This work is Ecopoetry at its most astute—where nature is primary, and human perception becomes transfigured by the encounter. All or nearly all of the poetry is set in The Hunter Valley, NSW (Australia), and many poems revisit these places from different perspectives, different stories, and different times of day, life, emotional contexts.
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
Readers enjoy seeing the triumph of an underdog, particularly one who has been good to her persecutors and has given them a second chance to treat her decently. Rosalie Ham’s witty writing and clever structure make this novel exceptional. The division of the book into four sections: Gingham, Shantung, Felt and Brocade, is not just a cute way of furthering the sewing motif; rather, the names are symbolic.
A review of Troubled Spirits by Teri Lee
Troubled Spirits is good, clean fun that delves into the world of modern ghost hunting with two, more than capable, female protagonists that take care of themselves and the big bad in town, on their own, in true Buffy the Vampire Slayer fashion. The way Harmony and Annie and the gang handle the ghosts and themselves is more than enough to make Zak Baggins proud.
Carolyn Martinez talks about Finding Love
Carolyn Martinez, author of Inspiring IVF Stories and Finding Love: 7 Things you Need to Know Before You Date Again reads from and talks about her new book, about her path to becoming an author, about her writing process, the…
A review of Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
To me, Go Set a Watchman is a worthwhile work, although I wish Ms. Lee had been more precise about the historical context and had made Jean Louise a little less naive. Stylistically, the novel is dated, but that makes it authentic to the place and time in which it is set. Given the shocking instances of racial violence in the United States this past year, it would seem that Go Set a Watchman is relevant to our times.
Ali Cobby Eckermann on her book Inside my Mother
Ali Cobby Eckermann joins us to read from and talk about her latest poetry collection Inside my Mother, as well as the “My Mother’s Heart” sesion at the Sydney Writers Festival, the many meanings of “mother”, both personal, universal, and metaphoric,…
A review of The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna
It’s not just the characters that descend to their lowest level in this book. It’s also the medical profession, governmental welfare programs, and Mobil Oil where Gavin works scraping rust off pipes. However, Laguna never lets the characters – not even the most peripheral – slip into stereotypes. The Eye of the Sheep is a tender and delicate novel, rich with sympathy and understanding, even when it becomes almost unbearably dark.
A review of Hell and God and Nuns with Rulers by John Collings
As Tristan struggles with school, the crush his best friend has on him, and the crush he has on the young man he met at the party, the reader feels true empathy for the character. Collings’ writing style is conversational, personable, and real; I could almost imagine Tristan sitting across from me at a table in a coffee shop (or maybe over burgers at The Burger House) telling me how he set on his path of self-realization to emerge triumphantly okay at the end of it all.
A review of Strength to Be Human by Mark Antony Rossi
A review of The Boy Who Killed Demons by Dave Zeltserman
It’s an absorbing novel, and we’re quickly caught up in Henry’s concerns and anxieties. Zeltserman convincingly captures the grumpy, grouchy voice of an adolescent boy – spoilt yet with a core integrity.