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The Miles shortlist is out. Any thoughts, #ozfiction readers?

Latest bookclub book. Can‘t be bothered writing anymore 🤣. Next! ⭐️⭐️
🎧 #Ozfiction

Oh 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

The 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

Well, 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).

This was a surprise! What a stunning little book about a family tragedy. A very sad story of loss and grief told from 4 different family member‘s perspectives and a rabbit during the COVID pandemic in 2020. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
My Saturday nights are now spent, beer in hand, watching my son on YouTube play cricket in the Netherlands. Technology is a wonderful thing sometimes. 🏏 ♥️
#OzFiction

Well that was really weird… but kind of interesting, even though I‘ve got no idea what it was trying to tell me. A fictional amalgam of Melbourne & Geelong begins twisting & changing, moving streets & buildings around apparently at random. An artist who has recently returned to the city becomes the target of vitriol when her former European collective gets into trouble. Her sister & nephew live almost exclusively online. There are some unusual⬇️

Although this has a thriller-like structure & is a variation on the “trauma plot”, it is not a major departure from Diana Reid‘s previous novels. It is most interesting for its exploration of friendships & sibling relationships, the interplay of power, sexual politics & societal norms & of the cancer of secrets & lies. I think she‘s a really interesting writer, she always leaves me with plenty to think about. #ozfiction

Yeah, nah. #ozfiction I was compelled to read for book club.

Although it‘s a variation on the old chestnut of empty-nester running away to exotic location (in this case Brittany) on discovering husband‘s infidelity, there is a lot to like about the way the story is told here. There is more to Audrey than first appears & the cast of supporting characters are original & entertaining. I could have done without the romantic subplot, but at least it wasn‘t presented as her ultimate fulfilment. #ozfiction