Myfanwy Jones`sThe Rainy Season>>p9

Free
March 2009
Readings Monthly
i m a g e f r o m M y fa n w y J o n e s ' S t h e r a n y s e a s o n ( v i k i n g )
your independent book, music and DVD newsletter • events • new releases • reviews
Myfanwy Jones’s The Rainy Season >>p9
March book, CD & DVD new releases. More inside >>
fiction
Things We Didn’t
See Coming
Steven Amsterdam
Was $24.95
Now $19.95 >> p7
fiction
The Kindly Ones
Jonathan Littell
Was $34.95
Now $29.95
>> p10
NON-fiction
Quarterly Essay 33:
Quarry Vision
Guy Pearse
$16.95
>> p15
dvd
Pinocchio
Released 18 March
$39.95
>> p25
pop cd
No Line on
the Horizon
U2
$24.95
(Standard
Edition)
>> p27
classical
Arvo Pärt: In Principio
Estonian Philharmonic
Chamber Choir
& Estonian National
Symphony Orchestra
$32.95
>> p30
March event highlights. More Readings events inside >>
Eva Hornung
at Readings
Carlton
Linda Jaivin
at Readings
Carlton
Kate Legge
At READINGS
HAWTHORN
All Shops Open 7 Days Carlton 309 Lygon St 9347 6633 Hawthorn 701 Glenferrie Rd 9819 1917 Malvern 185 Glenferrie Rd 9509 1952
Port Melbourne 253 Bay St 9681 9255 St Kilda 112 Acland St 9525 3852 email [email protected] shop online at www.readings.com.au
From
the Editor
NOW FASTER AND WITH MORE TITLES AND REVIEWS
WWW.READINGS.COM.AU
Aussies come home
Chrissy Sharp, general manager
of Sadler’s Wells dance theatre
in London, has been newly appointed director of Melbourne’s
new Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas – following the
last-minute decision of Caro
Llewellyn to stay in New York
as director of the PEN Festival,
citing ‘personal reasons’. Sharp
is originally from Sydney, and
her impressive CV includes
roles as general manager of the
Sydney Festival, head of policy
for SBS and executive director
of the Australian Writers’ Guild.
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OUR EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR
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And out of the darkwood Mr Toppit comes, and
he comes not for you, or for me, but for all of us.
Centre chairman Eric Beecher
says that Sharp is ‘unquestionably one of Australia's most successful and formidable arts and
cultural leaders’. Not everyone
in London will be sad to see her
go, though – back in 2005, UK
arts writer Norman Lebrecht
bemoaned ex-pat Australians’
domination of Britain’s major
cultural institutions, naming
Sharp and husband Michael
Lynch (former chief executive
of London’s South Bank) as
‘top pair’. ‘Privately, they call
themselves asylum seekers from
the suburban dullness that
Australia has become under
John Howard's conservative
government,’ wrote Lebrecht
of the slew of top Australian
arts managers. ‘Their country
needs them more than we ever
will,’ he continued.
When The Hayseed Chronicles,
an obscure series of children’s
books, become world-famous,
millions of readers debate the
significance of that enigmatic
last line and the shadowy figure
of Mr Toppit who dominates
the books. The author, Arthur
Hayman, mown down by a
concrete truck in Soho, never
reaps the benefits of the books’
success. Instead, the legacy
passes to his widow, Martha,
and her children – the fragile
Rachel, and Luke, reluctantly
immortalized as Luke Hayseed,
the central character of his
father’s books.
But others want their share,
particularly Laurie, who comforts Arthur as he lies dying, and has
a mysterious agenda of her own that changes all their lives. For
buried deep in the books lie secrets which threaten to be revealed
as the family begins to crumble under the heavy burden of their
inheritance.
At Sadler’s Wells, Sharp had
six months to save the troubled
institution from going broke
– which she did. Sounds like
a very good person indeed to
have heading Melbourne’s
newest literary institution.
For the latest news and subscriber only benefits sign up
to our monthly Penguin newsletter at penguin.com.au/readmore
C I N E M A
N O VA
Posthumous Updike
Grand old man of letters John
Updike died in January at the
age of 76. But it’s not the end
for fans of his writing – he has
two books due out this year. He
submitted his final poetry collection (which included ‘On Requiem’, a poem speculating on
the public reaction to his death)
to publishers just weeks before
his death. And his first short
story collection since 2000, My
Father’s Tears (on the subject of
old age) will be available in June.
—Jo Case
Colin
Kristen
Jessica
Firth Scott Thomas Biel
EASY VIRTUE
Låt den rätte komma in
Stephan Elliot's effervescent
adaptation of Noel Coward's
classic comedy of class
OPENS MARCH 12
“Best film of the year!”
Harry Knowles, aintitcool.com
EXCLUSIVE! OPENS MARCH 5
Make a purchase at Readings for your chance
to receive one of 25 double passes to either film.
2
Pride and Predator
Word is, Elton John's film company are working on their own
remake of Jane Austen’s bestloved novel: Pride and Predator.
‘It felt like a fresh and funny way
to blow apart the done-to-death
Jane Austen genre by literally
dropping this alien into the middle of a costume drama, where
he stalks and slashes to horrific
effect,’ said Rocket Films’ David
Furnish. Interesting.
R E C O M M E N D S
LET THE
RIGHT ONE IN
John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel hits
the screen and recrafts the vampire
genre to blood-tingling effect.
Christopher Hitchens
gets his ass kicked
The hard-drinking, chain-smoking, waterboarding, straight-talking journalist was beaten up by
street thugs in Lebanon recently.
On his way out of a bar, he spotted a poster for skinhead group
SNNP and wrote on it ‘F**k
the SNNP’. Some members of
the group were standing nearby
and attacked him. ‘I was on the
ground,’ Hitchens said, ‘and
getting it in the head.’ Counterinsurgency blog Abu Muqawma
noted sympathetically that
while Hitchens’s actions were
politically commendable, they
weren’t exactly sensible. ‘Seriously, would you roll into East
L.A. and start writing over gang
signs? I mean, is that smart?’
C
I
N
E
M
A
380 LYGON ST CARLTON
www.cinemanova.com.au
This Month’s News
Literary news of all kinds, award winners, Readings shop news, and more.
wiley sale
Uni's back,
and to
celebrate
Readings and
Wiley are
offering a
20% discount on a selected
range of psychology and
philosophy titles throughout
March. From classics to recent
gems, there's sure to
be something to get your
brain working overtime.
The promotion is running
all month at all five stores
and if you can't come in
you can shop online at
readings.com.au.
French Film Festival
Welcome to
the Alliance
Française
French Film
Festival,
celebrating its
groundbreaking
twentieth year
in 2009! With 34 films offered
this year, the AF FFF again
offers an impressive and ambitious panoramic view of contemporary French cinema in
four Palace Cinemas (Balwyn,
Como, Kino and Westgarth).
Action,
comedy,
romance,
thrillers, drama
... Featuring the
dernier cris of
French talent
including
Juliette Binoche, Vincent
Cassel, Virginie Ledoyen,
Catherine Deneuve, Daniel
Auteuil, Mathieu Amalric,
Emmanuelle Beart, Gerard
Depardieu, Gérard Jugnot,
Ludivine Sagnier, Valeria
Bruni-Tedeschi, ... there's
something for everyone!
Readings is a proud sponsor
of the Alliance Française
French Film Festival. The first
five people to email 'bonjour!'
to clare.mckenzie@readings.
com.au by Monday 9 March
with their name and postal address in the email and 'french
film festival' in the subject line
will receive a double pass to
the film Lady Jane. Only winners will be notified.
Writing at Readings
After becoming
disillusioned
with her
successful
corporate career,
Readings Port
Melbourne
customer Kasey
Edwards, a management
consultant with a six-figure
salary and a jet-setting life,
decided to investigate the
reasons why she was fed up.
That soul-searching turned into
a book, Thirty Something And
Over It (Random, PB, $34.95),
a memoir written with great
honesty and wit – written one
day a week at Feedings at
Readings in Port Melbourne.
This month, Readings Port
Melbourne are delighted to host
the launch of Kasey’s book (see
events page for details).
Readings at Glenfern
Fellowships 2009
The Readings Glenfern Writers' Studio Residency, 2009, is
offered to two mid-career writers, who are established with a
proven track record of published
prose, poetry or works written for performance. Glenfern
Writers' Studios provide nine
studio spaces for writers in the
peaceful environs of Glenfern,
a Victorian Gothic mansion in
St Kilda East. The studios were
established in 2006 in a joint
initiative of the National Trust
of Australia (VIC) (www.nattrust.com.au) and the Victorian
Writers’ Centre.
Writer Paul Mitchell is one of
the two recipients. He says: ‘It's
fantastic to have somewhere
to get away from distractions
and just write. I have a renewed
sense of confidence in my work
because VWC and those associated with the Readings Fellowship have been generous enough
to see my project as worthwhile.’
Paul is an experienced short
story writer, poet and essayist.
He has won or been shortlisted
for many competitions for his
poetry and short stories. Paul
is completing a third draft of
his novel, set in the Wimmera
District of Victoria in the 1950s
and the present. He received
Australia Council Funding in
2007 to complete the first drafts.
The other recipient is Fiona
Wood, a successful script writer
whose credits include Something
in the Air, Always Greener, The
Secret Life of Us, Neighbours,
Packed to the Rafters, and children's dramas Sleepover Club
and Silver Sun. Fiona is currently
working on a novel for young
readers, for which she received
the 2008 Eleanor Dark Fellowship for Fiction to work on the
manuscript.
Audio Books
at Readings
Some may
have noticed
that we have
expanded our
audio book
section at the
Carlton store and not surprisingly, Barack Obama's Dreams
From My Father (Text Publishing
$39.95) was our bestselling
audio book over the holiday
period. For those of you who
love to listen to a good book,
here is a selection of new releases
fiction and non-fiction in audio:
Butterfly (Sonya Hartnett, 5CDs
Unabridged, Bolinda Publishing, $39.95); Hamlet (John
Marsden, 5CDs Unabridged,
Bolinda Publishing, $34.95);
Wanting (Richard Flanagan,
Bolinda Publishing, 6CDs
Unabridged, $39.95); Dark
Roots (Cate Kennedy, Louis
Braille Audio, 5CDs Unabridged, $44.95); The Boat
(Nam Le, Louis Braille Audio,
9CDs Unabridged, $54.95); and
Eat Pray Love (Elizabeth Gilbert,
Bolinda Publishing, 11CDs
Unabridged, $39.95).
Peter Singer &
Readings raise $3500
Before the Peter Singer event last
month at the Asialink Centre,
Melbourne University, Readings
decided the night would be the
perfect place to raise some money for charity – and thus back up
the message in Peter's latest book
The Life You Can Save (Text, PB,
$34.95). Through Oxfam (one
of the aid organisations that
Peter Singer endorses) we discovered that $3500 is enough to
build a school in Vietnam. And
so our target for the night was
found. It is with much pleasure
that we can now announce that
through the generous donations
of all who attended the event,
we reached our target, making just over $3500. The extra
money donated will be given to
the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.
Big thanks to everyone who
attended and donated. For those
who missed the event (or just
want to relive it) you can listen
to the podcast of the evening
online at www.readings.com.au.
Big Issue
Fiction Edition
The Big Issue is resurrecting
its once-annual fiction edition, which will have a mix of
established names and emerging writers. Writers featured in
previous editions have included
Christos Tsiolkas, Michel Faber,
Alexei Sayle, Shane Maloney
and Cate Kennedy. If you’d
like to be considered, please
send two printed copies of your
entry (of up to 3000 words) to:
Fiction Edition, The Big Issue,
GPO Box 4911VV. Electronic
submissions will not be considered. Closing date for entries is
Monday 4 May 2009.
Commonwealth
Writers' Prize
The shortlists
have been
announced for
the Commonwealth Writers
Prize. Winners
for best book and
best first book in
each of the four regions (South
East Asia and the Pacific, Europe
and South Asia, Canada and the
Caribbean, and Africa) will be
announced on 11 March. The
overall winners will be announced
on 16 May at the Auckland
Readers and Writers Festival.
The shortlisted books in ‘our’
region, South East Asia and the
Pacific, are: The White Tiger
(Aravind Adiga, Atlantic, PB,
$32.95); The Spare Room (Helen
Garner, Text, HB, $29.95); The
Good Parents (Joan London,
Vintage, PB, $24.95); Forbidden
Cities (Paula Morris, Penguin New
Zealand, PB, $24.95); The Slap
(Christos Tsiolkas, A&U, PB,
$32.95); and Breath (Tim
Winton, Hamish Hamilton,
HB, $45, Our price $39.95).
3
Readings Events in March
All our Readings book and music events are free, unless otherwise stated. For updates on events listed here, and for more information about next
months events, check our website: www.readings.com.au. Alternatively, call the shop where the event is to be held, or the booking number provided.
12
Kasey Edwards
Kasey Edwards,
a successful
thirtysomething, woke up
one morning
and
realised that she
didn’t want to
go to work – ever again. Thirty
Something and Over It (Ebury,
PB, $34.95) is the memoir of
her journey of discovery into
why she’d lost her purpose
and meaning, and what she
needed to do to find it again.
Kasey Edwards has worked
with large organisations in
Australia, the United States,
Europe and Asia, and has
written industry-related
articles for newspapers and
magazines, as well as articles
for the women's consumer
press. Thursday 12 March,
6.30pm, Readings Port Melbourne. Free, no need to book.
12
valerie volk
In Due Season (Pantanaeus
Press, PB, $24.95) chronicles
the final year in a marriage, but
it is much more than a saga of
encroaching death and grief.
It is a tribute to a relationship
and a recollection of a lifetime
together, a mingling of joy
and sadness. Professionals in
the grief and loss field have
seen this book as of great value
to anyone facing loss, giving
voice to feelings often too
hard to express. In Due
Season will be introduced
by Carolyn Grantskalns,
Principal of Lowther Hall
Anglican Grammar School,
Thursday 12 March, 6pm for
6.30pm, Readings Carlton.
Free, no need to book.
12
A Lady of Letters:
Alan Bennett
Join us and the Friends of St
Paul's Cathedral when Alan
Bennett's renowned Talking
Heads monologue is performed
4
by Stephanie Daniel in The
Chapter House as a fund raiser
for the Cathedral. This comic
but empathetic play about
a woman who feels strongly
about the falling standards in
society, and writes letters to the
appropriate authorities on all
she considers improper, will be
performed in a classic setting!
Sparkling supper to follow.
Thursday 12 March, 8pm, The
Chapter House: 197 Flinders
Lane. Tickets: $25/ $20 conces-
sion. Bookings with Father Jim
Brady, ph: 9653 4333.
16
Eva Hornung
Join 3RRR’s
Michael
Williams as he
chats to Eva
about her new
book, Dogboy
(Text, PB,
$32.95). The
story of the child raised by
beasts has fascinated through
the ages, but Eva Hornung has
created such a vivid and
original telling, so utterly
emotionally convincing, that it
becomes not just new but
definitive: yes, this is how it
would be.
Dog Boy is the
most visceral,
utterly amazing
novel you will
read this year.
Eva Hornung
lives in Adelaide. As Eva
Sallis (as she was known) she
was an award-winning writer
of literary fiction and criticism;
her first novel Hiam won The
Australian/Vogel Literary
Award in 1997 and the Nita
May Dobbie Award in 1999.
Her most recent novel The
Marsh Birds won the Asher
Literary Award 2005 and was
shortlisted for numerous
awards including the Age
Book of the Year 2005
and the Commonwealth
Writers’ Prize. Monday 16
March, 6pm for 6.30pm,
Readings Carlton. Free, but
please book on 9347 6633.
18
Paul Carter
Please join us for the launch
of Dark Writing: Geography,
Performance, Design (University of Hawaii, PB, $64.95).
In his new book Paul Carter
explores the terrain of geography, the performance of
everyday life, and the lines of
design, and uncovers a world
of past and future meetings,
co-existences and departures.
But as Carter explains, this
'dark writing' has been
overlooked in our design of
places, and is missing from
our drawings – our maps,
charts and master plans. It is
the spatial realm of stories, the
human and non-human traces
and marks that have brought
places into being. Wednesday
18 March, 6.30pm: The Institute of Postcolonial Studies,
78-80 Curzon Street, North
Melbourne, Corner of Curzon
and Queensberry Streets –
tram 57, or short walk from
North Melbourne Station).
Free, no need to book.
23
Lorraine Mortimer
Terror and Joy
(University of
Minnesota
Press, PB,
$49.95) is the
first book to
examine the
work of this
radical, influential filmmaker.
Dušan Makavejev is a filmmaker, teacher, and intellectual
whose films intersect with
major historical and political
upheavals in Eastern Europe:
World War II, the unification
and break up of Yugoslavia,
and the fall of communism.
Subversive and moving, his
films remain touchstones for
transcultural and political
cinema. Monday 23 March,
6.30pm, Readings Carlton.
Free, no need to book.
25
Linda Jaivin
Inspired by a
true story, A
Most Immoral
Woman
(HarperCollins,
normally
$32.95, our
special price
$27.95) is Linda’s new book
and is a surprising, witty and
erotic tale of sexual and other
obsessions set in the ‘floating
world’ of Westerners in China
and Japan at the turn of the
twentieth century.
