Tag Archives: australian authors

Book Review: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

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I always enjoy Sally Hepworth’s books. They are easy to read with shades of light and dark with devious twists. Mad Mabel is no exception.

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one living on the same street for decades concealing a horrible past. The tale switches between her childhood and present day when someone reveals her secret: she was a murderer. Coupled that with the death of the next-door neighbour and you have a great story with twists you won’t see coming.

You really can’t go too wrong with this novel. The character of Mabel is simply lovable, her eccentricities, her care and gruffness all make her delightful.

There are so many issues, Hepworth tackles: parental neglect, loneliness, grooming, small town prejudices, aging and more.

I really enjoyed this mystery; the characters and the story kept me turning the page. If you haven’t read any of Sally’s books, try this one first then tackle the rest.

Book Review: Mrs Kelly: The Astonishing Life of Ned Kelly’s Mother by Grantlee Kieza

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Ned Kelly has become folk lore here in Australia and there’s been a long-held fascination with him. While this book is about him, it’s also about what came before, notably his mother’s background story and the battles she had raising her family and keeping them alive.

Ellen Kelly was nine when she arrived on a ship in 1841 and died at 93 having outlived a number of her twelve children. She was also a pioneer trying with her ex-convict husband to forge existence on the land, harsh and unforgiving.

This is a remarkably well researched book and while Ellen is often overshadowed by her son’s story it is done within context of the landscape, the family and the difficulty placed on them by the law. It’s hardly surprising, the family turned to crime to survive then revenge when authorities were unfair.

I learnt a lot about the difficulties for women especially those in dire circumstances. Kieza also gives quite an insight into Ned for he was indeed quite unhinged when you review the crazy stunts he pulled.

I also enjoyed reading about the history of those places I’ve visited giving a better appreciation.It’s well written, meticulously researched with honest interpretation of events. Check this one out.

A New Novel Is Coming!

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I’ve been off line for most of the year while I write my sixth novel called Stanley Place. It will be out later in the year. I’m excited to share more with you coming months.

While I haven’t shared any book reviews for a while, I haven’t stopped reading so the reviews will roll out so watch out for them in the coming weeks.

Book Review: Hollow Girl by Lyn Yeowart

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It may be a long read but it’s a thrilling page turner of historical crime and mystery.

A dual time-line novel, the setting is 1961 and 1973 in Harrowford Hall, a home for unwed young women in country Victoria.  A body is discovered there in 1973 as the Home is being prepared for closure and a female detective is reluctantly given the case by her superior.

This is a powerful novel digging up the issues of unwed mothers, their treatment as well as those of their offspring. This is coupled with the sexism within the police force reflecting the disapproval across broader society.

Yeowart does a remarkable job uncovering these themes and at times it gets quite dark with twists I didn’t expect. It’s a well-researched story of the era, completely captivating page after page even if a little confronting.

You won’t put this one down until the last page is turned. Give it a go.

Book Review: Theory and Practice by Michelle De Kretser

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This story takes us to the 1980’s in Melbourne where a young Sri Lankan woman is undertaking a post-doctoral study of Virginia Woolf. She has moved from Sydney leaving behind a broken relationship. She considers herself a feminist but embarks on a relationship with Kit, who is her friend, Olivia’s boyfriend. Despite his insistence that he and Olivia have a deconstructed relationship, the woman is torn with her guilt for Olivia and her own desires. 

“Sometimes jealousy was a visitor from an alien galaxy that had nothing to do with me. Sometimes it was a frightening growth in my body for which science hadn’t discovered a cure.”

The woman contrasts Virginia Woolf’s middle-class Englishness with the tea pickers in colonial countries whose work in abysmal conditions enabled Woolf to the lifestyle she had at the time. And I found this to be an intriguing along with the other themes of racism and colonialism.

The characters are never completely likeable and it almost reads like a memoir. I found the story meandered in parts and found it difficult to connect with the narrator.

An okay read but not a memorable one.

Book Review: Ghost Cities by Siang Lu

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What a crazy wild ride this book took me on. It was fantastical as it was imaginative, absurd yet amusing. Ghost Cities also won the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

This is a dual timeline, dual character novel where one time line is set in ancient Chinese times where a powerful and dictatorial Emperor governs with cruelty. The other timeline is present day centered on Xiang ,a Chinese translator who is fired from his job because he doesn’t speak or read Chinese. He is then known as #BadChinese and becomes an humiliating internet sensation. He attracts the attention of an eccentric film director known as Baby Bao and offered a media role at his giant movie set in a Chinese empty city.

Each timeline parallels the ruthlessness of the emperor/director who without any accountability do whatever they please for their own self-satisfaction.

Ghost Cities reminded me of the Truman show while the ancient times explored the cruelty of dictators. Indeed, the petulance of the emperor reminded me of American politics while other aspects were reminiscent of numerous dictators around the world who have and continue to create havoc for their hapless citizens.

There are stories within stories about master manipulators, chess games, mountains, architectural beauty and decadence along with undercurrents of subversion, both small and large.

It’s a truly interesting book which has multiple levels, and I found myself drawn into the ancient world a little more than the present day. There were times where I devoured sections and some parts which dragged, namely the present day which meandered a little too slowly for my liking.

Overall, however, this one is worth trying if only for the bizarre and bold telling.

Book Review: Saigon Siren: Memoir of a Stroke Recovery by Antonio Iannella

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As the title suggests, this is the true story of Antonio Iannella’s brush with death when at the young age of thirty-eight, he had a stroke while on a family holiday.

The story of his recovery is detailed and gives the reader a genuine idea of what having a stroke is like but more importantly what happens in the recovery stage.

He details the moments before and after the stroke and the trauma of being in a foreign country dealing with a language barrier as if what happened wasn’t enough to contend with. As you could imagine those obstacles would cause inordinate stress.

Taking us behind the scenes, Iannella shows us in detail the remarkable people who worked on his recovery. He had been unable to walk, could barely talk and effectively paralysed from the neck down. The occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists as well as the rest of the medical doctors and nurses were numerous but integral to his recovery. It gave me a thorough appreciation of the amazing people in our medical system.

This is a book of enlightenment which is also filled with useful information and inspiration. Iannella doesn’t take himself too seriously either as there are some quite genuine laugh-out loud bits as he nicknames his helpers, and makes light of some of the more serious issues he faces.

“Wrapped like a burrito, I was suspended above my bed. … hanging mid-air like an Italian salami my dad would tie to the rafters.”

There are metaphors for just about everything and maybe a bit too many but sometimes they’re needed to lighten the darkness of his horrendous experience.

It’s a well written and hopeful story. Give this one a go.