MOTHER`S DAY GIFT GUIDE

Transcription

M AY 2 0 1 5
FREE
BOOKS
MUSIC
FILM
E V E N TS
MOTHER’S DAY GIFT GUIDE
Special lift-out
NEW IN MAY
MARY
NORRIS
JIM
SHEPARD
JANE
SMILEY
THE
WITNESSES
$29.99
$29.99
$29.99
$39.95
page 18
page 8
page 8
page 22
MELBOURNE’S
WOMEN OF
SOUL
$19.95
page 22
R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY M AY 2 0 1 5
3
News
25% OFF LONELY PLANET
STORIES UP HIGH FESTIVAL
Fed up with winter already and dreaming
about your next overseas trip? Luckily, the
Readings’ Lonely Planet sale is on once
more, with 25% off all titles from 1 to 31
May. Whatever your travel style, Lonely
Planet is brimming with inspiration to
help you choose your next adventure or
escape. The sale is on in all Readings shops
and online at readings.com.au.
Readings are pleased to be the official
bookseller at this year’s Stories Up High
Festival (10–24 May). This year’s program
includes two of the biggest names in
children’s literature, David Walliams and
Andy Griffiths. There will be events with
fiction author Cate Kennedy (The World
Beneath) and memoir writer Rebecca
Starford (Bad Behaviour). Plus exhibitions,
movies, storytelling, competitions, cooking,
and train rides. Visit storiesuphigh.com.au
to find out more.
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL
JAZZ FESTIVAL
From 28 May to 7 June, Melbourne will
come alive with Australia’s largest jazz
festival, entertaining aficionados and
newcomers alike. With a modern masters
series, intimate club gigs, film screenings,
artist workshops and daily free concerts,
there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Visit
melbournejazz.com for the full program and
bookings. Readings is a proud sponsor of
the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
We’re also holding a fantastic jazz sale in
stores to celebrate (sale details below).
READINGS’ JAZZ SALE
Readings Monthly
Free independent monthly newspaper
published by Readings Books, Music & Film
Editor
Elke Power
[email protected]
Editorial Assistant
Alan Vaarwerk
[email protected]
Advertising
Stella Charls
[email protected]
(03) 9341 7739
Graphic Design
Cat Matteson
[email protected]
Front Cover
Readings Monthly cover design by Cat
Matteson with images from the cover of
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma
Queen by Mary Norris, courtesy of Text
Publishing. Between You & Me cover design
by W.H. Chong.
Cartoon
Oslo Davis
oslodavis.com
Readings donates 10% of its profits each
year to The Readings Foundation:
readings.com.au/the-readings-foundation
Readings’ annual jazz sale is on throughout
the month of May, and features the biggest
names from the jazz world, including
Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Keith
Jarrett, as well as a huge range of imports
from the USA and Europe. Hundreds
of titles starting from $9.95 including
recordings from Blue Note, Verve,
Columbia and more. This sale is available
in all of our five Readings shops until 31
May. Not available online.
MELBOURNE PRIZE FOR
LITERATURE 2015
On 18 May entries open for the Melbourne
Prize for Literature 2015. With a prize
pool of over $100,000, the Melbourne
Prize for Literature will recognise and
reward the work of Victorian published
writers across all genres. Keep an eye on
melbourneprize.org for the entry form and
more information. The Melbourne Prize
for Literature 2015 and Awards is made
possible this year through the generous
support of a broad range of partners and
patrons, including Readings.
CLUNES BOOKTOWN FESTIVAL
Clunes Booktown Festival returns on
2–3 May, with 20,000 people expected
to attend along with book-traders from
across Australia. For these two days, the
village will become home to the largest
collection of new, second hand, rare and
out-of-print small-press publications
and collectable books in Australia. See
clunesbooktown.com.au for tickets or more
information. This is the inaugural year that
Readings is a proud supporter of the Clunes
Booktown Festival and will be selling books
at Clunes throughout the weekend.
FREUD CONFERENCE 2015:
RELIGION, FANATICISM & TRAUMA
The Freud Conference applies
psychoanalytic thinking to a broad
range of topics, and each year attracts
internationally renowned speakers from
the psychoanalytic community and related
academic fields. The 2015 conference
addresses the complex issues around
religion, fanaticism and trauma. Keynote
speakers include Prof Dr Marianne
Leuzinger-Bohleber and Dr Werner
Bohleber. The conference will be held at
the Melbourne Brain Centre in the Kenneth
Myer Building, University of Melbourne
on Saturday 16 May. Find out more at
freudconference.com, or contact Christine
Hill at [email protected].
Readings is the official bookseller at the
Freud Conference.
THE EMERGING WRITERS’
FESTIVAL
The Emerging Writers’ Festival will return
from 26 May–5 June, uniting some of
Australia’s most innovative, creative and
talented literary upstarts, from writers
and editors to publishers and performers.
This year’s writers’ conference (30–31
May) will bring together emerging and
professional writers to talk all things
writing, from novel writing, travel writing
and genre writing to podcasting and pop
culture. There’ll be masterclasses, parties,
performances and readings, and a whole
lot more. For more information visit
emergingwritersfestival.org.au. Readings
is a proud supporter of the Emerging
Writers’ Festival.
READINGS BOOK CONCIERGE
AT THE EMERGING WRITERS’
FESTIVAL
For the duration of this year’s Emerging
Writers’ Festival, booksellers from
Readings will be available to provide
literary recommendations and help you
discover your next great read. You can send
them your questions by post (Readings Book
Concierge, PO Box 1238, Carlton VIC 3053),
email ([email protected]) or
Twitter (@ReadingsBooks). Readings will
be publishing their answers as part of a
daily wrap-up at readings.com.au/news.
Your name and contact details will be kept
strictly confidential, and your question will
be printed anonymously. For best results,
please provide as much detail as possible
about what you like to read and the kind of
book you’re looking for! Questions will be
answered at Readings’ discretion.
THE STELLA PRIZE WINNER
The Stella Prize for 2015 has been awarded
to Emily Bitto for her debut novel,
The Strays. The Stella Prize celebrates
Australian women’s contribution to
literature. It was awarded for the first time
in 2013 to Carrie Tiffany for Mateship with
Birds, and last year’s winner was Clare
Wright for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka.
The prize is worth $50,000, and both
fiction and nonfiction books are eligible
for entry. Kerryn Goldsworthy, chair of the
2015 Stella Prize judging panel says The
Strays is ‘both moving and sophisticated;
both well researched and original; both
intellectually engaging and emotionally
gripping’.
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13
May Events
10
TEDDY TOOK THE
TRAIN
You and your family are invited to a
special launch event for Nikki Greenberg’s
wonderful new picture book Teddy Took the
Train. There’ll be a special guest appearance
from the station master. All welcome – and
bring your teddy!
Free, but please RSVP to
[email protected]
Sunday 10 May, 10.30am
Readings Hawthorn
1
ADRIANO ZUMBO
SIGNING IN-STORE
1
PEACHES SIGNING
IN-STORE
Musician and performance artist Peaches
will be in-store signing copies of What Else
Is In the Teaches of Peaches. This new book
is a collaboration with photographer Holger
Talinski, and includes text written by Peaches,
Michael Stipe, Yoko Ono and Ellen Page.
Free, no booking required
Friday 1 May, 6.30pm
Readings St Kilda
5
LAUNCH OF BRIAN
MCFARLANE’S
DOUBLE ACT
Peter Rose, author and editor of Australian
Book Review will launch Brian McFarlane’s
new biography Double-Act: The Remarkable
Lives and Careers of Googie Withers and
John McCallum.
Free, but please book by 30 April with Sarah Cannon at Monash
University Publishing on
[email protected] or 03 9905 0526.
Tuesday 5 May, 6.30pm
Readings Hawthorn
6
MOTHERHOOD &
CREATIVITY
Clare Bowditch will launch a new and
expanded edition of Rachel Power’s book
Motherhood & Creativity: The Divided Heart.
The new edition features an introduction from
Clare and interviews with new contributors
including Claudia Karvan and Pip Lincolne.
Wednesday 6 May, 6.30pm
Readings Carlton
7
RAMONA KOVAL
ON BLOODHOUND:
SEARCHING FOR
MY FATHER
Broadcaster and writer Ramona Koval (By the Book: A Reader’s Guide to Life) will
talk about her new memoir, Bloodhound:
Searching For My Father.
Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events
Thursday 7 May, 6pm
Readings Hawthorn
Readings events manager Christine Gordon
will talk with Michelle Crawford about
Michelle’s gorgeous new memoir and
cookbook, A Table in the Orchard.
Readings Hawthorn
13
DAVID TACEY’S
BEYOND LITERAL
BELIEF
ABC Radio National presenter Rachael
Kohn will talk with David Tacey about his
new book, Beyond Literal Belief: Religion as
Metaphor.
MasterChef’s own master pâtissier Adriano
Zumbo will be signing copies of his fabulous
new cookbook The Zumbo Files. Don’t miss
this chance to meet the ‘sweet assassin.’
Friday 1 May, 5pm
Readings Carlton
MICHELLE
CRAWFORD IN
CONVERSATION
WITH CHRIS
GORDON
11
HELEN GARNER IN
CONVERSATION
WITH MARK
RUBBO
Wednesday 13 May, 6pm for a 6.30pm start
Readings Hawthorn
12
LEAH KAMINSKY
WITH STEPHEN
AND SALLY DAMAINI
ON CRACKING
THE CODE
Leah Kaminsky and Stephen and Sally
Damaini will talk about their new book,
Cracking the Code. Cracking the Code is the
extraordinary story of a search for the cause
of a baby boy’s mystery disease – and new
possibilities for genome medicine.
Tuesday 12 May, 6pm
Readings Hawthorn
13
MONGREL
RAPTURE,
EXEGESIS, AND
THE
ARCHITECTURE
OF ASHTON
RAGGATT
MCDOUGALL
What might an exegetical architecture look
like? Can architecture be critical? Does it have
something to say? Join us in a discussion of
architecture, the possibilities of interpretation,
and the new book Mongrel Rapture, the first
monograph on Ashton Raggatt McDougall,
designers of the National Museum of Australia
and the Barak Building at Swanston Square.
Readings Carlton
IAN MCAULEY
AND MIRIAM
LYONS ON
GOVERNOMICS
Join us for the Melbourne launch of
Miriam Lyons and Ian McAuley’s new book
Governomics – which makes arguments about
the economic role of government for people
who are fed up with dumbed-down debates
about ‘small government.’
Readings Carlton
20
MIRANDA KIRALY
& MEAGAN TYLER
ON THE LIMITS OF
LIBERAL FEMINISM
Miranda Kiraly and Meagan Tyler will
talk about their new edited collection
The Freedom Fallacy: the Limits of Liberal
Feminism – a new book arguing that the
kind of liberal feminism mostly seen does
far too little to challenge the status quo.
Readings Carlton
Mark Rubbo, Readings Managing Director,
will talk with Helen Garner (Monkey
Grip, The First Stone, This House of Grief)
about her work. Don’t miss this evening
with one of Australia’s best authors,
and best booksellers, as they talk about
literature and life over the past forty years.
Tickets are $15 per person and all proceeds will
be donated to The Readings Foundation.
Please book at readings.com.au/events
Monday 11 May, 6pm
Church of all Nations
180 Palmerston Street, Carlton
19
21
14
KRISSY KNEEN IN
CONVERSATION
WITH CHRISTOS
TSIOLKAS
Christos Tsiolkas (The Slap, Barracuda)
will talk to Krissy Kneen about her new
novel, The Adventures of Holly White and
the Incredible Sex Machine. Join us for a
conversation about the philosophy of sex,
sexuality in literature, and classic erotica.
Thursday 14 May, 6.30pm
Readings Carlton
18
THE FURTHER
TALES OF A
COUNTRY
DOCTOR FROM
PAUL CARTER
Join us for the launch of Paul Carter’s new
memoir, The Further Tales of a Country
Doctor.
Monday 18 May, 6.30pm
Readings Carlton
18
OLIVER MOL IN
CONVERSATION
WITH LUKE RYAN
Luke Ryan (A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to Chemo) will talk with Oliver Mol
about Oliver’s debut memoir, Lion Attack!
Monday 18 May, 6.30pm
Readings St Kilda
HELGA LEUNIG IN
CONVERSATION
WITH CATE
KENNEDY
Join us for a special celebration as author
Cate Kennedy (Dark Roots, The World
Beneath) talks to Helga Leunig about Helga’s
beautiful new book of photographs, Mother
Country: Reflections of Australian Rural Life.
Readings St Kilda
23
STORYTIME WITH
ELIZABETH
HONEY
Bring the kids in for this extra-special story
time with the wonderful Elizabeth Honey
(I'm Still Awake, Still!) – with Elizabeth
reading her new book Hop Up! Wriggle
Over! Hear all about how a family of
Australian animals zip, crunch, gobble and
bounce through the day!
Saturday 23 May, 10.30am
Readings Carlton
26
DANIEL
MENDELSOHN IN
CONVERSATION
WITH JAMES LEY
In a meeting of critical minds brought to you
by the Melbourne Jewish Writers Festival,
award-winning author Daniel Mendelsohn
(The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million) will
be in conversation with literary critic James
Ley, editor of the Sydney Review of Books and
author of The Critic in the Modern World.
Tickets are $20 or $18 concession. Please book
at readings.com.au/events
Ormond Hall at the Village, 557 St Kilda Rd,
Melbourne. Entry via Moubray Street (opposite Wesley College)
26
HARVEY
BROADBENT ON
DEFENDING
GALLIPOLI
Don’t miss the bestselling author of Gallipoli:
The Fatal Shore talking about his new book
Defending Gallipoli. Harvey Broadbent
spent five years translating everything, from
official records to soldiers’ personal diaries
and letters, to unearth the full Turkish story.
Readings Hawthorn
27
ANN TURNER’S THE
LOST SWIMMER
Annette Blonski will launch Ann Turner’s
The Lost Swimmer – a powerful new novel
about marriage and deceit.
Readings Carlton
27
MYFANWY JONES
ON LEAP
Join us for the launch of Leap, the new novel
from Myfanwy Jones.
Free, but please RSVP by Friday 22
May to [email protected]
28
THE GRIERSON
EFFECT
Ross Gibson will launch Deane Williams’s
book The Grierson Effect – a new collection
of essays on John Grierson, the father of
British documentary.
Readings St Kilda
28–31
READING
MATTERS
Reading Matters is a series of events
dedicated to storytelling for young
people. Presented by the Centre for Youth
Literature, in 2015 the 11th biennial Reading
Matters will bring together a sparkling
array of authors, illustrators and publishers
to discuss, debate and celebrate books
for young adults. There’s something for
everybody with a student program on
28 May, a conference on 29 and 30 May
for professionals and youth literature
enthusiasts, and a free public conference on
31 May. Readings is the official bookseller for
Reading Matters.
Explore the wonderful program at
slv.vic.gov.au/live-learn/courses-librarians-andteachers/reading-matters
Thursday 28 – Sunday 31 May
Various venues, see program for details
Wednesday 27 May, 6pm
SoCA Exhibition Space at
26-28 Ovens Street, Brunswick
27
ANDY GRIFFITHS
ON WRITING FOR
CHILDREN AT THE
EMERGING
WRITERS’ FESTIVAL
Andy Griffiths started out making his own
books and zines and selling them himself.
Now he’s been writing for over 25 years and
children will happily queue for hours for his
signature. Join us for an event in partnership
with the Emerging Writers’ Festival as Andy
talks about his grassroots approach to writing
and the steps he took once he decided to
write for children. Please note that this event
is for aspiring writers, not for young readers –
it’s strictly for writers over 18 years old.
Readings St Kilda
June Diary Dates
1
STUART
MACINTYRE IN
CONVERSATION
GIDEON HAIGH
Author and journalist Gideon Haigh will
talk with historian Stuart MacIntyre about
Stuart’s new book, Australia’s Boldest
Experiment: War and Reconstruction in the
1940s.
KILL YOUR
DARLINGS FIRST
BOOK CLUB
The May Kill Your Darlings First Book Club
event features Abigail Ulman in conversation
about her brilliant debut short story
collection, Hot Little Hands, with Kill Your
Darlings online editor Veronica Sullivan.
Drinks will be provided by the Beer Gypsies.
Free, but please RSVP to
[email protected]
Thursday 28th May, 7pm
Readings Carlton
2
ROBYN
CADWALLADER
ON THE
ANCHORESS
Robyn Cadwallader will talk about her
new novel The Anchoress. The Anchoress
is an extraordinary story, set in the twelfth
century and within the confines of a stone
cell measuring seven paces by nine.
Tuesday 2 June, 6pm
Community Hall, Church of Saint John
the Evangelist, 5 Finch St, Malvern East
3
ABDI ADEN IN
CONVERSATION
WITH CATHERINE
DEVENY
Writer and comedian Catherine Deveny will
talk with Abdi Aden about his new book
Shining (co-authored with Robert Hillman).
Shining tells Abdi’s story – from fleeing
Somalia’s vicious civil war, surviving as a
refugee in Romania and Germany and then
arriving, just 17 years old, in Melbourne
where he went on to school, university and
became a youth worker.
Wednesday 3 June, 6.30pm
Readings Carlton
Monday 1 June, 6.30pm
Readings Carlton
1
Author and journalist Michael Gawenda will
talk with Sam Lipski about Sam’s new book
(co-authored with Suzanne D. Rutland) Let
My People Go: The Untold Story of Australia
and the Soviet Jews 1959-1989.
2
STEVEN CARROLL
ON FOREVER
YOUNG
Join us for the launch of the latest novel
from Steven Carroll, the award-winning
author of The Art of the Engine Driver and
The Gift of Speed. In his latest, Forever Young,
Carroll writes about life in Australia in the
1970s.
4
THE LONG AND
WINDING ROAD
TO GETTING
PUBLISHED
Join us for this Emerging Writers’ Festival
event with fiction authors (and Readings
staff!) Miles Allinson (Fever of Animals),
Leanne Hall (This is Shyness), and Alec
Patric (Black Rock White City) as they
discuss how they got published with
Readings book buyer and spotter of the next
big thing in local publishing, Martin Shaw.
Thursday 4 June, 6.30pm
Readings St Kilda
Tuesday 2 June, 6.30pm
Readings Carlton
Learn the
magic of
FRENCH
Adults,
Teenagers &
Children
from 3 yrs old
SAM LIPSKI IN
CONVERSATION
WITH MICHAEL
GAWENDA
Monday 1 June, 6.30pm
Readings St Kilda
28
June Diary Dates
For more information and updates, please visit
the events page at readings.com.au/events.
Please note bookings do not necessarily
guarantee a seat and some events may be
standing room only.
ST KILDA & CBD
locations
AllianceFrançaise
de Melbourne
WE TEACH FRENCH
Tel: 9525 3463
51 Grey Street, St Kilda
www.afmelbourne.com.au
5
6
Mark’s
Say
News and views from Readings’ Managing Director,
Mark Rubbo
Last month the Harper Competition Policy Review delivered its final report. Set up by the
Abbott Government in late 2013, the report runs to 500 odd pages. As you might expect,
the Review does not favour regulations and makes a number of recommendations to the
government. Recommendation 13 in particular refers to the book industry, as well as the
film industry, recommending that restrictions on parallel imports should be removed unless
it can be shown that the benefits of the restrictions to the community as a whole outweigh
the costs; and that the objectives of the restrictions can only be achieved by restricting this
form of competition. Implicit in this is a view that the existing restrictions make books more
expensive than they need be. The restrictions do mean that booksellers can’t import overseas
editions of books for which Australian publishers hold Australian copyright, even though it
may be cheaper for us to do so. The Australian Society of Authors has vigorously attacked the
Review’s recommendations, presumably fearing downward pressure on prices will further
reduce authors’ incomes. Successful independent Australian publishers who buy and sell
rights and depend on a few successful titles to subsidise the rest of their publishing programs
fear that ending the restrictions will damage the publishing and writing ecosystem. It’s a
complex question and perhaps the best thing would be to have a discussion about what we
want our creative industries to be and how we want them to operate for all stakeholders –
and then work out how we may best achieve those goals.
Recently, many of us were saddened by the passing of Betty Churcher – artist, critic,
author, broadcaster and gallery director. Melbourne University Publishing published two
of her notebooks, illustrated with her enchanting and insightful annotated sketches of the
artworks she has viewed. The first, Notebooks, shared impressions from various gallery
collections overseas and, more recently, was followed by Australian Notebooks, which
naturally shared Betty’s illuminating thoughts on Australian collections. Last year we were
privileged to hear Betty in conversation with our own Christine Gordon at a very special
lunch at Hawthorn. At the time she didn’t mention a wonderful discovery she had just made.
While rummaging in some old files, she chanced upon a notebook of sketches from the 90s
when she was director of the National Gallery of Australia. A forgotten notebook of her
drawings, these were hasty sketches made as she travelled through galleries of the world. The
sketched works were not favourites or deliberately chosen, they were works happened upon
as she made her way to meetings where she was intent on securing loans for an exhibition
in Australia. The sketches and marginalia record her fresh impressions of artists and works
she might not have instinctively turned to. So, in the last months of her life she worked on
selecting sketches and adding notes to what will be her final publication. Just days before her
death, in hospital, she finished the final corrections. Melbourne University Publishing will
publish The Forgotten Notebook later this year.
From
the
Books
Desk
One of 2013’s best-loved novels,
Life After Life explored the
possibility of infinite chances,
as Ursula Todd lived through
the turbulent events of the last
century again and again.
In the much-anticipated A God in
Ruins, Ursula’s younger brother Teddy
– would-be poet, RAF bomber, pilot,
husband and father – faces living in a
future he never expected to have.
A God in Ruins is the masterful
companion to Life After Life, and
proves once again that Kate Atkinson
is one of the finest novelists of our age.
A darkly glinting novel set
on Ireland’s Atlantic coast,
The Green Road is a story of
fracture and family, selfishness
and compassion – a book about
the gaps in the human heart
and how we learn to fill them.
Man Booker winner Anne Enright
is addicted to the truth of things.
Sentence by sentence, there are
few writers alive who can invest the
language with such torque and gleam,
such wit and longing.
The Green Road is a stunning
addition to the oeuvre of one of the
world’s most celebrated writers.
randomhouse.com.au
Martin Shaw,
Readings Books Division Manager
Well what a frenetic time it’s been in the book world in recent weeks! We’ve had the
announcement of the Stella Prize to our near Carlton neighbour Emily Bitto for her debut
novel The Strays; the award of the Australian/Vogel’s Prize for an unpublished writer under
35 to Melbourne author Murray Middleton for When There’s Nowhere Else to Run; and the
major US fiction awards: the Pulitzer to Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, and the
PEN/Faulkner to Atticus Lish’s debut Preparation for the Next Life.
The month of May is also a bountiful one in terms of new releases. Locally, the wait is
over for all those fans of Steve Toltz’s bestselling 2008 novel A Fraction of the Whole. For
our reviewer, Quicksand ‘resembles Toltz’s previous epic’ but also ‘has given us something
brilliant to marvel at again’. Then there’s Malcolm Knox – who Christos Tsiolkas regards
as one of the best writers in the world today – with his much-anticipated new novel The
Wonder Lover; and Krissy Kneen’s latest (‘an amazing literary sci-fi superhero sex romp from
Australia’s genre-bending queen of erotica’) The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible
Sex Machine (I imagine we’ll be turning the lights down for her in-store event in Carlton on
14 May where Krissy will be in conversation with Tsiolkas!).
There’s a return this month for some much-loved UK authors: Kate Atkinson, with A
God in Ruins; Anne Enright’s The Green Road; and Sarah Hall’s The Wolf Border – all of which
receive a resounding thumbs-up from our reviewers. Another rave is for the ridiculously
talented and perhaps a little under-appreciated American author Jim Shepard. Our Carlton
shop manager Robbie Egan has been a long-time fan, and just loved Shepard’s latest work The
Book of Aron. Meanwhile, our expert in all matters crime fiction was completely seduced by
a new German novel, Sascha Arango’s The Truth and Other Lies; he will be in the country this
month for the Sydney Writers’ Festival.
Turning to non-fiction there are several highlights. John Julius Norwich is the preeminent historian of the Mediterranean, so his Sicily will be eagerly awaited. The great
literary critic James Wood also has a new essay collection, The Nearest Thing to Life; and
Robert Macfarlane, whose The Old Ways enchanted many a couple of years ago, returns with
‘a joyous meditation on words and landscape’, Landmarks.
But it’s the fields of biography and autobiography that are perhaps the richest. On the local
front, Rochelle Siemienowicz’s Fallen is another addition to some really outstanding life writing
published in recent times; Oliver Mol announces himself as a writer to watch with his memoir
of growing up in pre-9/11 America (and finding his feet as a writer in Melbourne) in Lion
Attack!; and the legendary Ramona Koval has a moving account of her search for her Jewish
ancestors in Bloodhound. Meanwhile, we have the latest work of the acclaimed author and
neurologist Oliver Sacks with On the Move: A Life; and a terrific account of being a copyeditor
at the New Yorker from Mary Norris, Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen.
New Fiction
Australian Fiction
QUICKSAND
Steve Toltz
Hamish Hamilton. PB. Was $32.99
$29.99
It’s been several
years since Steve
Toltz published his
sprawling debut, A
Fraction of the Whole,
and readers awaiting
another dosage of
fierce iconoclasm and
dark-peppered wit
will not be
disappointed. With every bit of rambling
dialogue and hilarious anecdote,
Quicksand resembles Toltz’s previous
epic because the stories quickly amount
to a catalogue of catastrophes. Our two
remarkably unlucky, down-and-out
protagonists are both failures whose lives
are entangled through lifelong friendship
and dependence.
Liam Wilder, unsuccessful writercome-policeman has been bailing his
friend Aldo Benjamin out of scrapes for
years. A disastrous entrepreneur, Aldo
has been impoverishing friends, family
and investors his entire life, collecting
an array of specialists around him to
combat his latest medical, legal, criminal,
emotional or financial disaster. Liam
realises that he is just one part of this
human arsenal and it’s not until Aldo is a
convicted criminal, crippled and suicidal
that he sees his chance: he will write an
epic tale of woe about his friend, thus
releasing his own creative paralysis. From
this perspective Liam narrates the years
of hilarious misfortune and ruminates
constantly on a book written by their
secondary-school art teacher, Mr Morrell.
A cantankerous and eccentric man,
Morrell wrote a treatise on art called
Artist Within, Artist Without and Liam
quotes it ostensibly. Wonder about art
and creation simmers throughout the
three-part book, making events tragic
and comic, but things only become
clearer near the end when Liam returns
to narrate. Aldo tells the second part of
the book at pace, but he is someone who
never shuts up, and even though his turn
of phrase ignites each page, it can often
be a slog to get to the punch. Regardless,
Toltz has given us something brilliant to
marvel at again.
Luke May is a freelance reviewer
THE WONDER LOVER
Malcolm Knox
A&U. PB. Was $32.99
$27.99
Malcolm Knox is
a respected
literary editor and
journalist, known to
many for his Walkley
Award winning exposé
of the fraudulent
literary memoir of
Norma Khouri. In
addition to his
achievements in non-fiction, he is an
esteemed writer of fiction, drawing praise
and prizes for the novels A Private Man and
Jamaica. Knox’s fifth novel, The Wonder
Lover, will further the author’s already
considerable reputation, especially as a
dauntless explorer of the inner lives of
men. The story proceeds from a compact
premise: an insipid, outwardly
unremarkable man keeps three separate
wives, and fathers three separate sets of
children across three continents.
Effectively archetypal in its rendering of
the central characters, the novel offsets its
mechanical fabula through the peripheral,
spectral narration of the children; here is
the fluid, first person plural ‘we’ which we
see used to increasing effect in contemporary
fiction. It all amounts to a potent mix, an
archetypal play that marries journalistic
rigour with novelistic drifts, allusions
and snares.
What is the worst thing that can happen
to a man who has three wives? He falls
in love. Readers of Nabokov and Martin
Amis will recognise the parodic legacy of
men humiliated by love in Knox’s work.
The Wonder Lover is alert to the generic
markers of the romantic experience: men
in love are in trouble because they suddenly
find themselves written into the romance
genre. Brilliant in its excavations of this
literary and cultural inheritance, the novel
boldly takes down its anti-hero and throws
into play the question of the authenticity of
love. To what extent is this most personal
of experiences generic, standardised and
reproducible? Does this type of desire in
fact gain authenticity precisely through its
standardisation? It’s an old question that
has never gone away, but Knox drills down
in it, delivering a bright and unsettling gem.
Lucy Van is a freelance reviewer
COMING RAIN
Stephen Daisley
Text. PB. $29.99
Set in 1956,
Coming Rain
delves into Australian
bush mythology to
examine romantic
notions of mateship.
Itinerant shearers,
Painter and Lew, are a
makeshift father and
son team, unrelated
but thrown together when Lew is placed
in Painter’s care by his mother. When
adolescent Lew falls for a squatter’s
daughter, trouble brews. Wildness, and
the possibility and futility of taming it,
becomes a key theme.
The opening scenes introduce an
unexpected heroine, a dingo searching
desperately for prey to nourish her
unborn pups. Cut then to a sad and sultry
war widow emerging from the surf on
Cottlesloe Beach. A fight ensues between
lifesavers and the shearers, one that
foreshadows the novel’s preoccupations
with love, violence, abandonment, class,
loneliness, trust and loyalty.
Flipping back and forth between
the shearers’ lives and the dingo’s quest
for survival, there is frequent violence,
unsettling and graphically depicted. Men
brawl. Animals are hunted, culled and
kill each other, but Coming Rain is also
a revelation in its quiet and beautiful
observation of labour and landscape.
Daisley’s reverence and knowledge of
the outback transcends the cliché of
heat, dust and flies, inviting readers into
a mesmerising world of desert flora and
fauna. Indigenous terms mingle with
language that is direct and visceral. The
minutiae of the woolshed and animal
behaviour are brought to life with skill
and affection.
Sally Keighery is a freelance reviewer
THE ADVENTURES OF
HOLLY WHITE AND
THE INCREDIBLE SEX
MACHINE
Krissy Kneen
Text. PB. $29.99
Krissy Kneen, at
the beginning of
her book, The
Adventures of Holly
White and the
Incredible Sex
Machine, has us
watching Brisbane
rich girl Holly,
concealed in darkness,
spying on two strangers hooking up in a
swimming pool. Unlike other girls, Holly
emits a shining blue ectoplasm when
aroused, a glowing bright gel between her
legs. She knows she’s different. She
retreats from the scene into the arms of
her jock boyfriend, who respects the ring
she and her friends wear, inscribed with
the vow of chastity: true love waits.
But Holly’s sexuality can’t be
suppressed. This desire – insatiable,
tangible, an increasingly potent magma
substance – transfers into both Holly’s
lust for literature, and to the reader’s own
delight. At university, Holly is invited to
an underground book club from which
she emerges utterly changed, her first
true sexual experience dismantling her as
Brisbane’s chaste surface is upended and
undressed before her eyes. Armed with
a bag of classic erotic texts – Anaïs Nin,
de Sade, Salter, Nabokov – she sets out on
a quest to Paris, the city of love, to make
love and to unlock the true potential of
her blue energy.
Kneen’s writing glories in its
voyeurism; we watch, as Holly first
watched, the unfolding scenes of
heat, skin and liquid. Holly’s virginity
navigates the text and this perspective,
this plucked newness, extends to all her
first experiences: of sex, Paris, love, and
literature. In mapping out Holly’s sex
machine, Kneen has also mapped out
a vivid heroine’s journey: a very sexy
sci-fi–erotica hybrid with an inspired,
Cronenbergian premise.
Jemima Bucknell is the online fulfilment
manager for Readings
Give mum the gift
of a great read for
Mother’s Day.
AVAILABLE NOW
One family’s inspiring true story
about survival in modern China,
iron will and the strength of a
mother’s love.
AVAILABLE 12 MAY
A ravishing novel set in the
vibrant, tumultuous underworld
of late-19th-century New York,
about four young outsiders whose
lives become entwined over the
course of one fateful night.
WHEN THERE’S
NOWHERE ELSE TO RUN
Murray Middleton
A&U. PB. $27.99.
Winner of the 2015
Australian/Vogel’s
Literary Award, When
There’s Nowhere Else
to Run is a collection
of stories about people
who find their lives
unravelling. They are
teachers, lawyers,
nurses, firemen, chefs,
gamblers, war veterans, hard drinkers,
adulterers, widows and romantics.
Seeking refuge all across the country,
from the wheat belt of Western Australia,
the limestone desert of South Australia,
the sugarcane towns of Queensland, the
hinterland of New South Wales to the
coastline of Victoria, they discover that
no matter how many thousands of
kilometres they put between themselves
and their transgressions, sometimes
there’s nowhere else to run.
AVAILABLE NOW
Sydney, 1915. WWI brings tragedy,
loss and sweeping change for
the women and families left at
home. Will Ruby and Jimmy’s love
survive the terrible impact of war?
get the whole story at
hachette.com.au
7
8
GUILT
Matt Nable
Viking. PB. $32.99
Tommy is in love with
Lani. Lani is going out
with Paul. Paul is
having an affair with
Julia, and Julia has a
crush on Chris. Life is
intoxicating when
you’re about to turn
eighteen and finish
school. But something
goes terribly wrong for this group of
friends. One day they have the world at
their feet. The next, they are all divided,
destined to carry their own versions of guilt
into adulthood. What unfolds is an
agonising, incisive novel about loyalty and
jealousy, about the possibilities of youth
and the weariness of middle age. Guilt is a
heartbreaking examination of friendship,
luck and the elusive nature of redemption.
International Fiction
THE GREEN ROAD
Anne Enright
Jonathan Cape. PB. Was $32.99
$27.99
The latest novel
from Man Booker
Prize-winning author
Anne Enright is a
gorgeously raw and
expansive examination
of the Madigan family.
Sprawling thirty years,
The Green Road
follows the four
children as they leave their childhood
home on Ireland’s Atlantic coast for new
lives and new countries. Years later, when
their mother Rosaleen decides to sell the
home, the family return for a last
Christmas.
I first came across Enright’s work
at university and I credit her with
prompting my ongoing love affair with
contemporary Irish fiction. These
authors are often remembered for being
bleak and beautiful, and Enright’s writing
is certainly both. In The Green Road,
the Madigans are engaged in personal
struggles that are at once intimate and
universal: one daughter has a child and
a drinking problem; one son struggles to
come to terms with his homosexuality
amid the AIDS crisis of the 1980s
and 1990s in New York. Yet there is
a brashness in Enright’s writing that
sets her apart from my other favourite
Irish authors (such as Colm Tóibín and
Sebastian Barry) and she has a special
place on my bookshelf.
Enright’s portrayal of a big family
is perfectly pitched as she renders the
ebbs and flows of their dynamics – their
betrayals and grudges, their love – in
sharp detail. In her understanding of her
characters’ failings she is both piercing
and generous, while in her depictions of
the tiny moments that make up their lives
she is both arch and melancholic. As the
Madigans’ lives break apart and come
together, Enright moves between their
different perspectives (in the second
half of the book, she sometimes does this
within a single paragraph) and bypasses
years with a single page turn. This
structure creates a sense of breathless
urgency. You can’t help but feel that you
too are in the thick of it with the family.
Enright was appointed Ireland’s very first
Fiction Laureate earlier this year and The
Green Road is a testament to the wisdom
of this decision.
Bronte Coates is the digital content
coordinator for Readings
THE WOLF BORDER
Sarah Hall
Faber. PB. $29.99
In Sarah Hall’s
fifth novel The
Wolf Border, the central
subject, the wolves that
will begin the rewilding
of Britain, are rarely
seen: ‘They are fleet or
lazy, moving through
their own tawny
colourscape and
sleeping under logs – missable either way.’
As Rachel Caine, zoologist and wolf expert
says, for the wolf to truly be wild, human
engagement must be absent. Summoned
home to Cumbria to entertain a rich man’s
whimsy and see her dying mother, Rachel
returns to an England whose ‘interior
routes move sluggishly’ as a lone wolf
herself, separate and wary of others,
determined to remain only tenuously
connected. As she seeks to reintroduce the
grey wolf to Cumbria she reluctantly
reintroduces herself.
Sarah Hall has written a novel in which
at every moment life is happening, robust
and fecund, bursting out of the landscape
of Cumbria and Rachel herself. Whether
describing the scent of her dying mother
Binny, ‘the reek of sweat and ammonia –
not the Paestum Rose Binny once favoured,
gifted by suitors and worn high in the wen
of her thighs’ or the climb to the peak of
a mountain that ‘does not sit in isolation
from its range, but is independent; its heavy
arms plunge down and away,’ the detail is
inexorably immersive, brutal yet wistful.
In this manner the novel progresses, and,
while much happens, plot is not the primary
driver of the narrative. The plot I could
sum up in a few lines about the return to
northern England of the wolves eradicated
more than 500 years before, of the zoologist
who will manage their return, and the Earl
who wants to form a vast wild park. The way
in which these aims and elements intersect
with the vote for Scottish independence
is intriguing and unexpected, and yet that
is not what I loved about this novel. What
remains with me is the scent of the iron and
minerals under an Earth that was once wild,
a place I have never been except for the 400
pages I just spent in it.
Marie Matteson is from Readings Carlton
A GOD IN RUINS
Kate Atkinson
Doubleday. PB. Was $32.99
$27.99
Life After Life is
one of my
favourite books of all
time, so it was with
some trepidation that I
approached A God in
Ruins. I was rewarded
with feelings of
foolishness: after all,
with Atkinson you are
in skilled hands. There is no need to doubt
whether Atkinson can hold her own with a
fresh take on the tale of the Todd family. She
is a magnificent writer, and A God in Ruins is
a beautifully structured novel with a
breathtaking narrative. Atkinson continues
the story of the Todd family but from the
perspective of Ursula’s younger brother,
Teddy. As in Ursula’s story, we encounter the
war and the Todd family’s eccentricities, this
time through Teddy’s eyes. We are also privy
to his loves and disappointments, the choices
made and bedded. The story is structured
differently to Life After Life, but again there is
no linear time line. Atkinson leaps from
decade to decade, from year to year: each
segment told with the grace necessary for
illustrating the consequences of past
decisions as they present years later.
Atkinson’s writing consistently illustrates the
vulnerability of humanity through familiar
stories and it is this skill that secures her
place as one of the most remarkable story
tellers of our time. A God in Ruins is a novel
that can be read without Life after Life; the
story is told as a companion rather than a
sequel. Nevertheless, your imagination will
be richer for having both books by your bed.
Chris Gordon is the events manager for
Readings
EARLY WARNING
Jane Smiley
PanMac. PB. $29.99
$26.99
Last year I had
the privilege to
review Some Luck by
Jane Smiley, the first
book in her Last
Hundred Years trilogy. I
enjoyed it so much, I’ve
been eagerly awaiting
her second instalment
ever since. Fortunately,
it didn’t take too long to appear.
Smiley’s trilogy spans several
generations of the Langdons, a farming
family from Iowa. Some Luck told the
story of Walter, his wife, Rosanna, and
their children. In Early Warning, the
children have grown up and had children
of their own, creating a much larger cast of
characters. At first this made for difficult
reading – I had trouble remembering who
was who and had to keep referring back
to the family tree at the front of the book.
Eventually, as I found myself caught up in
the rhythm of Smiley’s wonderful writing,
the characters became more familiar.
Like its predecessor, this second novel
is a simple drama about everyday lives. It
begins in 1953, with the funeral of Walter,
the patriarch of the family, and, as in the
first novel, each chapter is another year told
from the viewpoint of various members of
the family. The story has shifted from the
farm and sprawled across America, as family
members take up different occupations
and settle on the east coast or in major
midwestern cities. In telling the story of
their lives, Smiley gives us an insight into
the events that shaped American history,
from the mid-50s through to the mid-80s
– the Cold War, fear of the atomic bomb,
assassinations, the Vietnam war and the
AIDs epidemic, to name a few. Although
I didn’t like some of the characters as
much this time round, Early Warning is an
engaging story nonetheless and I’m looking
forward to the third book immensely.
Sharon Peterson is from Readings Carlton
THE BOOK OF ARON
Jim Shepard
Quercus. PB. $29.99. Available 12 May
I’ve been waiting
for a Jim Shepard
novel since Project X,
his searing portrait of
misfit boys and their
ultimately violent
reaction to their
isolation. The Book of
Aron continues with the
misfit boy theme, with
the eponymous Aron growing toward his
teen years in Warsaw’s Jewish ghetto,
providing for his family through
smuggling and theft, his gang a ragtag
affair who are streetwise and not averse to
violence to protect their interests. But
Aron is pushed and pulled by many forces:
the Gestapo, the Jewish police, his family,
the smugglers, and the brutal exigencies of
life under German rule. Balancing these
forces is a difficult task for a sensitive boy,
and Aron finds himself in deep trouble,
alone and subject to the realities of Polish
winter.
All this sounds grim – and it is an
astonishingly harsh world – but Aron is
rendered with tenderness and depth and
Shepard does not shy away from the dark
humour in all of it. I found myself wiping
away tears alternately from laughter and
sadness, and re-reading sections for the
precision and beauty of the prose. When
Aron finds a place at the orphanage of
doctor Janusz Korczak, an advocate for
children’s rights, Shepard brings greater
moral depth to the suffering and elevates
what is already a richly observed historical
piece. This is a masterful work, clinical in
its detail and unflinching in its depiction
of human cruelty. But it is much more
too, as a portrayal of our capacity for
ingenuity, for survival, and, ultimately, to
love unconditionally no matter the horrors
foisted upon us. I loved this book so much,
I sincerely hope you all do too.
Robbie Egan is Readings’ operations manager
THE MOUNTAIN STORY
Lori Lansens
Simon & Schuster. PB. $29.99
On the anniversary of
the day his best friend,
Byrd, had a tragic
accident on the
mountain which had
been their paradise
and escape, Wolf Truly
reaches for the summit
again with the
intention of not
coming home. But Wolf meets three
women in the cable car on the way up
from Palm Springs and finds himself
agreeing to help them get to a mountain
lake. As the weather suddenly
deteriorates, the group is stranded on a
lethal ridge as the lights of the city
twinkle below, so close and yet so
terrifyingly far away. Those who will
survive the ordeal will do so through a
mixture of bravery, determination and
self-revelation.
IN THE NIGHT OF TIME
Antonio Munoz Molina
Tuskar Rock. HB. $35
October 1936. Spanish
architect Ignacio Abel
arrives at Penn Station,
the final stop on his
journey from war-torn
Madrid, where he has
left behind his wife and
children, abandoning
them to uncertainty.
Crossing the fragile
borders of Europe, he reflects on months of
fratricidal conflict in his embattled country,
his own transformation from a bricklayer’s
son to a respected bourgeois husband and
professional, and the all-consuming love
affair with an American woman that
forever alters his life. A rich, panoramic
portrait of Spain on the brink of civil war, In
the Night of Time details the passions and
tragedies of a country tearing itself apart.
A GOD IN RUINS
QUICKSAND
THE ANCHORESS
Kate Atkinson
Steve Toltz
Robyn Cadwallader
Hamish Hamilton. PB. Was $32.99
HarperCollins. PB. Was $32.99
$27.99
$29.99
‘Atkinson is a magnificent
writer and A God in Ruins is a
beautifully structured novel with
a breathtaking narrative.’
– Chris Gordon
$27.99
‘Those awaiting another
dose of fierce iconoclasm and
dark-peppered wit will not be
disappointed. Toltz has given us
something brilliant to marvel at
again.’
‘A deeply interesting examination
of madness, faith, grief, anger
and freedom. This is a debut
Australian novel that sets itself
apart from its peers.’
– Nina Kenwood
– Luke May
THE GREEN ROAD
Anne Enright
Jonathan Cape. PB. Was $32.99
$27.99
THE GIRL ON THE
TRAIN
EARLY WARNING
Paula Hawkins
Mantle. PB. Was $29.99
‘Enright was appointed Ireland’s
very first Fiction Laureate
earlier this year and The Green
Road is a testament to the
wisdom of this decision.’
– Bronte Coates
$27.99
‘There are Gone Girl
comparisons to be made here. But
The Girl on the Train [has] a
building, inescapable tension that
Hawkins handles superbly, until
we aren’t really sure we want to
know what happened at all.’
Jane Smiley
$26.99
‘I found myself caught up in the
rhythm of Smiley’s wonderful
writing ... and I’m looking
forward to the third book
immensely.’
– Sharon Peterson
– The Observer
THE GOOD GREEK
GIRL
Maria Katsonis
Jane Curry. PB. Was $32.95
$27.95
Signed copies while stocks last!
‘The quality of Katsonis’ writing is
superb. She demonstrates a playful
sense of humour despite the gravity
of her topic. A must for anyone who
enjoys books about relationships
between migrant parents and their
Australian-born children.’
PICNIC IN
PROVENCE
Elizabeth Bard
$24.99
‘Like the Provençal food and
lifestyle it celebrates, Bard’s book
is one to be savoured slowly and
with care. Delectable reading.’
– Kirkus Reviews
BUY ME THE SKY
Xinran
Rider. PB. Was $39.99
$27.99
‘Xinran’s accounts reveal
a generation of Chinese so
mollycoddled by parents terrified
something might happen to them
that they don’t know how to live
independently.’
– Stuff.co.nz
– Annie Condon
HELLO, BEAUTIFUL
Hannie Rayson
Text. PB. Was $29.99
$26.99
MOTHERS &
OTHERS
HERETIC
Natalie Kon-yu, Maya Linden,
Christie Nieman, Maggie
Scott & Miriam Sved (eds)
Macmillan. PB. Was $32.99
$27.99
‘Bursting with witty anecdotes
and intelligent insights. Rayson
writes with warmth and candour
about the extraordinary moments
in everyday life and draws
you, like an old friend, into her
personal and creative world.’
‘... so much more than just
“another book about mothering”.
The pieces are short and sharp,
highlighting the sometimes
suffocating cultural pressures of
being or not being a mum.’
– Emily Harms
– Kara Nicholson
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
$24.99
‘In urging Muslims to reform
their religion … Hirsi Ali poses
challenging questions, and she is
fearless in using shock tactics to
jump-start a conversation. There
is no denying that her words are
brave.’
– The New York Times
Free delivery for all orders over $19.95 and free gift wrapping! If the delivery address is within the Melbourne metropolitan area, please place your online order by 5pm, Monday 4 May to
receive your parcel by Mother's Day. If the delivery address is outside the metropolitan Melbourne area, we cannot guarantee your online order will be received by Mother's Day.
R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY M OT H E R ' S DAY M AY 2 0 1 5
| Fiction
| Crime Fiction
THE LIFE OF
HOUSES
VILLA AMERICA
HUSH HUSH
Liza Klaussman
Laura Lippman
Lisa Gorton
Picador. PB. $29.99
Faber. PB. $29.99
Giramondo. PB. $26.95
‘Her prose manages to be both
reflective and entertaining
... Klaussmann does identify
the fusion of veneration
and neediness, cruelty and
exhibitionism that defined Le
Gilded Generation in the South
of France.’
‘Many readers will rejoice
at the return of Tess:
resourceful, unpretentious,
and as perfectly vivid a
character as her beloved
Baltimore.’
‘Gorton’s prose is beautiful, full
of a melancholy imagery. This is
a very fine debut [novel].’
– Mark Rubbo
– Fiona Hardy
– Independent
THE ADVENTURES
OF HOLLY
WHITE & THE
INCREDIBLE SEX
MACHINE
Krissy Kneen
Text. PB. $29.99
‘A very sexy Sci-Fi–erotica
hybrid, with an inspired,
Cronenbergian premise.’
– Jemima Bucknell
DEPT. OF
SPECULATION
Jenny Offill
Granta. PB. $19.99
‘In her mastery of narrative voice,
in maintaining a tight structure
that nevertheless gives itself room
for interpolations … Offill’s Dept.
of Speculation is a triumph on a
small scale but in a major key.’
THE LADY
FROM ZAGREB
Philip Kerr
Quercus. PB. Was $29.99
$26.99
‘A+ and a gold star to Kerr
... another tale following
deliciously cynical detective
Bernie Gunther.’
– Fiona Hardy
– Sydney Morning Herald
ADELINE: A
NOVEL OF
VIRGINIA WOOLF
A SPOOL OF BLUE
THREAD
Norah Vincent
Chatto & Windus. PB.
Little, Brown. PB. $29.99
Was $32.99
‘A lovely, although somewhat
melancholy, novel … Vincent
successfully transports the
reader to a world of English
country houses where great
literary and intellectual
discussions take place.’
‘Tyler strips back the facades of
various family myths, fictions
of the kind that many families
construct to paper over tensions
… utterly engrossing, enjoyable
and, at times, illuminating.’
Anne Tyler
$27.99
– Mark Rubbo
WOLF WINTER
Cecilia Ekback
Hodder & Staughton. PB.
$29.99
‘Maija is a female
protagonist so organically
heroic that she seems not at
all out of place in these longpast times. I was up until
3am reading this haunting
thriller.’
– Fiona Hardy
– Sharon Peterson
THE FIRST BAD
MAN
THE LITTLE PARIS
BOOKSHOP
MEDEA’S CURSE
Miranda July
Nina George
Anne Buist
Canongate. PB. $24.99
Little, Brown. PB.
Text. PB. $29.99
‘The turns The First Bad Man
takes are hard to predict and keep
raising the stakes. July’s ability
to present us with the mundane
and then surprise us is her forté,
and it makes for a very funny and
oddly heartfelt book.’
Was $29.99
‘Forensic psychiatrist Natalie
King is an excellent badass:
tearing up to her offices on
a Ducati, ready and willing
with help for the helpless and
cutting remarks for those
who deserve them.’
$24.99
‘A charming novel that believes
in the healing properties of
fiction, romance, and a summer
in the south of France.’
– Kirkus Reviews
– Fiona Hardy
– Chris Somerville
THE NOVEL
HABITS OF
HAPPINESS
Alexander McCall Smith
Little, Brown. PB. $29.99
‘If you are a fan of the Isabel
Dalhousie novels then you will
delight in Alexander McCall
Smith’s latest addition to the
series. The tenth fabulous story
… will leave you wanting more.’
–Culture Street
ORIENT
Christopher Bollen
Simon & Schuster. PB. $29.99
‘A dark and pacy read complete
with haunting characters
and tragic suspense. I highly
recommend getting absorbed in
this sinister plot.’
– Emily Harms
GUN STREET
GIRL
Adrian McKinty
Serpent’s Tail. PB. $29.99
‘... fun, shocking, grim, as
addictive as cocaine filched
from the evidence room, and
wonderful ... one of the very
few new crime books that is
completely devoid of sexual
assault, and for that I give it
a round of sincere, heartfelt
applause.’
– Fiona Hardy
| Non-fiction
IF SHE DID IT
FALLEN
BLOODHOUND
Jessica Treadway
Rochelle Siemienowicz
Ramona Koval
Sphere. PB. $29.99
Affirm Press. PB. $24.99
‘Memory loss in books
often feels contrived, but
Treadway’s skill as an author
never makes it feel cheap.
This is a stay-up-late, stareat-your–child-suspiciouslythe-next-day thriller’
‘Although in many ways a
thematic companion to Lee
Kofman’s The Dangerous
Bride, Fallen focuses less on
investigating the phenomenon
of non-monogamy than on an
intimate portrayal of a personal
crisis and process of self-discovery.’
Text. PB. $32.99
– Fiona Hardy
– Alan Vaarwerk
‘Her [Koval’s] accessibly written
forays into the science of DNA
and familial lineages, and
what makes us who we are, are
beautifully intertwined with
her meditations on identity and
belonging.’
– Books+Publishing
THE PORT
FAIRY
MURDERS
MOTHER
MORPHOSIS
ONE LIFE
Monica Dux (ed.)
Robert Gott
MUP. PB. $27.99
Text. HB. $29.99
Scribe, PB, $29.99
‘These essays are intimate; I felt
as though I was there with the
storytellers, in their own homes
or hovering beside the midwives.’
‘A double murder occurs that
homicide initially consider
cut and dry, but it’s not
like Robert Gott to make
anything easy when it could
instead be thrilling.’
Kate Grenville
‘This story becomes more than
an elegy to a mother; it is an ode
to our own past.’
– Chris Gordon
– Bronte Coates
– Fiona Hardy
THE TRUTH
AND OTHER
LIES
FROM INDIA WITH
LOVE
A TABLE IN THE
ORCHARD
Latika Bourke
Sascha Arango
Michelle Crawford
A&U. PB. $24.99
Text. PB. $29.99
Ebury. PB. $34.99
‘An inspiring and heartwarming
story of family love and finding
your place in the world.’
‘Think River Cottage, but
from a woman’s perspective:
how-to guide, memoir and oh
how I wish that was me! One
for those who think this only
happens in the movies!’
‘A marvellous book, the
kind that never lets you get
comfortable enough to let
you think you know what’s
happening.’
– Deborra-lee Furness
– Fiona Hardy
THE INVISIBLE
MAN FROM
SALEM
Christoffer Carlsson
Scribe. PB. $32.99
‘This is a gripping and highly
enjoyable read with the kind
of unreliable hero you can’t
help but follow desperately,
excitedly around.’
– Chris Gordon
SHE’S HAVING A
LAUGH
25 of Australia’s Funniest
Women on Life, Love and
Comedy
‘These stories are hilarious and
heartwarming, I could not put
this book down!’
GIRL IN A BAND
Kim Gordon
Faber. PB. $29.99
‘... every subject is handled with
careful introspection, detail and
real feeling. We’re in Gordon’s
head as she figures out the world
around her.’
–The New York Times
– Lisa Dean
– Fiona Hardy
DEATH IN THE
RAINY SEASON
Anna Jaquiery
Mantle. PB. $29.99
‘A ground-level investigation
in a vividly rendered
landscape … Death in the
Rainy Season is a mystery
soaked in both downpours
and atmosphere – and an
intelligent character piece.’
– Fiona Hardy
BETWEEN YOU &
ME
Mary Norris
MOTHERHOOD &
CREATIVITY
Rachel Power
Text. PB. $29.99
‘If you like words, language or
puzzles, this is the book for you
– or that friend or mother who
always corrects you.’
– Mark Rubbo
‘Power’s bite-size interviews
are easy to dip in and out of,
and she captures nicely the
intimate, conversational tone
of her interlocutors … another
important reminder that
women’s work matters.’
– Books+Publishing
| Art & Design
| Food & Wine
TIE DIP DYE
LIBERTY STYLE
Pepa Martin & Karen Davis
Martin Wood
Craftsman House. PB. $24.99
Frances Lincoln. HB. $59.99
‘A fantastic guide to get you
started in creating your own
hand-dyed and hand-crafted
fabric pieces. It features stepby-step instructions for fabric,
tool and colour choices; dyes,
dye recipes and methods; and 12
inspiring projects.’
‘This beautiful illustrated history
captures the mystique and
glamour of Liberty style, a love
of which I inherited from my
mother. It’s also the fascinating
story of a 19th century retailer
with the vision to take a risk.’
THE RIVER
COTTAGE
AUSTRALIA
COOKBOOK
Paul West
Bloomsbury. HB. $45
Featuring recipes from the first
three TV series of River Cottage
Australia, this cookbook reveals
the delicious dishes Paul West
has been creating on the farm.
– Margaret Snowdon
– Miranda La Fleur
FREE
GIFT
CLOTHBOUND
Julie Paterson
Murdoch. HB. $59.99
FREE tote bag with purchase!
‘We all loved Julie Paterson
and her minimal, beautiful and
natural designs when they came
into the shop. This is an intimate
insight into her creative process
and the sense of place that is an
integral part of it.’
PEOPLE OF THE
TWENTY-FIRST
CENTURY
Hans Eijkelboom
& David Carrier (trans.)
Phaidon. PB. $45
‘This is an enormous and
completely fascinating
collection of ‘anti-sartorial’
photographs of street life by the
renowned Dutch conceptual
artist and street photographer.’
FREE
GIFT
THE NEW NORDIC
Simon Bajada
Hardie Grant. HB. $49.95
FREE apron with purchase!
Discover the flavours of
true Scandinavian cuisine
matched with stunning location
photography. This cookbook is
a feast for all the senses.
ENCORE: THE
NEW ARTISANS
CRAFT FOR THE
SOUL
MY NEW ROOTS
Olivier Dupon
Pip Lincolne
Macmillan. HB. $44.99
T&H. HB. $55
Viking. HB. $35
Based on Sarah Britton’s
healthy-eating blog, My New
Roots is packed with over 100
simple, healthy and mouthwatering vegetarian recipes.
‘I loved the first volume and
this one maybe more. It’s
great to see people from all
around the world using their
hands to make wonderful
objects. This inspiring
collection is full of people and
things to admire.’
‘Crafting along with Pip
Lincolne is like hanging out
with your best friend and
stitching something cute while
knocking back a nice cuppa and
a bikkie.’
Sarah Britton
–Frankie
THE SKETCHBOOK
PROJECT:
WORLD TOUR
SANDCASTLES
Steven Peterman
& Sara Elands Peterman
‘Interior designer and stylist
Tim Neve explores the
timelessness of coastal style. His
desire is to reclaim a feeling of
authenticity, and I found in these
pages memories of holidays,
simple beach shacks, driftwood,
shells and a salty breeze.’
Princeton. PB. $52.95
‘The Project started in New
York as an online project: order
a sketchbook, fill it in and send
it back to the Brooklyn Art
Library. A collective, global,
sharing experience – lovely.’
Tim Neve
Murdoch. HB. $49.99
MR WILKINSON’S
SIMPLY DRESSED
SALADS
Matt Wilkinson
Hardie Grant. HB. $49.95
This book follows the seasons
and is filled with 52 stunning
salad recipes that are meals
in themselves or fantastic
accompaniments.
THE KITCHEN
ART STUDIO
BJÖRK
ARCHIVES
MARGARET AND
ME
Peter Jenny
Klaus Biesenbach, Alex
Ross & Nicola Dibben
Kate Gibbs
& Margaret Fulton
T&H. HB. $80
Murdoch. HB. $39.99
‘This beautifully designed
slipcase focuses on Björk’s seven
major albums. It’s a celebration
of the diverse contributions to
music, video, film, fashion and
art Björk has had on a generation
worldwide. This truly is the
greatest gift for any Björk fan!’
Food writer Kate Gibbs reveals
the highs and lows from the
life of her extraordinary
grandmother, Margaret Fulton,
along with their shared kitchen
wisdom and 50 beautifully
photographed family recipes.
Princeton. PB. $22.95
‘This delightful little book is
an ode to all who like to build
sculptures out of the washed
dishes, admire the shapes made
when peeling a grapefruit, and
any number of other vegetable
interactions that bring out your
inner artist.’
– Emily Harms
| Music
ALICE’S FOOD A–Z
Alice Zaslavsky
Walker. PB. $19.95
MELBOURNE’S
WOMEN OF
SOUL
SHORT MOVIE
Laura Marling
$21.95
Packed with clever cooking tips
and kid-friendly recipes, this
book from former MasterChef
contestant and host of TV quiz
show Kitchen Whiz is for the
fact-hungry and food obsessed.
Various
THE HAPPY
COOKBOOK
WILDER MIND
Mumford & Sons
SOUND &
COLOR
Lola Berry
$21.95
Alabama Shakes
Plum. PB. $34.99
‘‘Mumford & Sons’ shift
into synthesizers, drum
loops, electric guitars …
doesn’t sound like a radical
departure as much as a way
to expand their emotional
and musical palette.’’
$21.95
Lola Berry’s recipes are fresh,
vibrant and based around
nutritionally dense wholefoods
that will make you glow with
good health, inside and out.
$19.95
‘... this line up is enough to get
any soul fan salivating and
feeling a little weak kneed’
‘Marling’s new sound evokes
the strange dark thrill of low
skies before a storm … Short
Movie is a masterpiece.’
– The Telegraph (UK)
–Declan Murphy
– LA Times
‘Sound & Color is a bold
step forward … [Brittany
Howard’s] voice conveys
the world-weary grain of a
lifetime of love and loss, pain
and grief ... this is music rising
from the pit of the soul.’
– Daily Review
THE MAGIC SOUP
Nicole Pisani
& Kate Adams
Orion. HB. $45.00
Soup’s versatility and health
benefits are captured in Magic
Soup which features over 100
innovative recipes to help you to
feel fuller and become healthier.
Björk
COMING
FORTH BY DAY
$19.95
Cassandra Wilson
‘Vulnicura is loosely
arranged around the
chronology of a relationship …
it’s simultaneously her most
mature feat of arranging and
almost psychosomatically
affecting.’’
$21.95
VULNICURA
– Pitchfork
THE FRENCH
BAKER
Jean Michel Raynaud
From a master patissier comes
an inspirational and practical
guide to delicious French-style
baking in the home kitchen.
– Wall Street Journal
CARRIE &
LOWELL
VIVALDI
Sufjan Stevens
DG. 4794017. $24.95
$19.95
‘Mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital
makes a strong case for the
rock-star possibilities of his
instrument. The exuberance
… is infectious.’
Murdoch. HB. Was $59.99
$49.99
‘Radically reinterpreting, with
characteristic confidence and
nonconformity, the [Billie]
Holiday canon, Coming
Forth by Day is a loving but
sombre affair.’
‘Both overwhelming and
understated: melodies
match sentiment with
perfect judgment ... a delight
in every way, surely one of
the albums of the year.’
Avi Avital
– Sinfini Music
– The Guardian
THE GOURMET
FARMER GOES
FISHING
Matthew Evans, Nick
Haddow & Ross O’Meara
$39.99
Food-critic-turned-farmer and
sustainable-seafood activist
Matthew Evans shows us how
seafood should be cooked and
may even inspire you to catch
your own dinner.
SOMETIMES I SIT
AND THINK, AND
SOMETIMES I
JUST SIT
Courtney Barnett
$19.95
‘Full of Barnett’s
trademark wordplay and
stark observations … it’s
everything this fan of
the Melbourne singer–
songwriter could hope for.’
