What to read this week
New and notable books, as recommended by The Australian.
Andrew Hamilton got busted for handling a huge haul of magic mushrooms, but it is only when the police truck pulls up at notorious Parklea prison that his predicament hits home. It is difficult to fathom how he ended up in prison, what with his privileged background, supportive parents, beautiful fiance, and successful restaurant. But after starting out as a small-time dealer, things quickly got out of control. With honest, humble and humorous storytelling, Hamilton, now an acclaimed stand-up comic, reveals how the harsh reality of prison woke him up to all had - and had to lose.
Ever wondered about the stories behind some of Australia’s classics songs? As author and journalist Glen Humphries explains in this entertaining book, what a song is about and what we think it’s about are not always the same. He enlightens us with the stories behind 40 classic Australian hits, from 80s love songs such as Hunters & Collectors’s Throw Your Arms Around Me, to classics from AC/DC, Paul Kelly and The Divinyls, and more recent hits like Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know.
“You have to let a bit of yourself bleed into your work,” a creepy drama professor tells budding playwright Melina Green in Jodi Picoult’s twenty-ninth novel, in which the timeline shifts between the modern day, and Shakespearean times. Could the prodigiously talented poet and playwright Emilia Bassano, who is working under a male pseudonym, be the real author of Shakespeare’s works? That’s surely heresy - but it’s a highly entertaining premise, nonetheless.
In the dark laneways of nineteenth century Melbourne, a star of the theatre dies in squalor, apparently a suicide. Aspiring actor Lola Sanchez refuses to accept the coroner’s ruling – she knows there’s more to this case than meets the eye because she’s also been immersed in the latest French detective stories. She convinces her unlikely new friend, notorious degenerate Magnus Scott to take on the investigation, and together they discover the corrupt underbelly of privileged society. It’s a gothic story rich in historical detail.
Some will know Ailsa Piper as an accomplished stage actor, bushwalker and writer; others may remember her as Ruth Wilkinson from the TV show, Neighbours. This book is her account of her grief after the sudden death of her husband, Australian actor Peter Curtin. She reflects on her own childhood, the meaning of home in an extended family and the struggle of being apart from her elderly father, who is locked down in Western Australia. Piper finds solace in the natural world, and particularly in the ocean when she learns to swim, and in the process she reclaims her own life.
This is the third novel from Patrick Engman to feature detective Vanessa Frank. Here, two bodies are found in a Stockholm park, but this is no oridinary crime drama. The web of intrigue spans the Swedish underworld and international politics. Engman skilfully takes the reader into the mind of each well-drawn character. Whether it is a detective, a terrorist, a bodyguard or a high-class escort, readers will be left wondering why people do what they do.
It’s 1945 and victory in the Pacific has finally arrived. Bourke Street, Melbourne, is awash with euphoric revellers. Amid the chaos, nineteen-year-old Maggie Johnson from genteel North Fitzroy is captivated by an unlikely new acquaintance, a poor young woman from the slums of South Fitzroy wearing a borrowed dress. This is a charming tale of female friendship, a woman’s place in post-war society and how these women push back against the restrictions of their class. Perth author Jennie Jones is best known for her contemporary rural fiction, but readers won’t be disappointed by her second foray into historical fiction.
Dr Mark Cross is well placed to comment upon the state of Australia’s mental health system – not only is he a psychiatrist and author, he suffers anxiety himself. He discusses the urgent need to address the mental health crisis, with this in-depth study of the mental health issues being suffered by so many. Honest about his own struggles, his writing is warm and empathetic and yet it’s also critical of the ineffective policies of Australia’s National Mental Health Strategy. He also offers solutions to find a way out of the crisis.
Unrequited love can be its own reward
I have enjoyed an unspoken love of more than 30 years duration, a passion that ripples with many kinds of desire. This man is a similar age to me. For the purposes of this piece, I’ll call him P.
It seems that everything can kill you these days
I don’t care about sharks, microplastics or salt in my diet because I’ve realised that at my age it’s pointless to worry.