The poems in John West’s fourth collection of poetry are strong, stark, and filled with a very ordinary ennui and pain that most readers will be able to relate to. At 61 pages, this slim volume contains an equal number…
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of Favourite Food by Jill Dupleix
The book celebrates traditional and classic recipes from around the world: “food that links us to the generations past; that has a sense of time and place; that has a reason to be; that gives us a sense of the…
A Review of The Prosperous Thief by Andrea Goldsmith
Andrea Goldsmith’s fifth book is an historical novel that looks at the lives of Heini Heck and the Lewins – the two opposing sides of the Holocaust which intersect, and the impact that this has on their children as the stories moves forward in time to the modern day. While presenting a compelling and powerful story, the novel explores a wide range of topics including crime, punishment, good, evil, pain, survival and the legacy that acts of these nature leave across generations in permanent repercussions.
A Review of Writer’s Guide by Irina Dunn
While the book suffers from trying to cover too much and therefore being a jack of all trades and master of none, there is still plenty of material here for both the beginner and the experienced writer, much of it…
A Review of Belinda Jeffery’s Tried-and-True Recipes
This isn’t really a book to read. The prose is brief, although it is friendly and warm. However, these are recipes which really do seem to work. Aside from a fairly regular use of smoked paprika, which really does add…
A Review of Andrew McGahan’s Last Drinks
The style is serviceable but without the lift and lilt that distinguishes the classic practitioners of the novel noir, Chandler and Hammett. A purist might think that McGahan is careless regarding grammatical niceties but this is a common failing and…
A Review of Confessing the Blues by Anson Cameron
In Cameron’s fourth book, Confessing the Blues we are thrown directly into the rock and roll world of Be Good, a late night radio DJ who has become a cult classic on Triple X – his rapid fire talk meant to inspire…
A Review of Successful Nonfiction by Dan Poynter
Successful Nonfiction is a much quicker, and simpler read than Poynter’s other writing books. Rather than the detailed and specific instructions that his other writing books contain, Successful Nonfiction is a series of 109 “soundbites,” or inspirational tips for writers, each a couple…
A Review of Huey’s Greatest Hits by Iain Hewitson
This nicely presented book isn’t really about innovation though, or even about impressing your friends, and a quick glance on the top ten most requested recipes at the start of the book will show that its the classics like “Warm…