– Alan Vaarwerk
THE COMPLETE
RECITALS
Emma Kirkby
Decca. 4787863. 12 CDs.
$79.95
‘Kirkby has enjoyed
unmatched success as an
early music practitioner in
the 20th and 21st centuries,
and this new collection
from Decca is a wonderful
celebration of her career.’
– Alexandra Mathew
| Film & TV
NATIONAL
GALLERY
THE FALL:
SERIES 2
HOMELAND:
SEASON 4
$24.95
$29.95
$44.95
‘This is a typically engrossing
and insightful study of the
day-to-day running of a great
institution by the master of
observational documentary.’
‘Those looking for an
atmospheric, brooding, slowpaced psychological study will
find many rewards.’
‘The show has returned to
its roots as an espionage
thriller, in part by taking an
unsentimental view of its
heroine’s worst behaviour.’
– The AV Club
– Empire
– The New Yorker
BROADCHURCH:
SERIES 2
THE LEGACY
$39.95
‘A refreshing change
from gloomy, rain-lashed
Copenhagen-based policework,
The Legacy gives a valuable
glimpse into open-plan,
middleclass life.’’
‘It’s a pleasure to revisit this
cast and to once again share
both the pain of this English
village and the scenic glory of
its seaside setting.’
$59.95
OLIVE
KITTERIDGE
UN VILLAGE
FRANCAIS
$29.95
$49.95
‘At once bleak and uplifting,
entertaining and troubling …
this is the best television we
will see all year.
‘A subtle, historically accurate
but not unsympathetic look at
ordinary people suddenly tested
by war, defeat and enemy
invasion.’
– The New York Times
ADVANCED
STYLE
FINDING VIVIAN
MAIER
$19.95
$29.95
‘These fabulously inspiring
characters brought tears of
joy to my eyes! I loved every
minute of this doco. These
women are an absolute
inspiration.’’
‘Finding Vivian Maier
is one of those fascinating
documentaries that unearths
an unknown artist and in a
slow reveal creates a tantalising
and ambiguous picture of the
“missing” person.’
– Emily Harms
$274.95
‘... for adults who want to
recapture a childlike mindset as
much as for children.’
– The Guardian
– The Guardian
– USA Today
THE COLLECTED
WORKS OF
HAYAO MIYAZAKI
THE SOUND OF
MUSIC 50TH
ANNIVERSARY
EDITION
$14.95
‘Every [song] a classic, The
Sound of Music [is] a film to
watch over and over, and even
to sing along with.’
– The Telegraph (UK)
SHINE
$19.95
Available 6 May
‘There are films we see and
films we remember. Few leave
as lasting an impression as
this 1996 biopic, starring
43-year-old Geoffrey Rush in
the breakthrough role that won
him an Oscar.’
–The Guardian
– The Times (UK)
SMALL IS
BEAUTIFUL
FORCE MAJEURE
$19.95
‘The most emotionally gripping
experience I’ve had in a
cinema thus far this year has
been in [this] masterpiece by
young Swedish director Ruben
Ostlund … Every scene is
perfect.’
‘We’re spoilt for choice as
viewers ... the range of quality
material makes stumbling
across a truly special film that
much more exciting. Small is
Beautiful is one of those extra
special films.’
– Stella Charls
$29.95
– ABC Radio
DEATH COMES
TO PEMBERLEY
$44.95
‘A “Pride and Prejudice”
sequel/murder mystery that
has the extra advantage
of being perfectly cast and
extremely entertaining, even
for those who might need a
Jane Austen refresher course.’
– Variety
MODERN
ARCHITECTURE
SINCE 1900
William J. R. Curtis
PB. Was $55
Now $29.95
Since its first
publication in 1982, Modern Architecture
Since 1900 has become a contemporary
classic. Worldwide in scope, technical,
economic, social and intellectual
developments are brought together in a
comprehensive narrative which presents
a penetrating analysis of the modern
tradition and its origins.
MODERN
ITALIAN FOOD
Stefano de Pieri
HB. Was $39.95
Now $16.95
Offering recipes with
roots from the old world and the New,
this cookbook tempts and encourages
the domestic cook. With his lively prose
and accessible recipes, it also features a
comprehensive section on Italian wine,
cheese, and preserves perfect for creating
both old world, northern-Italian dishes
and modern ones using regional produce.
TASTE OF
GREECE
Lyndey Milan
HB. Was $39.95
Now $16.95
Taste of Greece
celebrates the cuisine,
culture and beautifully undiscovered
land of the Peloponnese. While the
cuisine of this area has a starring role,
the historic heart of Greece is not
overlooked as ancient sites are explored
with an adventurous edge, full of
humour and insight.
URBAN
SANCTUARY
Janine Mendel
HB. Was $59.95
Now $16.95
Australians love to be
outdoors, but with the
population set to rise, we will be left with
smaller and smaller outdoor spaces in
which to enjoy our way of life. This book
will inspire the reader to see what can be
created in restricted spaces.
THE ANCIENT
PATHS
Graham Robb
PB. Was $29.99
Now $10.00
When Graham Robb
made plans to cycle the
legendary Via Heraklea,
he had no idea that the line he plotted
was an ancient path that took him
deep into the world of the Celts: their
gods, their art, and, most of all, their
sophisticated knowledge of science.
NEW
CLASSICS
Philippa Sibley
HB. Was $49.95
Now $16.95
A must-have cookbook
with detailed
guides to recipe basics and Philippa’s
reinterpretation of classic French and
Italian inspired dishes. Beautifully
designed and filled with detailed stepby-step photography, this cookbook will
become an invaluable go-to and recipe
favourite.
AVEDON
WOMEN
Joan Juliet
Buck
HB. Was $160.00
Now $49.95
Over his sixty-year career, photographer
Richard Avedon was renowned for his
distinctive, transformative eye. Women
were often his subject, through his
fashion work for Harper’s Bazaar and
Vogue and in his portraiture of both
the famous and the unknown. What
might have been pictured as prosaic
or unattractive through another
photographer’s lens was presented by
Avedon as unconventional and surprising.
THE SEX LIVES
OF SIAMESE
TWINS
Irvine Welsh
PB. Was $45
Now $16.95
Clinical obesity, murder,
conjoined twins, and huge servings of
food, sex and filthy language: it’s an Irvine
Welsh novel! When Lucy Brennan disarms
an apparently crazed gunman
chasing two frightened
homeless men along a
deserted causeway at
night, she becomes a
hero. Her celebrity is
short-lived, though:
the ‘crazed gunman’
turns out to be
a victim of child
sexual abuse and the
two men are serial
paedophiles.
THE
REPUBLIC
OF
IMAGINATION
Azar Nafisi
PB. Was $35
Now $12
From the author of the bestselling
memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran comes
a powerful and passionate case for the
vital role of fiction. Blending memoir
and polemic with close readings of
her favourite novels, she invites us to
join her as citizens of her ‘Republic
of Imagination’, a country where the
villains are conformity and orthodoxy.
TIME: SECRETS
OF GENIUS
Time Magazine
HB. Was $55
Now $29.95
Da Vinci, Einstein,
Jobs: even as we admire the outsized
nature of their contributions to
civilisation, such exceptionally gifted
people provoke us to ask: what are
the wellsprings of genius? How is it
acquired? What are its hallmarks, its
drawbacks, its surprising side-effects?
Now Time magazine’s editors profile
history’s most gifted and inventive
humans and explore the work of
scientists who are using advanced
technologies in their attempts to isolate
and quantify the nature of genius itself.
FLASH BOYS
Michael Lewis
HB. Was $39.99
Now $15.95
Michael Lewis’ bestseller
tells the outrageous story
of the multi-millionaires
and whiz kids who scammed the banking
system in the blink of an eye – and the
whistleblowers who tried to stop them.
It’s the story of declaring war on some
of the richest and most powerful people
in the world and of the madness that has
taken hold of the financial markets today.
THE MIND’S EYE
Oliver Sacks
PB. Was $25
Now $12.95
How does the brain
perceive and interpret
information from the
eye? And what happens when the process
is disrupted? Oliver Sacks tells the stories
of people who are able to navigate the
world and communicate with others
despite losing what many of us consider
indispensable senses and abilities.
FALLING
FREELY, AS IF IN
A DREAM
Leif G. W. Persson
PB. Was $32.99
Now $10
From the grand master of
Scandinavian crime
fiction – and one of the
best crime writers
of our time – a new
critically acclaimed
novel centred
around the unsolved
murder of Swedish
Prime Minister Olof
Palme in 1986, a case
that has all but gone
cold. Sharply detailed
and boldly plotted, Persson’s
work lifts the veil on one of
history’s greatest unsolved crimes in a
novel that goes toe-to-toe with the best of
true crime books.
A SINGULAR
VISION: HARRY
SEIDLER
Helen O’Neill
HB. Was $49.99
Now $15.95
Harry Seidler, a stylish, decisive and
highly opinionated man, was a key figure
in international modern architecture
and in the establishment of post-war
modern design in Australia. He emerged
as Australia’s pre-eminent architect, the
man who effectively shaped the look
of modern, urban Australia. A lavishly
illustrated, stylish and beautifully designed
book, this is a celebration of one man’s
extraordinary life and achievements.
WHERE I’M
READING
FROM
Tim Parks
PB. Was $29.99
Now $10
Should you finish every
book you start? How has
your family influenced the way you read?
What is literary style? Is writing really
just like any other job? What happens to
your brain when you read a good book?
In this collection of lively and provocative
pieces he talks about what readers
want from books and how to look at the
literature we encounter in a new light.
EM AND THE
BIG HOOM
Jerry Pinto
HB. Was $35.00
Now $13.95
In a one-bedroomhall-kitchen in Mahim,
Bombay, through
the last decades of
the twentieth century, lived four lovebattered Mendeses: mother, father, son
and daughter. Between Em, the mother,
driven frequently to hospital after her
failed suicide attempts, and the Big Hoom,
the father, trying to hold things together as
best he could, they tried to be a family.
THE EDGE OF
THE WORLD
Michael Pye
HB. Was $49.99
Now $19.95
The Edge of the World is
an epic adventure: from
the Vikings to the Enlightenment. When
the Roman Empire retreated, northern
Europe was a barbarian outpost at the
very edge of everything. A thousand
years later, it was the heart of global
empires and the home of science, art,
enlightenment and money.
THE GOLDEN
WARRIOR
Lawrence James
PB. Was $29.95
Now $12
During the 1920s, T.
E. Lawrence gained
global attention,
both for his involvement in the Middle
Eastern anti-imperialist movement, and
for his sensational writings about his
experiences. This revised and updated
edition of James’s acclaimed biography
traces the sometimes spurious Lawrence
legend back to its truthful roots to reveal
the gifted, tortured man behind the
shimmering myth.
SPANISH
FLAVOURS
José Pizarro
HB. Was $59.95
Now $19.95
In Spanish Flavours,
Pizarro journeys across Spain, collecting
his favourite regional ingredients to
combine into stylish dishes that are easy
to recreate at home. He celebrates the
classic Spanish dishes, but also focuses
on his twists on classics and modern
interpretations, adding his flair and
passion to every recipe.
COLLECTED
STORIES
James Salter
HB. Was $39.99
Now $15.95
From his first published
story in 1968, Salter’s
work has been universally acclaimed.
Each indelible narrative in Collected
Stories is marked by Salter’s great literary
grace, his ability to show the subtleties of a
character or situation with precision, and
to command shocking reversals of fortune.
MEMORABLE MOTHERS
IN LITERATURE
ACROSS
1
3
Henny is both mother and stepmother in
which novel by Christina Stead? (3, 3, 3, 5, 8)
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
Which radish-loving son was given
chamomile tea by his mother when he was
feeling poorly? (5, 6)
7
By what name is escaped stepmother Lula
Mae Barnes better known in her new life in
New York? (5, 9)
8
A backyard incident involving Rosie’s child is
the beginning of a significant disagreement
in which bestselling Australian book? (3, 4)
10
Which London-based mother created by
an Australian author is the employer of a
famous nanny? (3, 5)
4
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
11
Mrs Wormwood is the mother of which
library-frequenting Roald Dahl character? (7)
12
Who is a mother figure to the Lost Boys? (5)
15
In which much-loved children’s classic does
a mother clash with her adopted daughter
over puffed sleeves? (4, 2, 4, 6)
17
In which novel by Alexis Wright does Aunty
Bella Donna pull a young Oblivia from the
hollow of a tree? (3, 4, 4)
18
19
20
21
DOWN
18
Among Jane Austen’s characters, who is
particularly prone to an attack of nerves
when things don’t go her way? (3, 6)
2
Which stepmother was put in charge of a
brood of seven and described as ‘only twenty
– just a lovely, laughing-faced girl’? (6, 7)
19
Jane is the first adopted daughter of
which glamorous and intrepid Melbourne
detective? (6, 6)
4
Who plays the mother of a disturbing child
in the film adaptation of We Need to Talk
About Kevin? (5, 7)
In which Australian classic did Bel Bel teach
her son everything she knew about the
ways of man and how to survive in the high
country? (3, 6, 6)
5
In which classic tale did a mother leave all
514 of her babies in the care of her dear
friend, a pig? (10, 3)
20
6
21
Which mother does not have a good time at
the Red Wedding? (7, 5)
Which stepmother shares her name with a
gemstone and enjoys communing with nature
in the English countryside in the 1930s? (5)
9
What special name do the March girls – Meg,
Jo, Beth and Amy – have for their mother? (6)
13
Which grandmother uses bush magic to
make her granddaughter invisible? (7, 4)
14
Which magical mother keeps her numerous
children well-supplied with hand-knitted
jumpers bearing their first initials? (5, 7)
16
Which Scottish mother finds herself
preoccupied with spots after taking drastic
action? (4, 7)
Complete our Memorable Mothers in Literature crossword and sign up to
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$100
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THE STRAYS
by Emily Bitto
The Strays is like a gemstone:
polished and multifaceted, reflecting
illuminations back to the reader and
holding rich colour in its depths.
The 2015 Stella Prize judging panel
New Crime
17
Dead Write
with Fiona Hardy
Crime Book of the Month
THE TRUTH AND OTHER LIES
Sascha Arango
Text. PB. $29.99
Claus Moreany’s publishing house is on the verge of going
under when his distractingly beautiful employee Betty
discovers unknown author Henry Hayden’s manuscript in a pile.
Frank Ellis becomes a runaway bestseller, subsequent books sell
millions, and Hayden becomes a wealthy man living in a beautiful
house with his lovely wife, a sporty-looking dog and the magazine
spreads to prove it. All is well until the day that Betty, who is not
his wife, tells him that she is pregnant with his child. Henry vows
to himself: it is time to tell Martha the truth. But Henry has never been a man to care
about things like the truth when a skewed version of events will suffice.
Guilt starts off with a group of friends getting ready
for an eighteenth birthday party. Life is exciting and
the world is at their feet. Jump forward twenty years
and they are all struggling with where they are at.
Where did it all go wrong? Something happened
at that party that changed their lives forever.
How do you bring creativity into your everyday life?
This clever, cute, step-by-step guide will show you
practical ways to get the most out of your creativity
and live the life you want. Crafter and blogger
Pip Lincolne shares her lifetime of wisdom on finding
things that spark excitement and passion.
Robert Macfarlane brilliantly explores the linguistic
and literary terrain of the British Isles in a book about
the power of language to shape our sense of place.
It is both a field guide to the literature he loves and a
‘word-hoard’, gathering an astonishing archive
of place-terms.
Aldo has been so relentlessly unlucky – in business,
in love, in life – that the universe seems to have taken
against him personally. What begins as a document of
Aldo’s disasters develops into a profound story of fate,
faith and friendship; of taking risks in art, work, love and
life; and finding inspiration in all the wrong places.
