Albanese’s story is that of triumph over what could easily be impossible odds. She proved herself professionally, earning respect from her male peers in a very competitive field, and tested her limits every step of the way. It would be easy to imagine Albanese saying to herself, “I’ve done this; I wonder what else I can do?”
Category: Literary Fiction Reviews
A review of The Mistake by Wendy James
Though the novel reads easily and won’t be easily left until the full truth of Jodie’s story is revealed, this is no comfortable beach read. There’s a depth to the theme and a richness in the characterisation that will stay with the reader. The power of friendship too, to winkle out truth and deeper meaning in life, is one that provides some redemption to Jodie’s story, though the powerful ending still comes as a shock.
A review of The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The story resonates with a range of themes: loss, brutality, taboo love, but the most important is that of memory and the vexing bipolarity of remembering that you wish to forget, and forgetting that you wish to remember.
A review of Unaccountable Hours: Three novellas by Stephen Scourfield
Although each of the novellas in Unaccounted Hours stands on its own as a complete story where the happening is a turning point in each of the protagonist’s lives, it is possible to read these as a complete single work. The thematic links that encompass setting, progression and arc align the stories in a way that collectively, the overall impact is even greater than that of the individual stories.
A review of This Mobius Strip of Ifs by Mathias B. Freese
Mathias B. Freese is always thoughtful, questions reality and has interesting remarks to make about many stages in life; he, in fact, offers up his belief that life is somewhat like the Mobius Strip used in his title, circulating round and round and sometimes offering up a bit of magic insight.
A review of Fraulein by Ellen von Unwerth
Ellen von Unwerth’s photography is intriguing, transgressive and erotically charged. She’s like a real-life Laura Mars, for those who know the Faye Dunaway film. Only the vital tableaux in Fraulein are too lively and vivacious to make for any crime scene photo.
A review of The Last Storyteller: A Novel of Ireland by Frank Delaney
Each line that makes up The Last Storyteller is tight, poetic, and so delicately dense that I suspect I could go through the short chapters with the same careful attention that Delaney is showing James Joyce in his Re:Joyce unpacking of Ulysses, and continually find new references and rhythms.
A review of Ben’s Challenge by L.M. Visman
Set in 1958 Australia, Ben’s Challenge is at its heart an historical coming-of-age story with a fair dose of mystery and intrigue thrown in. The story begins with news of thirteen-year-old Ben Kellerman’s father’s death in a hit and run. It’s an accident that remains unsolved until the end of the book and is the catalyst for Ben’s transition from childhood.
A review of The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
The writing is always very competent and sometimes even better than that. Lending interest is a symbolic element in the treatment of stamps (Philip collects them, they get printed with swastikas at least in his imagination, Lindbergh is an aviator who delivered air mail). There is humor, though more in individual passages than woven into the fabric of the writing (but given the nature of the story, that is perhaps understandable).
A review of Inherited by Amanda Curtin
Memory is critical in each of the stories, recycled into new experiences, and reworked into new memories, twisting, in and out of view, but never lost—nothing is ever lost. The setting brings history into the present day as modern characters uncover clues about the past that lead to self-awareness.