Winner of The Readings Prize 2018

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Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
FREE   N OV E M BE R 2018

                                                                                               Winner of
                                                                                            The Readings
                                                                                              Prize 2018
                                                                                                                                  page 6

B OOK S
M USI C
F I LM
EVENTS

                                                                                                    G R AN D S ALVO
                                                                                                    page 22
                                                                                                                        WOR K I N G
                                                                                                                        CL A S S B OY
                  A . S . PAT R I Ć   JAN E HAR PER        CH LOE              KAR EN
                                                                                                                        page 21
                  page 7              page 11              HOOPER              F OX LE E
                                                           page 12             page 19

                  CARLTON 309 LYGON ST 9347 6633 KIDS 315 LYGON ST 9341 7730 DONCASTER WESTFIELD DONCASTER, 619 DONCASTER RD 9810 0891
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                  VICTORIA 285-321 RUSSELL ST 8664 7540 | SEE SHOP OPENING HOURS, BROWSE AND BUY ONLINE AT WWW.READINGS.COM.AU
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
$1295
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
NEWS                                                                                    November 2018                                                         R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY   3

November                                         Summer Reading Guide & Readings’ Best
                                                 of 2018
                                                                                                face of adversity and poverty. The Hope
                                                                                                Prize also offers two Women’s Writing
                                                                                                                                                Anna Burns wins The Man Booker Prize
                                                                                                                                                2018

News
                                                 As in previous years, in lieu of publishing    Career Development Scholarships worth           Milkman by Anna Burns has been named
                                                 a December–January edition of the              $5,000 each, an initiative supported by         the winner of this year’s Man Booker
                                                 Readings Monthly, we’re putting together       The Readings Foundation. Hope Shines            Prize for Fiction. Kwame Anthony Appiah,
                                                 a guide to the best books, music and           (Simon & Schuster) is an anthology of           chair of the 2018 judges, says: ‘None of
                                                 DVDs of 2018, as voted by all Readings         stories entered into this year’s Hope           us has ever read anything like this before.
                                                 staff. This eight-page guide will be           Prize. Uplifting, poignant, funny and           Anna Burns’ utterly distinctive voice
Readings Subscriber Shopping Day                 available in all Readings shops throughout     affecting, these stories of strength and        challenges conventional thinking and form
Our annual Readings Subscriber Shopping          December and January, and will be mailed       grace will open your eyes and heart to the      in surprising and immersive prose. It is a
Day is on Thursday 15 November!                  to all Readings Monthly subscribers in         experiences of so many of our invisible         story of brutality, sexual encroachment
We’re offering all Readings Monthly and          the first week of December along with          citizens. All royalties from the sale of this   and resistance threaded with mordant
Readings e-news subscribers 20% off full-        the Summer Reading Guide. We hope you          book will be donated to the Hope Prize.         humour’. For more information visit
priced books, CDs, vinyl, stationery and         enjoy our recommendations!                                                                     themanbookerprize.com/fiction
calendars, and 10% off full-priced DVDs.
If you subscribe to the Readings Monthly,
simply bring this month’s cover sheet            Jennifer Down wins The Readings Prize
into any Readings shop to redeem this            for New Australian Fiction 2018
offer. Otherwise, sign up to our e-news at       We’re delighted to announce that Jennifer
readings.com.au/sign-up before Monday            Down is this year’s winner of The
12 November and we’ll send you an email          Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction.
invitation which you can either print off or     Our judges described her short story
show at the counter on your phone. Please        collection, Pulse Points (Text), as ‘subtle,
note, offer applies in store only (not online)   elegant and accomplished’. They noted
on in stock items. This offer is not available   that it ‘stood out to the judging panel for
in conjunction with any other discounts          its emotional maturity and complexity.
or special offers and it is not valid on gift    Down’s ability to make a reader feel what
cards, lay-bys, special orders, special price    her characters are feeling is remarkable’.
items, cards or magazines.                       Down will receive prize money of $3,000.
                                                 Pulse Points is available from all Readings
                                                 shops and online for a special price of
12 Days of Christmas                             $26.99 (was $29.99). For more information
Once again, we’ll be running our annual          see page 6.
12 Days of Christmas promotion, offering
a special deal every day for 12 days. The
12 Days of Christmas special offers will run     Hope Shines anthology
from Monday 19 November until Friday 30          The Hope Prize is the Brotherhood
November. To receive information about           of St Laurence’s national short story
each day’s offer, sign up to our e-news at       competition which encourages writers
readings.com.au/sign-up                          to explore the theme of resilience in the

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                                                 D V D S C U R AT O R
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                                                 E V E N T S C U R AT O R
                                                 Chris Gordon
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
4      R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY                                                          November 2018                                                                                          E V EN T S

November                                                                                              Monday 12 November, 6.30pm                            Monday 19 November, 6.30pm

Events                                                                                                TIM FLANNERY ON EUROPE
                                                                                                      Come along to hear celebrated author Tim
                                                                                                      Flannery discuss his latest book, Europe: A
                                                                                                                                                            JESSIE COLE IN
                                                                                                                                                            CONVERSATION WITH
                                                                                                                                                            ANNA KRIEN
                                                                                                      Natural History. This surprising ecological
                                                                                                      history is more than just the story of Europe         Jessie Cole’s Staying is a searing memoir about
Event times and locations are subject to change.                                                                                                            surviving the suicide of loved ones, and finding a
                                                                                                      and the Europeans.
For the most up-to-date information on                                                                                                                      place to heal. Come along to hear the acclaimed
events, please check readings.com.au/events                                                           Readings Hawthorn,                                    novelist discuss Staying with Anna Krien.
                                                                                                      701 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
                                                                                                                                                            Readings St Kilda,
                                                                                                      Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events       112 Acland Street, St Kilda
Thursday 1 November, 6.30pm                                                                                                                                 Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events

                                                   Thursday 8 November, 6.30pm–7.30pm
TONI JORDAN IN                                                                                        Wednesday 14 November, 6.30pm
CONVERSATION WITH                                                                                                                                           Monday 19 November, 6.30pm
CHRISTINE GORDON                                   MARKUS ZUSAK IN                                    MIKEY ROBINS IN
Join us to hear Toni Jordan – the award-
                                                   CONVERSATION WITH                                  CONVERSATION WITH                                     STORIES TO MAKE YOU
winning, bestselling author of Addition and        MAGDA SZUBANSKI                                    HELEN RAZER                                           SMILE WITH JOANNA
Nine Days – discuss her new novel, The             Join us to hear two of Australia’s most-loved
Fragments, with Readings’ Christine Gordon.        authors in conversation. Markus Zusak
                                                                                                      Comedian and self-confessed food-lover                NELL, TONI JORDAN &
                                                   (The Book Thief) and Magda Szubanski
                                                                                                      Mikey Robins has written an irreverent romp           WILLIAM MCINNES
Readings Carlton,                                                                                     through the history of food and culinary
                                                   (Reckoning) will discuss Bridge of Clay,                                                                 Escape a bruising year by enjoying a glass of
309 Lygon Street, Carlton                                                                             craft, Seven Deadly Sins and One Very
                                                   Zusak’s highly anticipated new novel.                                                                    wine while three wonderful authors – Joanna
Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events                                                       Naughty Fruit. Guided by the truth of the
                                                                                                                                                            Nell, Toni Jordan and William McInnes –
                                                   Melbourne Athenaeum,                               ages that ‘where there is food there is folly’,
                                                                                                                                                            talk about their latest books and themes of
                                                   188 Collins Street, Melbourne                      Robins will discuss some of the most bizarre
                                                                                                                                                            kindness, compassion and community.
                                                   Tickets are $25 per person and bookings are        stories of all time with Helen Razer. Prepare
Thursday 1 November, 6.30-7.30pm                                                                      to be shocked, and to laugh out loud!                 Readings Hawthorn,
                                                   essential. Please book at readings.com.au/events
                                                                                                                                                            701 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
                                                                                                      Readings St Kilda,
THE UNCOLLECTED                                                                                       112 Acland Street, St Kilda                           Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events
PLAYS OF SHAUN                                     Thursday 8 November, 6.30pm
MICALLEF                                                                                              Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events

We are thrilled to have Shaun Micallef joining     THE HOPE PRIZE 2018
us to discuss his latest work, The Uncollected
                                                   BOOK LAUNCH                                        Thursday 15 November, 6.30pm
Plays of Shaun Micallef, a hilarious collection
of satirical plays and the stories of how he       The Hope Prize is the Brotherhood of St
                                                   Laurence’s national short-story competition,
came to write them.
                                                   judged by Cate Blanchett, Quentin Bryce and
                                                                                                      KAREN FOXLEE IN
Church of all Nations,                             Kate Grenville. Supported by the generosity        CONVERSATION WITH
180 Palmerston Street, Carlton                     of the late Prudence Myer, the Readings            MIKE SHUTTLEWORTH
Ticktets are $5 per person, or $35 per person      Foundation, and publisher Simon & Schuster,        Join award-winning author Karen Foxlee
with a signed copy of the book.                    it encourages writers to explore resilience in     as she discusses her latest children’s novel
Bookings essential at readings.com.au/events       the face of adversity. Join us for the launch of   with Readings’ own Mike Shuttleworth.
                                                   the wonderful 2018 short-story collection.         A big-hearted story, Lenny’s Book of
                                                                                                      Everything is about loving and letting go.
                                                   Readings Hawthorn,
Thursday 1 November, 7pm for a 7.30pm              701 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
                                                                                                      See our review on page 19!
seating
                                                   Free, no booking required.                         Readings Hawthorn,
                                                                                                      701 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
A MEAL WITH THE BAR                                                                                   Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events
LOURINHÃ DUO                                       Thursday 8 November, 6.30pm
Enjoy a delicious meal while you hear the
fabulous Bar Lourinhã duo, Matt McConnell
and Jo Gamvros, chat with Melbourne Editor
                                                   ANNABEL CRABB IN
and Food Critic for Australian Gourmet             CONVERSATION WITH
Michael Harden about their wonderful new           SHARLEE GIBB                                                                                             Wednesday 21 November, 6.30pm–7.45pm
cookbook. In Eat at the Bar: Recipes inspired      Come along to hear the brilliant Annabel
by travels in Spain, Portugal and Beyond,          Crabb and Sharlee Gibb talk about Crabb’s
McConnell and Gamvros share their love             new cookbook, Special Guest, and how to
                                                                                                                                                            DAVID MARR IN
of Europe’s bar dining culture through             host friends and family with easy, basic fare                                                            CONVERSATION WITH
incredible, vibrant recipes from tapas             in real homes without stress.                                                                            GEORGE MEGALOGENIS
to mezethes. They explore the amazing
                                                                                                                                                            Come along to hear David Marr, one of
flavours and relaxed hospitality that inspired     Church of All Nations,
                                                   180 Palmerston Street, Carlton                                                                           Australia’s most unflinching reporters
them to embrace and redefine bar dining
                                                                                                                                                            of political controversy and eloquent
culture in Melbourne.                              Tickets are $40 per person and include a signed
                                                                                                                                                            biographers, discuss My Country, the
                                                   copy of Special Guest.
Bar Lourinhã,                                                                                                                                               definitive collection of his writing to date.
                                                   Please book at readings.com.au/events
37 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
                                                                                                                                                            Church of All Nations,
Tickets are $110 per person and include a meal                                                                                                              180 Palmerston Street, Carlton
and a signed copy of Eat at the Bar. Places are                                                       Sunday 18 November, 12pm
                                                   Saturday 10 November, 10.30am                                                                            Tickets are $40 and include a signed, first-
strictly limited, book at readings.com.au/events
                                                                                                                                                            edition hardback copy of My Country. Please
                                                                                                      A LUNCHTIME FOOD SAFARI                               book at readings.com.au/events
                                                   A SPECIAL STORY TIME
                                                                                                      WITH MAEVE O’MEARA
Wednesday 7 November, 6.30pm                       WITH MEM FOX AND JUDY
                                                                                                      To celebrate the release of Maeve
                                                   HORACEK                                            O’Meara’s new book, Food Safari Elements:             Thursday 22 November, 6.30pm
MARIA LEWIS ON FEMINIST                             KIDS                                              Earth, Fire, Water, we are delighted to invite
WITCHES & GHOSTS                                                                                      you to lunch and to hear from the star
                                                                                                                                                            PIA’S TABLE TASTING
                                                   Join Mem Fox and Judy Horacek for a special        herself about the importance of celebrating
Come along to hear fantasy writer Maria                                                                                                                     Join MasterChef’s Pia Gava for a little tasting
                                                   story time as they read from their new             our senses through food.
Lewis talking about her new book, The                                                                                                                       and a drop of wine as we celebrate her
Witch Who Courted Death, and reinventing           book, Bonnie and Ben Rhyme Again. It’s a
                                                                                                      Rumi Restaurant,                                      new book, Pia’s Table, and Italian history,
witches and ghosts with a much-needed              companion to Good Night, Sleep Tight from          116 Lygon Street, East Brunswick                      tradition, food and family.
feminist twist.                                    the team behind Where is the Green Sheep?
                                                                                                      Tickets are $95 per person and include a signed
                                                                                                                                                            Readings Hawthorn,
Readings Carlton,                                  Readings Kids,                                     first edition of Food Safari Elements: Earth, Fire,
                                                                                                                                                            701 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
309 Lygon Street, Carlton                          315 Lygon Street, Carlton                          Water, and a two-course meal.

Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events    Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events    Please book at readings.com.au/events                 Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
E V E N TS + C OLU M NS                                                                    November 2018                                                            R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY    5

                                                                                                    Mark’s                                            Dear
                                                  Boone Shepard YA series, Boone Shepard:
                                                  The Silhouette and the Sacrifice.
                                                  Thursday 1 November, 6.30pm

                                                                                                    Say                                               Reader
                                                  Readings Kids | Free, no booking required.

                                                  Broad Plain Darkening by Clare Rhoden
                                                  Join Clare Rhoden for the launch of the
                                                  second book in her dystopian sci-fi trilogy.
                                                  Following on from book one, The Pale,
                                                  Broad Plain Darkening sees the world of the                            Not many of you will have                        There are always far, far,
                                                  Pale under threat again.                                               heard of Patricia                                far too many new books to
                                                  Monday 5 November, 6.30pm                                              O’Donnell, who sadly                             talk about adequately in
                                                  Readings Carlton | Free, no booking required.                          passed away last month,                          this column, but seriously,
                                                                                                                         and that’s the way she                           this month is out of
                                                  Yes Yes Yes by Alex Greenwich and
                                                  Shirleene Robinson                                liked it. However, she had a huge impact on       control. But I want to use some words to say
                                                  Join us to celebrate the release of Yes Yes       Melbourne’s cultural and culinary life that       something about Jennifer Down, whose
                                                  Yes: Australia’s Journey to Marriage Equality     needs to be recognised. My first recollection     Pulse Points is the winner of this year’s
Thursday 29 November, 6.30pm                      by advocates Alex Greenwich and Shirleene         of meeting Trish was during the Queenscliff       Readings Prize. I think Down is actually a
                                                  Robinson. It reveals the untold story of how a    Carnival of Words, which Trish initiated. I’d     genius, and couldn’t agree more with judges
HELEN GARNER IN                                   grassroots movement won hearts and minds          originally known Trish’s sister, Mietta, the      about the quality of her writing: her ability to
                                                  and transformed a country.                        proprietor of Mietta’s in the city, a place       convey the emotional world is peerless. If you
CONVERSATION WITH                                 Sunday 11 November, 2pm                           where we held a very successful series of         ever have a chance to hear her read her own
CHLOE HOOPER                                      Readings St Kilda | Free, no booking required.    literary events in the early ’80s. Trish turned   work, take it up – I won’t ever forget her
To celebrate the new hardback release of                                                            the heritage-listed Queenscliff Hotel into        delivery of ‘Dogs’ at the MWF panel I chaired
                                                  Tokyo by Michelle Mackintosh and Steve
Australian classics Monkey Grip and The           Wide                                              Mietta’s Queenscliff, and ran that until 2002.    in 2017. You could have heard a pin drop.
Children’s Bach, we are delighted to have         Join Michelle Mackintosh and Steve Wide           Trish was immediately welcoming and               Congratulations, Jennifer, and welcome to
Helen Garner joining us to talk about the         for the launch of their book Tokyo, which         instantly began connecting me with other          the Readings Prize Winners’ Club!
impact on her writing life of these two novels.   explores the joys of visiting this great,         people she felt I should meet – or, conversely,       Let the felicitations continue for A.S.
                                                  dynamic city – whether for the first, second      with people she felt should meet me. That’s       Patrić, our resident Miles Franklin Award-
Church of All Nations,
180 Palmerston Street, Carlton
                                                  or hundredth time.                                the thing she did all her life: connect people.   winner on staff, whose collection, The
                                                  Monday 12 November, 6.30pm                             When she moved from Queenscliff to           Butcherbird Stories, is Fiction Book of the
Tickets are $35 per person and include your
                                                  Readings State Library Victoria | Free, no        Melbourne, she took over the North Fitzroy        Month. Our reviewer commends Alec’s way
choice of one of the two signed books. Please
                                                  booking required.
book at readings.com.au/events                                                                      pub Lord Jim’s and, with the help of Six          of writing below the surface of things, and
                                                  Modern Motherhood and Women’s Dual                Degrees architects, turned it into the North      particularly his ‘profound understanding
                                                  Identities by Petra Bueskens                      Fitzroy Star (Trish was always into good          of the desperate, catastrophic way that

December
                                                  Join Anne Manne as she launches Petra             local design). The Star became a cultural         we love’. If you are yet to read Patrić, this
                                                  Bueskens’ provocative and original new            centre of the north; Readings used to             collection is a great place to begin (and we
                                                  book, Modern Motherhood and Women’s
                                                                                                    regularly hold events there. Trish helped         can hook you up with a signed copy). Also

Events
                                                  Dual Identities: Rewriting the Sexual Contract.
                                                                                                    to make things happen and if she thought          out this month are new Australian novels
                                                  Wednesday 14 November, 6.30pm
                                                                                                    something was important, there would be           from Jane Harper, Toni Jordan, Jock Serong
                                                  Readings Carlton | Free, no booking required.
                                                                                                    no charge, so the Star became a regular           and Tom Keneally (and some handsome
                                                  Feel Great and Look Your Best by                  fundraising venue for the Indigenous              editions of Helen Garner’s Monkey Grip and
                                                  Margaret Boyd-Squires                             Literacy Foundation, the Stella Prize (Trish      The Children’s Bach).
                                                  Join highly regarded naturopath Margaret          was a significant financial supporter of              International fiction is truly diverse this
Saturday 1 December, 11am til 11pm                Boyd-Squires for a celebration of the
                                                                                                    that Prize) and many other organisations.         month, with writing from Greenland (Niviaq
                                                  release of her book, Feel Great and Look
                                                                                                    For many years Trish also hosted a dinner         Korneliussen’s Crimson), China-in-exile
                                                  Your Best: Anti-Inflammatory Recipes.
A MARATHON READING                                Thursday 15 November, 6.30pm
                                                                                                    for the writers appearing at the Melbourne        (Ma Jian’s China Dream), Japan (Yukiko
OF THE ODYSSEY                                    Readings St Kilda | Free, no booking required.
                                                                                                    Writers Festival. Trish, as ever a force in the   Motoya’s Picnic in the Storm), Japan-by-
                                                                                                    background, would only attend briefly to          way-of-Australia (Kei Iwaki’s Farewell, My
The Stork Theatre presents a Homeric
                                                  The Great Cave Rescue by James Massola            make sure everything was OK.                      Orange), Italy (Matteo Righetto’s Soul of the
marathon: Emily Wilson’s new translation
                                                  Join James Massola for the launch of                   In the upstairs rooms writers such as        Border), and Norway (Matias Faldbakken’s
of The Odyssey told in full over 12 hours
                                                  his book, The Great Cave Rescue, the              Carrie Tiffany were given cheap boltholes to      The Waiter). There are also new releases
by 30 different performers. Come along for
                                                  extraordinary story of the 18-day ordeal to       practice their craft. People were devastated      from Barbara Kingsolver, Sarah Moss,
your favourite chapter, bring a picnic, stay
                                                  bring the young Thai soccer team and their        when she decided not to renew her lease.          Mohammad Hanif, Jonathan Coe, M.R.
for the whole 12-hour marathon or come
                                                  coach to safety.
and go as you please.                                                                               It was like losing your second home. When         Carey, Laura Purcell, George R.R. Martin,
                                                  Thursday 15 November, 6.30pm                      her sister Mietta passed away she set up          J.K. Rowling, Eileen Myles, and a blistering
M.Pavilion,                                       Readings Carlton | Free, no booking required.
                                                                                                    the Mietta Foundation to supports the arts,       short-story debut, Friday Black, from
St Kilda Road (in the Queen Victoria Gardens,     Night Walk by Alison Binks                        something Mietta was passionate about.            Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah whose name I
opposite the Arts Centre on St Kilda Road)
                                                  Join Alison Binks as Tim Cope launches her        Trish, myself and Readings’ then events           promise you will hear from now on. Lucia
Free, no need to book.                            new picture book, Night Walk, a captivating       manager, Pierre Sutcliffe, created a mini         Berlin fans can get a double dose of this
                                                  story about a little boy’s adventurous night      literary festival at Federation Square named      amazing woman’s work in the form of a
                                                  out while camping.                                after Mietta. Trish served on the Library         collection of stories (Evening in Paradise)
                                                  Sunday 18 November, 2pm                           Board from 1999–2008 and was chair of its         and a memoir (Welcome Home).
Tuesday 4 December, 6.30pm–7.30pm                 Readings St Kilda | Free, no booking required.    collections committee. Trish was one of the           I haven’t stopped thinking about Chloe
                                                  Night Fishing by Anna Ryan-Punch                  most remarkable people I’ve met; I, and this      Hooper’s The Arsonist since I read an
CRAIG HORNE                                       Join Anna Ryan-Punch for the launch of            city, will miss her.                              advance copy a few months ago. It’s our
In Daddy Who?, author and musician Craig          her poetry collection Night Fishing, which             It’s five years since we established the     sensational and essential Nonfiction Book
Horne gives an insider’s story of a band that     tells stories of love and motherhood, of lost     Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction;        of the Month. You also need books from
in eighteen months changed the course of          faith and suburban rental houses, and of          our first winner was Ceridwen Dovey for her       Sarah Smarsh, Alice Pung, David Marr,
Australian rock history. Join us for a night of   improvising in adulthood.                         collection of stories, Only the Animals. This     Marina Benjamin, Jill Lepore, David Grann,
nostalgia, and a possible sing-along!             Monday 19 November, 6pm                           year’s winner goes to another collection of       Jonathan Franzen, Stephen Fry; Patrick
                                                  Readings State Library Victoria |                 stories, Pulse Points, by Melbourne author        Mullins’s groundbreaking biography of
Cinema Nova,
                                                  Free, no booking required.                        Jennifer Down. It’s Jennifer’s second             Billy McMahon; memoirs from Ed Moreno,
380 Lygon Street, Carlton
                                                  Lillian’s Eden by Cheryl Adam                     book and I’m particularly pleased because         Anne Summers, Michelle Obama, Kerry
Free, but please book at readings.com.au/events   Join Cheryl Adam for the launch of her debut      Jennifer was one of the first recipients of       O’Brien and Kiese Laymon; Brow Books’
                                                  novel, Lillian’s Eden. Adam takes the reader      a Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellowship              latest offering, Going Postal; manifestos from
                                                  to post-war Australia and the stark realities     funded by the Readings Foundation. It’s           Sohaila Abdulali, Gemma Hartley and Mary