‘The Truth and Other Lies is a marvellous book, the kind that never lets
you get comfortable enough to let you think you know what’s happening.’
The Truth and Other Lies is a marvellous book, the kind that never lets you get
comfortable enough to let you think you know what’s happening – author Sascha
Arango is always one step ahead of you, and his creation, Henry, is one calculated story
away from reality. Being this wrong-footed is quite the delight, as is Hayden, smooth
as aged whiskey but with as many secrets as a thirteen-year-old’s diary. I barely want
to say more in case I spoil anything for you, but Arango’s icy prose and Germany’s
sun-kissed seaside locale make for the perfect read as our own nights get longer, and as
dark as Hayden himself.
AFTER THE CRASH
IN
Michel Bussi
Natsuo Kirino
Hachette. PB. $29.99
Harvill. PB. $32.95
In 1980, a plane
crashes into a
mountainside in the
middle of the night, on
the way from Istanbul
to Paris. Out of the 169
on board, 168 perish
– and one survives, a
three-month-old baby
girl. But when two
separate sets of paternal grandparents
– one rich and connected, one poor and
sick – contact the hospital to check on her,
the world is gripped by her story: a little
girl no one can prove is their own.
Eighteen years later, the private detective
hired to find the truth sits with a gun in
front of his notes, no closer to a solution
and ready to end his own life, when,
finally, the answer becomes obvious – and
someone else beats him to the gunshot.
In a month full of
delectable crime books
that are about books
themselves, the
incredible, visceral
Kirino weaves a story
about a decades-old
novel about R, a
woman who tore apart
her lover’s family and
whose story was taken from her,
fictionalised and made famous throughout
Japan, the book’s author gaining fame and
fortune as the mysterious R remained quiet
on the truth. When Tamaki, also a writer,
decides to search for the reality behind the
book and R, her own life and the tangled
relationships in her past and present
cannot escape criticism.
DISCLAIMER
Renée Knight
Random. PB. $32.99
Documentary
filmmaker Catherine
and her husband
Robert, having
downsized in the wake
of their adult son
leaving the nest, are in
the middle of sorting
out a house-worth of
mess and memories
when Catherine starts reading the book at
her bedside, A Perfect Stranger. It starts
pleasantly enough, until she realises that the
woman at the centre of the book is more
than familiar: it’s her, and the story is that of
a long-ago holiday shrouded in danger that
she hoped to forget, and a secret she was
planning never to disclose. So how did the
book get into her house – and who knows
her secret when the only witness is dead?
penguin.com.au
Love your mum
CRIME
‘Bad Seed is hard to beat.’
The Australian
THE LADY FROM ZAGREB
Cato Kwong is back. This time
it’s personal. When Cato’s old
friend Francis Tan is murdered,
Cato finds himself in Shanghai
confronting the killer – and the
ghosts of his own family history.
Philip Kerr
Quercus. PB. Was $29.99
$26.99
Let’s face it, I almost
made this Book of the
Month for the title
alone: not ‘The Girl
from Zagreb’, but The
LADY from Zagreb. A+
and a gold star then to
Kerr for the title and,
of course, for the book
itself, another tale
following deliciously cynical detective
Bernie Gunther whose sardonic travels
throughout Nazi Germany have entranced
readers. With his ability to make historical
Berlin and its surrounds seem real enough
to be just beyond your front door, he
plumbs the past for a complex series of
events, not least Gunther’s task of tracking
down a highly desired actress’s missing
father in Zurich on the orders of none less
than Joseph Goebbels himself.
MEMOIR
‘a remarkable and moving story.’
Professor Fiona Wood, AM
After the Battle of Britain, badly
burnt airmen filled the childhood
home town of Liz Byrski. Now
the bestselling novelist returns to
uncover the secret history of the
nurses who saved our heroes.
Find us on Facebook
@FremantlePress
fremantlepress.com.au
18
New Non-Fiction
Book of the Month
BETWEEN YOU & ME: CONFESSIONS
OF A COMMA QUEEN
Mary Norris
Text. HB. $29.99
Last night I went to I Gradi for pizza with my son. It was an
easy decision for Joe and me to make and we enjoyed the
pizzas very much. You, possibly, think I should have written ‘Joe
and I’. Well, that’s not correct. I know because I’ve just read
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris.
As Norris demonstrates, in the context I’ve just described, if Joe
were not part of the story you would never write, ‘it was an easy
decision for I to make’, you’d write, ‘it was an easy decision for me to make.’
Mary Norris is a copyeditor at The New Yorker and has been for over 30 years. How she
started off as a milkman in Cleveland and ended up as the Comma Queen is part of this
book, but only part. The bulk of this enchanting little tome is a journey through her world
of punctuation and grammar, with some very cool anecdotes. For example, when The New
Yorker accepted the opening chapters of Philip Roth’s I Married a Communist for extract,
Norris found a small error in the material supplied. Roth subsequently wrote a note to the
editor of The New Yorker which read, in part, ‘Who is this woman? I want her to come and
live with me!’
‘... this enchanting little tome is a journey through her world of
punctuation and grammar, with some very cool anecdotes.’
Norris sometimes comes across as a pedantic American pushing her colors, humors
and periods (full stops) but I actually found that kind of interesting. But most of the book’s
content is Norris’ analyses of different grammatical conundrums. Consider the hyphen: is
James Thurber a dog lover or a dog-lover? Of course Thurber is a dog-lover; whereas the
dog ‘Tramp’, in Lady and the Tramp, is a lover that happens to be a dog. And, again, what’s
the difference between star-f*cker and star f*cker? That had me thinking for a bit, but I
think I got it. Norris has a whole chapter, ‘F*ck this Sh*t’, on how to use profanity: ‘... no
one wants to be pummelled constantly by four-letter words. If we are going to use them,
let’s use them right. Profanity ought to be fun.’ She devotes another chapter to gender –
was Mary a milkman, a milklady or a milkperson? She’s not conclusive or prescriptive
about this, but it makes for interesting reading. If you like words, language or puzzles, this
is the book for you – or that friend or mother who always corrects you.
Mark Rubbo is the Managing Director of Readings
Biography
FALLEN: A MEMOIR
ABOUT SEX, RELIGION
AND MARRYING TOO
YOUNG
From the outset
of Fallen,
openly acknowledges
that while her memoir,
which began life as a
novel, is a true story, it
is first and foremost a
story. Events have been
merged and names
changed, even her own – she refers to
herself as Eve, a reflection of both her
detachment from the person she once was,
and the religious archetype of the ‘fallen
woman’.
For Eve, marrying young is the only way
to reconcile her Seventh-Day Adventist
upbringing, with its strict rules about the
sanctity of marriage, with the desires of
the flesh. Eve and Isaac see themselves
together forever, but find themselves in
their mid-twenties in a marriage that is
loving but increasingly devoid of desire.
Seeking to satisfy their urges while
remaining faithful, they turn to an open
marriage. But, as Eve grows disenchanted
with her husband and with her faith, things
inevitably become complicated.
Fallen is structured around a longawaited trip to visit her best friends in
Perth, with her long-term lover and then
her husband following shortly after, as
well as cameo appearances from an old
flame and a casual fling. Using this holiday
as a framing device is an effective way of
containing the narrative, although there are
events hinted at afterwards that would have
been interesting to see expanded upon.
Siemienowicz’s writing is candid and
heartfelt, with numerous moments of
great clarity. She paints characters vividly,
particularly the men in her life – her
husband Isaac is variously tender, pathetic
and contemptible, and lovers are equal
parts charming and grotesque. Although
in many ways a thematic companion
to Lee Kofman’s The Dangerous Bride,
Fallen focuses less on investigating the
phenomenon of non-monogamy than
on Eve’s story, an intimate portrayal of
a personal crisis and process of selfdiscovery.
Alan Vaarwerk is the editorial assistant for
Readings Monthly
LION ATTACK!
Oliver Mol
Scribe. PB. $27.99
Oliver Mol deals
in honesty and
optimism. His memoir,
Lion Attack!, the
inaugural co-winner of
the Scribe Nonfiction
Prize for Young
Writers, carries the
subtitle ‘I’m trying to
be honest and I want
you to know that’. While aspects of this
memoir are fictionalised, Lion Attack! is a
deeply personal work. Fragments of
‘sudden memoir’, predominately reflections
on growing up in a pre-9/11 America, are
interspersed within a longer narrative –
Mol as a twenty-something writer, who’s
just moved to Melbourne. He’s stumbling
through life, plugging away in the KeepCup
warehouse to get by and pining for a girl he
chats to online. He’s hopeful, he’s
overthinking everything and he wears his
rapidly-beating heart firmly on his sleeve.
Mol might be Australia’s answer to
contemporary Alt Lit – he cites Steve
Roggenbuck and Scott McClanahan as
stylistic influences and the striking cover
design for Lion Attack! strongly evokes
Tao Lin’s most marketable work of fiction
yet, Taipei. In Lion Attack! Mol utilises his
distinctly naïve narrative voice to examine
what coming-of-age in Australia means
today. A lot of this memoir is focused
internally – reading this book is like meeting
Oliver Mol in person. He bares all (literally
– Mol is naked in his author photo) and
his voice is earnest, exuberant, and alive
with a beat that will get stuck in your head.
Like with any friend who has a habit of
oversharing, Mol risks coming across as
not just self-aware but self-absorbed. But
when Mol applies this honesty to various
relationships, particularly with his family
members, it’s hard not to be genuinely
moved, and impossible not to relate.
With Lion Attack! Mol offers a funny,
affecting and accessible reflection on
his youth and the nature of memory.
This memoir is embellished, but Mol
is interested in emotional truth, rather
than the distinction between fiction and
nonfiction. Lion Attack! is Mol speaking
frankly about who he is – he’s kind, he
tries hard and he’s written a book unlike
anything you’ve ever read before.
Stella Charls is the marketing and events
FROM INDIA WITH LOVE
Latika Bourke
BLOODHOUND:
SEARCHING FOR MY
FATHER
Ramona Koval
Text. PB. $32.99
Ramona Koval’s parents
were Holocaust
survivors who fled their
homeland and settled in
Melbourne. As a child,
Koval learned little
about their lives – only
snippets from traumatic
tales. But she always
suspected that the man
who raised her was not her biological father.
One day in the 1990s, long after her mother’s
death, she decides she must know the truth.
Bloodhound is a quest for identity recounted
with Koval’s customary humour and a
moving story of the terrible cost of war and
of family secrets.
Australian Politics
THE GILLARD PROJECT
Michael Cooney
Viking. PB. $32.99
Michael Cooney was
Julia Gillard’s
speechwriter for most
of her time in office.
The stakes were high
and the game had
changed. He worked to
crazy deadlines with
perpetually conflicting
advice, watching from
behind the scenes while the government
stumbled and the polls began to tell a grim
tale. He cried and laughed and swore as
Australia’s first female prime minister got
through a record number of pieces of
legislation in the time she had. This is his
story, and hers.
A&U. PB. $24.99
Latika Bourke was
adopted from India
when she was eight
months old. Growing up
in Bathurst, New South
Wales she felt a deep
connection to her
Australian home and her
Australian family. As
Latika carved out a successful career for
herself as an award-winning political
journalist, she became more and more
curious about what it meant to be born in
India and raised in Australia. And so began
a deeply personal and sometimes
confronting journey back to her birthplace
to unravel the mysteries of her heritage.
ON THE MOVE: A LIFE
Oliver Sacks
Picador. PB. $34.99
Few people can claim to
have made such a
profound impact on the
public understanding of
the brain and its inner
workings. In this book,
Oliver Sacks describes
his time at Oxford
University, his time
spent in San Francisco
and Los Angeles in the early 1960s and
charts his progression from young doctor to
his public role as a neurologist and author.
Here we see Sacks’s private passions placed
alongside his professional life.
Cultural Studies
THE NEAREST THING TO
LIFE
James Wood
Jonathan Cape. HB. Was $35
$29.99
In this remarkable
blend of memoir and
criticism, James Wood
has written a master
class on the connections
between fiction and life.
He argues that, of all the
arts, fiction has a unique
ability to describe the
shape of our lives, and
to rescue the texture of those lives from
oblivion. Reading is among the most sacred
and personal of activities, here there are
brilliant discussions of individual works by
Chekhov, Sebald, Fitzgerald and more.
WHO COOKED ADAM
SMITH’S DINNER?
Katrine Marcal
Scribe. PB. $27.99
When Adam Smith
wrote that all our actions
stem from self-interest
and that the world turns
because of financial gain,
he brought to life
‘economic man’, who has
dominated our thinking
ever since. But every
night Adam Smith’s mother served him his
dinner – not out of self-interest, but out of
love. In this courageous look at the mess
we’re in, Katrine Marçal tackles the biggest
myth of our time, and invites us to kick out
economic man once and for all.
Education
CREATIVE SCHOOLS
Ken Robinson & Lou Aronica
Allen Lane. PB. $32.99
Ken Robinson, author
of the bestselling
Finding Your Element,
is one of the world’s
most influential voices
in education. Here he
sets out his vision for
how we can transform
our industrial model of
education to better
meet the needs of the 21st century. Creative
Schools looks to people who are already
revolutionising education.
History
SICILY
John Julius Norwich
Hachette. HB. $49.99
The stepping stone
between Europe and
Africa, the gateway
between the East and
the West, at once a
stronghold, clearinghouse and observation
post, Sicily has been
invaded and fought over
for thousands of years.
In tracing its dark story, John Julius Norwich
attempts to explain the enigma that lies at the
heart of the Mediterranean’s largest island.
Language & Usage
LANDMARKS
Robert Macfarlane
Penguin. HB. $45
For years now, Robert
Macfarlane, author of
The Old Ways, has been
collecting place-words:
terms for aspects of
landscape, nature and
weather, drawn from
dozens of languages and
dialects of the British
Isles. Landmarks is a
book about the power of language to shape
our sense of place, offering us fresh ways of
experiencing the natural world.
Health & Sex
COME AS YOU ARE
Emily Nagoski
Scribe. PB. $29.99
After all the studies and
shows about sex, why are
there still so many
questions? The reality is
that we’ve been lied to –
but not deliberately. Come
As You Are reveals the
true story behind female
sexuality, uncovering the
little-known science of what makes us tick
and, importantly, how and why.
Art & Design
Food & Gardening
with Margaret Snowdon
with Chris Gordon
THE LAW OF CLOSURE
COURTYARD KITCHEN
Daniel Boyd
Natalie Boog
Perimeter Editions. PB. $55
Murdoch. HB. $39.99
Daniel Boyd’s work
explores the omissions
of history, particularly
in relation to his
Aboriginal and
Vanuatuan heritage.
His work is multilayered, haunting and
beautiful, using a
distinctive pointillist technique. This is the
first book tracing the oeuvre of Boyd,
recent winner of the Bulgari Art Award.
This is a sweet concept,
although not a new one.
However, what is
innovative is that the
book is divided into
produce sections, so all
you need to do is look
up whatever you have
harvested from your
garden to create a meal around it. This is a
very practical idea and likewise, her recipes
are easy and delicious. Boog argues, rightly,
that any space can be productive for growing
food and she uses each section to give you
both meal ideas and ideas on growing,
harvesting and storing. This book is a little
gem of inspiration.
MONGREL RAPTURE
ARM Architecture
Uro Media. HB. $89
Despite polarising
opinion, ARM have
produced some of
Australia’s most
significant buildings:
the National Museum
of Australia,
Melbourne Recital
Centre, Perth Arena
and the Barak
Building at Swanston Square. ARM’s
architecture draws from a diverse territory
of inspiration, and, exquisitely designed by
Stuart Geddes, the book includes an
extensive selection of architectural
drawings, a rich photographic portfolio, and
contributions from critics and architects
from around the world.
OWNING IT
A TABLE IN THE
ORCHARD
Michelle Crawford
Cottage, but from a woman’s perspective.
The book is part how-to guide, part memoir
and part oh how I wish that was me. The
recipes are uncomplicated, heart-warming
and include such pearls as crumpets, jam
and sloe gin!
MARGARET AND ME
Kate Gibbs & Margaret Fulton
Murdoch. HB. $39.99
I love Margaret Fulton and
so this review is biased.
This is the story of Kate
and her grandmother,
Margaret Fulton, who has
influenced the way
generations of Australians
eat. Here we learn how
Kate’s life, career and passion for food are
entwined with her grandmother’s past. There
are recipes and there are stories from both
women which commend family life, good
manners and hospitality. Clearly what both
women share is a robust, no-nonsense
approach to cooking and lifestyle. Margaret
and Me is a celebration of Australian food and
of one woman’s extraordinary influence.
THE FRENCH BAKER
Ebury. PB. $34.99
Crawford ran away
from the bright lights
of Sydney (and her
glamorous lifestyle) to
create her own ideal
country retreat. If
you’ve ever dreamt of
running away (and
really, who has not?)
then this book is for
you. Crawford starts at the beginning: she
moved to Tasmania, bought gumboots and
started digging and cooking. Think River
Jean Michel Raynaud
$49.99
Not all baking books are
equal. The French Baker
features nearly 100
recipes for all things
baked. The recipes are
broken into step-by-step
plans, the images make
you hungry and the
recipes are achievable
for the very humble home chef. The French
Baker is a winner. It’s perfection.
Sharon Givoni
Creative Minds. HB. $75
Packed with real-life case
studies and user-friendly
flowcharts and tables that
simplify Australian legal
terms, processes and
procedures, Owning It
demystifies law for
creatives. This excellent guide will point you in
the right direction regarding the protection of
your designs, trademarks, copyright,
reputation, confidential information and
other intellectual property (IP); how not to
inadvertently infringe someone else’s rights;
contract basics; licensing; how the law applies
online and to certain aspects of social media;
and much more.
THE JAPANESE HOUSE
REINVENTED
Philip Jodidio
T&H. HB. $70
Japanese houses today
have to contend with
unique factors: from
tiny plots in crowded
urban contexts to
ever-present seismic
threats. Japanese
architects to explore
alternating ideas of
stability and ephemerality in various ways,
resulting in spaces that are as fascinating as
they are idiosyncratic. Their formal
innovation and attention to materials,
technology and measures to coax in light
and air while maintaining domestic privacy
make them cutting-edge residences that
suggest new ways of being at home. This
overview of 50 recent houses powerfully
demonstrates Japan’s enduring commitment
to design innovation.
19
W
e expect to be able to log on
and read, watch or listen to
anything, anywhere, anytime. Then
copy it, share it, quote it, sample
it, remix it. Does this leave writers,
designers, filmmakers, musicians,
photographers, artists, and software
and game developers with any
rights at all? Have we forgotten
how to pay for content? Are big
corporations and copyright lawyers
the only ones making money?
Or are we looking in the wrong
direction as illegal downloading becomes the biggest industry of
all and copyright violation a way of life? In this provocative book
John Birmingham, Linda Jaivin, Marc Fennell, Clem Bastow,
Lindy Morrison, Imogen Banks, Dan Hunter, Angela Bowne and
others fire up the copyright debate like never before.
w w w. n e w s o u t h p u b l i s h i n g . c o m
20
New Young Adult Fiction
See books for kids, junior and middle readers on pages 18–19
Young Adult Book of the Month
THE UNLIKELY HERO OF ROOM 13B
Teresa Toten
Walker. PB. $16.95
Adam falls in love with Robyn Plummer the moment he
meets her. After a time in a residency program for people
with severe OCD, Robyn joins Adam’s group which consists of a
small number of teenagers suffering from all sorts of OCDrelated conditions. Adam believes Robyn needs saving and takes
it upon himself to help her towards a full recovery and a life she
deserves. As the group select superheroes as aliases, Adam
decides to become Batman to Robyn’s Robin in the hope of
becoming her superhero. But Adam is not OK himself, and as problems at home
escalate, his counting and routines heighten into an uncontrollable mess and make him
wonder how on earth he can save someone else when he can barely save himself.
OCD is a term often bandied around for people who are a little particular with the
way they like things, however, this book shows the true extent of what OCD can be like
and how crippling this disorder can be. As Adam’s symptoms escalate you feel both
frustrated with and terribly sad about his situation, and you realise that he has no control
over what he is doing. I found this novel wonderfully fascinating, laugh-out-loud funny
and, above all, quite heart-warming with a great ending that wasn’t too soppy. A great
read for ages 13 and up.
Katherine Dretzke is from Readings Hawthorn
YOU’RE THE KIND OF
GIRL I WRITE SONGS
ABOUT
Daniel Herborn
HarperCollins. PB. $17.99
Tim and Mandy
are both deeply
passionate about
music and they
immediately connect
when they meet at an
old pub on a battle-ofthe-bands night. They
are both at a point in
their lives where they
are figuring out what lies ahead for them.
Tim is a songwriter and musician,
repeating his final high school year after
some major and traumatic family
disruptions. Mandy, in her gap year, is
considering her future while she works as
a sandwich artist and watches daytime
TV. Their story is told through their
alternating voices: there are plenty of fun
references to and observations about
musicians and bands, and thoughts about
how music enriches our lives and can
provide comfort during tough times. It’s a
cute and unsteady first love with
mixtapes and gig dates; music obsessed
teenagers will love this novel.
Kim Gruschow is from Readings Hawthorn
A COURT OF THORNS
AND ROSES
Sarah J. Maas
Bloomsbury. PB. $16.99
A Court of
Thorns and Roses
is the first in a new
fantasy trilogy by
Sarah J. Maas, the
author of the
acclaimed Throne of
Glass series. It is the
tale of an imprisoned
girl, two Faerie High
Lords and a terrible curse. Think Beauty
and the Beast meets faerie folklore.
Feyre is just as feisty and strongwilled as the Katniss we have come
to know in The Hunger Games. Part
of a family that has fallen from grace,
Feyre must hunt to feed her two sisters
and handicapped father. When a wolf
crosses her path during a hunt, she must
kill it to survive. Yet she soon learns the
price of taking another’s life as it takes a
toll on both her heart and her freedom.
For fans of Melissa Marr and
Cassandra Clare, this book will hit the
spot. Maas’ latest explores sisterhood,
trust and above all what sacrifices we
make in the name of love. Recommended
for ages 14 and up.
Savannah Indigo is from Readings Malvern
MAGONIA
Maria Dahvana Headley
HarperCollins. PB. $19.99
I was halfway
through Magonia
when the thought
crossed my mind: how
did I land a job reading
about blue bird-people
living in the sky?!
In the aforementioned
book, Aza Ray
reaching her sixteenth
birthday will be a medical miracle. For
Aza, being alive at sixteen means having a
party, inviting everyone she knows (except
the people she doesn’t like), wearing a
pink dress and kissing a cute boy (but this
7996_May_ReadingsAd.indd 2
10/04/15 3:38 PM
only happens in movies).
There are a few things standing in her
way: Aza is terminally ill with a disease
named after her, she has hallucinations
of a world in the sky and her best friend
spends most of his time in an alligator
costume. She also dies (do not despair,
this is the beginning of her story) and
finds herself in another world (yes, of blue
bird‑people).
Magonia is as funny as it is multifaceted, compelling and intelligent.
Headley’s latest is a rom-com, a fantasy
and a thriller. I felt like a slightly crazed
detective reading Magonia. Pick it up –
try to solve the mysteries of Magonia for
yourself. Ages 13 and up. SI
ONE TRUE THING
Nicole Hayes
Random House. PB. $19.99
Imagine being 16
and dealing with
life’s challenges – the
pressure of school, the
demands of family, the
complexities of
friendship. Now
imagine that (on top of
all that) your mother
is the Premier of
Victoria in the throes of a major election
and you are thrust into the public
spotlight. That should give you some idea
of Frankie’s predicament.
But Frankie’s got a pretty good handle
on things – she’s got her music (and her
band), a best buddy, a supportive loving
family and now romance in the form of
the gorgeous Jake who’s appeared out of
nowhere and is genuinely interested in her.
Although the political backdrop is an
unusual setting in young adult literature,
Frankie’s story is compellingly familiar
– she’s balancing family, friendship and
struggling to belong. But unlike most
teenagers she’s figuring things out under
the watchful eye of an unforgiving media.
This is a terrific coming of age story
with an incredibly likable protagonist.
Highly recommended for ages 13 and up.
Athina Clarke is from Readings Malvern
A SINGLE STONE
Meg McMinlay
Walker. PB. $16.95
When a girl is
born into the
village everyone holds
their breath for the
announcement of her
measurements. If she is
small enough she will
be treated like royalty,
training to become part
of the line, a select
group of seven girls small enough to travel
into the mountain that surrounds the
village to bring back the harvest, supplies
upon which the town survives. The
mothers, governors of the village, bind their
limbs and monitor food intake to make sure
each girl doesn’t thicken.
Jena is the leader of the line, born
tiny and trained to be strong and reliable.
When her foster mother gives birth early
to one of the smallest girls ever, Jena
starts to wonder if the mothers might have
something to do with the early births.
A Single Stone is a beautiful and delicate
novel that tackles some big questions about
gender and power in an interesting manner,
entertaining the reader. With body image,
women’s roles in society, and government
corruption all part of this powerful novel
hopefully this book gets young adults
talking about these important issues.
Perfect for ages 11 and up. KD
STAY WITH ME
Maureen McCarthy
A&U. PB. Was $22.99
$19.99
Tess is trapped in a
desperate situation her violent partner
now threatening not
just Tess, but their
daughter as well. A
chance meeting offers
a way out, and a road
trip back to the heart
of Tess’s past, and the
family she’s left behind. But can she ever
trust again? This is a moving story from the
bestselling author of The Convent.
aforementioned hamster incident and also a stealth-gluer
attack to deal with! Smashie is such a fun character. She’s
tough, determined and has a huge heart. Her only weakness
is that she’s scared of the classroom hamster! When
Patches goes missing, how will Smashie convince the class
of her innocence? IM
Book of the Month
Middle Fiction
88 LIME STREET: THE WAY IN
Denise Kirby
ANYONE BUT IVY POCKET
Omnibus. PB. $16.99
Ellen’s new house is huge, it has a massive overgrown garden, it’s full of old furniture
and it even has towers, one of which is mysteriously blocked off. After the driedup fountain in the backyard magically starts flowing with fresh, clear water, Ellen
is determined to uncover the secret of 88 Lime Street. Fortunately, while exploring, she
finds the plans to the house in an old book. They show that there is a door to the curious
tower, but offer only an enigmatic puzzle that Ellen alone can see as a key to the way in.
The fact that her new school is full of bullies, her parents think she’s mad and someone or
something is sending her strange messages, really leaves Ellen with little choice but to
solve the puzzle and see what’s in the tower.
I loved 88 Lime Street, it starts out as a ghost story but quickly becomes something
much more exciting – a room full of children all from different points in history
fighting a race against Time itself! 88 Lime Street is carefully written and never
really gets any scarier than spooky. It’s like a cross between Tom’s Midnight
Garden and an episode of Doctor Who. A great book for kids 8 and up.
Dani Solomon is from Readings Carlton
Picture Books
TEDDY TOOK THE TRAIN
Nicki Greenberg
A&U. HB. $19.99
Melbourne graphic novelist and
picture-book author Nicki
Greenberg has captured a common
childhood scenario and turned it into a
triumphant imaginative adventure.
When exuberant Dot and her mum
return from the market, Teddy is
accidentally left behind on the train.
But Greenberg cleverly shows readers
that life is all in how you look at it: Dot decides that Teddy
took the train to a strictly teddies-only affair – the teddy
bears’ picnic! While Dot is at home passing the time with
her other toys, Teddy is out in the world having marvellous
adventures. Set on the Melbourne train network, with
rhythmic rhyming text and gorgeous retro illustrations, this
is a delightful story that will allay children’s fears and set
their imaginations free. A brilliant book for kids aged 3-5.
New
Kids’
Books
brother finds out that smallness can have its uses and that’s
when the removal van reveals its relevance!
Jane Godwin really understands childhood and conveys
that in warm, friendly stories told with an assured, poetic
tempo that makes them a joy to read aloud. Here she is
partnered with the talented Andrew Joyner who seems to
effortlessly portray the exuberance and irrepressibility of
being a child. Thoughtful fun for kids 2 and up.
Alexa Dretzke is from Readings Hawthorn
Angela Crocombe is from Readings Carlton
CARAVAN FRAN
HOP UP! WRIGGLE OVER!
Hachette. HB. $14.99
Elizabeth Honey
Caravan Fran is a dinky, retro
mobile home that is about to
embark on a vacation to the sea. Packed
fulsomely and lovingly by Dave, Joe and
Sam, off they go but a bumpy road sees
the door fly open, Ray the dog fall out and chaos ensue. The
themes of friendship, camping and adventure are explored
with a cheerful and lighthearted touch. This delightful
picture book has really sweet pictures and a jaunty rhythm
that makes it a perfect read aloud for the whole family. AD
A&U. HB. $19.99
This is a really great ‘action
sound’ picture book, with the
majority of the text consisting of slurps
and clangs that depict the day in the
life of a very unorthadox family made
up of a wide range of Australian fauna, with big Koala and
Kangaroo looking after their mob of youngsters. It’s
beautifully illustrated and very sweet, and kids will just
love making all of the noises with the animals.
Isobel Moore is from Readings St Kilda
HOW BIG IS TOO SMALL?
Jane Godwin
Viking. HB. $24.99
Size is mostly a measurement but it
is also a relative notion too. What’s
big to a small child is not necessarily so to
an adult. In Sam’s case he’s too small to
play with his older brother and his friends.
This makes him cross and one day he
decides to do a bit of analysis of this big/
small matter. Yet this is just a smoke screen for the issue at
the heart of the story because Sam is lonely and really wants
to be included in his brother’s games. However, even his
21
Cheryl Orsini
Junior Fiction
SMASHIE MCPERTER AND THE
MYSTERY OF ROOM 11
N. Griffin
Candlewick. PB. $19.95
Smashie McPerter and her best
friend (and sidekick) Dontel
Marquise are forced to come to the
rescue of Room 11 and solve the mystery
of the missing hamster in this romp of a
comedy. Whilst stuck with the worst
substitute teacher ever, Room 11’s day
goes from bad to worse, with both the
Caleb Krisp
Bloomsbury. HB. $19.99
Not everyone is delighted to meet
Ivy Pocket, but readers will surely
love her. She’s a completely delusional yet
always endearing maid with terrible
manners and limitless tall stories. Life
becomes very interesting for Ivy when she
is sent to deliver the Clock Diamond, a
very powerful and priceless stone that attracts all kinds of
villainy and strange occurrences. Ivy is a wonderful
heroine, she’s gutsy and extremely likable in spite of her
foolery. Ivy’s antics and the many mysteries within this
book will have readers both guessing and laughing until the
very end. This is a very sharp novel, filled with action and
hilarity. Highly recommended for readers aged 9 and up. KG
THE WATER AND THE WILD
Katie E. Ormsbee
Chronicle Books. HB. $27.95
A gorgeous jacket made from a woodcut illustration sets the scene in this
adventure story for fantasy lovers aged 10
and up. Poor Lottie is an orphan living with a
dour spinster, whose only friend in the world,
Eliot, is mortally ill. Her saviour is a
mysterious letter writer who sends her a magical birthday
gift once a year. And the gift she wants most now is to save
Eliot’s life. Suddenly a boy appears in her room and takes
her through a doorway in the apple tree to another world,
with sprites and wisps, treachery and betrayal. There she
finds herself on a journey with three other children, a race
for their very lives across the kingdom, in pursuit of a
magic potion to help Eliot – the cure for the incurable. This
is a captivating, beautifully written fantasy adventure for
readers who enjoyed Wildwood, The Girl Who
Circumnavigated Fairyland or the Narnia chronicles. AC
Classic of the Month
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
L. M. Montgomery
Random House. PB. $12.99
My heart is giddy with excitement
that Anne of Green Gables is the
Readings Children’s Classic of the
Month. Childhood is incomplete
without the imprint of Anne on one’s
psyche to take with you into adult life.
