The December 17 Edition
Summer Reading: eight novelists reflect on 2022 | A royal brouhaha at Royal Sydney Golf Club | Raimond Gaita on life and Parkinson’s | Robert Dessaix and the childhood friend he reconnected with | Kamila Shamsie on doing what you love
The red-hot battle between a blue-blooded golf club and its green-hued neighbours
Royal Sydney Golf Club puttered along for decades as an enclave from modern life. Then redevelopment plans split the club – and teed off many locals.
- by Tim Elliott
Raimond Gaita isn’t running out of things to say. But he may be running out of time
In his 1998 memoir, Romulus, My Father, Raimond Gaita laid bare his struggles growing up with troubled parents. Now, the philosopher faces another challenge.
- by Tony Maniaty
‘She came to hear Robert Dessaix and realised it was me’: Two writers reunite
Writers Robert Dessaix and Susan Varga met at a Sydney primary school, lost touch and were unexpectedly reunited four decades later.
- by Nicole Abadee
‘Earning a living doing the thing you love is kind of sexy’
The Pakistani-British writer Kamila Shamsie discusses growing up in Pakistan, the premium placed on young writers, and why she loves her indoor clothes.
- by Benjamin Law
‘The most egregious culinary scam of all’
When it comes to one food staple, whole populations across the globe have been brainwashed into thinking it’s delicious, writes Robert Dessaix.
- by Robert Dessaix
‘I will never visit you again,’ said a friend
Geraldine Brooks can’t stop many of the world’s environmental disasters, but she’s giving her local snakes a chance.
- by Geraldine Brooks
‘The school community was divided into readers and non-readers’
Running the bookstall at a school fête made Chloe Hooper wonder about our relationship with books.
- by Chloe Hooper
‘Mum would remind us that nothing, land especially, can ever be owned’
The hurdles of home-buying prompt George Haddad to ponder an alternative view of property.
- by George Haddad
‘I must go and see her once more, before it is all too late’
A trip to visit family in Iran stirs old memories for Pirooz Jafari.
- by Pirooz Jafari
‘We’re still alive! Sometimes, it takes a funeral to remember that’
We may be baffled, guilty or heartbroken, struck senseless by grief or rage – but for Miles Allinson, death informs life.
- by Miles Allinson
‘Without being able to garden or walk or swim, I don’t really know how to write’
More important than a room of one’s own, for Sophie Cunningham: a garden of one’s own.
- by Sophie Cunningham
‘When we first came here, I feared we’d made a mistake’
Moving the family home far from the seaside was a gamble that Alex Miller wasn’t sure would pay off.
- by Alex Miller
Opinion
Opinion
A remedy to stop me lying awake? Let me sleep on it
Where can you turn when counting sheep, meditation apps and CBD remedies no longer send you to the land of nod?
- by Amelia Lester
I received a terrible Secret Santa gift last year. Is now the time for revenge?
Secret Santa is a game that rewards the cruel and heartless, writes our Modern Guru.
- by Danny Katz
When it comes to champagne bubbles, does size matter?
It takes more than bubbles to make a great champagne or sparkling wine.
- by Huon Hooke
Yule tired
Paul Connolly’s Kitchen Sink Drama is a slice of domestic life, captured masterfully in only 100 words. This week: Christmas conscription.
- by Paul Connolly
Tricks of the trade: GW journalists on how to master longform writing
In this episode of Good Weekend Talks, senior writers Amanda Hooton and Jane Cadzow give an insider’s view on the art of writing a 5000-word feature.
Review
Victoria
Glenlyon: Le Bouchon
Where good wine happens, good food will often follow. This is certainly the story behind this restaurant just outside Daylesford, writes Besha Rodell.
- by Besha Rodell
Review
Sydney
Sydney: Redbird
Redbird is the kind of smart, all-purpose package Sydneysiders will flock to, writes Callan Boys.
- by Callan Boys
Karen Martini’s prawn, potato, corn and seaweed fritters
These make for a lovely snack or light summery supper as the weather warms up – perfect for entertaining.
- by Karen Martini
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s coconut and mango tapioca with ginger syrup
The scent of a ripe mango is so evocative, and this recipe is a fine way to enjoy this fruit. Not too sweet, it’s ideal for summer entertaining.
- by Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-december-17-edition-20221209-p5c542.html