Welcome to Litsy!

I just love this cover.

A brother and a sister lose their mother. In their family the women are cremated and some come back a few days later. To help his sister, the brother decides to make her a coffin. This has the sister fleeing.

We hear the voices of the brother and sister, but also the people they meet along their way.

#foodandlit #Australia
@Texreader @Catsandbooks

“I believe the time has come to delve into one of my most significant triumphs: my back-to-back victories in the annual Avoca cake-decorating contest, thanks to my secret lavender-icing recipe that doesn‘t actually contain any lavender - it‘s just sugar, butter, purple food colouring and marijuana that Larry grows in his backyard."

Sounds like some cake

(picture found online)

Our mother returned to us two days after we spread her ashes over Notley Fern Gorge.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Just loved this book, having lived for almost 40 years in Tasmania I relished the descriptions of both people and place. It is truly a magical island and magical realism works well to express this and the island‘s delightful quirkiness. Plot is a young man is wanting to craft a coffin for his very alive sister as the women in his life don‘t stay dead, truly more to do with grief and it‘s process. A great read and a great ride. ❤️❤️❤️

#FallTreasures
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Prompt: Bonfire

An awesome young Tasmanian writer

Loving this #AuDayReadathon @ReadingDownUnder . Just finished this very strange but enjoyable book . Beautiful descriptions of the Tassie landscape. Now on to the next book. #2020joybooks

#AuDayReadathon starting this now. Have no idea about what it is about , just that it‘s an Aussie book. Here I go. 🇦🇺🇦🇺

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

This tipped too far into Neil Gaiman's world in the end there. However, it is a lovely celebration of everything Tasmanian. The section about the seal/tuna hunting is stunning, I was hoping the entire book was going to be in this vein.

Our latest episode is up! Annie & I chat with special guest the fabulous Shawn Mooney. 🤩
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Our book of the week is ‘Flames‘ by Robbie Arnott. A family story set in Tasmania, it‘s a wild ride, or as Richard Flanagan said ‘a strange and joyous marvel‘. But what did we think? And did Shawn finish the book? 😬📖
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Listen in to find out. And tell us your favourite Aussie reads. 🎧 Books On The Go 🎧

I #buddyread this book over Easter in the Flinders, which brought home the beauty of the landscape in Arnott‘s writing. I enjoyed the playful nature of this debut as well as the lyrical, assured writing, even if the plot and characters sagged a little at times. Mystical and fun - kind of like a Tasmanian ‘American Gods‘.

Recording our podcast this morning with special guest the fabulous Shawn Mooney 🤩 (via Tokyo) ... and a gate-crasher courtesy school holidays! 🙄. #BooksOnTheGo 🎧

A beautiful book! Charlotte runs away as her brother plans to build her a coffin. The writing is poetic & spare, propelling you forward with vivid scenes. Strong women. Landscape infuses the novel, seen with fresh eyes. I loved the chapters from different characters including some animals & spirits (not usually my thing!) - it gives a 360 view of the story & makes you think differently. He swaps genres smoothly to suit each voice. A joy to read.

#ozfiction #LitsyAtoZ 'A' #buddyread @Abailliekaras

This book was mad but so refreshing and wonderful. Once I accepted the magic realism, I was hooked! It‘s beautifully written and has made me yearn to revisit Tasmania. It explores family, grief, nature and spirituality. Each chapter is from the perspective of a different character, which works. Some parts of the book are extremely difficult to stomach (animals deaths) but others made me laugh.

The Flames buddy read has begun! Please join us if you‘re keen.

What are your first impressions?

I love the energy of the writing - even the scene with the seal helping to catch the tuna had me transfixed (and I‘m not into fishing 😉). It‘s getting a little supernatural but hasn‘t lost me despite the fact I don‘t usually like fantasy / magic realism. I‘m going with it. Pic: BBC

‘She‘d been sporting a skirt of cowrie shells, a fish hook in her tongue, skin of shifting sand, strands of kelp for hair and a large greenlip abalone suckered onto the back of her neck as she approached a group of terrified fishermen, her wrinkled arms outstretched and the sound of crashing waves swirling out of her salt-rimmed mouth.‘

Well I gave it a try. The writing was so good, but the story was way, way, WAY too magically realist and fantastical and mythological for me. Blech. Bailed just under a fifth of the way in.

Heeyyyy littens! I‘m buddy-reading Flames this month with Shawn Mooney & some others. We‘ll be discussing it on the podcast too. Please join us if you‘re keen! Kicking off 18 April - very relaxed, hoping to finish by the 26th (it‘s a quick read). 🤓📖 #aussieapril

I‘ve been down with the flu and too sick to read. 😳 who even am I anymore? 😂 but feeling much better now and ready to jump into #aussieapril - here are my picks. Can‘t wait to buddy-read Flames with @shawnmooney 🙌🏼🇦🇺

This book is absolutely beautiful. Steeped in magical realism and surprising at every turn. I loved it. Who wouldn‘t want to visit Tasmania after reading this?!!

Bookmail this morning! I really need to stop buying more books.... (or not!😂)

Slightly ahead of time! I have reached the three-quarter mark before the end of September. Given I‘ve got a lot of travel coming up, my EOY total may exceed my target #always reading

My current read is set in my home state, reading about your place is a different type of experience. Love that the cover is a vintage Tasmanian tourism poster. #tasmania #flames

Well, this was wonderful. Lots of magical realism, but done right. It's not twee but elemental and a bit fearsome.

The book plays with different styles, and while these are well-executed, a couple of comedic sections did 'break the spell' a bit. The second half is more consistent in tone, and as a result feels more powerful.

Robbie Arnott has invented his own mythology which is wholly original and yet feels timeless and endemic to Tasmania.

Congratulations, I am hearing good things about Flames by a Tassie author. #ozfictiongiveaway @MrsMalaprop