As another year draws to a close, we thought we would look back on some of our reviewers’ top picks from 2012. From selkies to family dramas, YA adventures and beautiful picture books, there was something for everyone in Australian books this year.
In our Summer 2011/2012 issue, reviewer Amelia Vahtrick gave Margo Lanagan’s Sea Hearts (A&U) five stars, describing Lanagan’s prose as ‘hauntingly beautiful [and] darkly atmospheric’. ‘The book would be appropriate for sophisticated teen readers, as well as adults in search of beautiful prose,’ wrote Vahtrick.
In February/March, our reviewers picked out Patrick White’s The Hanging Garden (Vintage)—‘a Patrick White novel we can all read with pleasure’—M L Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans (Vintage)—‘fascinating and so beautifully told’—and Gerald Murnane’s A History of Books (Giramondo)—‘there is no greater living Australian writer’—as their top picks.
In April/May, The Forrests by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury) received five stars from reviewer Angela Meyer, who described the book as ‘a work of art as well as a successful narrative’. ‘It is nuanced, compelling and a treat for the mind, senses and emotions,’ wrote Meyer. In Junior, two Jackie French books—Pennies for Hitler and Dingo: The Dog Who Conquered a Continent (both HarperCollins)—received five-star reviews.
Our June/July issue featured a whopping six five-star reviews: Nine Days by Toni Jordan (Text), The Oldest Song in the World by Sue Woolfe (Fourth Estate), Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East by Benjamin Law (Black Inc.), City by James Roy (UQP), Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield (Text) and Unforgotten by Tohby Riddle (A&U).
In August/September, Lily Brett’s Lola Bensky (Hamish Hamilton) received five stars from reviewer Pip Newling. Newling described Brett’s book as ‘an entertaining story that is also full of heart’ which ‘should appeal to a wide readership’. In Junior, our reviewers’ top picks included Little Elephants by Graeme Base (Viking), Tree: A Little Story about Big Things by Danny Parker & Matt Ottley (Little Hare) and The Crystal Code: The Billionaire Series Book Four by Richard Newsome (Text).
And finally, in our October/November issue, reviewer Portia Lindsay gave five stars to The 2013 Voiceless Anthology (selected by J M Coetzee, Ondine Sherman, Wendy Were & Susan Wyndham, A&U). Lindsay described the anthology as ‘an important collection of writing’ and urged readers to ‘be challenged’ to consider their own relationships with animals. In Junior, reviewer Hilary Adams was particularly taken with Cuckoo! by Fiona Roberton (Viking). ‘Fiona Roberton has triumphed again in writing a story about finding that special someone who understands us perfectly,’ wrote Adams.
What were your favourite Australian titles for 2012? Let us know in the comments.
The Rise of the Fifth Estate is a well-researched and engaging look at the world of social media and blogging in the context of the Australian political system, and author Greg Jericho (aka political blogger Grog’s Gamut) makes a convincing case that social media has been a positive force. The book opens with a comparison of how different media outlets—both ‘new’ (online) and traditional—have reacted to recent leadership spills in our major political parties, before presenting a snapshot of the current state of the Australian political blogosphere and twittersphere. Jericho also picks up on some of the important issues facing new media platforms such as the apparent lack of female voices in online political discussions, the increasingly nasty nature of online comments, and the ongoing battle between amateur and professional political writers. While the book’s casual tone might not appeal to everyone, its strength lies in the personal experience that informs it. Jericho has had first-hand experience of the battle between bloggers and the mainstream media: as Grog’s Gamut he is an avid blogger and tweeter (with close to 13,000 followers) and writes a weekly column for the ABC’s The Drum. The Rise of the Fifth Estate is an important contribution to our knowledge of how Australian politics and the Australian media operate, and is a book that all media professionals, and indeed anyone who is interested in politics and the media, should have on their shelves.
Hannah & Emil is the third novel from Vogel Literary Award winner Belinda Castles, and is inspired by the events of her grandparents’ lives. In a similar style to Anna Funder’s All That I Am, the novel begins in contemporary Australia—with newly immigrated Flora discovering journals and keepsakes from her grandmother Hannah’s life—before transporting the reader back to early 20th-century Europe, where we meet Hannah, in England, and Emil, in Germany, as children. The chapters alternate between the two characters as they grow up and begin their journeys to the point where their lives will cross; Hannah as she seeks out independence through her career in the trade union movement, and Emil as he returns to a devastated Germany after fighting in World War I and gradually becomes involved in resistance activities against the increasingly powerful Nazi regime. When World War II breaks out both Hannah and Emil are forced to set out on another journey, albeit a more dangerous one. In the final pages of her story Hannah reflects that she has made ‘a home in movement’. It’s an apt description of her life, and Emil’s, but this sense of movement could also be used to describe Castles’ novel. It never sits still and the reader is left feeling they have travelled as far as the main characters. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this novel, which celebrates both the everydayness of building a life with someone, and the extraordinary feat of overcoming great obstacles to that life.
Adelaide Writers’ Week is just around the corner (3-8 March). Eloise Keating spoke to new director Laura Kroetsch about her first festival, her favourite sessions and the themes behind this year’s program.
Writing an entertaining book about all of Australia’s prime ministers is an ambitious task, but one that political writer Mungo MacCallum pulls off brilliantly—this book is packed with all the charm, wit and expert knowledge readers have come to expect from MacCallum’s writing. The Good, the Bad and the Unlikely offers a brief chapter on Australia’s 27 prime ministers, from Edmund Barton, nicknamed ‘Tosspot Toby’ because of his fondness for a drink, who dedicated his political career to Australian federation and became the nation’s first prime minister; to Billy Hughes and Joseph Lyons, remembered as ‘the great Labor rats’; Robert Menzies, our longest serving PM who was ‘British to the bootstraps’ and once attempted to have Australia’s decimal currency renamed the Royal in honour of the royal family; Francis Forde, who managed just eight days in office; Bob Hawke, ‘the hard-drinking larrikin’ who ‘surpassed all expectations’; and our current PM Julia Gillard, the first woman to take on the job. While politics junkies will love this book for its amusing anecdotes and careful analysis, The Good, the Bad and the Unlikely will also be a valuable resource for students and those wishing to improve their trivia skills.
Women of Letters is a collection of letters penned by well-known Australians, originally performed at a series of events of the same name. Curated by Michaela McGuire and Marieke Hardy, these events began in 2010 as a fundraiser for the Victorian animal shelter Edgar’s Mission. The idea was to celebrate the art of letter writing and showcase local talent by asking prominent Australian women—and some men in a special Men of Letters event—to write a letter on a particular theme. When you read this book you will: laugh out loud at actor Noni Hazlehurst’s letter to her first boss and comedian Fiona Scott-Norman’s letter to her nemesis; wish your 12-yearold- self could have received a letter like the one penned by musician Jen Cloher; come close to tears over the letter former politician Mary Delahunty wishes she had written; and if you are the romantic sort, fall a little in love with entertainer Eddie Perfect, whose letter is written to the woman who changed his life. Readers of all ages will get a glimpse of themselves in this surprising, thoughtful, funny and inspiring book, which deserves to find a place in everyone’s home.