Culture
Books
From stoner to hero: Love and redemption in a masterly crime novel
Lou Berney enhances his considerable reputation with this gem of a book.
- by Sue Turnbull
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Tyson Yunkaporta’s book bristles with revelation
The Indigenous author’s new book is above all a critique of how we create meaning, which it divides between right stories or wrong stories.
- by Kurt Johnson
Brief lives: The compact art of Lydia Davis
The American writer captures little openings into lives in her short stories, which can be as brief as a few lines.
- by Declan Fry
J.K. Rowling’s latest crime novel is 945 pages long. Could I go the distance?
Are the Robert Galbraith books really that good? I wondered. Or is it the Rowling brand that sells them?
- by Jane Sullivan
Sean Turnell spent 650 days in a Myanmar jail. His humour survived
The Sydney economist is no Jason Bourne, but as an adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi’s government he was in the junta’s sights soon after the 2021 coup.
- by Michael Ruffles
Eight books: A picture of religious fanaticism and the nature of music
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
Hooey and pooch, shimmy and soup up: The words turning 100 this year
You see such buoyancy in the words coined in 1924.
- by David Astle
How Charlie Chaplin was one of the first cancelled celebrities
Scott Eyman’s book examines how the great comedy filmmaker was driven out of the United States.
- by Tom Ryan
It’s January, and while you’re at the beach, I’m solving murders
Come Sunday, I can’t even remember whodunnit and where, but I wouldn’t miss my annual bout of sleuthing.
- by Nova Weetman
Raimond Gaita: A philosopher with the humanity to touch the truth
This collection of writings by the author of Romulus, My Father illustrates his commitment to a common humanity.
- by Richard King
Never mind the books, what about the art?
The State Library of NSW is known for its books, but it has a remarkable collection of paintings as well.
- by Susan Wyndham