Culture
Books
How many names can a stadium have?
“What the heck is Melbourne Rectangular Stadium?” is a fair question Matildas fans might be asking this World Cup.
- by David Astle
Latest
One of ‘the world’s great booksellers’ ends a long chapter at Readings
Mark Rubbo has been at the heart of the Australian book business for nearly 50 years, nurturing Australian writers and writing.
- 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
No flesh nor bones: Why Nick Cave has nothing to fear from ChatGPT
Amid the hysteria about AI, humanity has a fundamental, if painful, advantage.
- by Richard King
‘Trojan horse’ novel tackling colonisation and war wins Miles Franklin
Never judge a book by its cover. That’s certainly true about Shankari Chandran’s award-winning novel.
- by Jason Steger