At its heart
stands an
original and
devastatingly
honest woman,
as seen from the
perspective of
the extraordinary
man who was drawn to love her.
Linda Jaivin is the internationally bestselling author of the
comic-erotic cult classic Eat Me
and The Infernal Optimist,
among other novels. Her
non-fiction writing on China
includes the acclaimed The
Monkey and the Dragon. Linda is
only in Melbourne for a short
time – please book quickly!
Wednesday 25 March, 6.30pm,
Readings Carlton. Free, but
please book on 9347 6633.
31
Kate Legge
Kate Legge is
a multi-awardwinning journalist who has
covered politics
and social
affairs in
Canberra,
Sydney, Melbourne and
Washington. She now writes
for The Australian and lives in
Melbourne. Stunning, confronting and passionate, her
new book, The Marriage
Club (Viking, PB, $32.95)
explores questions of who we
marry and why, and whether
we can ever truly know another
person, even when we share
their life. Tuesday 31 March,
6.30pm, Readings Hawthorn.
Free, but please book on
9819 1917.
And in April
1
Kristin Williamson
For over 30
years, David
Williamson's
plays have
been the mirror
to which many
Australians
have turned
to see themselves reflected –
from the early sensations of
Don’s Party and The Club to
the smash-hits Emerald City
and Brilliant Lies. Williamson’s
life has been as engaging and
interesting as his art. For 35
years, he has been at the
collision point of art and
politics. His friendships were
with, among others: Clifton
Pugh, Peter Weir, Gough
Whitlam, Peter Carey, Bruce
Beresford and Paul Keating.
Who better to invite us into
that life than the woman with
whom he has shared it, his
wife Kristin? Wednesday
1 April, 6.30pm, Readings
Carlton. Free, but please
book on 9347 6633.
2
Brendan Gullifer
Peter Moon will
launch Sold
(Sleepers, PB,
$24.95), a satire
of Melbourne
real estate.
'Lively, witty and
observed with an
insider's eye, Sold bares the soul
of the real estate world.'
—Joanna Murray Smith.
Thursday 2nd April, 6pm
to 8pm, The Glasshouse,
51 Gipps St, Collingwood.
Small Presses, Big Books
New titles from Australia’s small publishers
Free, no need to book.
2
Wendy Harmer
We expect
Wendy to be
funny, warm
and honest ‒
and in this
new book she
is. Roadside
Sisters is the
story of female friendship and
that special realisation we have
all experienced ‒ the ‘it seemed
like a good idea at the time’
moment. I’m sure there will
be standing room only ‒ so
book quickly and join us for
an opportunity to laugh out
loud with the very wonderful
Wendy Harmer. Thursday 2
April, 6.30pm, Readings
Carlton. Free, but please
book on 9347 6633.
The Right (Puncher & Wattman)
Matthew Karpin, RRP $28.00
“...lays bare not just the banality of Labor
politics, but the human cost of power”.
– James Bradley.
Hard-hitting novel detailing the rise
of a ruthless politican through the
ranks of the Right faction of the
NSW ALP.
Things We Didn’t See Coming
(Sleepers Publishing)
Steven Amsterdam, $24.95
“Bold, original and sneakily affecting.”
– Emily Maguire.
An extraordinary novel that begins
in 1999 and spans 40 years, linking
together nine luminous narratives
through the mind of a resourceful
wanderer.
7
Jonathon Welch
The creator of
the Choir of
Hard Knocks is
coming to share
his story. His
book, Choir
Man (HarperCollins, PB,
$35) is the story of his modest
beginnings in suburban
Melbourne, his coming to terms
with his sexuality‚ the discovery
of his singing talent‚ and his
work with the Choir of Hard
Knocks. Tuesday 7 April,
6.30pm, Readings Carlton.
Free, but please book early
on 9347 6633.
NOW FASTER AND WITH MORE TITLES AND REVIEWS
WWW.READINGS.COM.AU
Lines of Wisdom (Affirm Press)
Various, $39.95
“I cannot remember when I last read a book
with more heart than Lines of Wisdom”
– Ken Haley, the Canberra Times.
In a conversation spanning generations,
young writers sketch the extraordinary
lives of ordinary and elderly Australians
they find inspirational.
Sketch (Sketch Media)
Eds. Christine de Saini and
Nicole Taylor, $15.00
New biannual, Sketch, presents an
eclectic collection of fiction, poetry,
art and digital design. Featuring work
by Ryan O’Neill, Joyce Parkes, Ashley Capes, Nathaniel Eckstrom and
Glenn Brady, among many others.
BOOKS CDS DVDS EVENTS INTERVIEWS REVIEWS
SEE HUNDREDS OF BOOK,
CD & DVD REVIEWS, READ
SPUNC represents more than 50 Australian
small publishers. Check them out online today.
OUR EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR
INTERVIEWS, FIND EVENT
INFORMATION ~ AS WELL
AS SEARCH, BROWSE,
AND BUY ONLINE.
spunc.com.au
SPUNC
5
Special Feature
A Book We Didn't See Coming
Kevin Rabalais, author of The Landscape of Desire, interviews debut novelist Steven Amsterdam
Steven Amsterdam's first novel,
Things We Didn't See Coming,
explores a series of post-apocalyptic
scenarios through the experience
of an ordinary 'hero' struggling with everyday dilemmas
amidst the extraordinary. Kevin
Rabalais spoke to Steven for
Readings’ Australian Feature
series, showcasing the best of
new Australian writing.
H
e thought it would be a
brief fling. But once he got started, Steven Amsterdam couldn’t
stop. He read about it in the
newspaper. An elderly couple
in the first stages of dementia –
and on the verge of losing their
drivers’ licences – had set off on
one last adventure. ‘I imagined
the no-win endgame for them
as they tried to run,’ Amsterdam
says. ‘And then I remember
thinking: I hope someone
bought the film rights.’
Shortly afterward, Amsterdam
began to write a short story
based on the news item and his
own grandparents’ experience
with memory loss. He thought
he would move quickly on to
something else. ‘But when I
came to the last line,’ he says, ‘I
thought, there could be more
here. I started thinking of it as
something bigger.’
anonymous city with his parents
to hole up at his grandparents’
house in the country. In the
ensuing chapters, Amsterdam
tracks his narrator through
an unspecified country that
has been ravaged by plague,
drought, fires and floods. There
are barricades and quarantines.
Wars rage across the country’s
desolate landscape. Amsterdam
invents horses that are bred to
Things We Didn’t See Coming,
Amsterdam’s debut novel, is that
all-too-rare book that will incite
a cult following, while simultaneously welcoming popular
appeal. This is fiction of high
order, and in it Amsterdam
establishes himself as a writer of
great vision and compassion.
‘[This] is that
all-too-rare
book that will
incite a cult
following, while
simultaneously
welcoming
popular appeal.
This is fiction
of high order.’
The novel begins on New Year’s
Eve 1999. As Y2K fears escalate,
the nameless narrator, aged
ten in the first chapter, flees an
ride on water after the melting
of the ice caps and throws in a
fair share of sex, drugs and guns.
This is the Wild West without
6
cowboy hats, science fiction
without the science, some kind
of radical and daring offspring
of Cormac McCarthy and Philip
K. Dick.
'I read The Economist fairly regularly,' says Amsterdam, who was
born in New York in 1966 and
moved to Melbourne in 2003.
'The magazine is always telling
you what to worry about and
also what new science is coming
up ahead. So the novel doesn’t
feel incredibly futuristic, even
though, chronologically, most
of it is set several decades in the
future. All of the things that
happen could be closer rather
than further. It’s by no means a
cautionary tale. I’m not saying,
Look, if we don’t do something
now, this is all going to happen.'
In the process, Amsterdam’s
narrative maintains a remarkable sense of immediacy that is
due only in part to the recent
onslaught of natural disasters
here and elsewhere. The fictional
world of Things We Didn’t See
Coming doesn’t shift into chaos
after a cataclysmic event. Rather,
as Amsterdam says, ‘It’s just
a big, messy future. I didn’t
want the reader to get apocalypse fatigue. It’s kind of trying
on all these different worries
and seeing how they push the
characters. These are things that
I vaguely could worry about
and would rather not. To that
degree, the book is an exorcism.
For the narrator, the trouble
isn’t the plague. The trouble is
that he’s got this irresponsible
girlfriend. The trouble isn’t
the floodwaters. The trouble is
where is he going to eat? Where
is he going to sleep? When is he
going to get laid?’
The novel’s character- and relationship-driven focus provides a
hint to Amsterdam’s recent decision to switch careers. Earlier
this year, Amsterdam became
a nurse at the Alfred Hospital.
‘My main interests in nursing
have been palliative care and
psychiatry,’ he says, ‘and they
both involve patients who tend
to be patients for a long period
of time, rather than someone
who comes in, gets a heart valve
replacement and goes on home.
When someone gets cancer, the
nurse gets to know the family
and teaches the wife how to give
morphine. In psychiatric care,
the family has to learn how to
recognise schizophrenia when
there’s a relapse coming. It’s a
lot more about a therapeutic
relationship. My area of inter-
est is family meetings, where
nurses and treatment teams get
together. We see such a variety
of behaviour and knowledge
within the family. After 50 years,
a wife and husband may know
each other very well, or might
not know each other at all. I’m
not taking notes and then going
home and writing about patients, but it’s exposing me to an
amazing breadth of behaviour.’
Amsterdam grew up on New
York’s Upper West Side, three
words that he speaks with the
kind of enthusiasm that sporting fans reserve for their local
teams. He’s engaging and curious, the kind of coolly intellectual New Yorker one might
expect to find as a walk-on in
a Woody Allen film. He speaks
with a certainty and conviction
about his work that falters only
when he stops to reflect on his
native city. While Amsterdam
considers whether New York
is still his home, for instance,
four seconds pass – an eternity
for a native New Yorker. Then
at last, the warm smile returns,
the confident flash of teeth, and
his voice rises: ‘Yeah,’ he says.
‘But I call Melbourne home,
too. When the plane lands in
Melbourne, I am always happy.
I am always relieved. When the
plane lands in Sydney, I think,
Ick! Same in L.A. When it lands
in New York, I think, God, it’s
dirty! But I’m still happy to go
back.’
Amsterdam returns to New
York at least once a year. His
eyes tighten as he ponders
what he misses most. ‘There’s
a specific cheeseburger,’ he
says. ‘There’s a specific whitefish sandwich. And then there
are the friends and family
you leave behind. I came to
Melbourne when I was in my
late 30s. That’s a lot of friends
and family. The kids are getting
taller. The parents are getting
shorter. There’s a slight urgency
about both of those things. I
had a party when I was last in
New York. I thought, Why do I
live somewhere else? I love these
people.’
Among the people Amsterdam
misses in New York is a twoand-a-half-year-old son named
Quincy. It was, he says, ‘a
donor situation.’ ‘These are two
friends, a female couple that
I’ve known for a long time. We
might be working on a second
child. That entails a certain period of time for me to stay there
and produce the necessaries.’
By the time Amsterdam moved
to Australia five years ago,
he had already held several,
non-medical careers. He spent
ten years working for Random
House in New York, where he
began as a map editor in travel
publishing. He then worked as
a freelance text editor. ‘I noticed
that the designers were happier than the editorial people,’
he says. Knopf, a division of
Random House, eventually
‘This is the
Wild West
without
cowboy hats,
science fiction
without the
science, some
kind of radical
and daring
offspring of
Cormac
McCarthy and
Philip K. Dick.’
hired him to do occasional
book cover design. Without
a full-time position available,
however, he soon had to explore
other options, and decided
to take a pastry course. In the
meantime, the book design
job finally became available. ‘I
basically got the job at Knopf
by bringing in pastries from
my course on a regular basis,’
he says.
Then came a real estate incident
that involved the mob. ‘This
is the kind of story that really
pisses people off,’ he says. ‘It
made a lot of things possible
for me, so I don’t mind telling
it. When I got the first lease
on this sloping studio with the
tub in the kitchen (only $507
a month!) in the East Village,
[the paperwork] was sent to me
from a prison. The landlord was
in jail for hiring the janitor to
kill his girlfriend's husband. It
didn't work out. In any case,
the [jailed] landlord deeded the
building to his mafia princess
daughter. She was incompetent
at running a building and all
sorts of bills didn't get paid.
Finally, the building was bought
by a developer who wanted us
and our cheap leases gone. I
took the money and ran away
to Australia.’
Several years after moving to
Australia, Amsterdam submitted a section of Things We Didn’t
See Coming to Sleepers, the
Melbourne-based publishing
house and member of SPUNC
(Small Press Underground Networking Community). Sleepers
accepted the chapter, and its
editors soon asked to see more
of Amsterdam’s work. Thus
began a relationship that, after
a decade of work for Random
House, one of the world’s largest publishers, gives Amsterdam
a unique perspective. ‘I’m quite
happy with a small publisher
and the attention and enthusiasm I get from them. They’re
on the case, from the editorial
perspective to the marketing.’
Early next year, Amsterdam will
travel to New York for the US
launch of Things We Didn’t See
Coming. But he has no plans
to leave Melbourne. ‘I recently
wrote my first Australian story,’
he says. ‘In some ways, I feel
like I just got here.’
Kevin Rabalais is the author
of The Landscape of Desire,
a novel which David Malouf
described as ‘A bold performance.
Lyrical, precise, mysterious.’
Special Offer
Readings is offering Steven
Amsterdam’sThings We
Didn't See Coming (Sleepers)
for the special price of
$19.95 (normally $24.95).
Things we didn't
see coming
Steven Amsterdam
Sleepers. PB. Normally $24.95
Our special price $19.95
Who would have
seen coming –
so soon after the
super-nova that
was Nam Le in
the Australian literary firmament
in 2008 – that
already in early '09 we would be
blessed with another debut
of the most sublime conception
and tender execution?! A novel
in linked stories, TWDSC's nine
narratives are set in an unspecified geographical space and at
uncertain time intervals in our
near future. But the initial disorientation recedes when you soon
realise that the (unnamed) male
character of the book appears
across all the stories,
and that we follow him in
chronological time.
Already that feels like I'm giving too much away – and to
describe the situations our hero
finds himself in is near impossible, so fully formed are they
as imaginative constructs (and
what ripper openings each story
has!). Common though to most
of the stories is that our hero is
employed by the ruling authorities of the day in various roles
for the 'public good', as society
is reorganised in the face of the
massive environmental and climactic changes that seem to have
befallen the planet. It is a glimpse
of a McCarthyesque fallen world,
with all the deformations that entails – physical, mental, spiritual,
moral – but also shows the gift of
what we can give to one another
in our relationships, as not least
the final chapter (where our hero
realises the ‘best medicine’) so
movingly illustrates.
Earlier he imagines ‘the history
of the world collapsed into a
minute, the sum total of every
halfway I love you ever spoken’.
Amsterdam's remarkable achievement with this book is - in the
face of the ever more instrumentalised social world we inhabit –
to envision a 'hope against
hope' for our times. A quite
simply astounding book, and
surely destined to become a
contemporary classic!
Martin Shaw is from
Readings Carlton
7
Q&A with Eva Hornung
Jo Case interviews Eva Hornung (previously published as Eva Sallis) about her new novel Dog Boy
The story of the child raised by
beasts is a recurring one in literature. What drew you to tell your
own version of this story? What
did you hope to achieve with it?
I didn’t plan this book. I had
been writing a collection of
stories called The Sad Book of
Animals, writing a story now
and then. Some of these stories
are written from the point of
view of an animal, attempting to
use what I know and observe to
capture something at the limits
of experience. Testing my own
limitations, and at the same time
playing a kind of game with
things that mean a lot to me.
There are lots of books on this
idea simply because it is disturbing and irresolvable. We have
defined ourselves with reference
to animals. Animals are the nothuman. The distinction has always interested me, not least the
language of it. Animal instincts,
the higher intelligence, bestial,
wolfish appetite etc etc. Denial
of kinship with animals allows
us to torture, kill and commodify them without qualm,
and, interestingly, without a
sense of wrongdoing. When we
do the same to other humans,
we use language and concepts
that dehumanise them, lower
them, debase them. We see them
as animals, and therefore all
atrocity as a lesser harm than an
atrocity to ourselves. This too is
self-serving.
I don’t think there is any easy
way to live as a human being
among animal beings. We all
do it, but it is hard to look too
closely at what that means, and
what it tells us about ourselves.
The divide between beings is
perhaps much closer to home
than we like to think. This book
was a way of teasing out some
thoughts on it, particularly the
idea of closer.
Most of your previous books are set
between Australia and the Middle
East. Why did you choose Russia
as the setting for Dog Boy – and
what came first, the setting or the
scenario?
I couldn’t set it anywhere else.
I needed the cold winter and a
significant degree of social dis8
integration – at least enough to
create the preconditions for feral
dog clans and large numbers of
homeless people. The news story
that catalysed this book was
of a boy in Moscow who lived
around two years with dogs, and
it was this scenario combined
with the Romulus and Remus
legend that gripped my imagination. I then cast about for a city
I knew better that might suit,
but there was no place that fitted, so I began to study Russian.
