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Absolutely fabulous, Thom Conroy
The Absolute Book Elizabeth Knox Victoria University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9781776562305 The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox is a Ronsardian ode to worldbuilding. Who creates worlds? What connects them? Who controls them? These questions shape the novel’s plot, subject and…
Tagged with: Elizabeth Knox, Issue 128, Summer 2019, Thom Conroy, Victoria University Press
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Promising softly-spoken wonder, Thom Conroy
The Quiet Spectacular Laurence Fearnley Penguin, $38.00, ISBN 9780143574156 Laurence Fearnley occupies a position somewhere between national treasure and experimental writer. Her depictions of landscapes and her stylistic tendency toward restraint inspire praise, with reviews admiring Fearnley for how markedly…
Tagged with: Issue 115, Laurence Fearnley, Penguin Books, Spring 2016, Thom Conroy
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Sweet recklessness, Kiran Dass
The Salted Air Thom Conroy Vintage, $38.00, ISBN 9781775538820 “We strut about imagining heroism and lucky saves, but we’ve got it all wrong. Catastrophe arrives when the air is warm and people are everywhere … .” So observes the keenly…
Tagged with: Issue 115, Kiran Dass, Spring 2016, Thom Conroy, Vintage
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Reading as mudlarking
The Chimes Anna Smaill Sceptre ISBN 9781444794533 The Chimes, debut novel of poet and violinist Anna Smaill, portrays a post-apocalyptic but disorientingly medieval dystopia dominated by music. The novel opens with Simon, a boy on his own, as he embarks…
Tagged with: Anna Smaill, Issue 111, Sceptre, Spring 2015, Thom Conroy
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Characters from the past, Elizabeth Heritage
The Naturalist Thom Conroy Vintage, $38.00, ISBN 9781775536482 Lives We Leave Behind Maxine Alterio Penguin, $38.00, ISBN 9780143565710 The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt Tracy Farr Fremantle Press, $35.00, ISBN 9781922089465 Here we have a trio of historical novels…
Tagged with: Autumn 2015, Elizabeth Heritage, Fremantle Press, Issue 109, Maxine Alterio, Penguin Books, Thom Conroy, Tracy Farr, Vintage
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review