Erotically cast into future
Krissy Kneen’s latest novel is an ambitious genre hybrid that addresses morality and mortality.
Books
The ugly truths of excess
Brentley Frazer’s memoir, Scoundrel Days, provides us with that rare literary treat: a good dose of the shocking.
Left for good
Singer and actor Paul Robeson’s activism was pointed and poignant.
Politically incorrect
Recent British political memoirs highlight risks in the sort of ‘modern’ government that also dominates Australia.
Host lifts guest’s gloom
A death and a dinner spark an unlikely friendship that is rewarding for both parties in this elegant memoir.
A little flight reading
Venture on the page to Istanbul and Spain with these two delightful books.
Clued-in to super sleuth
The tale of Sherlock Holmes’s origins doubles as a biography of the young Arthur Conan Doyle.
Charm of the aristocracy
Catherine de Saint Phalle’s first book of nonfiction was this week shortlisted for the Stella Prize.
Narrative tensions run deep
Poetry is resurfacing from its cultural marginalisation by extending the repertoire of its narrations.
The most solitary man in history
Why would a person choose to spend 27 years alone in the woods? He spoke just one word in all that time.
A Stella voice against violence
The shortlist for the $50,000 Stella Prize for writing by women was announced yesterday, International Women’s Day.
Smiley comes in from the cold
After a 27-year absence from John Le Carre’s work, George Smiley is about to return.
‘Donald is the big, stupid bully’
The right-wing satirist PJ O’Rourke voted for Hillary, the second worst choice for America.
Chequered obsession
Stephen Moss offers a searing portrait of the strange subterranean cultural ghetto that is tournament chess.
Space tour leaves us less lost
Geraint Lewis and Luke Barnes lead us through the cosmos with a light hand, streak of humour and lack of pedantry.
At home under the Tuscan sun
The roll call of Australian writers who spent time in Italy in the 20th century is a grand one.
Graceful exponent of the beautiful game
Celebrated victories, trophies, miracle goals and incandescent passages of play are of little interest to Johan Cruyff.
Martians have another go
British sci-fi writer Stephen Baxter has been given the job of creating a sequel to HG Wells’s The War of the Worlds.
Well versed
There are hits and misses in an ambitious new anthology of contemporary Australian poetry.
Little green men won’t phone
Jim Al-Khalili looks beyond the what, where and when of ET-hunting to the biggest conundrum of all: why bother?
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/books/page/199