The reader is so submerged in
the world of the dogs – and their
sensations, rituals and perspective – that, as for Romochka, the
‘dog boy’ of the title, when we reemerge into the world of humans,
the familiar becomes alien, and
slightly jarring to encounter. How
important was it to you to achieve
this effect on the reader?
Important. The book needed
Romochka’s world to become
normal, acceptable, ordinary, so
that we see other more familiar
normalities with fresh eyes, with
discomfort.
In some other tales of the child
raised by beasts (such as Kipling’s
The Jungle Book), the scenario
has a whimsical, romantic flavour.
In Dog Boy, though Romochka
finds a loving community among
the dogs, his experience is never
romanticised, but shown as a
necessary survival tactic. Were you
conscious about this throughout
the writing?
Not often conscious, but
certainly I was driven by the
challenge to realise his world,
to explore it. I discovered that
world as I went, and it had to
be real to me. I think there is
one point that is borderline,
but still just possible, and in
writing it I was conscious of
the tension between the unsentimental ‘dogness’ of things
and the powerful suction
sentiment could exert on the
scene. This was Mamochka’s
theft of a second human child,
and her motivations for doing
this. But I found I believed
this too once I had woven it
through everything and found
the right language for it.
It’s interesting that Romochka to
some extent retains his humanity
in the face of extreme deprivation as a result of the influence of
his dog-mother, Mamochka. It’s
because of her respect and affection
for humans that he is ashamed of
robbing them and ceases the practice; it’s her example that stops him
from eating frozen human corpses.
Do you think that her example
displays more humanity than
many humans would in similar
circumstances?
Romochka and Puppy receive
nurture, so their deprivation,
while very apparent, is less
extreme than that of many
deprived children. And yes,
Mamochka’s influence is potent,
but it is also the whole pack that
sustains them. But this is not a
polarising book. Mamochka is
not every dog, in fact she is a
rather unusual dog. Importantly
she is the kind of dog who cares
for people because she has a
psyche formed by contact with
people. I didn’t think of the dogs
as morally superior at all. I hope
nothing in the book implies finer sensibilities, or any hierarchy.
They are simply dogs; particular
dogs, not generic dogs. For
survival, they have become more
regulated than the humans of
the mountain, but that is partly
because their existence is more
precarious.
this made his story more rather
than less urgent - his predicament seems to be a comment on
the extent to which his society has
disintegrated. Was this what you
intended?
I did intend a twilight book,
drawing on liminal spaces
between human and animal, between form and chaos, city and
disintegration. Social disintegration was necessary to the book
as a canvas that would make the
story believable, but I never felt
the story was therefore about
disintegration. It will be up to
readers what emerges for them as
background and as foreground.
The novel suggests that Romochka
is not unique – that other children, like him, have fallen in with
animal packs in the absence of
human kin and kindness. For me,
Dog Boy (Text,
PB, $32.95) is
available at all Readings shops
and at www.readings,com.au.
You brilliantly, viscerally draw
the reader into other worlds in
Dog Boy – not just the world of
the dogs, but the human world of
Moscow and its surrounds. What
kind of research did you do to
bring it to life so vividly?
Lots of reading, lots of experimental writing, lots of Russian
– and then a trip to Moscow.
Then lots of writing, more Russian, more reading. And dog
watching.
See www.
readings.com.au
for the longer
version of this
interiew.
Books
Book of the Month
the Capitoline Wolf, suckling
Romulus and Remus. They say
Eva Sallis
good writing is in the detail
Text. PB. $32.95
and Hornung plunges you into
Guest Review
an oppressive, gritty, reeking
Dog Boy’s
dog world that is so convincing
violent,
shocking and and so utterly believable that
yet ultimately the smell and taste of this book
will resonate long after you
exhilarating
ride has stirred have turned the last page.
emotions that I But don’t be put off. What
haven’t felt
begins as a confronting relasince reading Cormac
tionship between Romochka
McCarthy’s The Road. Picking and the dogs, transforms into
up a book that you know will a thing of beauty, tenderness
take you on a bleak, desperate and compassion. The reader’s
journey is easier said than
journey is such that you come
done, unless the recompense is to understand and identify
extraordinary and this book, by with the boy’s transformation
Australian author Eva Horfrom abandoned child to ‘dognung (previously writing as Eva boy’ embedded in a complex
Sallis), is extraordinary. Dog
pack structure. Hornung is
Boy is more than a cautionary no stranger to the themes that
tale; this book holds a mirror
flow through this book: exile
to the world we live in and
and belonging; sameness and
shows us humanity’s negligible otherness. But where her six
hold and the unlikely places
previous novels, including the
where it can be found.
acclaimed Marsh Birds and
the Vogel prize-winning book
Romochka, a four-year-old
Hiam, examines these themes
boy abandoned and starving,
through migrant experience
ventures out of a deserted
and cultural displacement,
apartment building into the
Dog Boy takes a step beyond
freezing streets of Moscow
and explores ideas of exile and
with his missing mother’s
belonging through the more
words ringing in his ears.
Don’t go near people. Don’t talk universal themes of animal and
human nature. It also challengto strangers. Wandering the
es the reader to examine our
streets, the boy becomes lost
and desperate. The only being own innate behavioral response
he dares to approach is a feral when confronted with life or
dog and he follows her back to death decisions.
a den, lies down with her four Hornung is a fascinating and
pups, suckles and survives. And courageous writer who brings
so this small boy crosses an un- a universal quality to Australspeakable boundary, living with ian fiction. Her multicultural
feral dogs in the basement of
upbringing, passion for Arabic
a tumble-down church on the culture and active involvement
outskirts of a modern city. He in humanitarian work gives her
is given shelter, food and affec- writing a depth and relevance
tion and he learns to survive as that is pertinent to our generaa dog and to become a member tion. Dog Boy is a unique and
of the pack.
remarkable Australian novel
and I highly recommend you
This retelling of the timeread it.
less tale of an innocent living
among beasts does not shy
Sanchia Hovey is the former
away from detail. Until now,
manager of Readings St Kilda.
the mythology, folk tales and
documented cases of children Eva Hornung will be in converraised by animals offer an ideal, sation with Michael Williams
unsoiled vision; as clear as the at Readings Carlton on Monday
16 March at 6.30pm.
lines of the bronze sculpture,
dog boy
New Fiction
Australian Fiction
A Most Immoral
Woman
Linda Jaivin
HarperCollins. PB.
Normally $32.95
Our special price $27.95
This book may
come as a shock
to fans of Linda
Jaivin, author of
the erotic Eat
Me and of The
Infernal
Optimist, a
novel about detention centres,
for Jaivin has deserted contemporary themes for historical
fiction, a field that has surged in
popularity since Kate Grenville’s
The Secret River. Her new novel
concerns an episode in the life
of the Australian foreign
correspondent GE Morrison
(‘Morrison of Peking’) – his
steamy affair with a young
American heiress, conducted
against the backdrop of the
1904 Russo-Japanese war. The
author, a China scholar, based
the story on Morrison’s personal
papers and on research in China
and the USA. Whereas
Grenville, however lyrically she
writes, serves her historical
realism straight up, Jaivin, as we
might expect, gives a wink and
a nod to the adventure-romance
novel of the Edwardian period.
Against the quirky freshness of
Jaivin’s usual style the opening
of this novel feels distinctly
formulaic, but A Most Immoral
Woman soon turns into a racy,
entertaining read.
Sybil Nolan is a freelance
reviewer
The Rainy Season
Myfwany Jones
Viking. PB. $32.95
There's a new
generation of
Australian
fiction writers
coming up;
confident and
assured: Cate
Kennedy, Nam
Le, Toni Jordan, Jacinta
Halloran – and now, Myfanwy
Jones. Seemingly abandoned by
her Vietnam vet father when she
was five, Ella has been brought
up by her alcoholic mother.
When, following a confusing
relationship break-up, she travels
to Vietnam to confront her
father’s past, she’s drawn into the
chaotic social life of Saigon's
ex-pat community. It’s 1994: the
Clinton administration has just
lifted the 19-year economic
embargo on Vietnam, ostensibly
in return for the fullest possible
account for Americans held as
prisoners of war (POW) or
missing in action (MIA). For
Ella, the talk of MIAs heightens
her conflicting feelings about
her father. The Rainy Season
is successful on many levels.
Primarily, it’s the story of a
young woman coming to terms
with her feelings of rejection and
gaining a sense of herself; but it’s
also a vivid picture of expatriate
life, the exuberance and recklessness of youth, a tortured country
coming to terms with change,
and the agony of the once-young
fighters who were largely reviled
or unacknowledged when they
got home. Finally, it is a vibrant
description of a lively, chaotic
and contradictory city and culture. A wonderful achievement.
Mark Rubbo is Managing
Director of Readings
The China Garden
Kristina Olsson
UQP. PB. $32.95
When Laura
reluctantly
returns to her
small hometown
following the
death of her
estranged
mother, she
finds a house of secrets waiting
for her. As she sorts through
Angela’s belongings and begins
piecing her past together, she
becomes slowly aware of
someone watching her through
the trees. Kristina Olsson’s latest
novel is about broken worlds
– characters who have sectioned-off a part of themselves
and kept it hidden, secreted
away from others. Angela’s
death brings together the lives
of three very closed women
who overcome their private
9
Books
fears with the unexpected help
of an otherworldly young man.
There is a contemplative
stillness to Olsson’s prose that
makes for meditative reading.
Themes and motifs gently echo
back and forward through the
text like lullabies. Characters
stop to pick up words and turn
them over, like shells found
on a beach, and through
the closely-observed rhythm
of their lives, Olsson finds
intimacy in their small, simple
gestures – making toast,
sharing tea or sitting with
someone while they paint.
This is a touching novel about
loss, the isolation of grief
and the power of silence.
Belinda Monypenny is the
editor of Voiceworks Magazine.
The Boat
Nam Le
Penguin. PB. $24.95
This internationally
acclaimed,
award-winning
collection –
one of Readings’ bestselling
books of 2008 –
is now available in a new, extra
affordable smaller format.
International
Fiction
The Kindly Ones
Jonathan Littell
Chatto & Windus. PB. $34.95
A provocative
and gripping
pseudo-memoir,
Jonathan Littell’s
The Kindly Ones
is the story of Dr
Maximilien Aue,
a former Nazi
officer who now owns a lace
factory in France. Aue tells us
how he became involved with
the Nazi party and the atrocities
he has seen, perpetrated and
participated in. But far from
being a work of absolution, Aue
seems to be writing to show how
even the most cultured intellectual could become an active evil
force. There is no doubt that this
book will polarise readers. Aue
wants to show us the evil in all
people that, allowed to run riot
and legitimised by others, knows
no bounds. But is Aue also
trying to normalise his behav10
iour? And there is the further
problem of fictionalising such
painful history while keeping so
much of the confronting facts,
described precisely and in
unflinching detail. What are the
writer’s obligations when
crossing the line between fact
and fiction in this instance?
Kabita Dhara is from
Readings Carlton
The Women
T.C. Boyle
Bloomsbury. PB. $32.95
T.C. Boyle has
tackled extraordinary characters
in previous
novels, like John
Harvey Kellogg
in The Road to
Welville and
Alfred Kinsey in The Inner Circle
but none could ever eclipse the
extraordinary, complex trajectory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Told from the point of view of a
wealthy Japanese apprentice,
Sato Tadashi, Boyle’s latest novel
The Women is a fictional
biography of Wright delineated
via four of his numerous
women. The novel disembarks
with his last wife Olgivanna, a
beautiful dancer spellbound by
the Russian mystic Gudjieff, and
travels back to the tabloid-frenzy
years spent with a morphineaddicted southern belle, Mamah,
who was paralysed with
delusions of grandeur. His most
significant relationship, though,
is the one that temporarily
ruined his promising career
when he ran off with a client’s
wife, Miriam. The Women is an
illuminating study of a brilliant,
flawed man whose innovative
gift changed the face of modern
architecture but failed the
women who loved him.
Justine Douglas is from
Readings Port Melbourne
Once on a
Moonless Night
Dai Sijie
Chatto & Windus. PB. $32.95
Born in China and educated in
France, novelist-filmmaker Dai
Sijie’s signature theme is the
transgression of Chinese values
by European thinking. Balzac
and the Little Chinese Seamstress,
his semi-autobiography on
‘re-education’ during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, won Dai both
book and film awards. Once
on a Moonless Night is his third
novel, its plot an intricate matrix
of narrators, places, perspectives
and regimes. Central to the plot
is a Frenchwoman’s fascination
with the meaning of a Chinese
parable on a silk scroll. It is incomprehensible, for the parable
is written in an extinct language.
It is incomplete, for the scroll is
missing its crucial second half.
The quest becomes a means
for her to understand China’s
history, through the experiences of a professor, a historian
and a scholarly adventurer. In
Peking, she falls in love with the
adventurer’s son, who expatriates
himself from her at a traumatic
turn – ‘I will never utter another
word of Chinese’ – to solve the
parable himself. In a state of fevered exile, she wanders France,
Mali and Burma, only to find
her travels parallel her lover’s.
Maloti Ray is a freelance reviewer
Leaving the World
Mr Toppit
Paul Torday
Charles Elton
Viking. PB. $32.95
When Arthur
Hayman, the
author of an
obscure set of
children’s books,
is run down by a
cement truck,
something
amazing occurs. Laurie Clow is
the last one to speak to him. She
is also the one who unwittingly
becomes the custodian of his
Hayseed Chronicles. Darkwood
and Mr Toppit are introduced to
the world. So is Luke Hayseed, a
character based on the author’s
son Luke. A phenomenon is
born; a franchise with its legions
of followers and fruitcakes.
Suddenly there are contracts and
shows, interviews and articles.
But with fame also come the
trappings of wealth. Anonymity
is forever forfeited. Lives are
changed, youth is stolen.
Privacy is lost to the day’s
rapacious journalism and
sensationalistic headlines.
Secrets of sordid affairs and
drugs will come out and people
will be hurt. Some will even die.
But Mr Toppit isn’t finished.
There is still one final secret that
lies deep in Darkwood, the
forest beyond the Hayman
home. What is it? What does it
mean? And, who on earth is
Mr Toppit?
Dimitri Gonis is a
freelance reviewer.
Douglas Kennedy
Hutchinson. PB.
Normally $32.95
Our special price $27.95
Harvard professor Jane made a
vow to herself at the age of 13:
that she would never marry or
have children, given the resentful
life led by her feuding parents.
When she unexpectedly falls
pregnant, she warms to the idea
of motherhood despite herself,
until a devastating turn of events
takes the decision out of her
hands and tears her familiar
world apart. Isolated, living in a
new place where nobody knows
her, Jane is confronted by a fresh
and terrible dilemma when a
young girl disappears and she is
convinced she has vital information about the case.
The Girl on
the Landing
Weidenfeld & Nicolson. PB.
Normally $33
Our special price $27.95
One reviewer
reported that
this curious
novel, which
begins ordinarily
enough, in the
end ‘keeps you
awake until two
in the morning, absolutely
terrified, unable to look out of
the window for fear of what you
might see’ (Telegraph). It’s the
story of a dull, conventional
man in a dull, conventional
marriage, who is one day drawn
to a woman in a painting at a
friend’s country house. The odd
thing – his friends say there is no
woman in the picture, and when
he checks later, he sees that
they’re right. It’s the first of
many not-quite-right things to
happen, as this man (who his
wife married for his stability)
becomes someone else altogether
– someone she just might fall in
love with. Someone who seems
to be either crazy, or possessed
by the events of his family’s past.
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitgerald
& Nicki Greenberg (illus.)
A&U. PB. $24.95
This inventive, critically acclaimed graphic novel adaptation of one of literature’s great
classics (by a local Melbourne
author!) is now available in
paperback.
Books
Farahad Zama
Abacus. PB. $29.99
Mr Ali has
grown bored of
retirement, so
with the blessing
of his wife and
the help of a
lovely local
young woman,
he starts a service to assist single
people in the arrangement of
their marriages. Such is the
irresistible premise of The
Marriage Bureau for Rich People
– the first in a planned series.
For who could fail to be
intrigued by the background
machinations of an Indian
marriage bureau, especially when
described with such lightness of
touch and deep sense of
humanity? The central conceit is
fascinating and the setting
seductive, but chief among the
achievements of this novel is the
creation of a world at once both
exotic and familiar, peopled as it
is with recognisable characters,
from stubborn family members
to a salesmen who awkwardly
fails to sell himself. The publishers have relentlessly compared
this novel to the works of Jane
Austen, but the more obvious
influence is that of Alexander
McCall Smith and his No. 1
Ladies’ Detective Agency series
– it's hard to imagine a Precious
Ramotswe fan who wouldn't fall
for this charming novel.
Olivia Mayer is a
freelance reviewer
The Rescue Man
Anthony Quinn
Jonathan Cape. PB. $32.95
‘In no art is
there closer
connection
between our
delight in the
work, and our
admiration of
the workman’s
mind, than in architecture, and
yet we rarely ask the builder’s
name’, muses Baines, the
protagonist of Anthony
Quinn’s debut novel. The
quote itself comes from
nineteenth-century art critic,
John Ruskin; one of many
architectural references cited
throughout. This sets The
Rescue Man apart from the
umpteen million other
historical texts set around the
World War II era: Baines is an
unlikely hero who uses his
architectural knowledge to
navigate collapsed buildings
and rescue those trapped.
