Q&A: Ian Rankin, crime writer
‘I was trying to write the great Edinburgh novel.’
Books
Love in a time of war
Claire Corbett’s second novel seems to depict a dystopian near-future, but Watch Over Me is set in the present.
Geopolitical anxiety
The age of Australia’s ‘ambiguous’ approach to foreign policy is fast drawing to a close.
Mystery in a golden era
Daylesford local Greg Pyers has produced a debut crime novel set in the gold rush era of the 1850s-60s.
Was Mr Darcy the Aussie lover?
Jane Austen’s great love, Wal Walker believes, was the roguish Irish-born Sydney colonial surgeon D’Arcy Wentworth.
Quest for their better selves
Five authors for young adults take us on journeys in search of our better angels.
Insights into a great mind
Seventy-six years after his death, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing remains as relevant today as it was then.
And then she was gone
With the release of TV and film adaptations of her work, Agatha Christie is now cool. Yet one puzzle stays unsolved.
Handwritten Potter prequel stolen
A rare Harry Potter prequel handwritten by J.K. Rowling on a postcard has been stolen during a burglary in England.
Lest we forget Jewish Anzacs
Who knew about 7000 Jews from Australia’s small Jewish community served in the military?
Assured debut in Kafka’s shoes
Marija Pericic has created a highly original story from the friendship between Franz Kafka and his editor Max Brod.
Selfless promoter of authors
Remembering a woman who helped shape the brilliant careers of now-famous Australian authors.
What did happen at Hanging Rock?
Hanging Rock was a terrifying place and several girls disappeared near it. What is the truth of the 50-year- old story?
Rigid doctrine’s false path
Eva Hornung has taken the bare bones of German immigrants’ history and built a tale of faith and renewal.
Comrades and brothers
How did a young doctor become the iconic image of world revolution — and the face that launched a million T-shirts?
Rampling’s sentimental sojourn
Charlotte Rampling’s weird little memoir is not about her career or lovers; instead it’s an intimate family portrait.
Making new families work
Stepfamilies now make up about 28 per cent of all Australian families, and the proportion is similar across the West.
Secrets amid the bones
In Caroline Overington’s The Lucky One a mystery is unearthed when a bobcat desecrates a family graveyard.
Dessaix calls a time-out
Robert Dessaix sees something troubling in the fact increased affluence has not meant more room for relaxation.
From the blues to brave bovines
The latest batch of children’s picture books tackles some touchy subjects and real-life dramas.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/books/page/193