Culture
Books
A song of nostalgia with a delicate pitch
Polly Samson's novel imagines the lives of George Johnston, Charmian Clift and Leonard Cohen in the Greek Isles in the early 1960s.
- by Michael Williams
Latest
Review
Non-fiction reviews: Play By The Rules and other titles
Michael Pembroke's highly readable study charts the rise of the ‘American century’.
- by Steven Carroll
Literature
Fiction reviews: No Presents Please and three other titles
The impact of Jayant Kaikini's short stories is reminiscent of the effect of Raymond Carver's writing.
- by Kerryn Goldsworthy
books
Literature
The sound of gunfire and Australia's attempts to silence it
This nation's relationship with guns has been a troublesome one.
- by Simon Caterson
WordPlay
On the scent of a brain-teaser
As the dreaded virus challenges our senses, our vocabulary for scents and smells is proved lacking.
- by David Astle
Literature
White women have had it easy compared with their black sisters
Writer and activist Mikki Kendall says white women need to be more than just allies to help black feminists.
- by Jane Sullivan
Review
A lyrical ode to our vanishing wilderness
Ecological disaster meets high drama in this literary fiction debut.
- by Pip Smith
Review
Turning pages: HG Wells continues to make his prescience felt
The science fiction author's parallels of Martian and imperial invasion ring true more than 70 years after his death.
- by Jane Sullivan
Review
Glittering soap-opera escapism in Kevin Kwan's latest
The author of Crazy Rich Asians again satirises the lives of the ultra-wealthy.
- by Thuy On
Literature
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Shirley Ann Grau dies at 91
The fiction writer's stories and novels told of both the dark secrets and beauty of the Deep South.
Literature
'Every single word was a struggle': Stephenie Meyer on new Twilight novel
Midnight Sun, out today, is the first new novel in a decade in the bestselling vampire romance series.
- by Concepción de León