Review: Notes From An Apocalypse by Mark O’Connell

Mark O’Connell is a very entertaining, self-effacing and thoughtful companion to the end of the world.

Review: Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (translated by Sophie Hughes)

A brutal tale of murder, sex and witchcraft set in the steamy coastal plains of Mexico.

The tradition is violation: of the land, of women, and especially black men’s bodies.

A story of gay frenemy-ship set in share-house inner Melbourne, uncovering uncomfortable truths about queer life and love.

A fast-paced political thriller that hits perhaps little too close to home, and not necessarily for the right reasons.

A sweet and simple story about growing up in parallel worlds, Melbourne and Prague in 1980.

A hilarious novel about mortality and ageing.

The Yield offers a generous and quietly radical vision of a possible Australia.

I can’t say I enjoyed this book very much – it’s full of domestic tragedy – but I was impressed by its intensely claustrophobic mood.

Whittaker’s poetic language is urgent but timeless, vernacular but formally rigorous, totally unique.