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Good Weekend

The May 4 Edition

The idea that someone outwardly sweet may also be fuelled by anger will not seem incongruous to many women. Good girls who mostly do what they’re told, work hard to achieve their goals and look after younger and older family members, yet regularly feel white-hot with fury over a litany of injustices, real or perceived, directed at them and/or others, are not at all uncommon (cough, can relate). So where to channel all that rage? If you’re Shankari Chandran, you send it into the punching bag at your local boxing studio. And you put it into the characters who pepper your novels. As Chandran tells Melanie Kembrey in today’s cover story, she tends to write from a position of anger but ends up at a place of love and greater understanding. Chandran has certainly put her type-A personality to good use. She’s a novelist, lawyer, mother of four and, as of last year, one of only a handful of non-white winners of the country’s most prestigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin. The novel she won it for is a joy to read – like curling up with a cup of chai (not chai tea – see story). As a result, her next book, Safe Haven, out this month, is keenly anticipated. – Editor, Katrina Strickland

14 stories
The May 4 Edition
Shankari Chandran jokes that she still plans her life in terms of a lawyer’s billable hours. “If the day is finite and my life is finite, where is the best place to put my time? And my instinct is to push myself on everything.”

She was told her fiction wasn’t ‘Australian enough’. Then she won the Miles Franklin

Working with a “billable hours” mindset, lawyer, mum of four and author Shankari Chandran weaves sharp social justice critiques through her loving family tales.

  • by Melanie Kembrey

From Donald Trump to MONA’s David Walsh: Our soaring anxiety about status

Widening inequality, shifting fortunes and social media neediness are lifting our anxiety about status to new heights.

  • by Luke Slattery
The necklace was a gift … seeing it reminds me of her, how she used to make me feel.

Keep or cull? What to do with the mementos of an ex-partner

A necklace. Valentine’s Day cards. CDs. Notebooks. What to do with love’s detritus?

  • by Jonathan Seidler
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When Joey lost a leg, others wrapped him in cotton wool. Not Adam

Plasterer Joey Fry’s bout of depression in 2019 led to a life-changing event. His mate, plastering business owner Adam Sorrenson, has helped him heal.

  • by Lenny Ann Low
“If you’ve been trained to think that this life is a kind of secondary thing before the main event, it’s hard to shake off .”
Dicey Topics
For subscribers

‘I’ve heard some strange theories’: Paul Murray on The Bee Sting’s climax

The Irish writer on his childhood fear of the devil, his superpower – and one of the enigmas of his latest novel.

  • by Benjamin Law
Modern Guru
For subscribers

How to tackle that neighbour who won’t scoop dog poop

Revenge is a dish best served with a perfectly timed water sprinkler, writes our Modern Guru.

  • by Danny Katz
Kitchen Sink Drama: Vampire

Kitchen Sink Drama: Vampire

You’re not supposed to invite a vampire in, Chloe realised, but here was Lilith on her doorstep with a bottle of red and a wide, toothy smile. “Lilith!” she said, in the same way one might say “Fire!” or “Avalanche!” Four hours later, just as she’d feared, Lilith was still in her apartment and monologuing, in graphic detail, on her work life, love life and myriad other lives in-between. Having long since failed to interrupt her, much less drive a stake through the evening, Chloe, as drained as that bottle of wine, swooned under the assault, resigned to her fate. Words by Paul Connolly. Illustration by Jim Pavlidis.

When a TV show on a real-life story covers big ideas, do small glitches matter?

Plus: get ready for the weekend with these fresh diversions.

  • by Louise Rugendyke, Katrina Strickland, Nicole Abadee, Barry Divola and Melissa Fyfe
Coloured stockings hit the March ’24 Miu Miu runway show.

Leg it to the shops: There’s a run on stockings

On 2024 runways, tights are no mere accessory – in fact, they’re often an outfit’s hero.

  • by Melissa Singer
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Mustard and herb roasted chicken breast with buttered leeks.

Mustard-and herb-roasted chicken breast with buttered leeks

Simple roasted chicken with a side of buttery leeks and potato.

  • by Danielle Alvarez
Chocolate, rye and espresso cookies.

Sunday baking project: Helen Goh’s chocolate, rye and espresso cookies

A mocha-flavoured cookie that bakes in 10 minutes.

  • by Helen Goh
Sushi platter.
Review
Bansho

A little Japanese, a little French but a lot to love at this Armadale passion project

Don’t be deterred by the words “fusion food”. At this High Street newcomer, two cuisines meld with sensitivity and purpose.

  • by Dani Valent
Review
Sydney

Beer + chicken skewers + beer. It’s a perfect formula at this north shore yakitori joint

Yakitori Yurippi is at the heart of the Hatena Group’s transformation of Crows Nest into the north shore’s very own version of Merivale’s Ivy complex.

  • by Callan Boys

‘The poor man’s Grange’ now costs how much?

The reason why the Penfolds Bin is retailing at more than $100.

  • by Huon Hooke
Good Weekend Quiz online index image

Good Weekend Quiz

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge.

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Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-may-4-edition-20240304-p5f9m9.html