Spectrum
Opinion
WordPlay
Australia leads the world in the use of this oxymoronic term
During this year’s budget there was one recurrent word association that appeared more than others.
- by David Astle
Latest
Colm Toibin didn’t think he’d write a Brooklyn sequel. So why has he?
The Irish writer’s latest novel returns to the world of Eilis Lacey.
- by Jason Steger
Opinion
Wellness
Time and time again, I find myself running away from exercise
If I do the exercises I’ll develop strong legs and not limp around the office in a way that brings sympathy.
- by Richard Glover
A frantic call from a sinking ship: this novel opens with a coroner’s report
Miles Franklin winner Shankari Chandran has an agenda in her new book Safe Haven, as our desire not to see has only been strengthened.
- by Helen Elliott
Whoa-oh, livin’ with grey hair: What Jon Bon Jovi teaches us about ageing
A new docuseries on the 40-year history of the New Jersey rockers offers unexpected insights into growing old gracefully.
- by Sarah Thomas
I want to hate Bridgerton but, like any good romance, I can’t quit
It is said the heart is forever making the head a fool. Well, Bridgerton is forever making a fool of me.
- by Louise Rugendyke
Who stole Picasso’s Weeping Woman? This novel could have the answer
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases, including historical fiction, a ripping yarn about the Labor Party and MasterChef inaugural winner Julie Goodwin’s memoir.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
Salman Rushdie’s memoir is the work of a supreme storyteller
The novelist’s account of the brutal attack on him and how he survived is moving, ghastly and full of self-scrutiny.
- by Peter Craven
Schoolboys ranked this smart young woman. Her response is thrilling
As a student, Emmanuelle Mattana faced the kind of schoolboy misogyny that made headlines last week. Her play, Trophy Boys, might just make a difference.
- by Cameron Woodhead
‘Red light and speed camera ahead’: The ambiguity of Google Maps
Are there two cameras, one for speeding and one for lights? Or just one camera? Voiced messages lack the punctuation to eliminate the doubt.
- by David Astle
Fiction is a sort of warning call, and we’re ignoring history
American writer Celeste Ng’s first two novels were realist domestic fiction, but her third was a more political creation.
- by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen