Review: The Sunken Land Begins To Rise Again by M. John Harrison

A dense and watery novel about the madness of searching for meaning in our mad times.

Review: Flames Of Extinction by John Pickrell

A urgent stocktake of the Black Summer, which burned a fifth of Australia’s forests.

Review: An Episode Of Sparrows by Rumer Godden

A novel about gardening that is also what it takes to rebuild.

Review: Born Into This by Adam Thompson

Born Into This is an effective demand to be heard.

Review: Witness by Louise Milligan

A blistering indictment of the treatment of victims of sex crimes by the legal system.

Review: Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (translated by Elisabeth Jaquette)

A short, seething and immaculate novel about what it’s like living in Israeli occupied Palestine.

Review: Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock

An intriguing fantasy drawing on forest myths that is burdened by an unfortunate attitude to women.

Review: Toxic by Richard Flanagan

Toxic is a polemic against Tasmania’s farmed salmon industry.

Review: The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott

The Rain Heron is a fable about environmental exploitation.

Review: Eating With My Mouth Open by Sam van Zweden

Eating With My Mouth open is an investigation of food, body and memory, and all the things they can mean.