I'm not at all religious, but there is just something very uplifting about Hopkin's poetry - especially when I first read him in my teens. He has still got it for me, though.
I read it in the 70s. Not sure I even finished it.
I never enjoyed her writing; finding Greer opinionated and self-congratulatory - probably just what was needed to get by as a feminist in the 70s.
I never enjoyed her writing; finding Greer opinionated and self-congratulatory - probably just what was needed to get by as a feminist in the 70s.
I don't read much sci-fi, but when I came across Zelazny books many years ago, I loved them.
This is a collection of short-stories - with some truly great ones. Often more fantasy than true sc-fi, which is probably why I appreciate them so much.
Zelazny's style is clean and concise. He gives you something to think about.
This is a collection of short-stories - with some truly great ones. Often more fantasy than true sc-fi, which is probably why I appreciate them so much.
Zelazny's style is clean and concise. He gives you something to think about.
An intriquing and spine-chilling read from one of the masters of crime
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I generally find that Minette Walters gives more 'bang for the buck'. She builds suspense and explores the psychology behind the crimes.
Not just a simple 'who dunnit'.
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I generally find that Minette Walters gives more 'bang for the buck'. She builds suspense and explores the psychology behind the crimes.
Not just a simple 'who dunnit'.
This is the first of the Jack Irish novels and well worth a read, if, like me, you enjoy good crime novels.
Temple is a notch above the average crime writer. His protagonist, Irish, is a suburban lawyer who dabbles in gambling/horses, loves football and works part-time as a cabinet makers apprentice. When he gets drawn into unsavoury events, he skillfully uses these talents to extricate himself and to do some good in the world. He does it larconically and humourously.
A light enjoyable read. If you are after 'deep and meaningful', look elsewhere. This is one to read between the mind-benders.
Temple is a notch above the average crime writer. His protagonist, Irish, is a suburban lawyer who dabbles in gambling/horses, loves football and works part-time as a cabinet makers apprentice. When he gets drawn into unsavoury events, he skillfully uses these talents to extricate himself and to do some good in the world. He does it larconically and humourously.
A light enjoyable read. If you are after 'deep and meaningful', look elsewhere. This is one to read between the mind-benders.
Temple is one of my favourite crime writers and Broken Shore does not disappoint.
Broken Shore features Cashin a broken and beaten who steadfastly pursues what he believes to be right.
If you like crime fiction - and I do - you will surely like this one.
Broken Shore features Cashin a broken and beaten who steadfastly pursues what he believes to be right.
If you like crime fiction - and I do - you will surely like this one.
A favourite read in my childhood. So much so that I insisted on reading it to my son when he was young.
It didn't appeal to him. Clearly the quaint adventures of a family of children on a lake at night where not as exciting and as spine-chilling to someone exposed to quidditch, storm troopers and dragon riders.
It will be forever in my heart, however.
It didn't appeal to him. Clearly the quaint adventures of a family of children on a lake at night where not as exciting and as spine-chilling to someone exposed to quidditch, storm troopers and dragon riders.
It will be forever in my heart, however.
Temperance Brennan in Quebec. This Reich's first novel.
This is just another formulaic forensic crime story with forgettable characters and a predictable enough plot.
It is very rare that I compare a book with a movie or TV spin-off, but in this case the TV shows (which seem to have a different writer - with just the concept provided by Reichs) are far better than the books - and that's not saying much.
This is just another formulaic forensic crime story with forgettable characters and a predictable enough plot.
It is very rare that I compare a book with a movie or TV spin-off, but in this case the TV shows (which seem to have a different writer - with just the concept provided by Reichs) are far better than the books - and that's not saying much.
A wonderful, wonderful book. It's magical realism at its best.
The book tells a story in two parts - firstly, in India, where it sets the scene - vividly and humorously - for the mystical events in the second part of the book. As heart-breaking as these latter events are in the first reading, the denouement in the final pages is heart-crushing.
The book is rich and satisfying and provides an interesting insight in Hinduism.
I love this book to death and can't wait for the next Martel classic.
The book tells a story in two parts - firstly, in India, where it sets the scene - vividly and humorously - for the mystical events in the second part of the book. As heart-breaking as these latter events are in the first reading, the denouement in the final pages is heart-crushing.
The book is rich and satisfying and provides an interesting insight in Hinduism.
I love this book to death and can't wait for the next Martel classic.
Don't miss this one.
Read it once and it will stay with you for a lifetime.
Read it once and it will stay with you for a lifetime.
A fun and easy read.
Maloney has been characterised as a crime writer, but this bemuses him somewhat because he set out to write a series based on an unlikely hero caught up in the day to day grind of local politics.
