Review
What to read: A tale of heaven and hell, and the end of a giant shark
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
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Book of the day
Spectrum
Enjoyed White Lotus? Here’s a novel that has fun skewering privilege
Emily Perkins’ new novel Lioness delivers a courageous if unsettling message.
- by Gretchen Shirm
Has history ‘defanged’ Martin Luther King’? This biography says yes
Jonathan Eig’s new look at the life of the African-American activist argues he was no saint, but a man of courage with a moral vision.
- by Shane White
The 12 best books to read in August
From a young Rupert Murdoch to talking organs - here’s what to read this month.
- by Jason Steger
Another quietly riveting, emotionally potent novel from Mark Brandi
The young protagonist in Brandi’s fourth novel Southern Aurora grabs an unusual chance of improving his fortunes.
- by Daniel Herborn
The real story of how Australian media companies amassed their huge power
In Sally Young’s second volume of her history of Australian media, she focuses on newspapers and the coming of television.
- by Matthew Ricketson
Look back without anger: A memoir of abuse at school
Martin Flanagan’s memoir is possibly the most insightful book to so far emerge from the mangled mess of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions.
- by Michael McGirr
Three novels that delve into sex, consent and power after #MeToo
Second novels by three award-winning women writers disrupt familiar narratives.
- by Jo Case
Got that sinking feeling? That means death in this classy mystery
Margaret Hickey’s third book Broken Bay takes the reader to the SA coastal fringe littered with dangerous sinkholes and caves.
- by Sue Turnbull
Clever, artistic and full of the devil ... then Jackie met JFK
Jacqueline Bouvier was well on her way to becoming a skilled photojournalist when up-and-coming senator John Kennedy crossed her line of vision.
- by Helen Elliott
What to read: A rollicking feminist romp and tender essays on abortion
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll