Gleaner Issue 7 Volume 30 November-December 2023
The best books of 2023 Our staff choose their favourite reads p7 Q&A Benjamin Stevenson on murder and mayhem on the Ghan p11
From David’s Desk
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elcome to this, our final Gleaner of 2023. Hopefully (fingers crossed) by the time you read this we will be back in our Glebe home at 49 Glebe Point Road. Can’t wait, except for the sheer horror of moving more than 30,000 books back down the road again. Never mind, this time it’s for good. In the meantime, thanks to all of you for your support through this most disrupted of years. And hats off to the hardworking Glebe staff who stuck through all the trials. Thanks of course to all of the Gleebooks staff across all three shops, for their commitment and care and loyalty.
THE 2023 ARA HISTORICAL NOVEL PRIZE
s t s i l t r o Sh
The best reads of 2023
And as always, reading well being so central to our lives, can I draw your attention to our listing of our staff “Best reads of 2023” (see page 7). I’m confident that the fiction that will stay with me is Charlotte Wood’s Stone Yard Devotional which I’d urge you all to read. It’s profound and questioning and serious about grief, forgiveness, and understanding. And at the same time it’s beautifully observed and immersive. For your end of year reading I’d throw in Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting. I’ve not read him before (others have raved about Skippy Dies), but this Booker nominee is a tour de force. Luxuriate in more than 600 pages of this story of an Irish family that is at once sad, funny and tragic. It’s a triumph of intricate plotting and inventive syntax and dialogue. Finally, and fittingly, the last word goes to the ever eloquent and wise Richard Flanagan, who has given us in Question 7 a beautiful blending of a love letter to Tasmania and his parents, with a musing and historical rendering about the development, and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (Flanagan’s father was a POW in Japan at the time). It’s nonfiction, but it soars with a lyricism and spirit of enquiry and reflection perfectly captured in a phrase towards the end: “Life is always happening and has happened and will happen.” I would also add Wifedom by Anna Funder and Killing for Country by David Marr – two very important Australian books that are original, groundbreaking and exceptionally well-written. – David Gaunt 2
Gleebooks Gleaner
h n sa . o r g . a u
Fiction AUSTRALIAN FICTION
The Paris Cooking School
The Conversion
There’s nothing quite so beautiful as Paris in the spring; and when you add in the chance to learn the French way of food who can resist? Not Gabi Picabea or Kate Evans, who have come from Australia to Sylvie Morel’s Paris Cooking School. Both are at a crossroads, and learning to cook in Paris, far away from all their troubles, seems like the perfect escape. For each of the women, this extraordinary time will bring unexpected twists and transformations that will change the course of their lives. A delectable novel about love, hope and the consolations of the perfect strawberry tart, The Paris Cooking School is a treat for the soul.
The conversion was Nick’s idea, but it’s Zoe who’s here now, working out how to live in a deconsecrated church. Can a church become a home? For Zoe, it seems empty of the possibilities Nick is enthused about until a determined young teacher pushes her way into Zoe’s life. Melanie has something of Nick’s unquenchable zeal about her. The Conversion is a startling novel from Miles Franklin Award-winning author Amanda Lohrey about the homes we live in, how we shape them, and how they shape us. It is distinguished by its deep intelligence, eye for human drama and effortless readability.
Sophie Beaumont
$34.99, Ultimo
There’s No Telling Mark Mordue
$32.99, 4th Estate
A sunny, bright, cold Christmas morning. Two young girls go ice skating on a frozen pond and tragically drown. Three years later, on Christmas Eve, Darcy Travers, the father of one of the girls, and Zel, his ex-wife, are struggling with the anniversary, battling with their inability to accept the loss of his daughter. They are bonded in their suffering with Pete and Suda Kelly, the parents of the other girl who drowned. As snowy winter weather sets in around the town of Thule, a series of unexpected events propels the lives of these people together once more. There’s No Telling is a darkly beautiful novel about grief and love, and how they are inextricably intertwined.
SATIRE
The Chaser and Shovel Annual 2023
$34.95, The Chaser
Featuring more than 300 satirical headlines, 20 pages of bonus content, and more than 500 typos, The Chaser and Shovel Annual 2023 brings you all the highlights from The Chaser and The Shovel websites (and some of the low-lights), as well as fresh original content, that makes it the perfect gift for anyone who enjoys laughing. Features include: Secret Tax Tips The Government Doesn’t Want You To Know About, sponsored by PWC, and a complete list of Pauline Hanson’s stupidest moments (8,129 pages, abridged).
Amanda Lohrey
$32.99, Text
Women & Children Tony Birch
It’s 1965 and Joe Cluny is living in a working-class suburb with his mum, Marion, and sister, Ruby, spending his days trying to avoid trouble with the nuns at the local Catholic primary school. One evening his Aunty Oona appears on the doorstep, distressed and needing somewhere to stay. Joe comes to understand the secrets that the women in his family carry, including on their bodies. Yet their pleas for assistance are met with silence and complicity from all sides. This is a powerful novel from one of this country’s most loved storytellers. $34.99, UQP
Into Your Arms: Nick Cave’s Songs Reimagined Edited by Kirsten Krauth
From an automaton of Nick Cave, to a man who can’t keep his blood out of the food he is preparing; from a vengeful Uber driver to a spinner of souls; and from a boy caught up in a robbery to a girl desperate to save a failing greyhound, the characters who populate this short story anthology could have dropped straight from a Nick Cave songbook. These 21 stories, from some of Australia’s favourite creators, respond to Cave’s visionary genius with their own original and unsettling tales of death, faith, violence and love. $32.99, Fremantle Press
November-December 2023
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Fiction INTERNATIONAL FICTION
So Late in the Day Claire Keegan
After an uneventful Friday at the Dublin office, Cathal stares into the long weekend as he takes the bus home. There, his mind agitates over a woman named Sabine with whom he could have spent his life, had he acted differently. All evening, with only the television and a bottle of champagne for company, thoughts of this woman intrude and the true significance of this particular date is revealed. From one of the finest writers working today, Claire Keegan’s new story asks if a lack of generosity might ruin what could be between men and women. Is it possible to love without sharing? $19.99, Faber Fiction
Baumgartner
The Freedom of Emma Herwegh
Baumgartner’s life has been defined by his deep, abiding love for his wife, Anna. But now Anna is gone, and Baumgartner is embarking on his seventies while trying to live with her absence. Rich with compassion, wit and Paul Auster’s keen eye for beauty in the smallest, most transient episodes of ordinary life, Baumgartner is a tender late masterpiece of the ache of memory. It asks: why do we find such meaning in certain moments, and forget others?
When Emma marries the revolutionary poet Georg Herwegh, she desires and promises only one thing, to love and hate by his side for the rest of their lives. Their marriage creates waves in Berlin and the couple decamp to the Paris of Marx and Heine, where Emma is the only woman to join the 1948 armed struggle to bring the French revolution back to Germany. But when Herwegh falls in love with the wife of his comrade Alexander Herzen, their manifesto of free love becomes a struggle between loyalty and betrayal.
