Rick Morton is a social affairs writer for The Australian, and 100 Years of Dirt is both his memoir and his commentary of class and disadvantage in Australian society. It’s a very tricky line he’s had to balance himself on; this book could have all too easily turned self-indulgent. However, instead, Rick comes across as very candid about both his family history and how we in Australia deal with these issues, making for a grim read. Rick’s grandfather, George was the owner of several large […]
I Was Tempted to Make This Review a Mediation of When Exactly the Likeable Arsehole Line Is Crossed, but Thought Nah, Better Not
Sorry, I’ve been a bit sluggish with this one. I had every intention – really, I did – of completing this one in time for the book club two weeks ago, but things got in the way. Like work. And Charles Stross’s new book. This book holds a very, shall we say, odd place in my personal rankings; one that is shared with just one other book that I have read recently – Charlie Jane Anders ‘All The Birds In The Sky’. Both of […]
Do Children Prefer to Read About Food More Than Fairies?
This one’s a little bit nostalgic for me. The Magic Pudding turned 100 this year! For those of you who are not familiar, The Magic Pudding, both written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay, is probably neck and neck with May Gibbs’ Tales of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie as the most famous example of classic Australian children’s literature. I think you would be unlikely to find a primary school library that doesn’t carry a copy. The story starts with Bunyip Bluegum, a young koala who’s off to […]
There Was No Way I Was Going to Enjoy This One
Cardinal George Pell is probably the highest profile Catholic back home in Australia – he’s the former Archbishop of Melbourne; former Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney; and the current Vatican Prefect for the Secretariat of the Economy. (Think of him as the Pope’s treasurer.) He’s easily the highest ranking Prelate of the Catholic Church to originate from Australia. He is also the highest ranking Cleric of the Catholic Church to be facing sexual assault charges. Huh, who would’ve guessed it would be going in that direction? […]
Switching it up to Faerie Tale Gothic
Just last week, I reviewed one of the books in Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series, which is steeped in faerie folklore and mythology. There’s nothing like a good fairytale retelling – folklore characters are in the public domain and are fair game for any author who wants to write their own interpretation of them. It can be fascinating to see what direction different people decide to take. For example, the Cait Sith (or Cait Sidhe) of the October Daye universe are wildly different to […]
Faerie Tale Noir Still Going Strong
‘Night and Silence’ is the twelfth book in the October Daye series, and I’m going to be clear up front – while I will try as hard as possible avoid around any explicit spoilers from this particular book, I will be referencing previous books in the series. I am not so super-skilled at review-ballet that I can cunningly dance around everything. So mild spoilers ahead. The October Daye series has been going strong for a few years now, and I felt that the 11th […]
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