pickEmphasis on the dirt! The author makes no attempt to sanitise the experience of a Tongan family living on a pittance in Sydney‘s outer suburbs to help support their relations in Tonga. A fascinating insight into Tongan culture but, for me at least, not an enjoyable read. A low pick. #ozfiction
pick@MrsMalaprop and I were lucky enough to hear Tim who is one of my favourite authors speak about another of my favour authors Helen Garner last week. Both Australian legends! When it was finished we were all pinching ourselves that we had actually been in the room. We knew we had been a part of something rare and special. I LOVED this book. Winton writes dialogue better than most, so real, natural and so Australian. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#Ozfiction
pickThis book was chosen for my book club last month and as usual I waited too late to start it and spent the weekend madly trying to get it read. Luckily it was very easy to dedicate myself to it because it sucked me in and propelled me through to the very last page. Our book club‘s analysis revealed its many flaws, but overall, a great #ozfiction read 👏📖❤️.
pickThis was excellent. A debut #ozfiction novel that I picked up at a second hand bookstore last week. Engrossing, well-written and informative. A story of the Vietnamese immigrant experience of Australia, centered around a horrific crime that the main character Ky, the sister of the victim, is attempting to solve. Struggled to put it down. Bravo 👏.
pickI really enjoyed this book, but I don‘t know how to describe it adequately. It‘s about a successful woman & her relationships with her mother, her husband, her best friend, her children, her number one client & with music. The story may not be very new, but the characters are wonderful, vibrant & multi faceted. The mother in particular. I‘m often not fond of novels with multiple time shifts but it works well here. #ozfiction
The Miles shortlist is out. Any thoughts, #ozfiction readers?
pickOh boy! That was a lot! It starts as a 1920‘s shipboard murder mystery featuring a dizzying number of characters, all with complicated backstories, and evolves into a gruesome horror/disaster story. Underlying it all is the horror of the First World War and under that the evils of centuries of imperialism. I would never have chosen to read it if I didn‘t love Toby Schmitz. I think I‘m glad I did, but I need to wash my brain now 😵💫🤢 #ozfiction
pickThe spirit of Cezanne‘s wife & frequent subject, Hortence, tells her story while watching over a writer who is trying to write Hortense‘s biography but winds up writing a heartbreaking part of her own autobiography. That may sound like an unnecessary bit of literary pretentiousness, but it is beautifully & sensitively done. I‘m not surprised it was on all those prize lists last year. #ozfiction
Second book for #14books14weeks
pickWell, I did it! Managed to get this finished before our book club met last night. Seems it was liked by all. It was a low pick for me. I like that historical fiction is being written about barely known women of substance and that‘s why it‘s a pick. But I found this a little dry and lacking in depth. Pretty cover though. Sort of #ozfiction (Scottish-born, now living in Australia).
so-so