Paul Auster
Dirk Kurbjuweit
$32.99, Text
My Friends Hisham Matar
$32.99, Faber
The Vulnerables
$34.99, Viking
Sigrid Nunez
Three strangers are thrown together in one Manhattan apartment: a solitary writer; a Gen Z college drop-out; and a spirited parrot named Eureka. The Vulnerables reveals what happens when strangers are willing to open their hearts to each other and how far even small acts of caring can go to ease another’s distress. Smart, funny and provocative, Sigrid Nunez’s new novel explores the nature and purpose of friendship, love and art in our complicated current times. $32.99, Virago
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Gleebooks Gleaner
In a moment of recklessness and courage, Khaled and Mustafa travel to London to join a demonstration in front of the Libyan embassy. Government officials open fire, killing a policewoman and wounding 11 Libyan demonstrators. Both friends are critically injured and their lives are forever changed. Khaled, Mustafa and their friend Hosam, a writer, are now bound together by their shared history. This is an astonishing novel about friendship, set between London and Libya in the 1980s and the present, from Pulitzer Prize winning author Hisham Matar.
Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge Lizzie Pook
$34.99, Viking
London, 1850. Constance Horton has disappeared. Maude, her older sister, knows only that Constance abandoned the apothecary they call home and boarded a ship bound for the Arctic. She never returned. “A tragic accident”, the Admiralty called it. But Maude Horton knows something isn’t right. When she finds Constance’s journal, it becomes clear that the truth is being buried by sinister forces. To find answers, and deliver justice for her sister, Maude must step into London’s dark underbelly, and into the path of dangerous, powerful men. It is a perilous task. But Maude has dangerous skills of her own. Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge is a mysterious, transporting tale about the unbreakable bond of sisterhood.
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INTERNATIONAL FICTION
Open Up
Thomas Morris The new collection from a Granta Best Young Novelist 2023 contains five achingly tender, innovative and dazzling stories of (dis) connection. From a child attending his first football match, buoyed by secret magic, and a wincingly humane portrait of adolescence, to the perplexity of grief and loss through the eyes of a seahorse, Thomas Morris seeks to find grace, hope and benevolence in the churning tumult of self-discovery. Philosophically acute and strikingly original, this outstanding suite of stories is bursting with a bracing emotional depth. Open Up cracks the heart as it expands the short story form. $29.99, Faber Fiction
I Hear You’re Rich
A must-read new novel by Miles Franklin Awardwinning author Amanda Lohrey ‘The Conversion is distinguished by its deep intelligence, eye for human drama and effortless readability.’
Diane Williams
In Diane Williams’ stories, life is newly alive and dangerous. Whether she is writing about an affair, a request for money, an afternoon in a garden, or the simple act of carrying a cake from one room to the next, Williams offers us beautiful and unsettling new ways of seeing everyday life. In perfectly honed sentences, with a sly and occasionally wild wit, she shows us how any moment of any day can open onto disappointment, pleasure and possibility. $24.99, Scribe
Juja
Nino Haratischvili In 1953, a teenage girl, Jeanne Sare, jumps in front of a train at the Gare du Nord station. She leaves behind writings that to some are unreadable, but to others tell universal, unspoken truths about the lives and struggles of women. When published in the 1970s, her work triggers a rash of copycat suicides. It is hastily withdrawn from sale and eventually forgotten. Then, in 2004, two women from opposite corners of the globe, Amsterdam and Sydney, rediscover Jeanne Sare’s book and set out to discover who the author was and what happened to her. $24.99, Scribe
Also out in November Good Material
Water
$34.99, Fig Tree
$29.99, Doubleday
Dolly Alderton
John Boyne
textpublishing.com.au
November-December 2023
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Fiction CRIME
The Mantis Kotaro Isaka
Kabuto is an ordinary guy; stressed with work, hassled by his wife and disrespected by his son. No wonder he visits his doctor so often. Except “the Doctor” is actually his handler, and Kabuto is a hired assassin. The “prescriptions” the Doctor hands over are his unlucky targets. Because although Kabuto may seem like a small man at home, he’s really good at killing people. Kabuto is worn out with the business of murder. He’s trying to pay his way out of the Doctor’s employment with a few last jobs. But his final assignment puts both him and his family in danger. $34.99, Harvill Secker
Snow Fall Jørn Lier Horst
William Wisting is contacted by the leader of an online group dedicated to solving the murder of the Australian backpacker Ruby Thompson. But when one of the members, Astria, claims she’s close to solving the mystery, she goes offline, and no one in the group has heard from her since. Wisting is sent to investigate and soon finds himself in a case where nothing is as it seems. DCI William Wisting, hero of the hit BBC Four series, is back in a case that will take him into the murky world of the dark web in pursuit of a killer.
SCI-FI AND FANTASY
Iron Flame Rebecca Yarros
$32.99, Piatkus
A Power Unbound Freya Marske
$34.99, Penguin
The Cat Who Survived Three Murders L.T. Shearer
Retired police detective Lulu Lewis’s life changed forever when she met a street cat named Conrad; a very special cat who has a secret she has to keep to herself. When Lulu takes her narrowboat to Oxford, she is planning nothing more stressful than attending a friend’s birthday party. And drinking a few glasses of chardonnay. But a brutal murder and a daring art theft mean her plans are shattered; instead she and Conrad find themselves on the trail of a killer ... A killer who may well strike again. $34.99, Macmillan
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Gleebooks Gleaner
Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College, Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, but she still has her wits, and a will of iron. But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College – and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.
$34.99, Tor
Jack Alston – Lord Hawthorn – renounced magic after the death of his twin sister. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual risking every magician in Britain, he’s drawn back into that world. Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping its owner, Violet, track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. When a plot to seize unimaginable magic power comes to a head on Jack’s own family estate, he and his allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets and bloody sacrifice. A Power Unbound is the spellbinding conclusion to The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske.
System Collapse Martha Wells
$34.99, Tor
Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonised planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if BarishEstranza can’t have the planet, an entire colony of humans providing free labour is a decent runner-up prize. Murderbot, however, isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnitheavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast!
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Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake is ‘a beautiful evocation of time and place’ Photo: Emily Dorio
2023
THE BEST READS OF
Our staff reveal the books that captivated them this year
November-December 2023
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TILDA (GLEBE)
Becky Chambers has been the highlight of my year. Her sci-fi is detailed, grounded, and simply a delight to partake in. A Psalm for the Wild-Built and its sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy are quiet, deep meditations on life, consciousness and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. They are also cozy novellas that celebrate tea, companionship, and plants.
JANICE (GLEBE)
INGRID (GLEBE)
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, is essentially a story within a story, lightly told, a beautiful evocation of time and place. I also enjoyed After the Funeral by Tessa Hadley and then went back to read the earlier Sunstroke and Other Stories.
ANDREW (GLEBE)
Don’t make me choose between two phenomenally assured historical novels. The New Life by Tom Crewe opens in a muggy, foetid, 1890s London. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng presents an even more sultry 1920s Penang, and both roar to life with sterling silver prose, page-turner plots and fullyfledged characters.
ISABEL (GLEBE)
The short word count of So Distant From My Life by Monique Ilboudo does not in any way diminish the strength of its mighty impact. Globalisation, white saviourism, homophobia, migration – Ilboudo dives headfirst into the big topics. This novella has a certain Candide-by-Voltaire-esque quality that I found hugely intriguing. Highly recommended!
SCOTT V (GLEBE)
A special mention to Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, which is such a beautiful read. It will stay with you well after you’ve finished it. But my favourite this year is the science fiction novel Translation State. Ann Leckie has created an imaginative universe that draws you into each different world and its philosophy and politics. A gripping story with a mind-boggling end sequence.
IMOGEN (GLEBE)
The Murder Game by Tom Hindle is delightful in every way, and deliciously twisty.
MARION (GLEBE)
Wednesday’s Child by Yiyun Li is a collection of distinct short stories rich with nuance and subtext that handles heavier topics like alienation, loneliness and loss with a distinct tenderness and precision. Max Easton’s Paradise Estate is a beautiful story of share-house living. Photo: Del Lumanta 8
Gleebooks Gleaner
This year I revisited the wonderful books of the all-but-forgotten British writer Barbara Comyns. I can’t tell you how much I love these books. They are strange, mysterious and have been described as “witchery”. Donna Leon’s autobiography Wandering Through Life made me long to visit Italy again. For the past 30 years, she has lived in Italy, the setting for her popular Commissario Brunetti mystery series. Anecdotes about life in Italy and her itinerant early days, which took her from Iran to China, make this a fascinating read.
JANE (GLEBE, BLACKHEATH)
The Wager by David Grann is a rip-roaring, appalling tale of sea, war, leadership, courage and violence. It takes a piece of history and turns it into a towering story. You’ll never look at an AirBnB the same way again after reading Tasha Sylva’s The Guest Room. If you’re a fan of creepy weirdo stalkers and bone-chilling noir, then this is for you.
AVA (BLACKHEATH)
Kate Grenville wrote Restless Dolly Maunder as an attempt to understand her relative, whom she knew only as a retiring and unpleasant woman. Born in 1881, Dolly was an ambitious and creative young woman whose passion for life was gradually eroded by familial obligations and a lack of opportunities for women. The book is a devastating reminder of the struggles that intelligent women have faced the world over, and an enchanting window into early settler life in Australia.
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Prodigious research ... His masterpiece VICTORIA (BLACKHEATH)
How lucky am I that two of my favourite authors published books this year. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is a love story with characters that are beautifully crafted. A gentle but poignant story that Patchett masters so well. I loved this book. Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry tells the story of Tom Kettle, a retired cop who is dragged back to his past by an unresolved police enquiry. It is thought-provoking and empathically written – which makes this sad story easier to read. Another fabulous book by this fabulous Irish writer.
Photo: Lorrie Graham
TIFFANY (BLACKHEATH)
The Prophet Song by Paul Lynch is a powerful and propulsive exploration of the systematic disintegration of a democratic society – in this case Ireland. For me, its power comes from the inherent plausibility underpinning every step towards this unravelling. It’s an important book for modern times. It invaded my dreams and it’s going to stay with me for a long time.
JODY (BLACKHEATH)
This year, two books worked their different kinds of magic. In one Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures, a fantasy novel, there’s an urgent plea that warns “the brutality is terrible. And yes: the chaos is very great. But tell them: greater than the world’s chaos are its miracles”. A way of thinking that also describes Karl Geary’s Juno Loves Legs, a raw, working class novel, you dare to break your heart, and when it does, all you wanna say to the world is: I believe in miracles, since you came along.
All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien focuses on Cabramatta in the 1990s. It’s the story of Denny Tran’s brutal murder on the night of his high school graduation. Lien effortlessly blends social commentary on discrimination within a compelling thriller, giving an insight into the racial conflicts that bubble under the surface of Australia’s nationalism. Land of Milk and Honey by Booker Prize longlister C. Pam Zhang is a sensuous novel that delves into the nexus of food, pleasure, privilege and catastrophe. Brilliantly sexy and carnal storytelling juxtaposed with chilling commentary on the everwidening cracks of disadvantage and environmental destruction.
ANGE (GLEBE)
ANNA (GLEBE)
JACK (GLEBE)
When a teenage girl is murdered by her peers on Brexit eve, a defamed journalist attempts to piece together their motives through interviews, news articles, podcast transcripts, Tumblr posts, and text messages. Eliza Clark’s Penance is an authentic examination of internet culture, unreliable narrators, and most importantly, the morality of true crime as a genre. For fans of Moshfegh and Awad.
The Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar opened my eyes to a world and experiences that enrich my understanding of the world I live in. Nila, daughter of Indian parents growing up in Australia, is torn between the desire to live her own life and her parents’ expectations. The tension between secrets, longing to be free and fear of hurting those we love kept me reading this novel in one sitting. November-December 2023
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Photo: Nash Ferguson
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Exquisite, as always
Killing for Country: A Family Story is a forensic investigation by David Marr into a dark strand of his family history, recounting land-grabbing and massacres of First Nations peoples throughout Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia carried out by the author’s ancestors as members of the Native Mounted Police. Prodigious research, a clear-eyed analysis and controlled fury fuel this epic account. His masterpiece. I also loved Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. A family brought together during Covid working the family cherry orchard. Sixty Seven Days by Yvonne Weldon is a story of love with a strong sense of place, history and connectedness. Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie explores childhood friendship and the way politics and history shape us into the people we become.
SCOTT (GLEBE SECONDHAND)
Humphrey Carpenter’s excellent Benjamin Britten: A Biography (1992) is a fascinating portrait of musical genius and singular eccentricity. Carpenter is careful not to overwhelm the casual reader with too much technical information about Britten’s music, concentrating instead on the circumstances behind individual works and their subsequent realisation onstage – often at Britten’s own Aldeburgh Festival. Reading Carpenter’s book prompted me to discover Britten’s rich and extensive musical output. Sadly now out of print, there is one very tidy hardback first edition copy of Carpenter’s biography priced at $30 available to the first person to claim it.
BENJAMIN (GLEBE)
The Witch King by Martha Wells launches us into a vast, rich, and vivid world split between a distant past and the present. It tells the history of a world eviscerated by a brutal colonial power, and the shaky diplomatic landscape of the new world which emerged from the shattered ashes a century later. I really enjoyed the feel of Wesley Chu’s The Art of Prophecy and The Art of Destiny, which are part of a complete duology released within three months. There’s a consistent sense of politeness, civility even, in his books – despite the murders.
STEPHEN (BLACKHEATH SECONDHAND)
Susanna Hoffs’ This Bird Has Flown is a reimagining of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Jane Smart, a 33-year-old single, one-hitwonder musician, is sent by her manager from California to London, to rediscover her musical muse after a decade-long hiatus. A pitch-perfect, charming, (very) spicy-sweet, gently funny debut novel from the co-founder and lead singer of 1980s pop group the Bangles. 10
Gleebooks Gleaner
MORGAN (GLEBE)
In preparation for my first trip to the Northern Territory, I read as much as I could about it, including Dean Ashenden’s Telling Tennant’s Story. Subtitled “The strange career of the great Australian silence”, Ashenden’s historiography combines memoir, reportage and history in exploring how the story of relations between white Australians and First Nations people have been told and obscured by the early anthropologists, historians and the courts. A brilliant eye-opener (as was my overnight visit to Tennant Creek!). Why We Are Here by Sydney writer Briohny Doyle is beautiful autofiction – my new favourite genre. Set during Covid in the south of Sydney, it’s an elegiac book centering on BB, who is grieving the loss of her father and of her partner. Somehow Doyle manages to stave off bleakness – and there are dogs, which always lifts one’s spirits. And a last-minute mention of Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri. Exquisite, as always.