Amidst the devastation of the
Blitz, he forges a strong bond
with photographer Bella, who
he assists in capturing the
beauty of a city blasted by
bombing. However, their
doomed love affair threatens to
destroy the shaky foundations
of her marriage and their
chances of safety. But the real
love story driving Quinn’s
novel is Baines’s enduring
heartache at the destruction of
Liverpool and its architecture
– the novel itself reads like a
love letter to the often-maligned city, ‘the Venice of the
North’.
Emily Laidlaw is a
freelance reviewer
Still Alice
Lisa Genova
Simon & Schuster. PB. $24.95
When I was
handed a copy
of Still Alice, I
was sure I was
in for a
depressing read.
Although I did
shed a tear or
two at times, I found the story
interesting and thoroughly
enjoyed reading it. Alice is a
cognitive psychology professor
at Harvard and an expert in
linguistics. She has a husband,
three grown children and leads
a full and busy life. Suddenly,
at the age of 50, she finds
herself becoming forgetful.
Thinking she must be menopausal, she makes an appointment with her doctor and is
diagnosed with early onset
Alzheimer’s disease. The world
Alice has known suddenly
changes, as she is forced to
realize that she can no longer
continue working. However,
Alice faces her future bravely
and even starts up her own
support group. Perhaps the
most inspiring part of the story
though is the change in her
relationship with her youngest
daughter. The child she is least
close to becomes her staunchest supporter and, through the
confusion of her disease, Alice
is finally able to accept her
youngest daughter as she is.
Sharon Peterson is Assistant
Manager of Readings Carlton
Poetry
60 Classic Australian
Poems
Geoff Page (ed.)
UNSW Press. PB. $34.95
Acclaimed local
poet Geoff Page
provides a
superb introduction to our
nation’s best
poetry, from the
nineteenth
century to the present, with a
special emphasis on the notable
generation of poets who
emerged during and just after
World War II. Each poem is
accompanied by a short, lively
essay explaining why it has been
awarded ‘classic’ status.
Better Than God
Peter Porter
Picador. PB. $29.99
The new collection from preeminent national poet Peter
Porter returns to the themes
of history, art and mortality.
Many of the poems here evoke
Wallace Steven's final book
The Rock in their magisterial
late-life perspective.
BOOKS WITH SPINE BOOKS WITH SPINE BOOKS WITH SPINE BOOKS WITH SPINE
The Marriage Bureau
for Rich People
Fire Season
Kate Middleton
Giramondo. PB. $22
The poems here
attempt to
reconcile the idea
of ‘autobiography’ with the
world of myth,
literature, art and
music. They are
keenly interested in the intersections between the everyday and
inherited stories and artforms,
between silence and the voices of
the past. Middleton’s poems are
both dark and crisply lucid,
sensual and personal.
Striped World
Emma Jones
Faber. PB. $24.95
This inventive
collection marks
the debut of the
first Australian
ever to be
published in the
Faber poetry list.
These poems
sweep between old worlds and
new, seeking the lost and
recovering the found among
shipwrecks, underwater zoos and
discovered lands.
A THORN
IN THE SIDE OF
CONVENTIONAL
THOUGHT
How are ordinary couples
coping with differences in
desire in the bedroom?
Discover your E-factor with
this bumper quiz book for
the whole family.
BOOKS WITH SPINE
www.mup.com.au
11
Books
New from TEXT PUBLISHING
NEW FROM SCRIBE
‘In exploring what it might be like to be
a dog from a human perspective, Dog Boy
sheds much light on what it is to be
human. Extraordinary, compelling and
utterly believable.’
ARABIAN PLIGHTS:
the future Middle East
PETER RODGERS
Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi
The Middle East over
the next twenty years.
DOG BOY
Eva Hornung
The story of the child
raised by beasts is
timeless, but in Dog Boy
Eva Hornung has
created such a vivid
and original telling that
every reader will say to
themselves ‘Yes, this
is how it would be’.
THE MYTH OF THE
GREAT DEPRESSION
DAVID POTTS
Resilience and
happiness in 1930s
Australia.
‘Incisive and thoughtful, yet sensitive and
modest…a special treasure.’
EASY ORGANIC
GARDENING AND MOON
PLANTING
LYN BAGNALL
Oliver Sacks
THE DECISIVE
MOMENT
Jonah Lehrer
If you believe rational
thought is the foundation
of wisdom and that the
best decisions are based
on logic not emotion,
think again.
The essential reference
book, now updated.
LEGACY OF SECRECY
LAMAR WALDRON
At last, the truth behind
the JFK assassination.
‘Tough, tense and terrifying.’
Andrew Rule, co-author of Underbelly
NO ANGEL
Jay Dobyns
This is the true story of
Jay Dobyns, American
Federal Agent, who
infiltrated the world’s
most notorious biker
gang—the Hells Angels.
YYY VG Z V R WD NKU JKP I E Q O C W
12
THE WELL-DRESSED APE:
a natural history of myself
HANNAH HOLMES
A biologist’s brilliant
description of our
own species.
www.scribepublications.com.au
Dead Write New Crime Fiction with Kate O'Mara
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Bruno, Chief
of Police
Martin Walker
Quercus. PB. Normally $29.95
Our special price $24.95
Aside from
nominally
upholding
council laws and
helping the
locals hide from
officious EU
food inspectors,
there seems little for Captain
Bruno Courrèges to do in the
rural hamlet of St Denis. This
leaves him time to enjoy the
countryside, indulge in the local
produce, and fend off ladies
eager to snare the town’s most
eligible bachelor. The murder of
a reclusive elderly war hero – the
apparent victim of a brutal hate
crime – shatters this pastoral
idyll. Suspicion naturally falls on
two rich-kid locals on the fringes
of a drug trafficking neo-Nazi
group, but as is the case in any
crime novel worth the paper it’s
printed on, the most obvious
answer isn’t always correct.
There’s a broad potential
audience for Walker’s debut, as
he manages the rare feat of
combining a humorous, quaint
country cop tale with a modern,
detail-driven police procedural.
One can only hope that the
normally peaceful St Denis will
suddenly become a hotbed of
crime and intrigue – it would
be a shame if this was the last we
saw of this charming character.
Kate O’Mara is from
Readings Carlton
Iron Heart
Marshall Brown
skill, intelligence and luck in
the world to survive. Iron Heart
is the best spy novel I’ve read
in years. There’s more intrigue,
backstabbing and death in one
chapter than most authors can
manage in a whole book. Of
course, it has all the clichés –
lone wolf hell-bent on revenge,
ambitious and duplicitous public servants, innocents caught in
a world they don’t understand –
but the author manages to turn
this into something special.
Truly worth your while. KO
Bone by Bone
Carol O’Connell
Headline. PB. $32.99
Twenty years
after Josh Hobbs
disappeared in
the California
woods, his
remains start
turning up, bone
by bone, outside
the front of his family home.
His brother Oren is more than
surprised that his elderly father is
convinced the remains are those
of their missing family member,
but when it is established that
the bones are from two different
people, a double murder
investigation gets underway. The
town of Coventry is still a
hotbed of rumours about Josh’s
disappearance, and more than
one town member has a theory
as to why or how he was
murdered. But the chain of
events that led to Josh’s death is
even more complicated than any
of them had suspected, and
more deaths will follow before
the explanation for this 20-yearold mystery is unravelled.
Judith Loriente is from
Readings Hawthorn
William Heinemann. PB. Normally $29.95
The Mao Case
Brown’s second Franz Schmidt
Mystery is set in a perpetually
dark and rain-soaked pre-war
Berlin, where fear and paranoia
rule the streets. Behind the
scenes orchestration has seen
Schmidt infiltrate the upper
echelons of the Reichsbank,
where he must obtain evidence
betraying The Fuehrer’s sinister
plans. There are, however,
clever and vicious people on to
him, and he will need all the
Sceptre. PB. $32.99
If you’ve read any of Qiu
Xiaolong’s Inspector Chen
novels before you may be taken
aback by this – a slow burning rumination on the damage
caused by both Maoist doctrine
and the ruthless Party members
dispatched to protect it that
starkly contrasts with the literary
thrillers he’s known for. Chen
infiltrates the bourgeois world
of Jiao, the granddaughter of
Our special price $24.95
Qiu Xiaolong
a B-movie actress who met a
grim fate after becoming one of
Mao’s lovers. Once a lowly office
worker, Jiao has suddenly and
suspiciously become wealthy
after publishing a book about
her ill-fated family. Highranking party members wonder
what else she’s hiding, and order
Chen to find out before they
take further, more brutal action.
An unflinching tale of a modern
capitalist China still bound by
communist law, The Mao Case
may be one of the bravest novels
published this year. KO
Handling the Undead
John Ajvide Lindqvist
Text. PB. $32.95
Anyone with a
passing interest
in popular
culture has
probably
noticed the
youthful rabble
we call ‘teenagers’ have gone gaga over the
vampire romances of Stephanie
Meyer, a writer who has more
than filled the post-Harry Potter
young adult literary malaise. It’s
easy to forget that one of the
figureheads of this modern
bloodsucking renaissance was
Lindqvist, whose urban vampire
drama Let the Right One In
caused a sensation a couple of
years back. He’s now turned his
attention to another kind of
living dead – zombies – in this
smart tale of an almost apocalyptic Stockholm where no-one
can turn off their appliances or
their lights and the inhabitants
of the city morgue have come
back to life. Lindqvist writes
with sophistication and
sensitivity not often seen in the
horror genre and since Readings
doesn’t have a horror section
crime is where you’ll find it! KO
True Crime
Crims in Grass
Castles: The True
Story of Trimbole,
Mr Asia and the
Disappearance of
Donald MacKay
Keith Moor
Viking. PB. $32.95
The presumed murder of aspiring politician and whistleblower
Donald Mackay in the Grif-
fith Hotel car park is one of
the most infamous episodes in
Australian criminal history, an
episode that eventually cracked
open one of the country’s largest
drug rings and gave the town
of Griffith a notoriety it would
rather forget. This 1989 book
about the whole sordid episode
has been revised and updated to
coincide with the current series
of Underbelly and is a cracking
good read as well as a stellar
piece of investigative journalism
from the Walkley award-winning Moor. Although decades
have passed, there still remain
too many unanswered questions
– but this is probably the closest
we’ll get to the truth. KO
In Brief
A Dutch student
on an archaeological dig in
rural Sweden
stumbles
drunkenly from
a car never to be
seen alive again
in Mari Jungstedt’s taut
Unknown (Doubleday, PB,
$32.95), while detectives
gathered for the 1889 Paris
Worlds’ Fair must solve a
murder at the foot of the newly
unveiled Eiffel Tower in Pablo
De Santis’ fin de siècle mystery
Paris Enigma (HarperCollins,
PB, $25). Chet, the canine
offsider of low-rent PI Bernie,
narrates Spencer Quinn’s giggle
inducing Dog on It (Allen &
Unwin, PB, $23.95) – highly
recommended by Stephen King
– while techno thriller fans will
devour Daniel Suarez’s Daemon
(Quercus, PB, $29.95), highly
recommended by Robin Cook.
Teresa Solana’s recently
translated political mystery
A Not So Perfect Crime (Bitter
Lemon, PB, $24.99) won the
Briganda 21 Prize for best
Catalan mystery novel, and
I can’t go without mentioning
Taschen’s recent vintage pulp
art treasure True Crime Detective
Magazines (HB, $90) – page
after lurid page of busty, hardfaced hussies just waiting to
bring a good man down.
And don't miss: Andrea
Camilleri's In August Heat
(Penguin, PB, $27.95).
13
Books
KILL KHALID
Paul McGeough
Beginning with one
of the mostt bizarre
assassination
on
attempts inn the last
quarter century,
ntury, Kill
Khalid is a serious
political history
story that
reads like a fastpaced thriller.
ler. In a
headlong narrative
with high-speed
speed car
chases, negotiated
gotiated
prisoner exchanges
xchanges
and an international
ernational
scandal that
at
threatenedd to
destabilise the
entire region
on
—Australia’s
a’s
leading foreign
reign
corespondent
ent tells
the inside story of
the rise of Hamas.
OUT NOW
Marion Halligan
14
3 2
for
valley of grace
OUT NOW
VINTAGEVALUE
Fanny and G
Gerard fall
in love in a w
way that
surprises eve
even them,
but they long for a
child. Jean-M
Jean Marie is
an internatio
internationally
regarded professor
pro
whose adorin
adoring
students are willing
sexual partne
partners.
When Gerard buys a
beautiful old house,
the disturbing
disturbin contents
of the attic bbinds the
stories into a darkly
disturbing kn
di
knot.
Valley
lley of Grace
G
is
a ly
lyri
r caal work full of
lyrical
hope
ho
pe sset
et in m
moderndday
ay Paris,
ri wrritten by
one of Austra
Australia’s most
loved novelis
novelists.
Take your imagination with you.
*Applies to stickered titles. The least expensive of the three is free.
Cannot be combined with any other offer.
‘A monument of
contemporary literature.’
Le Figaro
WINN
ER
of Gra
nd
du rom Prix
an
l Académ de
rançai ie
e
WINN
ER
of
the Prix
Goncou
rt
Already an explosive bestseller
across Europe, this controversial work of
world literature is now available in English.
Non-Fiction
Politics
Quarterly Essay 33:
Quarry Vision
Guy Pearse
Black Inc. PB. $16.95
Former industry
lobbyist and
Liberal Party
speechwriter
(for former
environment
minister Robert
Hill) discusses
the future of the coal industry
and argues with the economic
orthodoxy in this challenging
and controversial essay. ‘Quarry
vision’ is the mindset that sees
Australia’s greatest asset as its
mineral and energy resources.
In the wake of the resources
bust, Pearse looks at how this
mentality has distorted our
national politics and our
response to climate change –
and argues that it’s a blind faith
we can no longer afford. Along
the way, he exposes the
shadowy world of greenhouse
lobbyists; how they think,
operate and skin cats.
Statute of Liberty:
How to Give
Australians Back
Their Rights
Geoffrey Robertson
Vintage. PB. $19.95
The Australian
Attorney
General is
expected to
announce a
commission to
examine the case
for an Australian
Bill of Rights in December
2009, on the 60th anniversary
of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Here, Geoffrey
Robertson QC puts the case
for an Australian Bill of Rights
cogently and dramatically,
proving with evidence from
other countries how a statute
of liberty helps ordinary citizens
and improves standards of
governance and public services.
He exposes the lies and urban
myths the Australian people
face from opponents of the Bill,
and shows how the charter he
has drafted reflects the history
and real contemporary values
of Australians.
Arabian Plights:
The Future of the
Middle East
Peter Rodgers
Scribe. PB. $29.95
In this controversial, straighttalking book,
former Australian diplomat
Peter Rodgers
challenges those
who baulk at
the idea of putting serious
pressure on Israel, dealing with
Hamas, or talking to mullahrun Iran. The most direct way
of cleaning up the mess that is
the Middle East, he says, is to
remove the Israeli-Palestine
conflict as the prop for both
Arab illiberalism and foreign
meddling. Until we do, the
region’s problems will continue
to stain the wider world.
The Next 100 Years
George Friedman
Black Inc. PB. $29.95
Friedman is a
recognised
expert in
geopolitics and
forecasting.
This will, he
predicts, be the
American
century. Whereas the twentieth century was a transition
from European to American
global power, the twenty-first
is solely America's. No other
geopolitical group comes close
to challenging America's
supremacy. Because of its
control of the sea and its
geographical position, it is
unlikely that it ever be
attacked. America can take
actions that can be painful
and devastating for other
countries, while it moves on
and flourishes. In addition to
the consolidation of American
power, Friedman convincingly
predicts that population
growth will rapidly decline
over the century – as will the
overall world population,
causing dramatic shifts in
family and societal structures.
American power will be
challenged as it creates
enemies through its reckless
use of power. The US-Islam
conflict will wither away;
Books
China will not become a
major world power; Mexico
will emerge as a power, as will
a coalition from Eastern
Europe, Eurasia and the Far
East. There will be wars, but
they will be less deadly.
America will emerge from its
barbaric stage into a more
civilised and assured power.
Friedman's book is absolutely
fascinating, immensely
readable – and sounds
disturbingly logical.
Mark Rubbo is Managing
Director of Readings
Biography
Leave to Remain
Abbas El-Zein
UQP. HB. $32.99
The best
memoirs
illuminate our
intellectual
blind spots.
They leave us
wiser and often
less certain of
our own inalienable truths. So
it is with Leave to Remain.
Author Abbas El-Zein charts
his journey from childhood in
Egypt through to teenage
years in war torn Beirut,
before eventually finding his
way to Sydney for a university
posting. Years later, the author
returns to Lebanon in 2006
after war has again ravaged
both city and country. El-Zein
successfully charts the drama
and uncertainty of living in an
embattled country and his
formative years meld childlike
innocence with a far more
brutal reality. He is equally
successful when pointing out
the hypocrisies inherent
within the Middle East’s
relationship with the commercial interests of Australia and
the United States. Despite the
subject matter, Leave to
Remain is more walking
meditation than political
diatribe. Discussions on war
and societal violence are
mixed with reflections on
parenting and the nature of
displacement. Put simply, this
is a book about what it means
to be human, regardless of
race, colour or creed. As such,
it is essential reading.
Laurie Steed is
a freelance reviewer
Michelangelo:
A Turbulent Life
Antonio Forcellino
Wiley. PB. $57.95
This major new
biography
recounts the
extraordinary
life of one of the
most creative
figures in
Western culture,
weaving together the multiple
threads of Michelangelo's life
and times with a brilliant
analysis of his greatest works.
The psychological portrait of
Michelangelo is constantly
foregrounded, depicting with
great conviction a tormented
man, solitary and avaricious,
burdened with repressed
homosexuality and a surplus
of creative enthusiasm.
Journey Without
Arrival: The Life
and Writing of
Vincent Buckley
John McLaren
ASP. PB. $39.95
For 40 years,
Vincent Buckley
(1923–1988)
was a central
figure in
Melbourne’s
literary, political
and religious
life. A major poet, he was also
a leading literary critic, a regular book reviewer and a formidable controversialist. Themes
in his work include the nature
of God, religious and political
responsibility and the place of
poetry in a modern society.
This is his first biography.
Travel
Sideways: Travels
with Kafka, Hunter S.
& Kerouac
Patrick O’Neil
Viking. PB. $32.95
This evocatively
written,
action-packed
memoir is a love
letter to the
intoxicating
strangeness of
travel. Inspired
by his literary heroes, O’Neil
eschews pre-booked itineraries
for loose plans based on
fulfilling dreams and testing out
life philosophies on the other
15
Books
TAKE YOUR MIND
ON A JOURNEY
$34.95 / Non-fiction / 978 0 7022 3699 0 / March
$34.95 / Non-fiction / 978 0 7022 3700 3 / March
$32 95 / Memoir / 978 0 7022 3692 1 / March
$32.95 / Fiction / 978 0 7022 3697 6 / March
THE CHINA GARDEN
Kristina Olsson
Over two hot weeks one summer,
cracks emerge in the veneer of a small
coastal town.
This captivating story about betrayal
and its echoes across generations
sees the lives of three very different
women collide when long hidden family
secrets are uncovered.
Book club notes available.
LEAVE TO REMAIN: A Memoir
Abbas El-Zein
‘This important book is written in
many tones – lyrical, sardonic, angry,
heartbroken.’ Raimond Gaita, author of
Romulus, My Father
An evocative memoir following one
man’s journey from Beirut to Sydney,
reflecting on today’s Middle-East
and the conflicted identities of its
inhabitants.
THE USES OF DIGITAL LITERACY
The UQP Creative Economy +
Innovation Culture Series
John Hartley
YouTube, MySpace, Facebook,
blogging, podcasts and vodcasts – is
today’s pop-culture fad tomorrow’s
scientific method?
This timely book challenges us to
see the potential of using, creating,
exchanging and consuming multimedia
products.
CREATIVE ECOLOGIES: Where
Thinking is a Proper Job
The UQP Creative Economy +
Innovation Culture Series
John Howkins
Leading on from his 2001 bestseller,
The Creative Economy, John Howkins’
new model of creativity and innovation
describes the right habitat for hatching
ideas.
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND PRESS
www.uqp.com.au
16
Books
side of the world. He’s just
turned 21 and up for almost
anything, from tripping at
trance festivals in the Sahara to
partaking in boiled pet bunny
in Bolivia. Curious, affable and
intelligent, he’s often prepared
to leap before looking in order
to experience the adventures he
craves. It’s a canny tactic but
the amount of hot water he gets
into would have most backpackers reaching for the cold
tap! O’Neil is careful not to
judge those of us who stay put,
content to steer clear of peyote
and gangstas – it’s just not for
him, at least, not all the time.
After a few years on the move
he realises what he needs: ‘the
road to reflect on home and
home to reflect on the road’.
One suspects he’ll be on a plane
again before long and Sideways
will inspire more than a few
readers to do the same.
Sally Keighery is Acting Program
Manager of CAE Book Groups
Boy He Cry
Roger Averill
Transit Lounge. PB. $32.95
Shelley, an
idealistic young
PhD anthropology student and
her partner
Roger, a writer,
arrive on a
remote Papuan
island for 12 months without
any housing, furniture or
friends. The islanders agree to
accommodate the couple and
willingly pitch in to build them
a house, assign them family
members and attempt to coach
them in the islanders' intricate
dialect. Averill’s memoir shows
a genuine love for the people he
lived with so intimately for so
long on an island with no
electricity, two-way radio or
boats larger than dug-out
canoes, and also reveals his own
personal struggles with enforced
Christianity, lingering colonial
racism and perceptions of
poverty. Were the Nuakatans
poorer for having a shorter life
expectancy and non-existent
health services, or richer for
having time to forge real family
ties, friendships and communal
events? Averill’s self-deprecation
emphasises that he’s no
K2-climbing adventure hero,
which only serves to make his
writing more human and able
to reveal the strong bonds he
made with the islanders, their
culture and their country.
An engrossing and touching
account of an unforgettable
experience.
Kath Lockett is a freelance
writer and reviewer
Food & Wine
The Age Cheap Eats
Guide 2009
PB. $22.95
Cheap eats are the name of
the game these days. Whether
you’re downscaling or simply
on the lookout for tasty meals
that won’t break the bank in
and around Melbourne, this is
the ticket. Reviews are informative, entertaining and straighttalking.
Building a Meal
Hervé This
Columbia University Press.
PB. $42.95
With this new
book, internationally
renowned
chemist and
top chef Hervé
This enters an
exciting new
phase. Considering the
preparation of six bistro
favourites, he isolates the exact
chemical properties that tickle
our senses and stimulate our
appetites. More important,
he connects the mind and the
stomach, identifying methods
of culinary construction that
appeal to our memories,
intelligence and creativity.
Anthology
Thanks for
the Mammaries
Sarah Darmody
Penguin. PB. $24.95
This represented
an interesting
project for a girl
who's mother
placed vocab
restrictions on
this particular
part of the
anatomy. One has 'breasts' or
'bosoms', never 'boobs' or
heaven forbid, 'tits'. However,
even with these preordained
prudencies this proved to be an
engaging collection that was by
turns entertaining, enlightening
and even uplifting. From tales
of magical bra-fitters who can
grant a woman’s secret desires
for a cup size at the other end
of the spectrum, to Sarah
Darmody’s brave account of her
decision to have a double
mastectomy to hopefully escape
a genetic propensity for breast
cancer. With an eclectic variety
of authors including Kate
Holden, Marieke Hardy,
Maggie Alderson and a
somewhat left of field but
engagingly candid Jools Oliver
(aka Mrs Naked Chef ). There
are so many worthy products
and items that bear the pink
ribbon symbol of the National
Breast Cancer Foundation but
few will provide as much
genuine entertainment as this
book which will only be added
to by knowing all royalties go
directly to the NBCF.
Emily Maher is a
freelance reviewer
Journals
Meanjin 68
Sophie Cunningham (ed.)
PB. $24.95
The latest
edition of ‘the
new Meanjin’ is
as eclectic and
appealing as
ever. Nam Le
tells why he
likes to take his
readers to the edge – and leave
them there. Beth Driscoll
considers the new literary prizes
on the block. There’s also Mark
Dapin on celebrity journalism,
George Dunford on graphic
novels, Sian Prior on debilitating shyness, Humphrey
McQueen on Australia’s public
library system and Declan Kelly
on Melbourne’s music scene.
There’s new fiction from John
Kinsella, Louise Swinn and
others; and poetry by Dorothy
Porter and Clive James.
Griffith Review 23:
Essentially Creative
Julianne Schultz (ed.)
ABC. PB. $19.95
This issue of
Griffith Review
draws on the
talents of those
attending the
2020 summit,
including many
of Australia's
most high profile artists, to
present a bold new agenda for
the nation. It will explore the
road blocks of the past and the
future possibilities, informed by
new thinking about the
importance of the arts.
Natural History
The Roots of
Civilisation: Plants
that Changed
the World
John Newton
Pier 9. HB. $69.95
They feed us,
shelter us, cure
us and clean
the air that
we breathe.
The Roots of
Civilisation
takes a closer
look at the plants that most of
us just take for granted, but
which have changed the world,
for better and for worse. This
gorgeously presented book
looks not only at the better
known world-changers like
opium, tobacco, cotton and
the orchid, but also at the
humbler flora that have quietly
but profoundly shaped human
civilisation.
Philosophy
On Kindness
Adam Phillips
& Barbara Taylor
Hamish Hamilton. HB. $29.95
Psychoanalyst
Adam Phillips
and historian
Barbara Taylor
have teamed up
to produce an
accessible,
deeply thoughtful tribute to human kindness,
informed by their respective
disciplines. As a species, we
seem to be becoming deeply
and fundamentally antagonistic
towards each other, and
increasingly self-centred.
On Kindness explores how
and why this has come about,
and argues for the attractions
of the affectionate life.
The Death of
the Animal
Paola Cavalieri
Columbia University Press.
PB. $42.95
While moral perfectionists rank
conscious beings according to
17
Books
th Estate
A Most Immoral Woman
LINDA JAIVIN
Inspired by a true story, A Most Immoral
Woman is a surprising, witty and erotic tale
of sexual and other obsessions set in the
‘floating world’ of Westerners in China and
Japan at the turn of the 20th Century. At its
heart stands an original and devastatingly
honest woman, as seen from the perspective
of the extraordinary man who was drawn to love her. This is the
ravishing new novel from the author of the bestselling Eat Me.
Dangerous Days:
A Digger’s Great Escape
ERNEST BROUGH
Dangerous Days is the true story of a young
digger’s great escape from a WWII prison
camp and his heart-pounding flight across
occupied territory. Ern Brough fought at
Tobruk and El Alamein before being taken
prisoner. This is the story of his daring escape,
the exploits that earned him the Military
Medal, and the actions that have since made him a local hero.
Get 20% off
Philosophy
& Psychology
books at Readings
throughout March*
Available at Carlton, Hawthorn,
Malvern, Port Melbourne and St Kilda
* Large range of selected titles
18
www.johnwiley.com.au/trade
their cognitive abilities, Paola
Cavalieri launches a more
inclusive defence of all forms
of subjectivity. In concert with
Peter Singer, J. M. Coetzee,
Harlan B. Miller, and other
leading animal studies scholars,
she expands our understanding of the nonhuman in such
a way that the derogatory category of ‘the animal’ becomes
meaningless.
The Watchmen and
Philosophy Mark
White & William Irwin
Wiley. PB. $29.95
Watchmen, the
most critically
acclaimed
graphic novel
ever published,
raises a host of
compelling
philosophical
questions. How do Ozymandias and Rorschach justify
their actions? What are the
political ramifications of the
Comedian's work for the
government? How do we
explain the nature of Dr.
Manhattan? And can a graphic
novel be considered literature?
Science
The Decisive Moment:
How The Brain Makes
Up Its Mind
Jonah Lehrer
Text. PB. $34.95
The human
brain is one of
the most
fascinating
topics there is,
as evidenced by
the success of
recent books
exploring its workings (think:
The Brain That Changes Itself ).
Fans of Norman Doidge’s
accessible, intensely practical
look at the way the brain
works will be enthralled by
The Decisive Moment – which
bucks conventional wisdom
by revealing that rational
thought alone is not the
soundest basis for decisionmaking. In fact, our decisions
are an intricate mix of reason,
intuition and emotion – with
good cause. Jonah Lehrer looks
at what goes on in the brain
when making a decision,
drawing on cutting-edge
neuroscience and psychological
research, as well as examples
from fire fighters, leadings
sportspeople, politicians and
hedge fund investors.
The Bone Readers
Claudio Tuntz et. al
A&U. PB. $35
This scientifically grounded
exploration of Australian history will intrigue history and
science buffs alike. The Bone
Readers examines the facts and
myths about the continent’s
first humans and the region
they came from; what modern DNA tells us about the
origins of Australia’s Aboriginal
people; theories on the Indonesian hobbits; and who or
what killed off Australia’s giant
marsupials. Encompassing a
colourful cast of characters and
wide-ranging, passionate debates, this book is as entertaining as it is informative.
The Well-Dressed Ape
Hannah Holmes
Scribe. PB. $35
The Well-Dressed
Ape is a gleeful
naturalist’s
extensive,
profound, and
entertaining
biological
description of a
much-vaunted mammal, the
human, including a treasuretrove of factoids about every
species that shares this planet
with us. With a mix of
personal stories and deft
synthesis of the latest scientific
theories and observations,
science journalist Hannah
Holmes gives us a fresh way
to understand ourselves in
the world. And trying to
understand ourselves is, after
all, one of those things that
only humans do.
On the Origin of the
Species: Anniversary
Edition
Charles Darwin
Allen Lane. HB. $65
This stunning
new edition of
the classic work
commemorates
its 150th
anniversary,
with a new
introduction
and scholarly references by
William Bynum, and a cover
design by Damien Hirst.
Books
Darwin’s Armada
Iain McCalman
Viking. HB. $49.95
This remarkable
book tells the
gripping story
of the Darwinian revolution,
sparked by
the publication of Charles
Darwin’s On the Origin of
Species, 150 years ago. For the
first time, he portrays it as a
collective enterprise between
four men, forged in Australasia. Together, they combed
the world for evidence of
evolution by natural selection, and then fought tirelessly
in the social and intellectual
battle to defend their theory.
Darwin’s allies were: Joseph
Hooker, who sailed from the
Cook Islands to Antarctica (via
Hobart), inspired by Darwin’s
voyage on the Beagle; Thomas
Huxley, nicknamed ‘Darwin’s
Bulldog’; and Alfred Wallace,
who collected specimens in the
Amazon and South-East Asia,
and arrived independently at
the theory of natural evolution.
The Young
Charles Darwin
Keith Thomson
Yale University Press.
HB. $59.95
This biography
is the first to
inquire into the
range of
influences and
ideas, the
mentors and
rivals, and the
formal and informal education
that shaped Charles Darwin and
prepared him for his remarkable
career of scientific achievement.
Environment
The Vanishing
Face of Gaia
James Lovelock
Penguin. PB. $29.95
Environmental
scientist James
Lovelock was
the originator
of the Gaia
theory – which
sees the earth as
one complex,
self-regulated living organism,
with many interactive elements
that must be balanced and
maintained. Here, he argues
that unless we see and feel the
earth this way– and as a home
that must be cared for – our
neglect could soon cause the
greatest tragedy in human
history, as the Earth moves
into a new hot epoch. The
root problem, he argues, is
that there are too many
people, pets and livestock
for the Earth to carry.
He Knew He Was
Right: Lovelock
and Gaia
John & Mary Gribbin
Allen Lane. HB. $49.95
This is the
definitive,
authorised
biography of
an icon of our
age – a prophet
whose
prophecies
are now coming true.
Depression was a myth, but
questions the way it has been
told. David Potts shifts the
focus from the worst stories of
hardship to encompass a broad
cross-section of society.
Madame Brussels:
This Moral
Pandemonium
L.M. Robinson
Arcade. PB. $17.95
Meet the keeper
of Melbourne’s
most famous
brothel. Female
pest, entrepreneur and jilted
lover, Caroline
Hodgson is
Madame Brussels – Melbourne’s queen of harlotry. L.
M. Robinson charts her story
through the decadent 1880s
and the tumultuous 1890s,
through courtroom dramas,
love affairs and a war between
heaven and hell.
Australian History History
Dreaming and
Other Essays
W.E.H. Stanner
Black Inc. PB. $32.95
W.E.H. Stanner
was one of
Australia’s finest
essayists – and a
superb anthropologist, who
was both
perceptive and
prophetic about the Aboriginal
people he knew. His long
out-of-print work has been
revived here, with the essays
selected and introduced by
Robert Manne. ‘Bill Stanner
was a superb essayist with a
wonderful turn of phrase and
ever fresh prose. He always had
important things to say, which
have not lost their relevance.’
– Henry Reynolds
The Myth of the
Great Depression
David Potts
Scribe. PB. $35
Amidst the
world economic
crisis, it’s timely
to revisit this
controversial
and engrossing
oral history of
the Great
Depression – which by no
means suggests that the
Legacy of Secrecy:
The Long Shadow of
the JFK Assassination
Lamar Waldron
& Thom Hartmann
Scribe. PB. $45
This groundbreaking book
reveals not only
the truth
behind the JFK
assassination,
but also the
truth of the
long-running cover-ups, not
just by his killers, but by the
US government. Attorney
General Robert Kennedy and
Lyndon Johnson scrabbled to
hide knowledge of the aborted
invasion of Cuba now known
as The Bay of Pigs, which
could have sparked a nuclear
confrontation with the
Soviets. The cover-up prevented a full investigation into
JFK’s death, and continued to
impact US presidents,
Congress and foreign policy
for the next 45 years. Legacy
of Secrecy uncovers Robert
Kennedy’s secret attempts
to expose the godfathers
behind his brother’s death,
and the steps taken by mob
bosses Carlos Marcello, Santo
Trafficante and Johnny Rosselli to foil him and hide their
involvement.
