Australian Fiction

Damascus | Christos Tsiolkas | $32.99 | Allen & Unwin This may not be the kind of novel you’d expect from Christos Tsiolkas if you’ve read The Slap and Barracuda, but it is no less replete with the themes significant to him as a writer. In a stunning and epic historical masterpiece, Tsiolkas explores the life of St. Paul and the world of the Roman empire following the death of Jesus. You can’t help but be struck by the figure of Paul and his faith, which is never unwavering but always accompanied by an underlying doubt. Tsiolkas offers a picture of a time which in many ways is different to ours but in many ways is also uncomfortably familiar. All of a sudden it doesn’t feel like we are so far distant from crucifixions and death by lion when we still uphold imaginary borders, ostracise “Strangers” and allow politics to divide us from our most human sensibilities. A fantastic read.

— Lucy H.

Red Can Origami | Madelaine Dickie | $29.99 | Fremantle Press Red Can Origami, the second novel by Australian author Madelaine Dickie, tells a familiar story that hits close to home for many; an international company clashing with locals. Dickie takes the difficult, unwieldy subject matter and skilfully brings it down to a personal level. We see the events through the eyes of Ava, a young reporter working in the northern Australian town of Gubinge. When a Japanese uranium mining company pleads the economic benefits of mining native land, it tears the community in half. From the neon streets of Tokyo to the fishing holes of northern Australia, we follow Ava as she pursues the story. A wonderful contemporary fiction novel from a talented author. I look forward to what Dickie has for us next.

— Sanjo

Maybe the Horse Will Talk | Elliot Perlman | $32.99 | Penguin Random House Witty and wordy, Perlman’s social commentary on toxic workplace culture is on point. In a humorous swipe at today’s society Perlman presents us with Stephen Maserov, a flailing second-year lawyer who takes on his firm Freely Savage’s deep-seated culture of sexual harassment and exposes it to rescue his own desperately dwindling home life. Enjoyable in the smart choice of language and one to gobble up as the pages fly by, this contemporary tale features a range of familiar urban characters committed to jobs they don’t even like. Perlman’s stroke of genius is his ability to describe the psychology of these characters trapped in a day-to-day work life where the safe spot is buying yourself a little more time. Funny, smart and deeply satisfying, this contemporary, urban shake-down really hits the spot.

— Dean

New Australian Fiction 2019 | Ed. Rebecca Starford | $24.95 | Kill Your Darlings I love short stories. Like a picture book, there is such an art to drawing your reader into a world, and making them feel something with only a limited amount of space. Kill Your Darlings’ publication, New Australian Fiction 2019 certainly doesn’t disappoint in that department. Featuring some of Australia’s most exciting contemporary voices, this collection shows the rich range of diversity in Australian letters, and touches on all areas of contemporary life, society and politics. Ranging from eerie speculative stories to frightful tales about the consequences of toxic masculinity, this collection is a compelling showcase of Australian talent. — Lucy H.

Act of Grace | Anna Krien | $32.99 | Black Inc. I’m a big fan of Krien’s non-fiction, particularly Night Games. Act of Grace is her debut novel, ten years in the making. Krien has skilfully crafted a fluid narrative voice which slips from one perspective to the next, from Australia to Iraq, from the past to the present. We are quickly immersed into the lives of her characters—we are members of their families, participants in their conversations, at the mercy of their decisions. With this narrative Krien explores the terror and trauma of war, the violent ebb and flow of domestic violence, the resilience of immigrants. It is brutal and at times hard to read, but ultimately this novel is startlingly electric and crucially thought-provoking.

— Kate

The Drover’s Wife | Leah Purcell | $32.99 | Penguin Random House I can still recall the electrifying thrill of watching Leah Purcell’s radical reimagining of Henry Lawson’s The Drover’s Wife at the Belvoir in 2016: in that extraordinary play, colonial tropes and archaic stereotypes were given a long-overdue post-colonial and feminist rewrite, disrupting and disturbing a literary canon which has long excluded and violently denigrated Indigenous and female perspectives. Further carving out a space for those who have been historically marginalised, Purcell’s subversive and award-winning ‘Australian Western’ has been turned into a keenly intelligent and deeply-felt novel that expands on the themes and characters so masterfully explored in the theatre. Interrogating the ongoing intersections of gendered violence and settler-colonialism with strength and clarity, this is one of my most anticipated books of the summer.

— Zak

Being Black ‘n Chicken & Chips | Matt Okine | $29.99 | Hachette This book made me laugh and cry, often on the same page. Loosely based on Okine’s own childhood, it follows 12-year-old Mike, amateur athlete and class clown, as his life comes crashing down. His childish naivety paired with his inquisitiveness keeps the book light even when dealing with dark themes. Okine weaves in plenty of Australian pop-cultural references that give the setting a familiar feel and brings authenticity to the tale. I would recommend it for fans of Boy Swallows Universe and Tim Winton.

— Angelita

Silver | Chris Hammer | $32.99 | Allen & Unwin Hammer’s knack for depicting Australia so well continues in the second instalment of journalist Martin Scarsden’s investigation into his home town of Port Silver. Like in a lot of small coastal towns, development is booming, money is pouring in and where there is silver there can be trouble. The mystery of who has murdered Martin’s childhood friend weaves past red herrings and through extended turns as the famed journalist presents his findings to solve the crime faster than the police. A meaty summer read that will satisfy every crime lover.

— Dean

Cilka’s Journey | Heather Morris | $32.99 | Echo In The Tattooist of Auschwitz we briefly met Cilka Klein, the administration assistant who befriended Gita. This is the story of 16-year-old Cilka’s time spent in Auschwitz-Berkenau and Vorkuta, a Siberian gulag. Lale’s time in Auschwitz was heartbreaking, but imagine a woman’s plight in these concentration camps. It’s powerfully captured here with Cilka, whose strength is her greatest asset. Evoking extreme emotion, Cilka’s Journey will leave you in tears yet ultimately feeling uplifted by one woman’s ability to survive against the greatest of odds. — Dean

The Bee and the Orange Tree | Melissa Ashley | $35 | Affirm Press Ashley, bestselling author of The Birdman’s Wife, brings to light another little-known figure in history, writer Baroness Marie Catherine D’Aulnoy, inventor of the modern fairytale. In 1699 the women of Paris sit on a knife-edge between freedom and subjugation. When Marie’s innocent friend is arrested for attempted murder, she’s sent to the guillotine as a warning to all ‘wayward’ women. This is an evocative and lush drama focusing on the secret lives of women in a time when nothing could be taken for granted.

— Sylvia

The Weekend | Charlotte Wood | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin The Weekend tells the story of three 70-something women who head away for the Christmas break to clear out their friend’s house after her tragic passing. But don’t go thinking this book is sentimental or soppy. Rather, it’s a wry, funny, touching and witty portrayal of friendship, growing old together and the lies we tell ourselves and others. Wood has done such justice to her characters — Wendy, Jude and Adele are too real — it almost felt a shame to leave them behind after I’d finished the book.

— Lucy H. I devoured this tale of female friendship in a single day, but I suspect I’ll be thinking about it for years to come. How often do we get to see women over a certain age portrayed in all their complex glory, let alone witness the layered, weathered relationships they share with one another? Wood is, as we all know by now, an absolutely brilliant writer. The Weekend is at once sharp and tender, and a total pleasure to read.

— Kate