The books that have had the biggest impact on me this year.
Author: James Whitmore
I am a writer based in Melbourne. I’m interested in nature and the environment, and queer books.
Review: A Couple Of Things Before The End by Sean O’Beirne
These stories are about traditional Aussie men, all at sea in their emotions.
Review: The Adventures Of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (translated by Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre)
Lesbians! Cowboys! Argentina!
Review: The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (translated by Michele Hutchison)
This is a novel that does what it says: a truly discomforting tale of death and grief set in a grim twilight world.
Review: A Treacherous Country by K. M. Kruimink
A strange and misty novel set in colonial Van Diemen’s Land.
Review: Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
Eggshell Skull is a compelling and infuriating insight into the justice system, and the psychology of victimhood.
Review: Real Life by Brandon Taylor
An aching novel of a young man trying to find a place in the world.
Review: Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe
Stone Sky Gold Mountain offers a rearranging of Australian history, reminding us other settlers were also here in the early days.
Review: Living With The Anthropocene (edited by Cameron Muir, Kirsten Wehner and Jenny Newell)
The writers in this collection grapple with what it means to be “planetary” beings: how our individual actions can seem so small, but have global consequences.
Review: Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
A dreamy, mirage-like novel where things change shape before your eyes.
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