Culture
Books
This First Nations futurist novel features seamless world building
Ambelin Kwaymullina’s new novel blends fantasy, sci-fi, thriller and First Nations folklore to bring readers into a world of corruption and deceit.
- by Jessie Tu
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The late Jurassic Park author’s final book gets a roaring release
Our reviewers cast their eyes over new fiction and non-fiction releases including the late Michael Crichton’s Eruption, completed by thriller writer James Patterson and a memoir of hidden sexuality in Victorian-era regional Australia.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
Cancel culture is a boogeyman: feminist author Roxane Gay
The Bad Feminist author, who will appear in Melbourne and Sydney later this year, on progress for women, Trump and being recognised in public.
- by Cassidy Knowlton
One hundred years since his death, this author is a must-read more than ever
Indeed, posterity has paid Kafka the greatest tribute a writer can receive. His name has become an adjective.
- by David Free
Fame, glamour and tragedy: Griffin Dunne’s touching memoir
The actor, writer and producer’s memoir is a warm portrait of an unusual – and celebrity-filled – upbringing.
- by Miriam Cosic
Sheila Heti gets playful and philosophical in her scrambled diaries
As part of her ongoing investigation into her own life and art, Sheila Heti’s new book is composed of sentences taken from her diaries, arranged alphabetically.
- by Jane Gleeson-White
America’s problems lie in its traumatic childhood, author argues
In his new book, Nick Bryant argues that the division and hate in the US today are rooted in the nation’s past. But he doesn’t fully explain the Trump factor.
- by Dennis Altman
Duchess of York to headline new Perth festival of bestselling authors
A new festival has been announced – in a surprising location, with an unexpected focus, and an even more unexpected guest headlining a star-studded lineup.
- by Emma Young
Literature and music in harmony in Kazuo Ishiguro’s new book
The Nobel Prize–winning author’s new book is a gorgeously illustrated volume of lyrics written for the jazz singer Stacey Kent.
- by Peter Craven
An intimate portrait of life – and death – as Joan Didion’s assistant
As an aspiring author in his 20s, Corey Leadbeater landed what should have been a dream gig as an assistant and confidante to the legendary American writer. But his own life was unravelling.
- by Nathan Smith
Amor Towles creates an alluring world in his noirish short stories
The author of A Gentleman In Moscow has written a collection of six stories set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, as well as an experimental novella.
- by Luke Slattery