Australian Non-Fiction Special Features

Salt | Bruce Pascoe | $34.99 | Black Inc.

I am so looking forward to this! After reading Dark Emu, I have been keen to explore the genius of Bruce Pascoe in more depth, and this volume distils a lifetime of creative and academic work into an accessible and enlightening anthology. Not only does it feature Pascoe’s most celebrated writing to date, but it also includes previously unpublished fiction. As always with Pascoe, this is a highly thought-provoking compilation that provides us with a chance to re-assess our understanding of and relationship to our long and complex Indigenous history.

— Lillian

The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory | Corey White | $32.99 | Penguin Random House

It feels a bit odd to describe such a heartbreaking memoir as unrelentingly captivating, but this book was - I picked it up and didn’t put it down until I was done. White tells the tragic story of his childhood in and out of foster homes and subsequent drug addiction, and while it feels like that might make for one depressing read, it really isn’t. Corey tells his story with honesty and clarity and, more importantly, with compassion. That’s where the hope lies in this book, what makes it uplifting. You’ll be a better person for reading it. — Lucy H.

At a reading a few months ago I was captivated by the story White shared of a foiled suicide attempt. It was grim and brimming with black humour, and his memoir is as painful, gorgeous and soulful as this reading led me to believe. It is a compelling read for fans of Rosie Waterland’s memoirs and a unique companion to Clementine Ford’s Boys Will Be Boys, as White offers startling insight into toxic masculinity. — Kate