Matters
Fiction - Kindle edition; Vintage Digital; 324 pages; 2013. I do love a novel about travel or a holiday, especially if the trip turns out to be disastrous or full of jeopardy! Lawrence Osborne's The Forgiven fits right into that category. Indeed, it would make a worthy addition to my "holidays from hell" list, which…
‘The Honeyeater’ by Jessie Tu – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Allen & Unwin; 322; 2024. Australian writer Jessie Tu's debut novel, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing, was a big hit in 2020. I loved it so much that it made my "Books of the Year" list at the time. In that refreshingly frank story, a musical prodigy struggled to find her feet in the…
‘Headshot’ by Rita Bullwinkel – Reading Matters
Fiction - Kindle edition; Daunt Books; 250 pages; 2024. Rita Bullwinkel's highly original novel Headshot has been longlisted for this year's Booker Prize. The book follows eight teenage girls competing in the 18 & Under Daughters of America boxing tournament over two intense days. Each chapter focuses on a different bout as the athletes fight…
‘The Blacker the Berry’ by Wallace Thurman – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Vintage Classics; 208 pages 2022. Wallace Thurman (1902-1934) was associated with the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement in the 1920s and 1930s that celebrated Black art, literature and intellectualism. He died young but was a prolific writer and editor best known for The Blacker the Berry, a ground-breaking novel first published in…
‘Servo: Tales from the Graveyard Shift’ by David Goodwin – Reading Matters
Non-fiction - paperback; Hachette Australia; 328 pages; 2024. David Goodwin's Servo: Tales from the Graveyard Shift is for anyone who has ever worked in retail or had a customer-facing job. "Servo" is Australian slang/shorthand for a service station where you buy petrol and snacks. In the UK, they are known as petrol stations; in the…
‘The Cursed Friend’ by Beatrice Salvioni (translated by Elena Pala) – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; William Collins; 224 pages; 2024. Translated from the Italian by Elena Pala. Beatrice Salvioni's debut novel, The Cursed Friend, is a powerful coming-of-age novel about two young girls, Francesca and Maddalena, who form an unlikely bond in Fascist Italy. Set in Monza in 1935, it opens in dramatic fashion: the pair are scrabbling…
‘Happening’ by Annie Ernaux (translated by Tanya Leslie) – Reading Matters
Non-fiction - paperback; Fitzcarraldo Editions; 97 pages; 2019. Translated from the French by Tanya Leslie. Midway through reading French writer Annie Ernaux's Happening, an autobiographical account of an illegal abortion she experienced in 1963, I wondered why I was reading it. It's gruesome, horrific and frightening in places, and I felt voyeuristic reading it. I…
‘The Story of Lucy Gault’ by William Trevor (reprise) – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Penguin; 240 pages; 2003. As many of you will know, last year, I embarked on "A Year with William Trevor", a joint project with Cathy from 746 Books to read a book by the Irish writer every month for 12 months. It was a rewarding and enjoyable experience, but I felt bereft…
‘Giovanni’s Room’ by James Baldwin – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Penguin Modern Classics; 160 pages; 2001. I scarcely know how to describe that room. It became, in a way, every room I had ever been in and every room I find myself in hereafter will remind me of Giovanni's room. I did not really stay there very long — we met before…
‘Voices in the Evening’ by Natalia Ginzburg (translated by D.M. Low) – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Daunt Books; 157 pages; 2019. Translated from the Italian by D.M. Low. Voices in the Evening, by Italian writer Natalia Ginzburg (1916-1991), was first published in 1963. This edition, reissued by Daunt Books, comes with an introduction by Colm Toibin, who says Ginzburg's imagination was "irrevocably" marked by Fascism and the Second…
‘Pet’ by Catherine Chidgey – Reading Matters
Fiction - Kindle edition; Europa Editions; 336 pages; 2023. Catherine Chidgey's eighth novel, Pet, is about the long-lasting impact that an influential teacher can have on a child and what happens when admiration turns into disillusionment and disenchantment. New Zealand setting Set largely in New Zealand in the 1980s, it's a restrained (and non-typical) thriller…
‘Storylines’ by Carrie Cox – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Affirm Press; 288 pages; 2023. Storylines by Carrie Cox is a fast-paced, thought-provoking novel that explores beauty, self-esteem and the healing power of storytelling in the age of social media. The novel is narrated by Nessa, a nurse at an aged-care facility in suburban Perth. Ten years ago, Nessa was seriously disfigured…
‘The Satsuma Complex’ by Bob Mortimer – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Gallery Books UK; 300 pages; 2022. UK comedian Bob Mortimer is a favourite of mine. He has a surreal take on the world and a sense of humour that is both absurd and playful. A former solicitor turned comedian, he is best known for being one half of the comedy double act…
‘The Silver River: A memoir of family – lost, made and found’ by Jim Moginie – Reading Matters
Non-fiction - paperback; Harper Collins; 256 pages; 2024. Jim Moginie (born 1956) is best known as the founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter of Midnight Oil, the seminal Australian rock band, which has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide and provided the soundtrack to my life. (I have seen Midnight Oil live in…
‘Remembrance Sunday’ by Darragh McKeon – Reading Matters
Fiction - Kindle edition; Penguin; 279 pages; 2023. And I think of soldiers – uniformed or not. I think of armoured vehicles. Of peacelines. Of barriers. I think of burnt-out cars and firebombs. We regard a memory as a pale re-enactment of a particular moment. I am coming to wonder if, in fact, the opposite…
‘All My Goodbyes’ by Mariana Dimópulos (translated by Alice Whitmore) – Reading Matters
Fiction - paperback; Giramondo; 160 pages; 2017. Translated from the Spanish by Alice Whitmore. Mariana Dimópulos is an Argentine writer. Her novel All My Goodbyes was first published under the title Cada Despedida in 2010 and was translated from Spanish by Australian translator Alice Whitmore in 2017. The story follows a young woman who travels…
‘Piglet’ by Lottie Hazell – Reading Matters
Fiction - Kindle edition; Transworld Digital; 266 pages; 2024. A word of warning. If you choose to read Lottie Hazell's debut novel, Piglet, make sure you have eaten beforehand because there are so many lush descriptions of food in it that it will immediately make you hungry. No surprises, then, that hunger is at the…
‘The Memory of Trees’ by Viki Cramer – Reading Matters
Non-fiction - paperback; Thames & Hudson; 304 pages; 2023. Review copy. Once upon a time, when studying landscape architecture at university, I had to learn to identify more than 100 species of eucalyptus trees and spell their common and scientific names. I can't remember any now, but I do know that because I studied on…