Maloney's protagonist, Murray Whelan, is at once accident prone and a survivor. His every day ups and downs are somehow subsumed into bigger picture dilemnas which push his skills to the limits. He is humorous and lovable, devious and indefatigable.
Maloney has been characterised as a crime writer, but this bemuses him somewhat because he set out to write a series based on an unlikely hero caught up in the day to day grind of local politics.
Maloney's protagonist, Murray Whelan, is at once accident prone and a survivor. His every day ups and downs are somehow subsumed into bigger picture dilemnas which push his skills to the limits. He is humorous and lovable, devious and indefatigable.
A delightful collection of scribblings - poerty, short prose, cartoons - from a music legend.
Pick it up and meander through it - it's seriously weird in places, but wonderfully poignant in others. Written by someone who likes playing with language.
Pick it up and meander through it - it's seriously weird in places, but wonderfully poignant in others. Written by someone who likes playing with language.
A fabulous collection of short stories by a truly great author. It was published in 1914 when Joyce (1882-1941) was 32.
It very effectively invokes life in Dublin at the turn of the century. It's about people; it's about place.
Each story is a vivid portrayal of the important things in life - and yet it does so by bringing together the small things.
This the Joyce book to read if you have ever struggled with Joyce.
It lives on in my memory many, many years after it was first read.
It very effectively invokes life in Dublin at the turn of the century. It's about people; it's about place.
Each story is a vivid portrayal of the important things in life - and yet it does so by bringing together the small things.
This the Joyce book to read if you have ever struggled with Joyce.
It lives on in my memory many, many years after it was first read.
A wonderful collection of Australian poetry and poets - past and present.
It contains selected poems by 68 authors, from the 19th century of Henry Kendall through the 20th centruy with poets such as with AD Hope and Judith Wright, to the present with contemporary poets and authors such as David Malouf, Randolf Stow, Fay Zwicky and Les Murray.
A recurring theme is way the these Australian poets poet 'connect to country'.
Included in the anthology is a short biography of each of the poets.
It contains selected poems by 68 authors, from the 19th century of Henry Kendall through the 20th centruy with poets such as with AD Hope and Judith Wright, to the present with contemporary poets and authors such as David Malouf, Randolf Stow, Fay Zwicky and Les Murray.
A recurring theme is way the these Australian poets poet 'connect to country'.
Included in the anthology is a short biography of each of the poets.
Reputedly, Australia's first crime/mystery novel.
It's a rollicking read, set in 19th century Melbourne and rural Victoria.
Well worth a read, even if just for the historical context.
It's available as a public domain download.
It's a rollicking read, set in 19th century Melbourne and rural Victoria.
Well worth a read, even if just for the historical context.
It's available as a public domain download.
An endearing tale of a town and it's people over a couple of generations. From sleepy fishing village to 'yippiedom' assailed by corrupt (and not so corrupt) property developers.
The heart of the story is the life of a single man as he struggles to keep himself anchored in changing times. It's the story of his relationships - with his mother (and father), with his friends and neighbours, but most importantly, with the sea.
A great read - one that will make you laugh and love and think.
The heart of the story is the life of a single man as he struggles to keep himself anchored in changing times. It's the story of his relationships - with his mother (and father), with his friends and neighbours, but most importantly, with the sea.
A great read - one that will make you laugh and love and think.
Carey messes with an Australian hero!
The story of Ned Kelly is something every Australian holds dear to their heart - bushranger supreme, but part larrikin lad and underdog. Perhaps much of what's been handed down is apocryphal, but we love it.
What was Carey trying to do? Set the record straight? Why bother? How could he, anyway, with much of the 'fact' lost forever?
Carey has done historical fiction before and more successfully. For instance, in Jack Maggs any 'facts' (if there were any) are subsumed into wonderful fiction. And Illywacker and Oscar and Lucinda are more magical and fantastical than historical.
I put the Kelly book down within sight of the end. I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. I didn't like the fact that I could not tell the fact from the fiction. Perhaps I didn't want my illusions shattered.
I'm not sure Australian's want their heroes reinterpreted.
Don't get me wrong - I love much of Peter Carey's work [Illywacher, Oscar & Lucinda, Jack Maggs - he is one of my favourite authors], but I can't help seeing True History of the Kelly Gang as a shameless attempt to 'milk' a good story.
It must have worked - or, I'm wrong - because the book as won literary acclaim, having won both the Man Booker and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2001. [But in the Miles Franklin Award (Australia's own), it was only shortlisted!]
The story of Ned Kelly is something every Australian holds dear to their heart - bushranger supreme, but part larrikin lad and underdog. Perhaps much of what's been handed down is apocryphal, but we love it.
What was Carey trying to do? Set the record straight? Why bother? How could he, anyway, with much of the 'fact' lost forever?
