The shortlist for the 2013 Miles Franklin Literary Award has been announced, and this year it’s an all-female affair. Our reviewers were impressed with all five nominated titles, three of which are debut novels.
Reviewer Carody Culver describes Floundering as ‘a dark and lyrical tale of a family reunion that unfolds against a bleak rural Australian backdrop’, and says that the novel ‘deftly captures the fading innocence of a boy who witnesses more than he understands; what he leaves unsaid is as revealing as what he articulates’. … read more.
‘The Beloved is a vivid bildungsroman with believable characters and intense dramatic events’, writes reviewer Angela Meyer. Set in Papua New Guinea in 1955, the novel is ‘about two strong identities coming up against one another, the way passion (and art) can overtake a person’s very being, and the damaging effects of “wanting the best” for a child who already knows who they are and what they want’. … read more.
‘Questions of Travel combines the ambitious themes of Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom with the poetic details of Gail Jones’ Five Bells. And the prose will knock your socks off,’ writes reviewer Andrea Hanke. ‘Essentially this is a story about two common, but very different, experiences of modern travel—an Australian backpacker exploring the world and a Sri Lankan refugee adjusting to Australia—and de Kretser unpicks her characters’ experiences, motivations and emotions with great insight and skill.’ … read more.
‘Dutch photographer, Rika, and her English ethnologist husband Leonard arrive in Papua New Guinea at the end of the 1960s, when the Melanesian country is still under Australian colonial rule. He is to study the remote tribal community of the mountain, and she is along for the ride,’ writes reviewer Andrew Wilkins. ‘The Mountain is a book about the enduring relationship between European and Melanesian in all its complexity: the ties that can bring people together and the mysteries that can confound them on both sides.’ … read more.
Mateship with Birds follows the lives of Harry, ‘a divorced dairy farmer, living alone’, and his next-door neighbour Betty in post-WWII Victoria. Reviewer David Gaunt writes, ‘This is a splendidly poised and wryly funny novel: human nature and relationships are as beautifully observed as the rich, circadian rhythms (I’ve not read better prose about the intimate intricacy of dairy farming) of country life. It is clever, original and richly rewarding.’ … read more.
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Eve Pownall Award for Information Books
Shortly after Rod Moss moved to Alice Springs, he met a black couple living in the gully behind his flat. Giving them access to water for their billy widened into a friendship that took in a clan. Over the next 25 years, Moss lived, taught and painted on the lands of the Eastern Arrernte. Sadly, he also attended 60 funerals. This memoir’s title is drawn from a gloss accompanying the author’s painting, Raft. Patterned after Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa, here it depicts five Arrernte men and women and decries the vicissitudes of grog in ‘the Alice’. Without an agenda, this book is Moss’ own beautifully written story, and while he barely conceals his exasperation at so many premature deaths, it’s also a positive recollection of his deep and personal friendship with the elder Arranye (‘Ah-run-yah’), who lived to something resembling old age, 71. This book’s careful design––with its jacket of a black snake (Moss is associated with this animal) on red ochre sand––is further enhanced by the reproduction of 40 of Moss’ startling artworks and their accompanying gloss. Mention should also be made of Raft, the memoir by Moss’ good friend Howard Goldenberg (Hybrid), published last year.
Boori Pryor is a wonderful storyteller whose ability to weave Indigenous culture into stories for all ages has seen him become one of Australia’s favourite writers for younger readers. In his latest picture book Pryor illustrates how dance is used in Aboriginal culture to pass along ideas, history and warnings. The voice of the narrator seems to speak directly to the reader, which will engage the junior readership that the book is directed towards. Jan Ormerod’s illustrations are a step away from her usual style, transforming the book into a combination of picture book and graphic novel. This format will not appeal to everyone immediately, but does sit snugly with the clarity of the narrative and the educational tone of the book. The illustrations are simple enough that Pryor’s story remains the focus. The key theme of the story is an acceptance of other cultures, and an active participation that leads to greater understanding. Although the language is simple enough for early primary school readers, the topics raised in 
The 2011 longlist for the Inky Awards for teenage literature has been announced.
One of the interesting things about the Man Booker International Prize is that it’s open to any author whose work is available in English, which includes translations. This makes it a much more diverse prize than most literary awards, which are usually for one recently published book. But where to start? Fortunately at this year’s prize announcement, judge chair Rick Gekoski was happy to share his favourite titles from the 13 shortlisted authors. We think they would make a pretty fine shelf display …