DREW (GLEBE)
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall tells its story in sparse, dispassionate prose. It revolves around a horrible bus crash that occurred in the West Bank in 2012 which killed several Palestinian schoolchildren. In the tradition of Chloe Hooper, Thrall uses this tragedy to explore the lives of the many people affected by it – and the daily humiliations and historical trauma that Palestinians experience. A must-read for anyone wanting to better understand the reality of what it is like to live under occupation. Paradise Estate by Max Easton is a beautiful novel that will feel close to home for anyone who has experienced the joys and perils of share-house living in Sydney. It follows the lives of a ragtag bunch of 30-odd-year-olds living in a mouldy inner-west rental shortly after Covid lockdowns who are trying to find meaning in their lives. It is a story about life in contemporary Sydney, but also about class and the malaise and despair that afflicts more and more of us as wealth disparity continues to rise and politicians continue to dash our hopes of meaningful social change. See more staff picks of their favourite books of the year on p12 and p21
Fiction
Benjamin Stevenson
The Sydney author of the bestselling and wildly popular Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone returns with Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect, a puzzler set on Australia’s iconic Ghan train. Here he reveals why he loves locked-room mysteries and how his latest novel is definitely not inspired by writers’ festivals Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect is a follow-up to your previous bestseller, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. Do readers need to have read the previous book to enjoy this one?
How do you balance humour, crime and puzzles in a complex mystery like this?
Not at all – this is a classic Golden Age mystery type of sequel: same detective, brand new case. New killers, suspects, location and crime! If you did like the first book though, there’s plenty more fun with [the protagonist] Ernest Cunningham – so it works both ways.
With a lot of editing! Getting the balance right is key, you can’t tilt the book too far one way otherwise you risk changing the whole genre. Ernest’s voice is so key to the tone of the books, so I just try to make sure I’m properly in his head while writing. As for the puzzles, in this book I wanted to increase the cryptic elements. So there’s more puzzles – anagrams, codes, numbers – in this book than the last. That required a lot of careful plotting and research.
What gave you the idea to set this story on the Ghan?
You’ve been to several writing festivals yourself. What from your real-life experiences did you use in the book?
I love locked room mysteries, and my last was locked in a snow-stormstruck hotel, so I wanted a locked room that felt as far as possible from there. Of course, there is a great history of trains in mystery in fiction, but the chance to reinvigorate, modernise, and Australianise the concept was irresistible.
The writers in the book are the complete opposite of the wonderful bunch of crime writers in Australia (not least because our real-life writers don’t kill people!) – but I certainly tried to give a glimpse behind the curtain of what it’s like in what is, let’s face it, a competitive and sometime cut-throat industry. Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson is published by Penguin, $32.99, and is out now.
You’ve said that it was always your goal to publish a book before you turned 30. What inspired that ambition? Ego. Every young person feels they are running out of time – and I was a victim of that – but I’m glad I was so driven as it was a lot of hard work to achieve. That said, I think my best work is ahead of me. What would you go back and tell your past-self, who was striving for this goal? As above, that your best work is ahead of you (and don’t eat that plate of Mussels in Madrid that one time…). Which character from Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect did you enjoy writing most? There’s a character named Alan Royce who is absolutely vile – part sleaze, part narcissist, all clueless – and was such a joy to write.
Photo: Monica Pronk
November-December 2023
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Children
ELISSA
ELLA
Impossible Creatures
How to Find a Missing Girl Victoria Wlosok
Katherine Rundell
I don’t really need to write a review for a new Katherine Rundell – everything she writes is gold. But here’s what you need to know about this one: you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and afterwards you shall emerge into the world braver and full of joy.
This book is a beautiful combination of mystery and queer romance, captured in a realistic, relatable way. There were so many well-written twists until the very end and I loved how everything fell into place all at once.
RACHEL
Hamlet Is Not OK R.A. Spratt
DE
R.A. Spratt is a comic genius but this is much more than just a funny romp. It will entice you into the wonderful world of Shakespeare and encourage a love of language. It is clever and perfect for tweens and I hope she continues the series and timeslips into all the Shakepearean mischief. Ages 10+
Meet Me at the Moon Tree
Borderland
Shivaun Plozza
Graham Akhurst
Mixing science with magic, Meet Me at the Moon Tree whisks us away to a new family home in the country where grief lies heavily within. Exquisitely written and moving, it has stayed with me in the months since reading it.
This horror/gothic coming-of-age story from First Nations writer Graham Akhurst is set in Brisbane and the outback, and follows Jono, who is grappling with finding his mob, being plagued by frightening visions and navigating his feelings for his closest friend. This story has everything: it’s pacey and has superb characters. A stand-out book that I am sure will be swimming in awards this time next year! Ages 13+ To stay up-to-date with our events, book recs and find more books of the year keep an eye on our Instagram @gleebooks_kids
CHRISTMAS
Where Are All the Christmas Beetles? Suzanne Houghton
Sparkling, brightly coloured Christmas beetles usually appear in the heat of December – a sign that the festive season has begun. But these shimmering, shiny beetles are disappearing from our summers. Where have they gone? Where Are All the Christmas Beetles? takes us on a lyrical discovery of these fascinating creatures and explores the possible reasons for their decrease in numbers. Ages 5 to 9 $24.99, CSIRO
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Gleebooks Gleaner
Children CHRISTMAS
Dharma the Christmas Llama
You Choose Christmas Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodheart
Make up your own Christmas adventure where you choose what happens. Which Christmas jumper would you like to wear? Which job would you choose to do in Santa’s workshop? Where would you like to sleep on Christmas Eve? The possibilities are infinite in this magical storytelling toolkit which will inspire children aged 3 and upwards to make their own stories again and again.