The Inheritance of
Rome: A History of
Europe From 400-1000
Christopher Wickham
Allen Lane. HB. $69.95
This book covers
the period of
time often
dismissed as the
‘dark ages’ in the
official history of
Europe – the
time between the
collapse of Rome in 400 and the
formation of the political state of
England in 1000. Christopher
Wickham dismisses the popular
practice of viewing societies in
these periods from the perspective of how they led to our own;
instead, understanding them in
their own terms. How could a
world so profoundly shaped by
Rome, and encompassing
remarkable societies such as the
Byzantine, Carolingan and
Ottonian empires be anything
but central to the development
of European history?
Drama
Belonging:
Australian
Playwriting in the
Twentieth Century
John McCallum
UNSW. PB. $45
John McCallum’s
new history
explores the
relationship
between
twentieth-century Australian
drama and a
developing concept of nation.
The book focuses on the creative
tension sparked by dueling
impulses between nationalism
and cosmopolitanism; and
between artistic seriousness and
larrikin populism.
Law
Appealing to the
Future: Michael Kirby
and His Legacy
Ian Freckleton
& Hugh Selby
Thomson Legal. PB. $80
For more than
three and a half
decades,
Australia has
watched as
Michael Kirby’s
national and
19
Books
AU S T R A L I A N S C H O L A R LY P U B L I S H I N G
..   ,   • ..
    ,   
@.. •   
international standing has
unfolded. Many have admired
his commitment to social and
legal reform, as well as his
visionary intellectual leadership. Appealing to the Future is
a collection of essays written
by eminent legal practitioners
and scholars, each reviewing an
aspect or theme of Justice
Kirby’s life in the law, including his judgments, his contribution to law reform, and his
extra-judicial activities and
writing.
Music
What are we doing in
Afghanistan? The military
and the media at war
edited by Kevin Foster
Terrorism & Intelligence
in Australia: A history
of ASIO & national
surveillance by Frank Cain
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Weeks after the Twin Towers fell,
Australian forces joined their
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enhanced by counter-terrorism
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Journey Without Arrival:
The life and writing of
Vincent Buckley
Challenging Women:
Towards Equality in the
Parliament of Victoria
by John McLaren
by Madeline Grey
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also a leading literary critic, a regular
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work include the nature of God,
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For the first time, the history of
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that was critical in laying the
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20
Native Born: The
songs of Neil Murray
One Day Hill. PB. $24.95
Neil Murray
was born in
Ararat in 1956
and grew up on
a farm near
Lake Bolac in
the western
district of
Victoria. He studied art in
Ballarat and Melbourne and by
1976 he was writing songs and
poems. After teaching briefly
in Robinvale, he moved to the
Northern Territory in 1980 to
become an outstation worker
at Papunya – an Aboriginal
community in Central
Australia and it was there the
Warumpi Band was formed.
Phaidon
20th Century
Composers Series
These gorgeous paperback books
are now available to Readings
customers at the special reduced
price of $16.95!
A Polish Renaissance
Bernard Jacobson
Polish music has
flowered in the
later twentieth
century. The
four Poles whose
story is told here
– Andrzej
Panufnik
(1914-91), Witold Lutoslawski
(1913-94), Krzystof Penderecki
(b.1933) and Henryk Górecki
(b.1933) - are noted for their
radically differing creative
approaches.
Alfred Schnittke
Alexander Ivashkin
The first ever book to be
published in English about
the momentous Russian
composer Alfred Schnittke
(1934-98), this extensive
biography presents a fascinating portrait of a man whose
musical output was inextricably linked to the strictures of
life in the Soviet Union.
Anton von Webern
Malcolm Hayes
Anton von Webern (1883-1945)
was born into the aristocratic,
musical heritage of Vienna. An
early passion for Renaissance
vocal music haunts his compositions, but as a result of his studies with Arnold Schoenberg he
became a disciple of the 12-note
technique.
Jazz Greats
David Perry
Dubbed by
Leonard
Bernstein as 'the
only original
American art
form', jazz is the
epitome of
spontaneous
musical expression. Its development is traced here through the
lives of 12 landmark jazz-legends.
Erich Wolfgang
Korngold
Jessica Duchen
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
(1897-1957) achieved legendary
status as a child prodigy composer in Vienna, but later spent
the war years in Hollywood,
becoming a highly influential
composer of film music.
Gabriel Faure
Jessica Duchen
This biography is the first to
give equal weight to the private
and public lives of French
composer Gabriel Fauré (18451924), who struggled against
depression, an unsatisfactory
marriage and, later, devastating
deafness.
Hindemith,
Hartmann and Henze
Guy Rickards
Twentieth-century German
music has been characterised
by extreme diversity. A central
mainstream has been dominat-
Books
ed, however, by the work
of Paul Hindemith (18951963), Karl Amadeus
Hartmann (1905-63) and
Hans Werner Henze (b.1926).
Art & Design
Gyorgy Ligeti
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
HB. $99.95
The works
featured in this
volume are
suffused with
the heady
languor of long,
warm afternoons, where
sunlight and shadow intermingle to create otherworldly
sensations and dreams –
beautiful.
Richard Toop
Hungarian
composer
György Ligeti
survived
persecution
World War II,
(b.1923) and
fled to West
Germany during the Hungarian
Revolution, where his musical
development was shaped by his
work in the Cologne electronic
studios and by the influence of
Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Leonard Bernstein
Paul Myers
Pierre Bonnard:
The Late Still Lives
and Interiors
Dita Amory (ed.)
The Golden
Age of Spain
Joan Sureda
The creator of
West Side Story,
Bernstein was
the first
American
conductor to
conquer Europe
on its own
terms, and the first classical
musician to harness the power
of television.
Vendome Press. HB. $120
This stunning book covers the
historical, literary and artistic
grandeur of Spain during its
Golden Age (1492–1659), a
period of conquest and Catholicism, austere classical architecture and the exuberance of
the Baroque, the writings of
Cervantes, and the paintings of
Zurbaran, Murillo and El Greco,
and Diego Velàzquez.
Maurice Ravel
Morandi 1890–1964
Gerald Larner
The music of
Maurice Ravel
(1875-1937) has
maintained its
ability to
delight.
Although
brought up in
Paris, Ravel's Basque ancestry
instilled in him an acute regard
for Spain and its music that
informed several of his most
famous pieces.
Richard Strauss
Tim Ashley
Richard Strauss
(1864-1949) is
now accepted
as one of the
finest of all
orchestral composers, though
his reputation
remains dogged by charges
of sensationalism, careerist
opportunism and Nazi
collaboration.
Maria Cristina Bandera
& Renato Miracco (eds)
Skira. HB. $90
The catalogue
of a joint
exhibition
between the
Metropolitan
Museum in
New York and
the Museo
d’Arte Moderna in Bologna,
presenting the most complete
showing of Morandi’s work
to date. A must-have for
Morandi fans, and lovers
of the exquisite.
Art and
Electronic Media
Edward A Shanken
Phaidon. HB. $140
As accessibility and understanding of electronic media grows,
its use by artists has become
both widespread and increasingly instrumental in contemporary art – the most recent
offering in Phaidon’s excellent
Themes and Movements series.
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She didn’t want to become someone people avoided and
feared. A powerful and emotionally charged novel
about a 50-year-old woman’s descent into dementia
through early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. In turns
heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice
captures in remarkable detail what it’s like to literally
lose your mind … As compelling as A Beautiful Mind
and as powerful as Ordinary People.
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Forty of the world’s most successful women, including
Isabel Allende, Judi Dench and Maya Angelou, discuss
their work, their hopes and their fears, offering women
everywhere inspiration and optimism for the future.
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In turbulent times, there is almost always one book that
emerges with the power to transform millions of people
From the author of Who Moved My Cheese? and co-author
of The One Minute Manager comes a tale of considerable
scope, touching on prosperity and economic collapse, life and
death, love and rejection, all with the signature simplicity
and straightforward narrative style that have made Johnson’s
books among the most widely read in the world.
THE LAST ADVENTURE OF LIFE
Inspiring approaches for living and dying
(Maria Hoaglund)
This collection of sacred and inspirational
writings is for anyone who is interested in
exploring new ways to view spirituality and
the end of life - whether they are facing death
themselves or caring for loved ones who are ill,
grieving or preparing to die. RRP $29.95
HOW THE RICH ARE
DESTROYING THE EARTH
(Hervé Kempf)
An international bestseller!
In this powerful, personal and very readable
analysis of the world’s dire ecological crisis,
Hervé Kempf deftly illuminates the links between
global ecology and the global economy.
RRP $22.95
THE TRANSITION HANDBOOK
Creating local sustainable communities
beyond oil dependency
(Rob Hopkins)
With accounts of how individuals have
responded with their local communities to the
twin threats of Peak Oil and Climate Change, this
practical book explains how we can ‘transition’
from fossil-fuel based communities to ones that
are more self-reliant and generate less carbon
emissions. RRP $34.95
For more details, visit www.finch.com.au
Publishers of books on family, health, relationships & society
21
New from Palgrave Macmillan
Kids' Books
Picture Books
This is Australia
Procrastination
M. Sasek
Jane Burka
Procrastination identifies the reasons
we put off tasks-fears of failure, success,
control, separation, and attachmentand their roots in our childhood and
adult experiences. The authors offer a
practical, tested program to overcome
procrastination by achieving set goals,
managing time, enlisting support, and
handling stress.
$29.95 Pb, ISBN 9780738211701
Publish March 2009, 256 pages
Da Capo Press
Big Brain
Gary Lynch
In this groundbreaking look at the evolution of our brains, the
authors uncover the mysteries of the
outsize intelligence of our ancestors,
who had bigger brains than humans
living today. Weaving together history,
science and the latest theories of
artificial intelligence, Lynch and Granger
demystifying the complexities of our
brains, and show us how our memory,
cognition, and intelligence actually
function, as well as what mechanisms in
the brain can potentially be enhanced,
improving on the current design.
$29.95 Pb, ISBN 9781403979797
Publish March 2009, 272 pages
Palgrave Macmillan
New
in March
$32.95
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$25.95
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$23.95
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H.I. Larry
Hardie Grant Egmont.
PB. $7.95
For young
readers longing
to be able to
read the hugely
popular Zac
Power books for
themselves, help
is at hand. The
Zac Power Test Drive titles,
four of them so far, have
arrived! First chapter books,
with really big print, some
illustration on every double
page spread and high action
stories. Blast off to reading! The
other titles are Zac's Wild
Rescue, Zac's Icy Pole and Zac's
Sticky Fix.
Kathy Kozlowski is
from Readings Carlton
Middle Readers
Darius Bell and
the Glitter Pool
AN ISLAND ODYSSEY
Odo Hirsch
‘A lucid tender tale – a journey hat
brings our humanity home to us ’
y
Ch Poe
i Eipper
author of D eback
KENT MACCARTER
BOY HE CRY: AN
ISLAND ODYSSEY
Roger Averill
BOROBUDUR
Jennifer Mackenzie
Non-fiction
ISBN 978-0-9804616 6-4
Poetry
IN THE HUNGRY
MIDDLE OF HERE
Kent MacCarter
Poetry
ISBN 978 0-9804616-5-7
.........................................................................................
Transit Lounge Publishing
[email protected] • www.transitlounge.com.au
22
Younger Readers
Zac's Moon Trip:
Zac Power Test Drive 1
Th
Th
ISBN 978 09804616-7-1
Rizzoli. HB. $34.95
Hooray! Our
very own
Australia is the
subject of the
latest title in this
classic 1960s
kids’ travel series
to be reprinted.
How can you not love a book
that describes the koala as ‘a
determined individualist and a
non-drinker’ and cautions that
in Darwin ‘one has to watch for
falling coconuts on the way to
one’s mailbox’! Gorgeous, with
exquisite artwork.
A&U. PB. $15.95
The Bell family
is in danger of
losing their
honourable
name. Can
Darius step up
to the challenge
and uphold it?
A warm, wise story from one of
Australia's master storytellers,
about a boy, his friends, his
family, and the way a bit of luck
and a lot of determination can
turn the worst day of your life
into the best.
Dinosaur Knights
Michael Gerard Bauer
Omnibus. PB. $ 18.99
Somewhere in the future a
scientist is conducting the experiment of his life – stretching
time to bring a living dinosaur
to the present. But the giant
prehistoric beast is stranded in
the Middle Ages. There, a boy
desperate to be a knight and
his unwilling brother must face
their fear and do battle.
Classics
A Book For Kids
C.J. Dennis
Black Dog. HB. $24.99
First published
in 1921, this is
a welcome reissuing and will
introduce a new
generation to
the lively poems
and delightful
stories of C.J. Dennis. Our
children were always asking
to be read ‘Old Farmer Jack’,
‘Riding Song’ and the marvelously scary ‘Hist’ and even now,
23 years later, can remember
those lines and we still laugh at
those happy childhood memories. The rhymes are simple,
the rhythms catchy and even
though they evoke an era now
gone, they give us a glimpse
of Australian history that will
delight those aged two and up.
Alexa Dretzke is from Readings
Hawthorn
The Wind in
the Willows:
Annotated Version
Kenneth Grahame
Norton. HB. $64.95
In addition to
notes on
automobiles,
picnics, gypsies,
caravans,
English
mansions and
peculiar dukes,
scholar Annie Gauger has
uncovered extraordinary new
material on Kenneth Grahame,
his troubled family life and the
origins of his much-loved
classic. Her preface puts
Kids Books
Grahame's work in historical
and literary context and she
provides biographies of all the
illustrators. With a stirring
introduction by bestselling
author Brian Jacques, The Annotated Wind in the Willows
promises to become the
authoritative edition of this
classic work, published in time
for the 150th anniversary of the
author's birth.
Activity
I See: The Ultimate
Travel Journal
for Kids
Smelly Books. HB. $39.95
Presented as a
small clip folder
with attached
pen, plastic
scissors and glue
stick this fun
journal is
designed to
encourage young travellers to
enjoy being observant and
make the most of their trip.
There are the usual daily
journal type pages but also
ones with headings like 'I see
local school kids’, 'I see Taxi
types', 'I see snoozing' etc.
With cool stickers, space to
enter your own photos or
artwork, and lots of room to
add extra sheets it is well
planned and even comes in
three different colours for
different members of the same
family. KK
Me by Me:
Build a Book
Klutz. $19.99. HB
I must admit
that I was quite
excited about
the prospect of
building my
own personalised book
about me. Some
would say a little bit too
excited. Ripping open the
package, I found a square
spiral-bound book with ten
pages and two covers to
decorate; a parcel of colorful
foam shapes, alphabet letters
and googly eyes; a felt tip pen;
a glue stick; and all different
sorts of patterned paper. There
are simple instructions on the
back of the box, but the book
also has removable inserts with
some very creative suggestions.
Cut up foam circles to make
umbrellas and lemons, and
draw on them to make beetles!
Use rubber bands to make a
bowl of noodles! There are
pages devoted to hobbies,
family members, friends,
dreams and ambitions, and of
course, space for rave reviews
by readers. This fun and easy
Klutz kit strikes a good balance
between providing instruction
and inspiration, and allowing
kids to let their imaginations
run free.
Leanne Hall is from
Readings Carlton
Also available: My Family Build
a Book (Klutz, HB, $19.99).
Young Adult
The Nest
Paul Jennings
Penguin. PB. $19.95
Robin's life is
spiralling out of
control. His
father's a tyrant,
his mother's
disappeared and
the wrong girl's
luring him into
her web ... Intolerable images
keep flashing through his head.
What does Robin really know
about his past? Are there clues
in his own writing? And what
secrets lie within the frozen
forest? Paul Jennings' first
novel for older readers is a
stunning and original network
of crossing trails which
combine to tell the dark, tense
and ultimately uplifting story
about a boy who dares to stare
into the spider holes of his
own mind.
The Museum
of Mary Child
Cassandra Golds
Puffin. PB. $17.95
Heloise lives
with her strictly
religious
godmother next
to a museum
she is forbidden
to set foot in.
She has never
had a friend but when she
finds a doll hidden in the
floorboards, Heloise finally
plucks up the courage to leave
her godmother's house.
Heloise is taken in by Old
Mother's Choir of Female
Orphans, Waifs and Strays,
however a secret society of
caged birds (led by Merryfeathers, a talking budgerigar) has
other plans for her. Can they
help Heloise discover her true
nature and reunite with her
godmother? The Museum of
Mary Child is an enchanting
fairytale for ages ten and up,
about love and the unlikely
places we can find it. It is
beautifully written and sparkles
with touches of the extraordinary alongside the ordinary.
Holly Harper is from
Readings Malvern
How To Ditch
Your Fairy
Justine Larbalestier
Allen & Unwin. PB. $17.95
Charlie has a
parking fairy,
which means
she always
gets a park
right outside.
Too bad she's
14 and doesn't
drive. But then fairies choose
you in New Avalon, not the
other way round. Charlie is
determined though – she's
going to ditch her fairy and
get a good one, maybe a
clothes fairy or a boys-like-me
fairy. A funny, well-rendered
fantasy about a teenage girl
with determination and a
dodgy fairy.
Marie Matteson is from
Readings Port Melbourne
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
Scholastic. PB. $17.99
Katniss
Everdeen has
been hungry all
of her young
hard life. Now
she will be a
contestant on
the most important reality TV program in the
world and the prize is never
going hungry again. Either she
will be rich and famous or she
will be dead. A game of
survivor in which only one of
24 contestants will be left
standing, The Hunger Games is
a breathtaking battle for
survival. Alexa from Readings
Hawthorn says this thrilling,
amazing adventure is ‘unputdownable’. Holly from
Readings Malvern almost
didn't come back from lunch,
she was so engrossed. I got car
sick reading it on the way
home. How will you survive
The Hunger Games? MM
Non-Fiction
Something
About Water
Penny Matthews
& Tom Jellett (illus.)
Omnibus. HB. $27.95
Despite the title
there is A LOT
about water in
this comic book
style picture story
for primaryschool-aged kids.
It is told in the
first person by a boy who
observes all his family's environmentally responsible habits and
reports his teacher's environmentally sound lessons (all with his
own unique commentary on
them). He starts out a little
doubtful and is not overly fond
of scratchy brown loo paper. But
we join him in becoming
fascinated with how water is in
nearly everything – from rain,
into grass, into cows, into his
glass of milk, in the air he
breathes out, into clouds ... and
so on. Among other things the
book also looks at how unevenly spread across the planet it is,
and how precious. KK
The Time Book
Martin Jenkins
& Richard Holland
Walker. HB. $29.95
The Time Book is
a companion to
The Museum
Book, a stylish
introduction to
that wonderful
institution. Like
its predecessor,
this is a handsome volume with
fascinating information, not
only giving a brief history of
time from lunar calendars to
the many timepieces invented,
but also explaining the various
and complex ways the natural
world measures time. The text
is playful and informative and
the illustrations are a perfect
match. This is a wonderful look
at a subject that defines our
lives. For ages 7 up. AD
Twilight Director's
Notebook
Catherine Hardwicke
Little Brown. PB. $35
A personal, behind-the-scenes
look at the making of the
blockbuster film from
groundbreaking director
Catherine Hardwicke.
23
Readings Famous
bargains on the web
Our new arrivals are regularly
added to our website. Just click
on the Bargains tab at www.
readings.com.au.
The Story of French
Jean Benoit-Nadeu
& Julie Barlow
St Martins. HB. Was $49.95.
Now $24.95
This is the first
history of one of
the most
beautiful
languages in the
world – at one
time, the
pre-eminent
language of literature, science
and diplomacy.
Guitar Heaven
Martin Nevile
Harper. HB. Was $70.
Now $29.95
Featuring a
foreword by the
legendary Les
Paul, Guitar
Heaven provides
a gorgeous,
informative look
at 50 iconic
electric guitars and the legends
that brought them to life.
Proust and the Squid
Maryanne Wolf
Harper. PB. Was $49.95.
Now $17.95
Developmental
psychologist,
neuroscientist,
and dyslexia
expert Wolf
probes the
question:
how do we learn
to read and write?
Poetry of
Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Vintage. PB. Was $32.95.
Now $12.95
This comprehensive, authoritative edition
brings together
the full contents
of all eleven of
Frost’s books of
verse – from
A Boy’s Will to In the Clearing.
24
Thomas Hardy:
The Time Torn Man
Claire Tomalin
Viking. HB. Was $59.95.
Now $16.95
The tale of an
extraordinary
life: from the
poverty of rural
Dorset to the
Grand Old Man
of English life
and letters.
Bargain Table
The Atheist Manifesto
Michel Onfray
MUP. PB. Was $32.95.
Now $12.95
This book will
help people
understand the
origin and
evolution of the
notion of wilful
martyrdom, of
‘paradise now’.
BOTANICAL RICHES
Light History
of Hot Air
MUP. HB. Was $59.95.
Now $29.95
This pictorial
history explores
systematic
searches and
botanical
discoveries
throughout the
ages.
MUP. HB. Was $29.95.
Now $14.95
A wide-ranging
meditation on
heat and
heating, from
the hot air of
language to the
hot air that gives
us steam trains.
Encyclopedia of
World Religions
Modernism:
The Lure of Heresy
Crawford. HB.
Was $99.95. Now $39.95
Covers the
history, doctrines, practices
and teachings,
rites of passage
and specific rituals of the world’s
major religions.
Heinemann. HB.
Was $69.95. Now $19.95
A look at the
beginnings of
the modern age,
with artistic
modernism as a
‘cultural
revolution’.
Richard Aitken
Joahannes P. Scahde
Vegetable Love
Barabara Kafka
Peter Doherty
Peter Gay
India After Gandhi
Ramachandra Guha
Artisan. HB. Was $59.95.
Now $29.95
Kafka presents
750 original
vegetable
recipes, from the
lowly green
bean to the
exotic chrysanthemum leaf.
Ecco Press. HB. Was $59.95.
Now $24.95
Guha's aim in
this startlingly
ambitious political, cultural and
social survey is
to explain why
and how India
exists, despite its
uniquely wide-ranging diversity.
Courage
Human Smoke
Maria Tumarkin
MUP. PB. Was $32.95.
Now $12.95
This engrossing,
study looks
outside of the
contexts of fear,
violence to
examine the
nature of
courage.
Nicholson Baker
Simon & Schuster. HB. Was $45.
Now $24.95
A wide-ranging,
astonishingly
fresh perspective
on the political
and social
landscape that
gave rise to
World War II.
Delizia: The Epic
History of the
Italians and
their Food
John Dickie
Free Press. HB. Was $52.
Now $26
This passionate
account of Italy’s
civilisation of
the table will
satisfy foodies,
history buffs,
Italophiles, and
others.
Gentlemen
of the Road
Michael Chabon
Sceptre. HB. Was $33.
Now $29.95
The tale of two
wandering
adventurers and
unlikely
soulmates,
variously plying
their trades as
swords for hire,
horse thieves and con artists.
House of Tears:
Westerners'
Adventures in
Islamic Lands
John Hughes
Lyons Press. HB. Was $45.
Now $16.95
A treasury of
the most exciting and revealing narratives
published about
the Islamic
world.
Seeing
Jose Saramago
HBJ. HB. Was $49.95.
Now $16.95
From the Nobel
Prize-winning
author of
Blindness comes
this followup, set in the
same capital
city, four years
after being hit by an epidemic
of blindness. What begins as a
satire on governments and the
sometimes dubious efficacy
of the democratic system
turns into something far
more sinister.
New DVDs
DVD OF THE MONTH
PINOCCHIO
Released 18 March. $39.95
Re-released
from the Disney
vaults, this
all-time family
classic is back.
Inventor
Gepetto creates
a wooden
marionette called Pinocchio.
His wish that Pinocchio be a
real boy is unexpectedly granted
by a fairy. The fairy assigns
Jiminy Cricket to act as
Pinocchio’s conscience and keep
him out of trouble. Jiminy is
not too successful in this
endeavor and most of the film
is spent with Pinocchio deep in
trouble. Don’t take too long to
decide to buy this, because once
they run out then that’s it!!!
It could be years before we see
this classic movie again.
BOND: QUANTUM
OF SOLACE
Released 18 March. $44.95
Quantum of
Solace continues
the high-octane
adventures of
James Bond in
Casino Royale.
Betrayed by
Vesper, the
woman he loved, 007 fights the
urge to make his latest mission
personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth,
Bond and M. interrogate Mr.
White, who reveals the
organisation which blackmailed
Vesper is far more complex and
dangerous than anyone had
imagined. Great car chases,
great action, great Bond!!
INSPECTOR
MONTALBANO:
VOLUME 4
Released 14 March. $44.95
Suave, intelligent and just a
little grumpy,
Detective
Montalbano is
Australia’s
favourite Italian
detective. Smart
dialogue, rugged beauty, superb
food and, of course, astute
detective work abound in these
four all new films.
LONELY PLANET:
NATURAL BORN
TRAVELLER
$34.95
Steve Crombie
is a 29- year-old
Australian
thrill-seeker
who’s travelled
halfway around
the world in
search of
adventure, but has never looked
in his own backyard. That’s
about to change. Steve is now
embarking on a 7000-kilometre, bone-breaking motorcycle
journey along one of Australia’s
most beautiful landscapes: the
Great Dividing Range. Steve
takes his bike into the unknown
heart of the country, on a quest
to discover it all.
DYLAN: BUSY BEING
BORN AGAIN
Released 19 March. $19.95
This DVD takes
the viewer on a
journey inside
Bob Dylan’s
Jesus years. An
insider’s view
into Dylan’s
‘Born Again’
transformation and its effect on
his life and music. Featuring
rare photos, unearthed interviews and previously unseen
exclusive live concert footage
from 1978-1981.
QUADROPHENIA
$34.95. 2 DVDs
Timed perfectly
to coincide with
The Who’s tour
of Australia,
this British
iconic mod classic comes to
DVD for the
first time ever. This movie
spawned many copies and
became a blueprint for others
to follow in future generations.
Without it, we would never
have had Trainspotting and the
like. As Pete Townsend said,
‘Quadrophenia tells a universal
story. “Mod” is a shorter word
for young, beautiful and
stupid. We’ve all been there.’
25
DVDs
PERSEPOLIS
$39.95
This poignant
coming-of-age
story of a
precocious and
outspoken
young Iranian
girl begins
during the
Islamic revolution. A story that
is always interesting, heart-felt
and funny, and sometimes
sarcastic, nostalgic, cruel and
absurd – but always very
convincing. Beautifully
animated.
ROCK ‘N’ ROLLA
$39.95
A Russian
mobster
orchestrates a
crooked land
deal, making
millions of
dollars up
for grabs.
A dangerous crime lord, a sexy
accountant, a corrupt politician and a band of petty thieves
are among the double-crossing
criminals on a chase for the big
bucks. A Guy Ritchie film sure
to keep the viewer guessing.
LOST ROOM: SEASON 1
11 March $39.95
A detective
investigates a
mysterious
motel room,
which acts as a
portal to an
alternative
universe. Join
Six Feet Under’s Peter Krause in
this cult horror, sci-fi or just
plain out there series (which
screens on Foxtel). Now we can
all enjoy this fantastic series for
ourselves.
BEN 10 ALIEN FORCE:
VOLUME 2
$19.95
Its been ten
years since Ben
last wore the
Omnitrix. But
when Grandpa
Max goes
missing, Ben is
joined by Gwen
and Kevin to save the Earth
from the Highbreed invasion.
Ben 10 is all grown up and
ready to whip an all-new breed
of alien butt!
26
THE WACKNESS
Released 18 March. $29.95
NYC 1994:
pot dealer Luke
Shapiro has just
left high school,
with three sweltering months to
fix his parents’
insolvency, beat
depression and get laid before
leaving for college. Luke trades
grass for therapy with his shrink,
Dr. Squires, and the two bond
in a smoky haze while they
navigate their respective crises.
As Luke falls for a sexy classmate
who just happens to be Squires’s
daughter, summer really heats up.
UP THE YANGTZE
$29.95
The Yangtze
River is to be
transformed by
the Three
Gorges Dam,
the biggest
hydroelectricity
dam in history,
displacing two million people,
and holding enough water to
tilt the Earth on its axis.
Dramatic and stunningly
photographed, Up The Yangtze
focuses on those whose homes
will be flooded and have sought
work on a river cruise ship.
Questioning the ways and
means of progress, Up The Yangtze is an insightful portrait of
life inside modern China.
FOOD SAFARI 3 WITH
MAEVE O’MEARA
Released 18 March. $29.95
With flavours
and recipes
ranging across
five continents
of the world,
Series Three of
Food Safari
opens with the
colourful and vibrant cooking
of South America, then travels
on to discover some of the
fascinating dishes from Africa,
the Middle East, Europe and
North America.
QUEER DVD SALE
And don’t forget
that our Queer
Cinema
Promotion
continues
until the end
of March!
REDACTED
Released 18 March. $29.95
A film by Brian
de Palma,
Redacted focuses
on the daily
lives of a
squadron of
bitter, restless
American
soldiers stationed at the
Samarra checkpoint, Iraq, and
the incidents leading up to one
of the most brutal war crimes
since the 2003 invasion.
Among the most notorious and
controversial war films ever
made, it is a must-watch for its
graphic, violent, unflinching
portrayal of the modern
battlefield – let alone for its
shocking ending.
DENISE AUSTIN
FITNESS ON DVD
Released 11 March.
Find out why
she is America’s
favourite fitness
expert!! Fat
Burning Dance
Mix, Boot Camp
Total Body Blast,
Hit The Spot
Pilates, Burn Fat Fast. Fitness
phenomenon Denise Austin
blends the hottest body-slimming workouts, to help you
lose weight and shape a
smouldering, sexy body.
New REEL Music DVDs
Released: 5 March
$29.95 each
Four new music titles from
Reel celebrating the music
and history of seminal
artists Cream, The Moody
Blues, Jethro Tull and Yes.
All DVDs are fully authorised
and contain new interviews,
photographs and music.
BLU-RAY DVD SALE
$29.95 each
Choose from a great selection
of Blu-ray titles for the special
price of $29.95. Titles include
2001: A Space Odyssey, The
Fugitive, Unforgiven, Dog Day
Afternoon, Casablanca, The
Shawshank Redemption,
Pale Rider and Poltergeist.
DVDs FROM $14.95
Choose from our huge selection
of titles from $19.95 and under.
This month, we include a great
range of new titles for the
special price of $14.95. Titles
include Serpico, Taxi Driver,
Casino Royale, Donnie Brasco,
Reservoir Dogs and Lawrence
Of Arabia.
New Release CDs
ALBUM OF THE MONTH
NO LINE ON
THE HORIZON
U2
Normally $29.95
Our special price for March $24.95
Limited edition digipack $34.95
This album
was recorded
with Brian
Eno and
Daniel Lanois,
the two men
responsible for producing some
of the very best albums U2 have
made. And it’s their first album
for four and a half years – suffice to say, expectations are very
high. And so is the security.
Getting to hear this before its
official release was not easy.
Early indications are that it is a
pop masterpiece. Great bass
lines and guitar riffs; Bono in
fine form out front. U2 look set
once again for world domination. Also available as a limited
edition digipak ($34.95) which
includes a fold-out poster and
access to the exclusive downloadable Anton Corbijn film.
Dave Clarke is from
Readings Carlton
WAR CHILD HEROES:
VOL 1
Various Artists
$27.95
EMI are donating profits from
this album to War Child’s
work to protect the most marginalised children in war zones.
The album concept sees the
biggest heroes in music history
select a personal favourite track
from their own back catalogue,
and nominate an act from
the next generation to create
a modern reworking of that
classic song. So we have Beck
and Bob Dylan collaborating;
Roxy Music and Scissor Sisters;
Brian Wilson and Rufus Wainwright; Bruce Springsteen and
Hold Steady. Some inspired
choices and a great cause. DC
DARK WAS THE NIGHT
Various Artists
$29.95. 2 CD set.
The ultimate in indie collections, this 2 CD set is part
of the Red Hot series, which
has been collecting money for
AIDS charities for 20 years
now. Curated by Aaron and
Bryce Dessner of The National,
there are 31 new and exclusive tracks here, and I think is
worth buying for the Gillian
Welch and Conor Oberst
duet alone. But you also get
Bon Iver, Feist, Iron & Wine,
Decemberists, Arcade Fire, My
Morning Jacket, Jose Gonzalez,
Cat Power, Sufjan Stevens etc.
Recommended. DC
ASTRAL WEEKS LIVE AT
THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
Van Morrison
$29.95
Van Morrison
has never had
a good
reputation as a
live performer
in this
country, so it may surprise
those unlucky enough to have
seen him that this recording is
in fact fantastic. Recorded late
last year in LA, he breathes new
life into what is undoubtedly
one of the classic albums of last
century. Now if only they could
release it as a DVD as well! DC
Spirit of Apollo
N.A.S.A
$25.95
N.A.S.A
(North
America/South
America) is the
brainchild and
ongoing
musical collaboration of Squeak
E. Clean and DJ Zegon. The
cast of artists assembled on Spirit
of Apollo is nothing short of
breathtaking – as indeed are the
results. Rooted in Brazilian funk,
the tunes have a truly organic
feel and with pairings such as
Tom Waits/Kool Keith, Karen
O/Ol’ Dirty Bastard, David
Byrne/Chuck D and Kanye
West/Santogold on offer, this
record is something truly special.
Inspired.
Declan Murphy is from
Readings St Kilda
TONIGHT
Franz Ferdinand
Normally $29.95
Our special price $21.95
For their third album, Glasgow rockers Franz Ferdinand
have come up with something
new and very retro. Showing a
range of influences, including
dub reggae and electronica, the
band has certainly lived up to
their stated aim of ‘making a
dance record’. Lead singer Alex
Kapranos’s voice is well suited to
this style, with a couple of tracks
reminiscent of eighties pop icons
the Human League, among
others. Opening track Ulysses
gets proceedings off to a pumping start, and this momentum
continues through the rest of the
album. All up, this is an interesting departure for a band steadily
gaining stature.
Mark Azzopardi is from
Readings Hawthorn
Keep It Hid
Dan Auerbach
$24.95
As one half
of the Black
Keys, Keep It
Hid represents
Dan Auerbach’s first solo
record, away from the fuzzed-up
blues his band has become so
well known for. It’s somewhat
of a stripped-back affair for the
man and contains elements
of bluegrass, country balladry,
R&B and of course, his muchloved dirty blues. Self-produced
by Auerbach at his new home
studio and recorded with family
and friends in tow, there is real
warmth to this record that is
sure to win more fans. Down
home goodness. DM
Years of Refusal
Morrissey
$29.95
The great man
is back with his
first studio
album since
2006 and it’s
a timely
reminder of why his influence
remains so far-reaching. With
his long-term band sounding
thoroughly pumped, this is a
punchy, powerful-sounding
album and as always, the lyrics
and that voice are unmistakable.
The fantastic single I’m Throwing
My Arms Around Paris is just one
of many highlights on another
wonderful release from one of the
most gifted songwriters of his or
any generation. Peerless. DM
Testimony: Volume 2
Indie Arie
Normally $29.95
Our special price $24.95
For her fourth
album, it
would appear
that all is well
with India
Arie: it’s a
beautifully crafted celebration
of love, happiness and joy.
Being the mistress of her own
destiny by producing it herself
has evidently been a very
positive thing; after a long three
years in the making, her voice
has lost none of its warmth and
the songs (including six collaborations) bear her unmistakable
charm. Strictly speaking an
R&B record, I would have
to say that there is more of a
world sound filtering through
a lot of songs. All in all, a very
satisfying offering and well
worth seeking out.
Kevin Clark is from
Readings Carlton
Hold Time
M. Ward
$24.95
After a few
side projects
here and there
M.Ward
returns with a
host of friends
including Lucinda Williams
(smouldering vocals highlight
the country heartbreak of Oh
Lonesome Me) and fresh from
their heavily publicised musical
partnership, Zooey Deschanel
(who provides playful backing
vocals on the upbeat blues
shuffle of Never had Nobody
like You and the sunny cover
Rave On).From the familiar
acoustic folk guitar strum and
instantly recognisable soft
vocal atmospherics on the
opening bars of the first track,
you can already tell that after
the aforementioned side
projects M.Ward is back to
being M.Ward – and that’s a
bloody good thing.
James Power is from
Readings St Kilda
27
CDs
Beware
Bonnie Prince Billy
$29.95
Following up
2008’s
acclaimed Lie
Down The
Light, Will
Oldham
enlists a team of mates, regular
collaborators and colleagues
such as Josh Abrams, Jennifer
Hutt and Dee Alexander to
deliver an album that contains
that classic Bonnie Prince Billy
lo-fi melancholic poignancy but
with a more roots/rock feel. An
album that will keep the old
fans happy with its bittersweet
leanings, but should also pick
up new fans with its flowing
pleasing tempo. Highly
recommended. JP
SO FRENCHY
SO CHIC 2009
Various
2 CD set. $35.95
Louis Malle:
THE EARLY WORKS
OUT NOW ON DVD
Louis Malle remains one of the most well-loved, and wellregarded French film makers from the 1960s right through
to the 1990s. This collector’s triple-pack compiles the three
earliest films from his first phase. Each film differs radically in
style, each one is an acknowledged classic.
ASCENSEUR POUR L’ECHAFAUD - the classic thriller
starring Jean Moreau, and featuring the glorious Miles Davis
soundtrack. “As French crime thrillers go, this is as good as it
gets.” SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
LES AMANTS - a stunning depiction of wanderlust in the
middle classes, Jean Moreau’s finest work. “Commanding,
willful, sultry.” TIME OUT
ZAZIE DANS LE MÉTRO - absolutely bizarre romp around
Paris - 100% fun and high-spirited joy. “Malle really does seem
motivated by gleeful malice and anarchy.” TIME OUT
Once again,
the unofficial
soundtrack to
this year’s
French Film
Festival is pure
joy. A double CD jam-packed
with the latest pop, chanson
and indie releases from France
that will introduce you to lots
of new artists and their creative
musical talents. Rock, soul,
funk, reggae and the influence
of the ye-ye era of the sixties are
all here: sometimes in English,
but mostly in French. Whether
you speak the language or not is
irrelevant; just listen while
enjoying good bread, wine and
cheese and stop counting
calories – something the French
would never do! Viva la France.
Alice Bisits is from Readings
Malvern
It’s Not Me It’s You
ARETTI
LUCA ZING
Lily Allen
Normally $27.95
Our special price $22.95
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28
Okay, so it’s
pretty hard to
be young and
trying to
follow up a
worldwide
smash hit album. Initially just
‘Dave Allen’s daughter on
Myspace’, now she’s a global
pop sensation. She’s had an
alcohol-fuelled couple of years
and even a failed chat show
under her belt, but now Lily
Allen is back with her second
album, a task that can make or
break an artist in commercial
terms. It’s Not Me … is fun; it’s
poppy and laden with catchy
samples. Where Alright Still
was a sunny happy album,
It’s Not Me … has more of a
nod to a real Britpop sound
and really, there’s nothing
wrong with it at all. This is
a confident, self-reflective
Allen that still has oomph.
Morgana Keating is from
Readings Hawthorn
Middle Cyclone
Neko Case
$29.95
The wonderful Neko Case
can do no
wrong. This
new album
sees her
picking up where she left off
on Fox Confessor Brings the
Flood and develops a more
spiritual sound, a sound with
definite gospel roots. The
voice and the music is
unmistakably Case, who
seems to be exploring an
earthy or elemental theme on
this release … That, and the
theme of love songs (first
track: This Tornado Loves You)
– despite having earlier
confessed that she doesn’t like
writing them. Experiments
with a piano orchestra using
retrieved uprights destined for
the tip lends a delightfully
tinny, folksy sound to the
Nilsson song Don’t Forget Me.
Another outstanding album
that showcases her impassioned and clear voice, Middle
Cyclone is quality through and
through. MK
India
Various
$24.95
Putumayo
World Music
presents India,
a CD collection showcasing India’s rich
musical variety, from traditional
and acoustic music to Bollywood and electronica. India’s
thriving popular music scene is
highlighted on this collection.
Several stellar musicians display
their Indian classical music
expertise. Satish Vyas is a
renowned master of the santoor;
Deepak Ram is a virtuoso of the
CDs
bansuri while Bombay Jayashri
specialises in the Carnatic South
Indian vocal tradition. Taking
Indian music in a new direction, evocative British/Indian
singer-songwriter Susheela
Raman blends her South Indian
classical music training with
Western jazz and acoustic folk
influences.
generous recording budgets. For
those not familiar, she is not too
dissimilar to our own Mia
Dyson, or indeed Bonnie Raitt.
Her husband (guitar legend
Derek Trucks) also appears.
Recommended. DC
Blues
PIETY STREET
Ruthie Foster
$29.95
Ruthie Foster
has through
her recent
tours here
developed
quite a strong
audience. Her unique mix of
folk/soul/gospel/blues/R&B
has seen her become a big
name on the live circuit. On
this her latest album, she
tackles a recent song from
Patty Griffin and Eric Bibb and
a bunch of her own new tunes.
This was recorded in Memphis
with Robben Ford, Jim
Dickinson and Charlie Hodges
in her band. Good artist, good
players, good songs in a good
space. The way it used to be.
Ruthie is touring again this
April – she is fantastic live, so
make sure you catch her. DC
BACK TO THE RIVER
Susan Tedeschi
$29.95
Susan Tedeschi
seems to be
finally reaching
an audience in
Australia,
about ten years
after she first released an album.
Now signed to the heavyweight
Verve forecast label, she is
benefiting from the extra
marketing muscle (helps to get
your music heard) and the more
Nomadak Tx
Oreka Tx
Jazz / Blues / Gospel
John Scofield
TRUTH ACCORDING TO
Folk & World
$29.95
One of the most famous jazz
guitarists in the world tries
his hand at a different sort
of project. On Piety Street he
has produced a blues-inspired
album of old gospel classics.
Recorded with a bunch of New
Orleans musicians, including
some fabulous vocals and keyboards from Jon Cleary. A terrific project that should appeal
to Scofield fans, as well as those
looking for some lively contemporary blues/gospel. DC
Soundtrack
GLASS A PORTRAIT OF
PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS
Philip Glass
$44.95
One of my
favourite
musicians/
composers
of the past
century was
subject to a documentary film
by Australia’s own Scott Hicks
(Shine). It had a brief run at
Carlton’s Nova cinema and
was also recently aired on ABC
TV. Glass is one of the highest selling classical artists today
and his compositions, whether
they be opera or solo piano, are
highly regarded. Included on
this soundtrack is a snapshot
of his career, from Einstein on
the Beach to some of his recent
symphonic works. DC
$32.95
Ok, this is a fascinating CD.
The basic concept is a couple of
Spanish guys who play a unique
Basque instrument a little bit
like a giant hollow-sounding
xylophone go around the world
and mix their rhythms with
other native folk musicians
from the Sahara, Arctic Circle,
India and Mongolia. The first
track is a great opener, featuring Tuuvan throat singing. I
shudder to use the term world
fusion as it is a somewhat dirty
term these days, but really
that’s what it is and it works.
I flipped through the booklet
but I tired rapidly of the earnest
claims of bringing the people
of the world together through
music and surmised it as a selfindulgent wank, however, don’t
let that distract you, it really is
good music! MK
Djan Djan
Mamadou Diabate,
Bobby Singh
& Jeff Lang
$19.95
One of the great things about
the Music Festival season here
is the great variety of musical
styles and traditions on offer.
Last March, Kora master Diabate, a blues roots guitarist and
a Mumbai-born tabla master
got to play together and liked
what came about. They quickly
booked a studio and these five
meandering but very beautiful
tracks, incorporating traditional
West African kora music, interwoven with Lang’s bluesy slide
improvisations and the virtuoso
tabla rhythms from Singh,
make for some great listening.
Paul Barr is from
Readings Carlton
Seya
Oumou Sangare
$29.95
After a six year
hiatus, Malian
diva Oumou
Sangare has
come back
with another
seductive blend of funky
rhythms, traditional instrumentation and some lighter, jazzier
feels on a few tracks, as well as
the additions of flute, strings
and brass. Sangare has had a lot
happen in her life since the last
album and is now one of the
leading female singers in Africa.
Seya is on the ever-reliable
World Circuit label. PB
Tinariwen
Live in London
Tinariwen
DVD $25.95
The guitarslinging
musicians
from the
desert regions
of West Africa
make a
striking
impression on stage – in full
Tuareg traditional garb,
playing those desert blues riffs
and featuring tracks from the
great Aman Iman CD from a
little while back. This gig was
recorded in London and is the
way to go to put together a
DVD for world music fans,
with intercut vignettes from
band members and desert scenery. There’s a revealing fireside
chat with band leader Ibrahim,
which sets the context for
Tinariwen’s music and cultural
significance, and an interview
with Justin Adams, an African
music fan, and producer of
Tinariwen’s first CD, as well as
the incredible fusion of rock
and African sounds Soul
Science from 2008. PB
MELBOURNE 05 - 20 MARCH
QSFTFOUT
OPENING NIGHT
Screening the Melbourne Premiere of
PARIS 36 (FAUBOURG 36) (M)
followed by a party
Thu 5 March, 7.00pm
Palace Cinema Como, STH YARRA
BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!
20th
Alliance Française
FRENCH
FILM 2009
FESTIVAL
www.frenchfilmfestival.org
29
Classical CDs
CD of the Month
Arvo Pärt:
In Principio
Tõnu Kaljuste,
Conductor
ECM New Series.
ECM 2050. $32.95
Opening with
the title track
In Principio, a
piece in five
movements
for mixed
choir and orchestra, is classic
Pärt, voices and orchestra
working seamlessly together,
which is at once powerful and
timeless. The next piece La
Sindone is my favourite track
on the album. Written for
orchestra and at nearly 16
minutes this piece is magnificent. Opening with a series of
strong opening chords, the
piece then ‘begins’ again and
slowly builds to a stunning
finale. As fellow composer
Steve Reich has observed, Pärt’s
music of spiritual yearning
seems to fulfill a human need.
This is a wonderful recording
and a early contender for
classical recording of the year.
Phil Richards is from
Readings Carlton.
Sublime Mozart:
Works for Clarinet
Paul Dean, Queensland Orchestra cond.
Guillaume Tourniaire,
Grainger Quartet
$29.95
One of the finest recordings
in many a year of Mozart’s
two great clarinet pieces. The
superb Paul Dean, principal
clarinettist of the Queensland
Orchestra for 13 years, returns
under the baton of rising star
Guillaume Tourniaire for a
reading of the concerto that has
all the playfulness one could
hope for, underwritten by a
muscular technique and a firm
sense of structural cohesion.
For the quintet, Dean’s partners
are former ASQ members The
Grainger Quartet, in a reading
both sportive and patrician.
The recording and packaging
are top-notch, even by the lofty
standards Melba Recordings
have established in recent years.
Richard Mohr is a friend of
Readings
Ambrose Field:
Being Dufay
John Potter tenor
& Ambrose Field,
composer, live and
studio electronics
ECM2071. $32.95
English tenor John Potter joins
forces with fellow countryman composer Ambrose Field
to create a series of electronic
soundscapes set to the music of
renaissance Flemish composer
Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474).
The result is a juxtaposition of
centuries-old music with some
of today’s newest composition techniques. In the seven
interconnected pieces, the
vocal lines of Dufay’s songs and
sacred works soar over Field’s
lush soundscapes, creating an
ambient and ethereal atmosphere. Dufay’s music is always
presented unaltered and serves
as a cantus firmus within the
seven tracks. Potter sings Dufay’s vocal lines with great ease
immersing beautifully with the
electronic creations of Potter.
Catherine Koerner is from
Readings Hawthorn
experience orchestral
music like never before
intimate voices
Melbourne Recital Centre
Sunday 29 March, 2:30pm
30
Classical Specials of the Month
This month we feature recordings from the EMI Triple Series. These
3CD sets feature such composers as JS Bach, Mozart, Schubert,
Berwald, Villa Lobos, Beethoven, Berg and Shostakovich to name
but a few and such artists as Truls Mork, Claudio Arrau, Otto
Klemperer, Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur and Yehudi Menuhin.
For the month of March, these sets will sell for $10.95 each.
JS Bach: Favourite Organ Works. Werner Jacob. Cat. No. 5093932
JS Bach: Brandenburg Concertos. Orchestral Suites. ASMF,
Neville Marriner. Cat. No. 5009552
JS Bach: Keyboard Concertos. Cat. No. 5009482
JS Bach: Matthaus-Passion. Cat. No. 5009412
Bartok: Concertos, Orchestral Music. Cat. No. 5094072
Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1-5. Cat. No. 5009272
Berg: Lulu. Jeffrey Tate. Cat. No. 5094002
Berwald: Orchestral Music. Cat. No. 5009202
Bizet: Favourite Orchestral Works. Cat. No. 5094142
Brahms: The Concerto Album. Cat. No. 5094212
Brahms: Symphonies 1-4. Wolfgang Sawallisch. Cat. No. 5009132
Chopin: Music for Piano & Orchestra. Solo Piano Music. Alexis
Weissenberg. Cat. No. 5009062
Dvorak: Symphonies 5, 7, 8 & 9. Cat. No. 5008782
Handel: Organ Concertos Nos. 1-15. Cat. No. 5008642
Haydn: Favourite Symphonies. Nos. 88/92/95/98/100/101/102/104.
Otto Klemperer. Cat. No. 2153002
Lutoslawski: Orchestral Music. Cat. No. 2153182
Mendelssohn: String Quartets Nos. 1-6. Cat. No. 5008572
Mozart: Symphonies 35/36/38/39/40/41. Cat. No. 5008362
Mozart: Don Giovanni. Riccardo Muti. Cat. No. 5008502
Mozart: Wind Serenades. Cat. No. 2153052
Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1-6. Cat. No. 5008292
Rachmaninov: Symphonies 1-3. Vocalise, Cat. No. 5008852
Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 1-4. Cat. No. 5008712
Ravel: Orchestral Works. Cat. No. 5008922
Schubert: Die Schone Mullerin, Schwanengesang, Winterreise.
Olaf Bar. Cat. No. 5009342
Schumann: Symphonies 1-4. Cat. No. 2153102
Shostakovich: The Concerto Album. Cat. No. 5094282
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos 1-3, Violin Concerto.
Cat. No. 5009622
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 1-9. Cat. No. 5008432
Vivaldi: The Concerto Album, Four Seasons, etc.
Renato Fasano. Cat. No. 5094492
Zemlinsky: Orchestral Music. James Conlon. Cat. No. 5094562
The Great Cello Concertos: Dvorak, Elgar, Haydn, etc.
Cat. No. 5094422
Romantic Violin Concertos: Beethoven, Bruch, Mendelssohn,
Tchaikovsky. etc. Cat. No. 5008992
$10 Readings Gift Voucher
for each ticket* purchased at the Melbourne
Recital Centre box office when you quote
“Readings’ MCO Offer”.
Internationally-acclaimed baritone Peter
Coleman-Wright sings sensuous Handel arias
and MCO performs intimate works of Vivaldi
and Grieg. Details at mco.org.au
Call Melbourne Recital Centre
box office on 9699 3333 or email
boxoffi[email protected]
to take advantage of this offer.
*Full priced single tickets only
offer
Special dings
for Rea ers
custom
CHABROL
“One of the most important
filmmakers to have emerged
from the the French New Wave”
Geoff Andrew, THE FILM HANDBOOK
The founding father of
the French New Wave,
finally available on DVD.
Influential Cinema from Around the Globe
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