Book                                              of rural life behind the rose-filled gardens.
                                                  Tuesday 20 November, 6.30pm
                                                                                                    also a terrific book!
                                                                                                         Each Christmas season we have lots of
                                                                                                                                                      Portas; and I cannot wait to get my hands
                                                                                                                                                      on Beastie Boys Book, by and about popular

Launches
                                                  Readings Hawthorn | Free, no booking required.    extra special offers that you can only find       music’s most loveable ratbags.
                                                  Missing Pieces by Caroline de Costa               about by subscribing to our e-news – you              And finally, dear reader, I can hardly
                                                  Join Caroline de Costa for the launch of the      can ask at any of our shops or do it online –     believe it’s time to bid you adieu for the year,
                                                  second book in the Cass Diamond crime             don’t miss out.                                   as the Readings Monthly takes its annual
                                                  series, Missing Pieces. This series brings             As this is my last column for the year,      hiatus until our February 2019 issue. But
Boone Shepard: The Silhouette and the             together thrilling plots and a wonderful          may I thank you for your ongoing support          you’ll hear from us one last time before the
Sacrifice by Gabriel Bergmoser                    social conscience.                                for Readings and all the writers and artists      end of the year, with our annual special
Come along to celebrate the release of            Thursday 29 November, 6.30pm                      who produce our wares and wish you a              edition containing the year’s best books, as
Gabriel Bergmoser’s latest book in the            Readings St Kilda | Free, no booking required.    merry Christmas and fulfilling New Year.          voted by our staff.
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
6   R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY                                                November 2018                                              N E W AUST R ALI AN WR I T I N G

                                    Pulse Points by Jennifer Down
                                      wins The Readings Prize for
                                      New Australian Fiction 2018

       Winner
        of The
     Readings
    Prize 2018
    The winner of the Readings Prize for New
    Australian Fiction in 2018 is Pulse Points by
                                                    shortlist was a hard task, and involved
                                                    a lot of deliberation. Jamie Marina
                                                                                                     To read a story        are set all around the world, with characters
                                                                                                                            from all sorts of backgrounds, but every
    Jennifer Down.                                  Lau’s Pink Mountain on Locust Island is          from Pulse             incident feels authentic – it’s clear that
        The Readings Prize for New Australian       a dream-like, rapidly paced, pulpy novel                                she researched these places and situations
    Fiction, now in its fifth year, is awarded to   that challenges concepts of language             Points is to feel      comprehensively.
    a work of fiction by an Australian author.
    Authors’ first and second works of fiction
                                                    in contemporary Australian fiction.
                                                    Moreno Giovannoni’s The Fireflies of
                                                                                                     it, too.                     Pulse Points is a subtle, elegant and
                                                                                                                            accomplished short story collection.
    are eligible for the prize. The Prize for       Autumn brings together lessons learnt                                   It stood out to the judging panel for its
    New Australian Fiction is one of three          and passed down through generations.                                    emotional maturity and complexity. Down’s
    literary prizes that Readings awards each       Robbie Arnott’s Flames is a fantastic, genre-                           ability to make a reader feel what her
    year, the other two being the Readings          bending adventure. Tracy Sorensen’s The                                 characters are feeling is remarkable.
    Young Adult Book Prize and the Readings         Lucky Galah is historical fiction from a                                      Jennifer Down said of her win that
    Children’s Book Prize. Each of these prizes     wonderfully unexpected perspective. And                                 ‘[i]t’s a profound honour to receive this
    exists to celebrate the work of early-career    Shaun Prescott’s The Town is a brilliantly                              year’s Readings Prize for New Australian
    Australian writers, and over the past five      written, surreal, and unique literary novel.                            Fiction – and it’s no less an honour to be
    years eleven authors have been awarded               There are fourteen short stories                                   in the company of five other writers whose
    prizes across the three categories of the       in Pulse Points. These stories are all very                             skill and approach to storytelling I greatly
    Readings prizes.                                different to one another, but each deals in                             admire. Readings Carlton was where I used
         This year, almost ninety works of          the moments of everyday life that sting. In                             to go between classes at uni; it’s where
    Australian fiction were considered. The         the story from which this collection takes                              my first book was launched; and where
    judging panel, made up of four Readings         its name (and the first in the collection) a                            I still feel so much at home, so this feels
    booksellers, was joined by award-winning        couple travelling along a country road come                             extraordinarily special. I’m very grateful
    author Tony Birch as guest judge and            across a lifeless body. In another, a woman                             to this year’s judges, and to Readings for
    Readings’ managing director Mark Rubbo          travels to Yamanashi, Japan, to revisit the                             championing new Australian writing in the
    to decide upon a winner from a shortlist        location of her brother’s suicide. In a third,                          way only an independent bookseller can.’
    of six books. The judging criteria was          a woman tangles herself in an illicit affair                                  As this year’s winner, Down will receive
    focused on selecting books that were            with a student as her partner attempts to                               $3,000 in prize money. Pulse Points joins
    highly original, and experimented with          recover from addiction. These are the sorts                             a stellar line-up of previous winners of
    form or language. The six books the judges      of stories that leave bruises behind.                                   the Readings Prize for New Australian
    selected for the shortlist were the ones that        All of the stories in this collection are                          Fiction, including three novels – Sam
    surprised us, kept us on our toes, and those    examples of the extent to which empathy                                 Carmody’s haunting The Windy Season; Zoë
    we felt to be the most innovative of all the    can be employed in fiction – Down looks                                 Morrison’s profound Music and Freedom;
    books considered.                               at human emotion under a microscope in                                  and Stephanie Bishop’s wonderfully
         This year’s shortlist was incredibly       each of these stories, but always does so                               crafted The Other Side of the World – and
    strong. The range of books represented          with care and compassion. To read a story                               Ceridwen Dovey’s unforgettable short-story
    on this shortlist was broad – it included       from Pulse Points is to feel it, too. As well                           collection, Only the Animals.
    books set in the country and city, books        as being impressed by Down’s masterful           Pulse Points
    that experimented with literary styles,         use of emotion in her writing, the judging       Jennifer Down
                                                    panel also appreciated the great attention       Text. PB. Was $29.99
    and books that showed great emotional                                                                                   Ellen Cregan, chair of the judging panel 2018,
    depth. Choosing just one winner from this       to detail throughout the book. These stories         $26.99             and Readings marketing and events coordinator
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
F I C T I ON                                                                             November 2018                                                           R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY    7