Orphaned as a newborn, Anne’s life
is one of trial and struggle until – at
age twelve – her life takes a fortuitous
turn for the better when she is taken in by the Cuthberts
of Avonlea. A sensitive and impressionable soul, Anne’s
imagination takes flight given the manifest beauty of her
new surrounds. But like a dream ‘too good to be true’
Anne’s hopes are nearly dashed as the Cuthberts explain
that they had been expecting a boy – to help with the
running of the farm – and are dismayed by the mix-up that
caused Anne to arrive in his place.
Fortunately for Anne, her misplaced arrival is regarded
as ‘positively providential’ as her vivacious spirit captivates
the Cuthberts’ hearts and disarms the proud people of
Avonlea. Young readers, too, will love Anne for her earnest
efforts to be good yet uncanny knack for troublesome
misadventures. For me, this is an uplifting story about the
search for ‘kindred spirits’ and a sense of belonging. But it
is Anne’s imaginative nature that is most enchanting of all.
Natalie Platten is from Readings Hawthorn
22
New Film & TV
New Music
with Lou Fulco
DVD of the Month
Album of the Month
THE WITNESSES
MELBOURNE’S WOMEN OF SOUL
Available 5 May. $39.95
With all the excitement and press favouring the new wave of
Nordic noir that seems to run in endless supply onto our
shelves, it is easy to understand how many wonderful series from
other European nations get lost in the flood. A new French crime
drama that has just finished its six-part run on SBS is The Witnesses.
I’m going to say that this is the best series of its type I have seen in
years. As good as Broadchurch, and the equal of all the great series
coming out of Scandinavia at present … and in the past!
The Witnesses is set in the north of France in a gloomy small coastal village in Normandy
where exhumed bodies of the recently deceased start to show up in display homes,
ritualised in perfect family settings. Linking each site is a photo of Paul Maisonneuve,
a retired French police force legend. Sandra Winckler is the young cop assigned to the
case. Working alongside the returning Maisonneuve she must discover who is behind the
gruesome settings whilst also dealing with the secrets and half truths that seem to lead
her into dead ends. What is it that links this legend of the police force with these bodies?
What is this secret past that links these two police officers? Is there more at play than first
thought? All I can say is that you must watch up until the very last scene.
Paul Maisonneuve is played by Thierry Lhermitte, one of France’s great film stars.
Sandra Winckler is played by Marie Dompnier, a seasoned stage actress in what is her first
major role in front of a camera. Their relationship is one of secrets in which Maisonneuve
plays it cool and lets on very little and raw emotion in which Winckler shows her
frustration and frailties not only with her ‘new’ partner but with her job and home life.
The chemistry between not only these two but with the whole supporting cast makes this
superior murder mystery essential viewing. Northern coastal France plays its part and I
felt like I needed to rug up just to watch this. I have no doubt that Australia will fall in love
with the dark beauty of The Witnesses and of Marie Dompnier who lights up the screen
with both her fragility and assuredness. Wonderful!
Lou Fulco is from Readings Hawthorn
Film
ST VINCENT
$39.95
‘There are few surprises in
Bill Murray’s depiction of a
smoking, drinking, gambling
curmudgeon but there are
plenty of rewards.’
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
$19.95
It feels like we’re
experiencing a golden
age of indie documentary
filmmaking. Thanks to
crowdfunding and streaming
services, we’re spoilt for choice
as viewers, yet while this staggering array of
voices might leave you feeling overwhelmed,
the range of quality material out there makes
stumbling across a truly special film that
much more exciting.
Small is Beautiful is one of those extra
special films. Filmed in Portland, Oregon,
Australian filmmaker Jeremy Beasley
documents the tiny house movement,
a grassroots response to the housing
affordability crisis that traps people from
across the developed world. While researching
what it would take to design and build his
own tiny house, Jeremy was struck by the
empowered community he encountered.
The film follows four people, each at various
stages of building and living in their homes
(all with little or no building experience), and
works to de-romanticise a trend all too easily
dismissed as a whimsical Portlandia plot.
The film is shot beautifully, with a hell of
a lot of heart, and offers a unique, affecting
answer to the question – is living tiny a
serious solution to today’s pressing issues of
housing affordability and sustainability?
Stella Charls is the marketing and events
THE IMITATION GAME
Available 6 May. $39.95
‘A gripping and still rather
extraordinary story …
Cumberbatch’s intense, wired
and very fine performance
perfectly conveys the
constant stress endured by a
man in his position.’– The Australian
KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON
$29.95
‘There’s no need to be a jazz
aficionado to enjoy this story …
not just a description of a
music icon but a rare chance at
seeing, in reality, both the
beginning and the end of a
highly unlikely dream.’
– Filmink
TV
REDFERN NOW:
PROMISE ME
$19.95
‘Following two landmark
seasons, Redfern Now affirms
its quality and distinction
with a finely crafted
telemovie about courage, fear
and shame.’
Also coming soon
MY OLD LADY (1 MAY)
FOLIES BERGERE (6 MAY)
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK SEASON 2
(20 MAY)
50 SHADES OF GREY (21 MAY)
BABYLON SEASON 2 (27 MAY)
SONG ONE (27 MAY )
AMERICAN SNIPER $39.95 (27 MAY)
Various
$19.95
To celebrate what will be the fifth anniversary of their annual
concerts this year, the Melbourne Women of Soul collective have
put together a fantastic album of all original tracks written exclusively
for this release. What began life in 2010 as a coming together of some of this town’s
swingingest soul sistas for a live show has gone from strength to strength based on their
glowing live performances. So much so that they’ve wisely decided that a recording was in
order – much to our gain.
One glance at this line up – which reads as a who’s who of talent from the local soul/
funk scene – is enough to get any soul fan salivating and feeling a little weak kneed.
The MWOS features the scintillating vocal stylings of Kylie Auldist, Chelsea Wilson,
Candice Monique, Stella Angelico, May Johnston, Lisa Faithfull, Rita Satch and Christina
Perfection. Not enough? Throw in a backing band made up of members of the Bamboos,
Cookin’ on Three Burners and the Putbacks and, well, you’ve got yourself a unit positively
hell-bent on a deep groove.
Whether it’s Candice Monique’s Al Green-esque ‘My Beautifully Broken Heart’, the
scorching funk workout of Christina Perfection’s ‘Back It Up’, the always immense Kylie
Auldist’s ‘More Than a Mouthful’ or May Johnston channeling Betty Davis on ‘Love
Connection’, there really are too many highlights on this record to mention in one review.
My only piece of advice is this – get on board the soul train and let these first ladies of funk
show you why our home town has become internationally recognised as producing some of
the finest current exponents of the genre anywhere in the world. Kinda makes you proud,
right down to your soul.
Declan Murphy is from Readings St Kilda
Pop & Rock
Folk & World
SOUND & COLOR
TRUTH SEEKERS,
LOVERS & WARRIORS
Alabama Shakes
$21.95
Joseph Tawadros
$21.95
Sound & Color is the
follow-up to the four-time
Grammy-nominated Boys
& Girls. From the gently swaying title song
to garage-rock freak-outs to psychedelic
space jams, Alabama Shakes build on their
soulful blues-rock base and map a surprising,
innovative new direction.
Recorded in just two
days in January 2015, the
album brings the unique
sounds of the oud in a powerhouse recording
of diverse repertoire, showcasing Tawadros’
original and exciting cross-genre composition.
EL MUTAKALLIMUN
Souad Massi
EDGE OF THE SUN
Calexico
$21.95
For the better part of two
decades, Calexico has
crossed musical barriers,
embracing a multitude of styles and variety
in instrumentation. Edge of the Sun takes
inspiration from a trip to Mexico City, and a
number of singers and multi-instrumentalist
guests help guide the way.
THE MAGIC WHIP
$22.95
On El Mutakallimun,
Souad Massi has immersed
herself in Arabic poetry
and used some of the most significant poems
from across the millennium as the lyrics for
her beautiful collection of songs.
Country
SOMETHING IN THE
WATER
Blur
Pokey LaFarge
$21.95
$21.95
These recordings, released
16 years since their last
album as a four-piece,
began during a five-day break in touring in
spring 2013 in Hong Kong. Subsequently,
Graham Coxon revisited the tracks and
worked with the band on the material in
November 2014.
WILDER MIND
Mumford & Sons
$21.95
This new album marks a
significant departure in
texture and dynamics for
the young British band
from their previous records. Twelve new
tracks, written collaboratively in London,
Brooklyn, and Texas.
St. Louis-based singer,
songwriter, and multiinstrumentalist Pokey
LaFarge draws from a deep well of
American musical traditions to create
distinctively personal and timeless music.
Jazz & Blues
WILD MAN DANCE
Charles Lloyd
$24.95
More than 50 years into an
already legendary career,
the esteemed saxophonist
and composer delivers a live recording of a
remarkable long-form suite commissioned
by the Jazztopad Festival in Poland.
New Classical Music
Classical Album of the Month
THE CHOPIN ALBUM
Sol Gabetta & Bertrand Chamayou
Sony. 88843093012. $21.95
At only 34, Sol Gabetta has made more acclaimed recordings
than many cellists could dream of producing in a lifetime.
Thankfully, Gabetta offers us quality along with quantity. Her
recording of the Elgar cello concerto rivals that of Jacqueline Du Pré, and her
interpretation of the Shostakovich would no doubt impress even its dedicatee
Rostropovich. Gabetta’s playing is consistently stylish and original, to which every one
of her recordings attests.
This particular recording with Bertrand Chamayou at the piano offers fewer
opportunities for displays of virtuosity, but Gabetta delivers as a sensitive chamber
musician. Gabetta and Chamayou present a number of compositions by Chopin for
cello and piano, including two he composed with cellist Auguste-Joseph Franchomme
and one original composition by Franchomme. Chopin is best known for his music for
solo piano, although listening to this CD one could be forgiven for thinking the cello
rather than piano was his primary instrument. Franchomme, Chopin’s colleague and
friend, was a virtuoso cellist, and the two would often perform these works together
at Parisian salon recitals. The selection presented here, therefore, makes for a great
recital disc.
French pianist Chamayou is a brilliant duo partner for Gabetta. His rendering of
Chopin’s piano writing is masterful without being overpowering, particularly during
the Polonaise brillante in C major. Almost a piano solo with cello interludes, here
Chamayou’s fingers seamlessly trip across the keys to produce a truly magical sound.
Gabetta’s playing is proportionally assertive and playful. Even though the recording is a
purely aural rather than visual experience it’s easy to detect a friendly and sympathetic
collaboration between the two musicians. Both offer intelligent readings of the score
while still maintaining a sense of fun and lightheartedness when the music calls for it.
A lovely collection of romantic gems for cello and piano.
Alexandra Mathew is from Readings Carlton
melbournejazz.com
BRITTEN AND BARBER:
PIANO CONCERTOS AND
NOCTURNES
THE BLUE NOTEBOOKS
Elizabeth Joy Roe, LSO & Emil
Tabakov
Max Richter’s Four
Seasons Recomposed
(2014) was a hit with
Readings’ staff and
customers. Even those
whose usual reaction is to
disregard classical music found themselves
enjoying the beautiful reimaginings of
Vivaldi. The Blue Notebooks, a 10th
anniversary re-release of the composer’s
second album, is breathtaking. Opening with
a reading by Tilda Swinton from Franz
Kafka’s The Blue Octavo Notebooks, the CD is
a meandering exploration of Richter’s music.
‘On the Nature of Daylight’, both in its
original iteration and in the slightly revised
bonus track, is a particular highlight,
featuring a rich, sweeping string section, and
a violin solo with faint echoes of Vaughan
Williams’ Lark Ascending. Richter cites
Sigur Rós as an influence, evident in the
heartrendingly still ‘Horizon Variations’.
This, along with tracks such as ‘Written on
the Sky’, will similarly appeal to Arvo Pärt
fans for its elegance and simplicity.
Richter’s work conjures many
descriptions: atmospheric, intimate,
cinematic, nostalgic and melancholic. Even
the grey album cover is evocative of the
minimalist, neo-classical music contained
within. Listening to Blue Notebooks is
a satisfying experience in itself, but, as
I’ve discovered, it also provides a great
soundtrack to reading and studying, and to
an enjoyable day’s work at Readings. AM
Decca. 4788189. $26.95
Elizabeth Joy Roe
is a prodigiously
talented pianist. Her
playing is infused with
vitality and passion,
essential elements for a
performance of Benjamin Britten’s only
piano concerto, composed when he was
25 and a piece that ‘dashes along at
full-speed’, as he wrote in his diary. Roe
says the concerto’s ‘sharply etched
figurations [feel] enlivening to play’, and
this is immediately apparent from the
opening bars of the first movement.
Benjamin Britten and Samuel Barber
make compatible CD companions.
Barber is among America’s bestcelebrated composers whose music
bears strong national significance,
and Britten is similarly regarded as
the quintessentially British composer
whose work brought about an English
music renaissance when trends
favoured the European avant-garde.
Both were gay and were in committed,
life-long relationships at a time when
homosexuality was illegal, and, without
compromising their artistic integrity,
both wrote music that was accessible
to audiences beyond the concertgoing elite. Britten and Barber are as
fascinating as their music is brilliant, and
more importantly, the piano repertoire
featured on this disc is representative of
the finest twentieth-century Western art
music.
A highlight is Roe’s powerful
interpretation of Barber’s Nocturne. It’s
worth purchasing the CD just to hear this
mesmerising and eerie piece, composed
in homage to John Field. AM
Book now
Pharoah Sanders
Quartet
Max Richter
DG. 4794443. $26.95
SHOSTAKOVICH: STRING
QUARTETS 1, 8 & 14
Borodin Quartet
Decca. 4788205. $24.95
‘The playing of the current
Borodin Quartet members
has a molten intensity in this
disc, which exudes authority.’
– The Financial Times
ESSENTIAL CLASSICS
Cantillation
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY – CHORAL POP brings
you all of your favourite pop songs from
yesteryear as you’ve never heard them before!
Recorded by Cantillation, one of Australia’s
finest choirs, this album features choral reimaginings of classics such as Mamma Mia,
Blackbird and Bohemian Rhapsody.
Amy Dickson
Award-winning
saxophonist Amy Dickson presents her new
album ISLAND SONGS on ABC Classics.
Featuring world-premiere recordings of
concertos by three of Australia’s most renowned
composers: Brett Dean, Ross Edwards and Peter
Sculthorpe. Recorded with the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra, all works on the album
were written and arranged specifically for Amy.
Mercury Living Presence
Volume 3
This amazing set includes
several items never before
on CD, mixed down from
the original tapes,
restored and remastered.
From Fennell to Flamenco
and Beethoven to
Shostakovich, this 53-CD
SET has been lovingly and
painstakingly remastered at Abbey Road at 96kHz / 24-bit. Illustrated
with contemporaneous photographs, the booklet offers an
exceptional level of detail. This is a STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION.
23
Tokyo, Japan

MOTHER`S DAY GIFT GUIDE

Transcription

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