Carey has done historical fiction before and more successfully. For instance, in Jack Maggs any 'facts' (if there were any) are subsumed into wonderful fiction. And Illywacker and Oscar and Lucinda are more magical and fantastical than historical.
I put the Kelly book down within sight of the end. I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. I didn't like the fact that I could not tell the fact from the fiction. Perhaps I didn't want my illusions shattered.
I'm not sure Australian's want their heroes reinterpreted.
Don't get me wrong - I love much of Peter Carey's work [Illywacher, Oscar & Lucinda, Jack Maggs - he is one of my favourite authors], but I can't help seeing True History of the Kelly Gang as a shameless attempt to 'milk' a good story.
It must have worked - or, I'm wrong - because the book as won literary acclaim, having won both the Man Booker and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2001. [But in the Miles Franklin Award (Australia's own), it was only shortlisted!]
It's a book about rabbits ... what more can I say?
Anthropomorphism gone mad.
Anthropomorphism gone mad.
‘My mother is a fish’; Flanagan starts his book with a quote from Faulkner’s As I lay dying. And like Faulkner’s, Flanagan’s character(s) struggle with the perplexities of life and death and meaning.
Flanagan’s book Gould’s Book of Fish: A novel in twelve fish is a magical and magnificent tour de force – a bold panoply of a book. It tells a story both strange and sad of the early convict beginnings of Tasmania (and Australia). Flanagan has a deep love for his country and a deep despair when things go wrong.
In this book he tells of one man’s ordeals in the most remote and perhaps the harshest of Australia’s penal colonies. The story pitches the depravities of a colonialist penal system and a newly emerging social (dis)order against the splendours of Art and the need of the human soul to endure and to overcome. William Buelow Gould was indeed a convicted artist transported to Tasmania, assigned to assist a colonial surgeon and who painted superb watercolours of flowers, birds and fishes. Flanagan’s aim was to resolve these two mysteries: as he has his narrator say —
‘For I am not resolved to this world. I wished to be & I was not & so I tried to rewrite this world as a book of fish and set it to rights in the only manner I know how.’ (p.443), and
‘So there you have it: two things & I can’t bring them together & they are wrenching me apart. These two feelings, this knowledge of a world so awful, this sense of a life so extraordinary – how am I show more to resolve them? Can a man become a fish?’ (p.444, Picador, Pan Macmillan Australia, paperback edition, 2002.)
Flanagan is at first despondent — ‘The world was stupid in the first place … and it’s only grown stupider ever since.’(p.39). Through the convoluted ‘book within a book’ structure, the reader is drawn into a whirlpool of depravity and despair and his characters descend into a maelstrom of tragedy and destruction.
But through all this, the wonder and beauty of Art, and a man’s love of Art, can and does endure. Flanagan doesn’t know how; he just knows it has —
‘Now I just watch & think the ridiculous, the improbable: the world is good, I think, & the world is good and the world is good.’ (p.444.)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Be prepared to have your mind played with.
It won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, 2002 and was short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award in 2001. show less
Flanagan’s book Gould’s Book of Fish: A novel in twelve fish is a magical and magnificent tour de force – a bold panoply of a book. It tells a story both strange and sad of the early convict beginnings of Tasmania (and Australia). Flanagan has a deep love for his country and a deep despair when things go wrong.
In this book he tells of one man’s ordeals in the most remote and perhaps the harshest of Australia’s penal colonies. The story pitches the depravities of a colonialist penal system and a newly emerging social (dis)order against the splendours of Art and the need of the human soul to endure and to overcome. William Buelow Gould was indeed a convicted artist transported to Tasmania, assigned to assist a colonial surgeon and who painted superb watercolours of flowers, birds and fishes. Flanagan’s aim was to resolve these two mysteries: as he has his narrator say —
‘For I am not resolved to this world. I wished to be & I was not & so I tried to rewrite this world as a book of fish and set it to rights in the only manner I know how.’ (p.443), and
‘So there you have it: two things & I can’t bring them together & they are wrenching me apart. These two feelings, this knowledge of a world so awful, this sense of a life so extraordinary – how am I show more to resolve them? Can a man become a fish?’ (p.444, Picador, Pan Macmillan Australia, paperback edition, 2002.)
Flanagan is at first despondent — ‘The world was stupid in the first place … and it’s only grown stupider ever since.’(p.39). Through the convoluted ‘book within a book’ structure, the reader is drawn into a whirlpool of depravity and despair and his characters descend into a maelstrom of tragedy and destruction.
But through all this, the wonder and beauty of Art, and a man’s love of Art, can and does endure. Flanagan doesn’t know how; he just knows it has —
‘Now I just watch & think the ridiculous, the improbable: the world is good, I think, & the world is good and the world is good.’ (p.444.)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Be prepared to have your mind played with.
It won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, 2002 and was short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award in 2001. show less