New                                                                                                                                                International
                                                                                                  ship set sail. What happened when the
                                                                                                  walkers encountered Indigenous peoples
                                                                                                  along the way? And did the party shrink by       Fiction
Fiction                                                                                           virtue of misfortune, or by design?
                                                                                                      Preservation is a skilful and, most
                                                                                                  importantly, very entertaining work of           Evening in Paradise
                                                                                                  imagination, full of tension and menace,
                                                                                                                                                   Lucia Berlin
                                                                                                  that keeps the reader sweating over what         Picador. HB. $34.99
                              A.S. Patrić won the Miles Franklin Award in 2016 for his            will become of the protagonists until
                                                                                                                                                                            I read Evening in
                              debut novel, Black Rock White City. His latest book, The            the very end. A more odious villain than
BOOK OF THE                                                                                                                                                                 Paradise in a single
                              Butcherbird Stories, is a collection of twelve stories that         the imposter tea merchant, Figge, could
MO N T H                      confirm his craftsmanship as a writer.                              hardly be imagined: he and another
                                                                                                                                                                      sitting, mesmerised by the
                                                                                                                                                                      places and characters, and
Fiction                           Many of the stories peek behind the veil of dull suburbia       unreliable survivor hinder attempts by
                                                                                                                                                                      what they revealed about
                              to reveal the vivid, yet oftentimes disturbing, lives being         officials in Sydney to understand exactly
                                                                                                                                                                      the cultures of the times.
                              lived beneath the surface. A taxi driver, caught in the rain,       what happened. Serong uses all his crime-
                                                                                                                                                                      Names recur but are
                              distractedly awaits the results of his hospitalised wife. A chef    writing tricks of the trade in this literary
                                                                                                                                                                      intermingled. A character
                              fantasises incessantly about a daydreaming backpacker. Two          novel, and it’s hugely effective. This is
                                                                                                                                                   from one story will emerge in a different
                              young boys, destructive for the sake of it, unwittingly destroy     the kind of historical fiction writing
                                                                                                                                                   story, but with a different name, in a
                              their friendship in a rampaging afternoon.                          that makes the reader wonder where the
                                                                                                                                                   different place. Yet as you traverse the
                                                                                                  ‘real’ past ends and invention begins –
                                                                                                                                                   tapestry the book weaves, a single luminous
                                                                                                  which is just the way Serong wants it
                                    Patrić writes with a profound                                                                                  thread ducks and bobs brilliantly
                                                                                                  to be. Underpinning this story is an
                                    understanding of the desperate,                               accomplished writer’s voice that queries
                                                                                                                                                   throughout, holding it all together; a
                                                                                                                                                   vibrant, generous, female character, gentle,
                                    catastrophic way that we love                                 what Western/settler histories of Australia
                                                                                                                                                   strong and free, full of love, sorrow and
                                                                                                  are really made of, tells of the chaos and
                                                                                                                                                   mirth: meet Lucia Berlin.
                                    Patrić has a manner of describing the way we live our         devastation caused by colonisation, and
                                                                                                                                                       Berlin’s life – or a version of it she
                                lives that commands a sense of place. When painting the           speaks in dialogue with the Indigenous
The Butcherbird                                                                                   knowledges and histories that are at last
                                                                                                                                                   wanted to imagine and present – lies
                                sweltering heat of summer in suburban Melbourne, Patrić,
Stories                                                                                           becoming widely acknowledged.
                                                                                                                                                   in the foundation of every story. Semi-
                                writing as a migrant displaced from his homeland of Serbia,
A. S. Patrić                    writes: ‘On long summer Sunday afternoons the local pool
                                                                                                                                                   autobiographical, her characters travel
                                                                                                  Alison Huber is the head book buyer for          through all the places Berlin did. We
Transit Lounge. HB.
                                became a necessity, no longer the luxury it often seemed. The     Readings
$29.99                                                                                                                                             meet three husbands, four children, and
                                grassy hills rolling away from the water to the cyclone fences
                                                                                                                                                   a woman who writes while losing and
                                were covered with thin towels, filled out by a community          Two Old Men Dying                                finding herself in bottles of Jim Beam. It
that, aside from these sweltering days, never saw itself whole.’                                  Tom Keneally                                     becomes impossible to confidently draw
    There is a deep loneliness to the world Patrić weaves. Throughout his stories,                Vintage. PB. Was $32.99                          a line between fiction and autobiography.
individuals float aimlessly, constantly aware of the fragility of things. Yet, deeper than            $29.99                                       Did she turn herself into a modern artwork
this, Patrić writes with a profound understanding of the desperate, catastrophic way
                                                                                                                    Learned Man is the child       for her first husband (he was a sculptor,
that we love.
                                                                                                                    of humankind as we know        just like in the story)? Did she deal with a
    In ‘Butcherbird’, possibly the most poignant story in his collection, Patrić describes                          it; of those who are           corpse off the coast of Mexico?
the everyday struggles and fears of fatherhood, concluding with the image of a father                               thought to have travelled          If characters Lucha, Laura, Maria, Maya,
comfortingly singing his child to sleep, despite knowing he is just as inept, and frightened                        from the Rift Valley in        Clare and Maggie are one and the same, the
by the world, as her.                                                                                               Africa and to ancient          book is almost as much a novel as it is short
    In some of Patrić’s stories, love is accompanied by great acts of violence or slow-burning                      Australia. Shelby Apple is     stories – one with a fascinating structure.
failures. Yet in others, like ‘Butcherbird’, it is shown in its purist, most affecting form.                        an acclaimed                   Lucia Berlin is dead and the structure is a
Caitlin Cassidy is from Readings Hawthorn                                                         documentary-maker who, after making              pastiche of somebody else’s construction,
                                                                                                  films about Learned Man’s discovery,             but I’m not sure it matters (didn’t Roland
                                                                                                  turns his sights on Eritrea. In perhaps his      Barthes explain the death of the author in
                                                                                                  boldest novel, Tom Keneally explores the         the ’60s?). Or perhaps it is more a memoir.
Australian Fiction                                   Admirably, not only is this a delightful
                                                 novel, but Jordan’s story also illustrates
                                                                                                  journeys of modern Australians alongside         As it so happens, an official memoir is also
                                                                                                  the imagined story of ancient Learned            due out this month. It might even demystify
                                                 the impact and power an author’s work can        Man, whose remains were discovered in            some of this blurring between fact and
                                                 have on its readers. How wonderful it is         Western NSW decades ago.                         fiction. It won’t reduce the resonance of
The Fragments                                    when the world gathers in awe of published                                                        Berlin’s writing. Besotted as I am by the
Toni Jordan                                      work. If you love reading Jane Harper or
Text. PB. $29.99
                                                                                                  Monkey Grip                                      woman that is Lucha-Laura-Maria-Maya-
                                                 Holly Throsby or indeed Jordan’s other
                                                                                                  Helen Garner                                     Clare-Maggie-Lucia, I can’t help but think it
                          Toni Jordan’s latest   novels, this is the perfect weekend read.        Text. HB. Was $29.99                             impossible you won’t be too.
                         novel, The              The Fragments is undoubtedly Jordan’s
                                                                                                      $24.95                                       Leanne Hermosilla is from Readings Carlton
                   Fragments, holds within       finest work to date.
                   its pages a fable-like                                                                             With an introduction by
                                                 Christine Gordon is the events manager for
                   fervour for the written       Readings
                                                                                                                      Charlotte Wood, this is      China Dream
                   word. Using parallel                                                                               an elegant new hardback      Ma Jian
                   stories which both have                                                                            edition of the novel that    Chatto & Windus. HB. $32.99
                   the theme of loss at their    Preservation                                                         launched Helen Garner’s                               It’s no coincidence
core, Jordan has created a unique and            Jock Serong                                                          career. Upon its                                      that Ma Jian
wonderful plot. One story centres on the         Text. PB. $29.99                                                     publication in 1977,                            dedicates this book to
life of reclusive and world-famous New           Available 19 November                                                Monkey Grip divided the                         George Orwell. Named
York author Inga Karlson, who becomes                                     A little-known          critics; today, it is regarded as a                                 after Xi Jinping’s vision for
victim to a terrible fire. Fragments of                                   (though maybe           masterpiece. The novel shines a light on a                          Chinese prosperity, China
Karlson’s second novel are all that survive                         soon-to-be-well-known)        time and a place and a way of living that                           Dream is a tale of the self,
this heartbreaking disaster. The other tale,                        historical event forms the    had never before been presented in                                  broken over the rack of the
set in Brisbane in the heat of summer,                              basis for Jock Serong’s       Australian literature.                           state. As Director of the China Dream
examines the life of bookseller and former                          latest novel, Preservation.                                                    Bureau, Ma Daode proposes a microchip
academic Caddie Walker.                                             Using the 1797 shipwreck      The Children’s Bach                              that, when implemented, would delete an
     These stories are brought together                             of the Sydney Cove off the    Helen Garner                                     individual’s dreams and replace them with
when Caddie makes it her mission to solve        coast of Preservation Island in Bass Strait      Text. HB. Was $29.99                             Party propaganda. However, his violent
the mystery surrounding the remains of           as a starting point, Serong imagines what            $24.95                                       past in Mao’s Red Guard threatens to rip
the Karlson’s novel. In doing so, Caddie         might have happened during the trek                                This is another beautiful      his own mind in two.
learns to trust her instinct and integrity.      survivors made from what we now call                               new hardback edition of a          Ma Jian has written an extraordinary
Jordan depicts the nuances of bookselling        Ninety Mile Beach in Victoria to the                               modern Australian classic      depiction of a nation caught between the
without ever resorting to romantic               frontier town of Sydney. Seventeen men                             by Helen Garner. Ben           tides of progress and history, of a people’s
platitudes, and counterbalances that world       began the walk; only three were found,                             Lerner describes The           struggle beneath the state. Officials compose
with the tragedies of hidden love that           barely alive, just south of Sydney town.                           Children’s Bach as ‘a jewel’   aphorisms by day and drink in Red Guard-
entwine both stories. The Fragments is a         What happened to the other fourteen? The                           in the new introduction.       themed sex clubs when the blinds are drawn;
mystery that spans cities, class, people and     group was made up of British merchant                              First published in 1984,       the author casts a bleak shadow illuminated
timezones, and it’s a page-turner with plot      seamen set to make their fortune in the          Garner portrays her characters with a clear      by brief yet brilliant moments of wit. The
developments transpiring right to the very       infant colony, and Bengali lascars who had       eye for their dreams, their insecurities and     story eases in and out of its more surreal
last pages.                                      joined the journey in Calcutta, where the        their deep humanity.                             moments as if the concept of deleting
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
8      R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY                                                         November 2018                                                                                    FIC T IO N

dreams is as commonplace as sexting on              claustrophobic world of Nuuk and social           chapters set up the history and physicality       their lives defined by continuing crises; by
WeChat. If only Ma Daode’s memories were            media. Stifled Fia leaves a long-term             of the restaurant, and are followed by those      multiple national tragedies that have
as transient as his pleasures.                      relationship and moves in for a while with        with a focus on daily routines and practices;     triggered significant personal aftershocks.
     Even writing from Europe (Ma                   Arnuk, her brother’s best friend, who             these are more reflective and almost                   In Stephen Markley’s bold debut
is exiled from his homeland), China                 seems to have lost her job and spends her         melancholic in nature. Once the characters        novel, Ohio, characters carry the scars
Dream is a rebellion, bringing to mind              time moving from one party to another.            are established, the action becomes               that come with living in this state of
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn at his best and              It’s spring in Nuuk and the nights are            erratic and surprising as we move towards         near-permanent post-traumatic stress.
most belligerent. It’s a novel of anger             never dark; people move from one party            a chaotic finale. As the waiter himself           Framed predominantly around one night
and frustration but also a plea to his              to another as the sense of the sun never          comments, it is sometimes ‘not really             in the summer of 2013, Ohio narrates the
countrymen and women, who risk losing               quite setting evokes both the far Northern        possible to distinguish between genuine           fateful return of four ex-classmates to their
the right to think for themselves. What Ma          setting and the existential state of youth,       statements and parody’ but this is part of        hometown in the northeast of the state
warns in clear and gripping prose is that the       unmoored in the world.                            the appeal of this quirky and surprisingly        that gives the novel its name. Now in their
individual may be expected to surrender                  Originally written in Greenlandic and        thought-provoking novel.                          late twenties, Bill Ashcraft, Stacey Moore,
to the state but the repercussions are their        then rewritten in Danish by the author            Amanda Rayner is from Readings Carlton            Dan Eaton, and Tina Ross converge on the
own, and if the only way to erase one’s guilt       before beginning its journey into translation                                                       fictional town of New Canaan – far from the
is to make others appear even guiltier then         in French Canadian, English, etc.,                Unsheltered                                       biblical Promised Land implied by this name
the past will repeat itself forever. ‘“First it’s   Korneliussen speaks of the need to rewrite it                                                       – seeking some form of redemption and
                                                                                                      Barbara Kingsolver
fists,” says Ma Daode, “then it’s bricks, and       in Danish to be accessible to everyone, as not    Faber. PB. Was $32.99                             resolution for their pain. Markley flashes
before you know it, it will be guns.”’ Ma Jian      all Greenlanders speak Greenlandic.                                                                 back to their high-school years, to their
                                                                                                          $29.99
has thrown a short, sharp punch that lands               Greenlandic is a polysynthetic language,                                                       various entanglements, and to that ‘defining
                                                                                                                                Barbara Kingsolver is
on the mind and heart.                              in which a whole sentence can be conveyed                                                           time’ when 9/11 and the subsequent invasion
                                                                                                                                perhaps best known
Paul Goodman is from Readings Hawthorn              in one word, and Crimson is prefaced by a                                                           of Iraq drew a line through the heartland
                                                                                                                         for her award-winning
                                                    cast list whose names can simultaneously                                                            and through their lives.
                                                                                                                         novels The Poisonwood
                                                    mean many things. Beginning with a letter                                                                Across its 400-plus pages, Ohio takes
Friday Black                                                                                                             Bible (1998) and The
                                                    to the reader and a cast of characters, names                                                       in social activism, sexual assault, the
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah                                                                                                 Lacuna (2009), though her
                                                    explained, evokes the explanatory notes                                                             scourge of methamphetamines, and
Riverrun. HB. $29.99                                                                                                     numerous other works will
                                                    that often prefaced nineteenth-century                                                              the wounds of war to paint a portrait of
                         We live in an era                                                                               also be familiar to many.
                                                    literature. This works beautifully in concert                                                       life in America now. But Markley’s isn’t
                         where we get told to                                                         With her much-anticipated new novel
                                                    with the use of text messaging and hashtags                                                         a clinical dissection. He writes with
                   accept who we are and                                                              Unsheltered, Kingsolver brings her signature
                                                    to meld what may be expected from a novel                                                           a fervent, emotional tone that places
                   show it – but is that really                                                       use of metaphor to issues about which she is
                                                    about modern Greenlanders with what is a                                                            human lives at the centre of this national
                   true for people of colour?                                                         concerned, and with which she intends to
                                                    novel of Greenlanders.                                                                              breakdown. Markley takes risks, and I
                   We ask them to whitewash                                                           concern her readers. Both the title of the
                                                         The intersecting storylines double                                                             admire them, even if they don’t all quite
                   themselves to appear                                                               novel and the fundamentally unsound
                                                    back on each other, shifting the night from                                                         pay off. Sometimes characters function
                   successful and to fit in.                                                          buildings that form the central settings for
                                                    failure to triumph, and to connections                                                              too much like broad mouthpieces for big
They have to learn how to make                                                                        the two major plots function literally and
                                                    made and lost. The isolated and connected                                                           ideas; sometimes events are pushed to
themselves appear ‘less threatening’ to                                                               metaphorically, serving to underscore the
                                                    world of Greenland’s capital and it’s                                                               the extreme. But Ohio is an ambitious
keep themselves safe; they have to ‘turn                                                              fragility of modern American democracy
                                                    inhabitants are beautifully evoked in a                                                             novel grappling quite intimately with
down their Blackness’.                                                                                and society. There is nothing subtle about
                                                    story I never thought to hear.                                                                      problems that have no simple solutions.
     Friday Black is Nana Kwame Adjei-                                                                this signposting; Kingsolver’s fiction is her
                                                         As the author says, ‘I dreamed of being                                                        It’s also a vital reminder that in times of
Brenyah’s fiction debut. The brutal honesty                                                           political activism.
                                                    part of something bigger’. Crimson made me                                                          crisis, fiction doesn’t need to offer us all
with which he writes shows how it is to be                                                                Kingsolver introduces two families
                                                    feel part of something bigger.                                                                      the answers, but should ask questions that
young and black in America. The twelve                                                                living in different centuries in Vineland,
                                                                                                                                                        shine a light in the darkness.
short stories are intense and include               Marie Matteson is from Readings Carlton           New Jersey who are struggling to keep a roof
situations as varied as entertainment                                                                 over their heads. In 2016, Willa Knox is a        Joanna Di Mattia is from Readings Carlton
simulations where violence is seen as               The Waiter                                        (recently, unwillingly) freelance journalist,
justice, a stampede of Black Friday zombie          Matias Faldbakken                                 attempting to keep her world turning              Red Birds
shoppers who scrape the dead under                  Doubleday. HB. $29.99                             despite family tragedy, career crises and         Mohammed Hanif
the shelves, and the joy that comes with                                    Reading The Waiter        a home that may crumble at any moment             Bloomsbury. HB. $29.99
successfully communicating in a half-                                       by Matias                 due to its inexplicable lack of foundations.                              Major Ellie crashes
learned language. Adjei-Brenyah illustrates                           Faldbakken reminded me          In 1871, Thatcher Greenwood is a newlywed                                 his sixty-five-million
the range of human complexities that come                             of one of my favourite          science teacher who must also grapple with                          dollar jet in the desert near
with a world that prizes pharmacological                              short stories: ‘The             a complicated family and community,                                 the refugee camp he was
happiness but scorns emotions and human                               Luncheon’ by W. Somerset        financial misfortune, and a structurally                            supposed to bomb. It’s not
connection, being trapped in a time loop                              Maugham. Set in the Paris       unsound home.                                                       really a high priority
without consequences, and a shared                                    restaurant Foyot’s (which           Despite existing in different eras, the                         target, but Ellie was
purgatory between a college shooter and             sadly no longer exists), the story tells of the   two families are linked not only by their                           thrown a bone by his
victim who work to prevent more violence.           quiet despair of a writer having to foot the      similar plight and all that it portends, but      commander to get a proper mission before
     Adjei-Brenyah has an explosive voice           bill for a lunch he can’t afford. Translated      also by a shared interest in the accomplished     his job as a ‘zoomie’ is replaced by sticky-
and has created authentic worlds that               from Norwegian, The Waiter is also set in a       naturalist Mary Treat, a central character in     keyboarded drone pilots. Sixty-five-million
make you feel like you’ve travelled far in a        famous (in this case fictitious) European         the novel and a real historical figure from the   in hardware doesn’t leave much room to
small range of pages. He really captures the        restaurant, The Hills in Oslo. Like               area, celebrated in her own right, but also for   pay for a survival kit, however, and soon
toll of consumerism, the idea of racism as          Maugham, Faldbakken is witty and                  her collaboration with Charles Darwin.            Ellie has nibbled down his last energy bar
sport, the corrupt criminal justice system,         observant, and writes about a protagonist             Through her large but not unwieldy            and is resisting the allure of oases and
and cultural unrest. The stories are set out        for whom the restaurant environment               cast, Kingsolver explores the specific            having nightmares about his wife.
in an order that will chill you to the core         induces anxiety and tension.                      anxieties of the present, as well as issues            Dehydrated and hallucinating, Ellie
with their unyielding realism, then fill you            The nameless waiter of the novel’s title      that have plagued enquiring, original minds       is saved by Momo, a young refugee from
with fire against the injustice of racism,          serves all the regular customers at The           throughout history.                               the camp. Well, actually, Ellie is saved by
and end with the hope of redemption for             Hills. There is the Pig, an elderly gentleman         Unsheltered will appeal to existing           Momo’s dog Mutt, who, along with Ellie
humankind.                                          who has lunch at the same table every             Kingsolver readers, and those looking for         and Momo, narrates the novel. Weird, huh?
Cindy Morris is from Readings Carlton               weekday; Tom Sellers, who has donated             resonant historical fiction with political        Anyway, Momo hates Westerners because
                                                    many of the paintings that hang on the            undercurrents.                                    when his brother went to work for them he
Crimson                                             restaurant walls; and the friendly Edgar          Elke Power is the editor of Readings Monthly      disappeared and never came back. Mother
                                                                                                                                                        Dear and Father Dear have been no help at
Niviaq Korneliussen                                 and his nine-year-old daughter Anna. In
                                                                                                                                                        all, so it’s been Momo leading the search
Hachette. PB. $27.99                                addition to meeting the diners’ every need,       Ohio
                                                    the waiter guarantees everything is perfect;                                                        to find Bro Ali. But despite his skills and
                       Niviaq Korneliussen                                                            Stephen Markley
                                                    from his immaculate uniform and the                                                                 understanding of Western capitalism,
                       begins her novel                                                               S&S. PB. $24.99
                                                    crumb-free tablecloths to ensuring each                                                             Momo’s business plans are failing. Maybe
                 Crimson with a letter to                                                                                    In the post-9/11 era,
                                                    napkin has the correct number of creases.                                                           the young aid worker wanting to research
                 the reader: ‘I began                                                                                        foreign wars,
                                                    One day, a young lady joins the Pig at his                                                          Momo for her thesis on the ‘teenage
                 creating characters and                                                                               financial meltdowns,
                                                    table. Her unpredictability challenges the                                                          Muslim mind’ can be of use? Momo can’t
                 stories on paper and                                                                                  diminishing
                                                    waiter’s ordered world and everything                                                               avoid seeing the irony of being bombed
                 suddenly the whole world                                                                              opportunities, and
                                                    starts to unravel.                                                                                  by a people who then seek to council him
                 was available to me.’                                                                                 increasing alienation have
                                                        Reading The Waiter is a bit like                                                                about grief and loss.
   Crimson, originally titled Home                                                                                     shaped the United States
                                                    experiencing a degustation menu. We are                                                                  Red Birds is a darkly funny, irreverent
Sapienne, is the story of five young,                                                                                  of America. A generation
                                                    presented with small, sharp chapters which                                                          story of a young life in a world ruled by
queer Greenlanders negotiating their                                                                  of young people have come of age in the
                                                    vary in flavour and texture. The initial                                                            war-for-war’s-sake and total bureaucracy,
existence and relationships in the small,                                                             shadow of the collapse of the Twin Towers –
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
F I C T I ON                                                                             November 2018                                                             R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY        9

and in which the insidious power of the         Ghost Wall
things we hate becomes the very thing that      Sarah Moss
drive us. Told with deadpan humour, you’ll      Granta. HB. $27.99
find yourself stifling an audible giggle at                       Teenage Silvie and her
the absurdity of contemporary conflict.                           parents are living in a hut
Michael McLoughlin is from Readings Carlton                       in Northumberland as an
                                                                  exercise in experimental
Cherry                                                            archaeology. Her father is
                                                                  a difficult man, obsessed
Nico Walker
Bloomsbury. HB. $32.99                                            with imagining and

                  Cleveland, Ohio, 2003. The
                                                                  enacting the harshness of                   BRIDGE OF CLAY                                       THE LOST MAN
                                                Iron Age life. Haunting Silvie’s narrative is                    MARKUS ZUSAK
                  unnamed narrator, a                                                                                                                                 JANE HARPER
                                                the story of a bog girl, a young woman                The most anticipated novel of the decade
                  college freshman, meets                                                           from the author of the global phenomenon,
                                                                                                                                                       For readers who loved The Dry, Jane Harper
                                                sacrificed by those closest to her, and the                                                            has once again created a powerful story of
                  Emily. They marry before                                                                         The Book Thief.
                                                landscape both keeps and reveals the                                                                   suspense, set against a dazzling landscape.
                  he ships out to Iraq as an                                                           ‘Zusak is a writer of extraordinary
                                                secrets of past violence and ritual as the                                                              ‘What an extraordinary novel: part family
                  army medic. When he                                                              empathy...a story so vibrant and so real that
                                                                                                                                                        drama, part indelible ode to the Outback’
                                                summer builds to its harrowing climax.                  the reader feels enveloped by it’
                  returns, his PTSD is                                                                                                                                  A.J. Finn
                                                                                                                  The Australian
                  profound, and the drugs
on the street have changed. They attempt a      Someone Like Me
normal life, but with their money drying        M. R. Carey
up, he turns to the one thing he thinks he      Hachette. PB. $29.99
could be really good at – robbing banks.        Available 13 November
Hammered out on a prison typewriter, the                          Liz Kendall wouldn’t hurt
semi-autobiographical Cherry marks the                            a fly. Even when times get
arrival of a raw, bleakly hilarious, and                          tough, she’s devoted to
surprisingly poignant voice from the dark                         bringing up her kids in a
heart of America.                                                 loving home. But there’s
                                                                  another side to Liz, one
The Deal of a Lifetime                                            that’s dark and malicious.
Fredrik Backman                                                   An alter-ego that will do
                                                anything to get her way. And when this
                                                                                                                THE PM YEARS                              NINE PERFECT STRANGERS
Michael Joseph. PB. $19.99                                                                                         KEVIN RUDD                                       LIANE MORIARTY
                                                other side of her takes control, the
                   A father has a story he                                                             After years of silence, the 26th Prime            From the no.1 New York Times bestselling
                                                consequences are devastating. Someone               Minister of Australia is finally on the record               author of Big Little Lies.
                   needs to share before it’s
                                                Like Me is a modern take on the Jekyll and           about his time in government. This is the            ‘One of the few writers I’ll drop anything
                   too late. As he tells his
                                                Hyde tale and an intoxicating new thriller           memoir of a prime minister full of energy          for. Her books are wise, honest, beautifully
                   son about a courageous                                                           and ideals, while battling the greatest trials
                                                from the phenomenal M.R. Carey.                                                                                     observed’ Jojo Moyes
                   little girl lying in a                                                                       of the modern age.
                   hospital bed a few miles
                   away, he reveals his past    Middle England
                   regrets and his hopes for    Jonathan Coe
the future. Now, on Christmas Eve, before       Viking. PB. $32.99
he can make the deal of a lifetime and          Available 19 November
change the destiny of the little girl he                          Set in the Midlands and
hardly knows, he must find out what his                           London over the last eight
own life has actually been worth, and only                        years, Jonathan Coe
his son can reveal the answer.                                    follows a brilliantly vivid
                                                                  cast of characters through
Farewell, My Orange                                               a time of immense change
Kei Iwaki                                                         and disruption in Britain.
Europa. PB. $22.99                                                It’s a story of modern
                                                England, of nostalgia and delusion, of
Available 13 November
                  Far from her native
                                                bewilderment and barely-suppressed rage.                                                               The new book
                                                A witty and incisive state-of-the-nation
                  Nigeria and living as a
                  single mother of two,
                                                from one of Britain’s great satirists, Middle                                                        from the bestselling
                                                England follows in the footsteps of The
                  Salimah works the night
                  shift at a supermarket in
                                                Rotters’ Club and The Closed Circle; this                                                                   author of
                                                novel is a novel for our strange new times.
                  small-town Australia. She
                  is shy but signs up for an
                                                                                                                                                       Flesh Wounds.
                  ESL class. There Salimah      The Kingfisher Secret
meets Sayuri, who has come from Japan           Anonymous
with her husband, a research associate at       Century. PB. $32.99
the local college. When Sayuri’s infant                            October, 2016. Journalist
daughter dies in daycare and one of                                Grace Elliot has just landed
Salimah’s boys leaves to live with his                             a scoop that she believes
father, the two women look to one another                          will make her career. A
for comfort and sustenance.                                        porn-star is willing to talk
                                                                   about her affair with the
The Corset                                                         man some hope and many
                                                                   fear will become the next
Laura Purcell
Bloomsbury. PB. $29.99
                                                president of the United States. But no one
                                                will touch it. Instead, Grace is sent to Europe
                  Dorothea Truelove is
                                                where she discovers a story so explosive that
                  young, wealthy and
                                                it could decide the American election and
                  beautiful. Ruth Butterham
                                                launch a new Cold War – if she can stay alive
                  is young, poor and
                                                long enough to tell it.
                  awaiting trial for murder.
                  When Dorothea’s
                  charitable work leads her     Picnic in the Storm
                  to Oakgate Prison, she is     Yukiko Motoya
                                                Hachette. HB. $29.99
delighted by the chance to explore her
fascination with phrenology. But when she                        A housewife takes up
                                                                 bodybuilding and sees
                                                                                                          The magical conclusion                             “I was like Icarus.
meets teenage seamstress Ruth, she is
faced with another theory: Ruth attributes                       radical changes to her                    to the award-winning                               I flew too close
                                                                 physique – which her                    Stella Montgomery series
her crimes to a supernatural power
inherent in her stitches. The story Ruth                         workaholic husband fails to                                                                     to the sun.”
has to tell will shake Dorothea’s belief in                      notice. A newlywed notices
rationality, and redemption. Is Ruth                             that her husband’s features
trustworthy, mad, or a murderer?                                 are beginning to slide
Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
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