Matt Cosgrove
$24.99, Picture Puffin
How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
The multi-award-winning duo of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen tackle a perennial question: How does Santa go down the chimney? Barnett’s iconic talent for earnest deadpan humour and Klassen’s irresistibly funny art honour this timeless question with answers both ridiculous and plausible, mounting in hilarity. $27.99, Walker
Dharma the Llama is hiding away from the hustle and bustle of the silly season so she can read her new book in peace. But when her friend, Macca the Alpaca, needs some festive help, will Dharma find a way to save Christmas? $18.99, Koala
PICTURE BOOKS
The Last Stardog E.K. Mosley
Outside of dreams, Stardog is the last of her kind. One night, heavy with loneliness, Stardog falls out of the sky, down to Earth where the familiar falls away and the unknown grows all around. Too heavy to fly home, Stardog sets out on a journey to fulfil her dream of finding others like her. But along the way Stardog realises the journey is no easy feat and dreams can change. Enter the stunning world of the last stardog, discover her story and the joy and strength to be found in the most unlikely friendships. $39.99, Flying Eye
All You Can Be
Angela Casbene and Michelle Conn This is a love letter to children everywhere encouraging them to embrace their true selves and to live their big, messy, beautiful lives to the full. Be kind. Be strong. Be curious. Be wrong ... Be all you can be. $19.99, Affirm
Taylor Swift Legends Alphabet Beck Feiner
From Shake It Off to Lover and Blank Space to I Knew You Were Trouble, Taylor Swift Legends Alphabet is an enchanting journey through the heart and soul of the greatest pop-country singer ever. $29.99, Alphabet Legends
November-December 2023
13
Children GRAPHIC NOVELS
What the River Knows Isabel Ibañez
Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of 19th-century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. After the death of her parents, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archaeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo where she soon discovers there’s more to her parents’ disappearance than her guardian led her to believe. The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race. Ages 14+ $24.99, Hodderscape
Wings of Fire: Winter Turning
YOUNG ADULT
Tui T. Sutherland
Stuck Up & Stupid Angourie Rice and Kate Rice
The quiet coastal community of Pippi Beach is rocked when a party of young Hollywood movie stars and influencers arrives for the summer. Like most of the locals, Lydia is thrilled but her teenage daughter Lily finds the Hollywood types superficial and arrogant – especially Dorian Khan, the most famous of them all. This is a hilarious modern take on a muchloved Jane Austen classic. Ages 14+
$18.99, Scholastic
NONFICTION
In My Blood It Runs Dujuan Hoosan
$22.99, Walker
The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl Emily Riesbeck
Our Flag Means Death gets a magical, sapphic twist in this swashbuckling young adult graphic novel adventure full of highstakes adventure, fantastical creatures, and a swoony enemies-to-lovers romance. Pampered Ferra and tough-as-nails Brig bicker their way across the high seas, but as they encounter increasingly perilous obstacles, the two become reluctant allies ... and maybe more. Ages 14+ $22.99, Simon & Schuster
14
Gleebooks Gleaner
Winter has always been a disappointment to his royal IceWing family. Now he has a chance to save his sister, Icicle, from making a terrible mistake – if he can find her. When the search leads the dragonets straight into Queen Scarlet’s vicious talons, Winter is grateful to have some help. But even the bravest dragons can’t follow him to the Ice Kingdom. There, he’ll be alone to face the greatest threat of all: his own family. The #1 New York Times bestselling Wings of Fire series comes to life in this seventh graphic novel edition, with art by Mike Holmes. Ages 8+
$26.99, Pan Macmillan
This is the story of Dujuan Hoosan, a 10-year-old Arrernte and Garawa boy who is wise, funny and cheeky. Out bush, his healing power (Ngangkere) is calm and straight. But in town, it’s wobbly and wild, like a snake. He’s in trouble at school, and with the police. He thinks there’s something wrong with him. Dujuan’s family knows what to do: they send him to live out bush, to learn the ways of the old people, and the history that runs straight into all Aboriginal people. So he can be proud of himself. Illustrated by Blak Douglas, winner of the Archibald Prize 2022. Ages 8+
GLEEBOOKS BOOK CLUB Calling all bookworms: we want to hear about your favourite reads! We’d love to feature more of our wonderful book clubbers in our Gleaner magazine. So if you’ve got a book you’d like to review or if you want to write about an author that’s visiting, send us an email at rachel@gleebooks.com.au. We have exciting giveaways waiting for you!
Reid All About It More notable books: 2023 The Murder Squad Michael Adams $35, Affirm
An account of how a special police unit created by homicide chief Thomas McRae (1886-1958) who, along with W.J. “Big Bill” MacKay (1885-1948) and William “Silent Bill” Prior (1879-1944), hunted killers in Sydney and NSW during the 1930s Great Depression. The state was experiencing a “murder wave” of particularly gruesome crimes, gang wars and manhunts. McRae was assigned to the most publicised cases: the Park Demon, the Human Glove, the Hammer Horror and the Pyjama Girl, to name a few. In 1932 the NSW police force numbered barely 2,600 to serve a population of 2.5 million. Early forensic techniques were used to solve crime, including dental records, ballistics, fingerprints, blood group and crime scene analysis. To obtain “certain admissions” from some suspects, the death penalty was deemed a favoured police method of persuasion. Plead guilty to manslaughter and avoid the rope. McRae began his investigative career in the 1920s and was homicide chief from 1934. His success in crime solving made him a public celebrity. Yet his career would end in scandal a decade later: McRae spent his remaining 17 years attempting to clear his name. Michael Adams has adroitly mined court records, police files and the especially lurid tabloid newspaper reportage of The Telegraph, The Sun, Truth and Smith’s Weekly – to recreate the criminal investigations and recount them with brio. A fine addition to one’s true crime or history library.
conspiratorial mindset: no matter how bizarre the claim made; the utter lack of any proof proves its existence beyond doubt. Today, the US seems awash with conspiracy theories and the fear of secret societies. However, this is not a new phenomenon. Nor is it a fringe belief. Colin Dickey argues that such notions “have been a hallmark of American democracy from its inception”. The belief that flourished in the 1950s that “fluoridation” of the water supply was the result of Communist infiltration, has today given way to the Deep State paranoia of QAnon, which among numerous other claims, sees a cabal of cannibalistic lizard people enslaving hapless humans. Don’t expect this notorious movement to (eventually) fade away with Trump. For large numbers of people, conspiracy theories give shape to living in a disturbingly uncertain world. A painstaking, informative work, accomplished with a narrative ease and – considering the subject matter – a lightness of touch. – Stephen Reid
‘One of Australia’s greatest literary talents.’ The Age
Under the Eye of Power Colin Dickey $66, Viking
One of my favourite scenes from one of my favourite novels, Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum (1989), sees three roguish booksellers set up a vanity publishing scam to fleece authors of their money. They are listening to a presentation by a retired Spanish Colonel with a bulky manuscript who claims to have discovered the sinister conspiratorial hand of the Knights Templar, a mediaeval military order behind every major adverse historical event in world history including the Black Death, the French Revolution and World War I and more. Eventually, the youngest of the bookseller trio asks him: “You do of course have historical proof for all of this?” “Proof?” replies the irritated Colonel. “Do you think the Templars would be foolish enough to leave proof lying around?” Not wishing to see a wealthy fish escape their net, the trio’s ringleader replies soothingly: “Your logic is flawless Colonel, pray continue.” This episode always makes me smile. A perfect example of the
‘An enlightening, deeply encouraging work for anyone hoping to remain queen, commander and general of their own life.’ Claire Bowditch
November-December 2023
15
Nonfiction BIOGRAPHY
Dish: Spiels, Scoops, Emotional Outbursts and the Occasional Recipe Rhys Nicholson
$34.99, Viking
Rhys Nicholson is a multi-award winning comedian, writer and busy mum with an anxiety disorder, a complicated relationship with food and a book deal. In Dish, a debut whack at writing an entire book, Nicholson is reaching out to get some stuff straight in their head. Through a series of revealing stories, intrusive thoughts and a recipe here and there, they’re hoping to ruminate, gossip and generally have a deeply private, wide-ranging conversation with themselves about a whole bunch of life’s smaller questions. This is a semi-stream-of-consciousness written tapestry, squeezed out by a profoundly apprehensive overthinker who’s doing their best to unapologetically stop apologising. (It’s funnier than it sounds.)
PossAbilities
Lawrence of Arabia
PossAbilities is about finding the magic in whatever you do. Encompassing 14 creative career incarnations, this grounded memoir includes bittersweet ruminations on uncertainty and trust. Driven by curiosity and a desire to be useful, Victoria Alexander channels her lifetime of experience in different fields into a book that will inspire you to use your courage, take chances and make changes as you learn about the importance of self-efficacy.
Archaeologist and adventurer Thomas Edward Lawrence fought alongside guerilla forces in the 1916 Arab Revolt and made a legendary 300-mile journey through blistering heat. He wore Arab dress and strongly identified with the people in his adopted lands. By 1918, he had a $20,000 price on his head. Lawrence has long remained unknowable, one of history’s most enigmatic explorers. This authoritative biography from explorer Ranulph Fiennes at last brings enthralling insight and clarity to this remarkable venture into the unknown.
Victoria Alexander
Ranulph Fiennes
$36.99, Michael Joseph
Pretty Baby Chris Belcher
$90, Love Books
An Unlikely Prisoner
$26.99, Footnote
Sean Turnell with Ha Vu
In his darkest hour, hope became his closest companion. For 650 days Sean Turnell was held in Myanmar’s terrifying Insein Prison on the trumped-up charge of being a spy. In An Unlikely Prisoner, he recounts how an impossibly cheerful professor of economics ended up in one of the most notorious prisons in south-east Asia. And how he not only survived his lengthy incarceration, but left with his sense of humour intact, his spirit unbroken and love in his heart. $35, Viking
16
Gleebooks Gleaner
Chris Belcher appeared destined for a life of conventional femininity after she took first place in an infant beauty contest. But when she came out as queer, the conservative community turned on her. A decade later, living in Los Angeles, Chris balances her PhD studies with her employment as a renowned lesbian dominatrix, specialising in male clients who want to feel worthless, shameful, and weak – all the abuse regularly heaped upon women for free. But in this memoir, we see that as her profile grows in both academia and in sex work, it seems inevitable that the two will collide.
Alan Joyce and Qantas Peter Harbison and Derek Sadubin
$36.99, Penguin
The twists and turns of the last 15 years of the Qantas story contain all the ingredients of a corporate thriller, with constant shocks to the system, boardroom dramas and disasters narrowly avoided. During this tumultuous period, as CEO of Australia’s iconic airline, Alan Joyce became one of the best-known corporate figures in Australia, and one of the most polarising. Global aviation expert Peter Harbison tells the full and unvarnished story of this fascinating period of the Qantas journey, through the insights and anecdotes of business leaders, politicians, union bosses, analysts, media critics, rivals and insiders – and the man at the helm through it all – Alan Joyce.
Nonfiction BIOGRAPHY
The Courage to Forgive
Naomi Osaka
Nothing forewarned Danny and Leila Abdallah of the tragedy they would face. On 1 February 2020, three of their children and their young cousins were killed by a drunk and drugged driver. Yet in the aftermath, the Abdallahs did something remarkable, they publicly forgave the driver. This gesture by the family has sparked a worldwide forgiveness movement. Moving and inspiring, this is the Abdallahs’ story of faith, strength and resilience in the face of unthinkable adversity, and a testament to the transformative power of forgiveness.
Most tennis fans met the HaitianAmerican-Japanese player Naomi Osaka for the first time as they watched her win the 2018 US Open in a controversial match against Serena Williams. Since then, Osaka has galvanised the tennis world not only by winning three more grand slams – all tennis fans will remember Osaka winning the Australian Open twice – but also by being outspoken on matters of social justice and mental health. But where did she come from and how did she get here? Ben Rothenberg’s biography charts Osaka’s journey to the top of the tennis world and discusses her impact on tennis and on social justice in sport.
Danny and Leila Abdallah
$34.99, Penguin
The Last Yakuza Jake Adelstein
$36.99, Scribe
Written with the insight of an expert on Japanese organised crime and the compassion of a longtime friend, investigative journalist Jake Adelstein presents a sprawling biography of a yakuza, Makoto Saigo, through postwar desperation, to bubble-era optimism, to the present. Including a cast of memorable yakuza bosses – Coach, the Buddha, and more – this is a story about the rise and fall of a man, a country, and a dishonest but sometimes honourable way of life on the brink of being lost.
Ben Rothenberg
$36.99, Text
Flinders
Grantlee Kieza This sweeping biography tells the story of the fearless, sharp-eyed, handsome Matthew Flinders and how he became one of the world’s most intrepid explorers. Accompanied by his Aboriginal interpreter and guide, Kuringgai man Bungaree, and his beloved rescue cat, Trim, Flinders explored the furthest reaches and rugged coastlines of Australia. This is a story of a great love for the sea, for connection and of friendship. It’s also a story of technical brilliance – Flinders’ meticulous charts gave us the first complete maps of our continent, which are so accurate they are still used today. $45, ABC Books
Quaint Deeds A.J. Mackinnon
A.J. “Sandy” Mackinnon is best known to readers as a much-loved travel writer. But between eccentric voyages, he has, for almost 40 years, taught at schools in Australia and the UK. In Quaint Deeds he brings his trademark wit and warmth to the classroom, recalling the ups, downs and unexpected detours of a teaching life. Along the way, he shares the lessons his students have taught him, often in the most unlikely moments – whether playing pranks, experimenting with homemade fireworks, or searching for buried treasure in the English countryside. $34.99, Black Inc November-December 2023
17
Nonfiction FEMINISM
ENVIRONMENT
I Don’t
What the Trees See
Why, when there is so much evidence of the detrimental impact marriage has on women’s lives, does the myth of marital bliss still prevail? Why do so many women still believe that their value is intrinsically tied to being chosen by a man? In her most incendiary book to date, Clementine Ford explains how capitalist patriarchal structures need women to believe in marriage in order to maintain control over women’s agency, ambitions and freedom. I Don’t presents an inarguable case against marriage for modern women, showing what a different kind of world could look like for women if they were allowed to be truly free.
The trees around us – some we may walk past every day – tell a story. Mangroves, Leichhardt trees, acacias, eucalypts, foxtails ... together, they inspire a narrative that jumps from Burke and Wills to sugar slaves, Empress Josephine to Johnny Flinders. Eucalypts reveal lost cultures and lost children. Cabbage palms tell of incomparable migrations. Witty’s book is a stunning meditation on the remarkable insights that Australia’s trees can offer into our past.
Dave Witty
Clementine Ford
$34.99, Allen & Unwin
HISTORY
$29.99, Monash University Press
19th Century Female Explorers Caroline Roope
As any historian will testify, a 19th-century woman’s place was very much at home. Or was it? Caroline Roope invites you to journey to the further corners of the earth with this lively re-telling of 22 extraordinary women who travelled the world, climbing mountains in corsets and dicing with death. From humble missionary Annie Royle Taylor, who knew God would keep her safe, to the haughty aristocrat, Lady Hester Stanhope, who defied convention and dressed as a Turkish man including pistol, knife and turban, their collective voices still resonate hundreds of years later. $59.99, Pen and Sword
Fen, Bog and Swamp Annie Proulx
Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Proulx brings her research to the vitally important role fens, bogs and swamps play in preserving the environment, and their systemic destruction in the pursuit of profit. Fen, Bog and Swamp is both a revelatory history and an urgent plea for wetland reclamation, from one of our greatest prose stylists. $24.99, 4th Estate
TECHNOLOGY
The Internet Con
Faking It
Tech giants started out with high-minded ideals about “connection” but this was a sticky trap that locked up everyone, turning users into hostages. The Internet Con presents a solution that actually works. It reveals the thing that platforms fear the most, interoperability, the technical, policy and social tool that will decompose tech platforms into services that anyone can mix, match, plug into, or render obsolete. It’s how we “seize the means of computation”. This book charts where big tech monopolies came from, and argues that we will abolish them for good.
Artificial intelligence is, as the name suggests, artificial and fundamentally different to human intelligence. Yet often the goal of AI is to fake human intelligence. Powerful AIs such as ChatGPT can convince us they are intelligent and blur the distinction between what is real and what is simulated. In reality, they lack true understanding, sentience and common sense. But this doesn’t mean they can’t change the world. In this fun and fascinating book, Toby Walsh explores all the ways AI fakes it, and what this means for humanity – now and in the future.
$34.99, Verso Trade
$34.99, La Trobe University Press
Cory Doctorow
18
Gleebooks Gleaner
Toby Walsh
Nonfiction ESSAYS
2023: A Year of Consequence Edited by Justin Bergman
This was a year of consequential decisions – not just for Australia, but the world. In Australia, the year was dominated by a historic referendum on the Voice to Parliament, the housing crisis and the cost of living. Globally people grappled with the continuing war in Ukraine, the ethical considerations of artificial intelligence and how best to respond to the latest devastating reports on climate change. The Conversation authors have been at the forefront of the debates over these issues, providing evidence-based research to help guide both policy-makers and everyday Australians make informed decisions at a consequential time. $29.99, Thames & Hudson
Justice and Hope
The American Beast
In a time when modes of communication tend towards superficiality and self-promotion, when political debates are increasingly inured to lies and even violence, and the moral demands of dialogue give way to a torrent of competing monologues, Raimond Gaita’s collected writings invite us to rediscover what genuine conversation requires of us. His astonishing range of concerns includes genocide, politics, the downfall of universities, and the cost of the “War on Terror”, all held together by the consistency and unrelenting tenderness of his moral vision. To see the world through Gaita’s eyes is to discover, once again, what it means to love the world.
The past decade has marked a shift in America’s trajectory. The New Yorker columnist Jill Lepore has been tracing its contested storylines in real time, beginning with Donald Trump’s election campaign, through to the chaos left in its wake. Here we encounter Americans’ rising technoutopianism, frantic fractiousness, and unprecedented, but armed, aimlessness. With the wit and verve that has made her the acclaimed national historian of a generation, The American Beast offers an arresting portrait of America.
Raimond Gaita
$65, Melbourne University Press
The Great Housing Divide Alan Kohler
$27.99, Quarterly Essay
One of the great mysteries of Australian life is that a land of sweeping plains, with one of the lowest population densities on the planet, has a shortage of land for houses. As a result, Sydney’s median house price is the second most expensive on Earth, which is a pain that has altered Australian society; it has increased inequality and profoundly changed the relationship between generations. But what happened? In this crisp, clarifying, and forward-looking essay, Alan Kohler tells the story of how we got into this mess, and how we might get out of it.
Jill Lepore
$34.99, John Murray
The End of Solitude William Deresiewicz
Combining rich storytelling and ground-breaking reporting, The Bill Gates Problem offers readers a provocative and timely counter-narrative about one of the world’s most famous figures. But more than that, this book from Tim Schwab speaks to a vital political question around economic inequality and the erosion of democratic institutions – why should the super-rich be able to transform their wealth into political power, and just how far can they go?
What is the internet doing to us? What are the myths and metaphors we live by? These are the questions William Deresiewicz has been pursuing over the course of his awardwinning career. The End of Solitude brings together more than 40 of his finest essays. They seek to understand how we can live more mindfully and freely, exploring what it means to be an individual, and how we can sustain our individuality in an age of networks and groups.
$36.99, Penguin
$34.99, Henry Holt
POLITICS
The Bill Gates Problem Tim Schwab
November-December 2023
19
Nonfiction SCIENCE
White Holes Carlo Rovelli
Entangled Life
A mesmerizing trip to the strange new world of white holes, from Carlo Rovelli, the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. With lightness and magic, Rovelli traces the ongoing adventure of his own cutting-edge research, of the uncertainty and joy of going where we’ve not yet been. Guiding us to the edge of theory and experiment, he invites us to go beyond, to experience the fever and the disquiet of science. Here is the extraordinary life of a white hole.
Merlin Sheldrake
Fungi can change our minds, heal our bodies and even help us avoid environmental disaster; they are metabolic masters, earth-makers and key players in most of nature’s processes. In Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake takes us on a mind-altering journey into their spectacular world, and reveals how these extraordinary organisms transform our understanding of our planet and life itself. $65, Jonathan Cape
$35, Allen Lane
FIRST NATIONS
First Knowledges: Innovation
The Notebook
First Nations Australians are some of the oldest innovators in the world. Original developments in social and religious activities, trading strategies, technology and land-management are underpinned by philosophies that strengthen the sustainability of Country and continue to be used today. McNiven and Russell reveal creative practices such as body shaping, cremation, sea hunting with the help of suckerfish, building artificial reefs for oyster farms, and repurposing glass from Europeans into spearheads.
Roland Allen follows a trail of ideas, revealing how the notebook came to be our most durable tool for thinking. He tells the stories of its development through table-books and diaries, common-placing and journalling, and the lives of those who relied upon it: from Darwin hatching the idea of evolution to Agatha Christie plotting a hundred murders to Bob Dylan drafting Blood on the Tracks. In this age of AI and digital overload, a blank notebook and the act of moving a pen across paper can change the way we think.
$24.99, Thames & Hudson
$55, Profile Trade
Ian J. McNiven and Lynette Russell
AGRICULTURE
The Wisdom of Sheep & Other Animals Rosamund Young
20
IDEAS Roland Allen
HEALTH AND SELF-HELP
The Vagus Nerve Reset Anna Ferguson
We talk about people behaving like sheep, which assumes that sheep all behave in the same way. That has not been Rosamund Young’s experience. Some are affectionate, others prone to head-butting. Some are determinedly self-sufficient, and others seek our help when they need it. They are as individual as we are, their inner lives full of complexity. Rosamund has been an organic farmer for more than 40 years and this is her record of observing and preserving the abundant wildlife at Kite’s Nest Farm. It is a story of joy, discovery, cooperation and sometimes heartbreak.
By tuning into our vagus nerve we can gently shape our nervous system for greater resilience. This will have profound long-term positive influence on our overall health and wellbeing, providing relief from debilitating anxiety and symptoms of chronic illness. Anna Ferguson provides practical, immediate ways to unlock a mindful connection with our bodies, helping us become more aware of our nervous system and notice what derails us – and transform the way we respond to every kind of challenge in life. This comprehensive guide includes a program of mindful movement, breath work and meditation, journalling, and more.
$34.99, Faber Non Fiction
$35, Penguin Life Australia
Gleebooks Gleaner
The Dully Dispatch
A
s we inch toward the end of 2023, we would like to thank our local community for their incredible support of our small but mighty bookshop. We feel it and we appreciate it. Now, on to this month’s favourite reads! Lachlan recommends Question 7 by Richard Flanagan, an astonishing work of nonfiction that begins with a visit to Hiroshima, where Flanagan’s father was a prisoner of war when the first atom bomb was dropped. It then tugs on the threads that make up the tapestry of his life, asking Chekhov’s question: “Who loves longer?” or why do we do what we do to each other? Towards the end of Question 7, Flanagan gives an extraordinary account of being nearly drowned in the Franklin River at age 21. To call this a “near death experience” would be to downplay a significant moment in the writer’s life. I can’t describe how great this passage is without hyperbole or cliche. Question 7 is a book about private lives, public lives, secret lives, history, memory, dreaming. A book you’ll consume in great bites before returning to the beginning to wonder at it all over again. Dasha recommends Running Grave by Robert Galbraith, a brilliant addition to the Strike series, set around a dangerous religious cult. Probably her favourite in the series so far. Letitia recommends Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward. It’s a profound work of historical literature. Yes, it will hurt your heart, but oh is it worth it. The novel follows Annis and her unforgiving journey from a slave plantation to the deep south. The writing is masterful and breathtaking. She says this book will stay with her forever: “It’s not a stretch to say that it changed me in some way.” Claire Keegan is back with the publication of a brilliant short story, So Late in the Day. Letitia read it in one sitting and it doesn’t disappoint. And for a complete change of gear, Green Dot by Australian writer Madeleine Gray. If you’ve read all of Sally Rooney and Diana Reid, then this is the book for you. Modern, fresh and clever, this is a great Australian debut and a perfect summer read. Koko recommends Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon, an amazing exploration of the evolution of the female body and how it continues to shape so much of our lives. This is a tome of a book – quality and quantity – highly recommended. For our younger readers, Soren recommends The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat by Kate Temple. It’s super wacky and exciting middle-grade fantasy that made her laugh a lot, and it has absolutely first-class villains. Soren has also been reading a lot of picture books and, in doing so, rediscovered her favourite Oliver Jeffers book The Heart and the Bottle, which is beautiful and heartbreaking and hopeful.
DULLY’S BEST READS OF 2023 LETITIA
Girl in a Pink Dress by Kylie Needham This is my Australian literature pick of the year. Is it a perfectly executed short, modern novel? I think it might be. Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary I ached for these young characters of the Irish author’s novel, and think of them still. So beautiful and (thankfully) just shy of devastating.
DASHA
Pet by Catherine Chidgey A compelling psychological thriller about growing up, favouritism and manipulation, set in a Catholic School in 1980s New Zealand.
SOREN
If I Was a Horse by Sophie Blackall An amazing and beautiful picture book, it’s good in all the ways a picture book can be and is one to be loved by kids and adults!
ZARA
August Blue by Deborah Levy Dreamy and haunting, August Blue tells the story of a world-famous pianist who has fallen from grace. It’s an instant Levy classic.
ARWEN
The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo Combining the melancholic with the beautiful and whimsical, Spelhorst offers tears, laughter and wonder to the grizzled and world-weary reader.
KOKO
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin An absolutely hilarious, clever and overwhelmingly weird book that you won’t be able to put down. Beware: the emotions will hit you when you least expect it.
LACHLAN
Wifedom by Anna Funder A staggeringly great portrait of Eileen O’Shaughnessy, the wife of George Orwell. An intellectual and emotional pleasure.
– The Dully Team Follow us on Instagram: gleebooks_dulwich November-December 2023
21
Nonfiction MUSIC
My Name Is Barbra Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand has excelled in every area of entertainment for more than six decades. She is one of the select few EGOTs, having won Grammys, Tonys, Oscars and Emmys for her work in music, on stage, and on screens big and small. A singer with one of the greatest and most recognisable voices in popular music, she also became the first woman to write, produce, direct and star in a feature film. In My Name Is Barbra, she recounts her early struggles in acting, her pivot to singing, her friendships, her political advocacy, and the fulfillment she has found in her marriage. The memoir is, like Barbra herself, frank, funny, opinionated, and charming.
$75, Century
dots on paper: Philip Glass
Time’s Echo
Philip Glass is a pioneer of American minimal music and composed the film music for well-known films such as The Illusionist, The Truman Show and Cassandra’s Dream. For five years Austrian photographer Andreas H. Bitesnich accompanied the composer on concerts and tours while photographing the performances and life behind the scenes. The result is 75 black-and-white pictures that paint an intimate portrait of Philip Glass as a musician.
In Time’s Echo, Jeremy Eichler makes a revelatory case for the power of music as culture’s memory, an art form uniquely capable of carrying forward meaning from the past. Eichler shows how four towering composers – Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Benjamin Britten and Dmitri Shostakovich – lived through the era of the Second World War and the Holocaust and later transformed their experiences into deeply moving scores that carry forward the echoes of lost time. This lyrical narrative deepens how we think about the legacies of war, the presence of the past, and the profound possibilities of art in our lives today.
Andreas H. Bitesnich
$205, teNeues
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present Paul McCartney
$155, Allen Lane
In this extraordinary book, and with unparalleled candour, Paul McCartney recounts his life and art through the songs from all stages of his career – from his earliest boyhood compositions to the Beatles, Wings, his solo albums and the present. The legendary musician provides a kaleidoscopic account of the songs’ lyrics and describes the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now. This is a self-portrait in 154 songs by our greatest living songwriter.
Jeremy Eichler
$49.99, Faber Music
VISUAL ART
Birds of the World
Warhol After Warhol
For her short life, artist and illustrator Elizabeth Gould played a crucial role in her husband’s lavish publications, creating beautifully detailed and historically significant illustrations of more than 600 birds. However, her contributions were not always fully credited and, following her death, her efforts and talent were almost forgotten. Birds of the World features more than 220 colour illustrations depicting birds from each continent in the 19th century. It is an overdue celebration of Gould’s work and her talent for capturing the unique character of each species.
In the winter of 2003, long-time art critic Richard Dorment answered a telephone call from a stranger who had recently been told two Warhols in his art collection were fake. This call marked the beginning of an extraordinary story that would play out over the next 10 years. Rock icons, art dealers, art forgers, lawyers for the mob and a murdered Russian oligarch all surrounded this battle for authenticity. Part detective story, part art history, part memoir, part courtroom drama, Warhol After Warhol is a spellbinding account of the dark connection between money, power and art.
$140, Prestel
$36.99, Picador
Andrea and Datta Hart
22
Gleebooks Gleaner
Richard Dorment
Nonfiction VISUAL ART
Spanish Painting: From the Golden Age to Modernism Norbert Wolf
Coinciding with the rise of the Habsburg dynasty and the expansion of the Spanish empire, the Spanish Golden Age created a fertile environment for cultural and scientific discovery. Opening with Spain’s emergence as a European power, Spanish Painting explores how the nationwide development of its major cities into centres of artistic activity in the mid-16th and 17th centuries ushered in a new era for painting. Every major painter of the period is included, with more than 200 gloriously reproduced works by El Greco, Ribera, Velázquez, Zurbarán, Murillo, Ribalta, Goya, and dozens more. A final chapter reveals how Spanish painters of the 20th century, such as Picasso and Dalí, were shaped by their Golden Age forebears. $230, