Winner of The Readings Prize 2018
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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
HAWTHORN 701 GLENFERRIE RD 9819 1917 MALVERN 185 GLENFERRIE RD 9509 1952 ST KILDA 112 ACLAND ST 9525 3852 STATE LIBRARY
VICTORIA 285-321 RUSSELL ST 8664 7540 | SEE SHOP OPENING HOURS, BROWSE AND BUY ONLINE AT WWW.READINGS.COM.AU
$1295
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
R E A D I N G S M O N T H LY EDITOR ADVERTISING P R I C E S A N D AVA I L A B I L I T Y
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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
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.
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
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
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 –
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
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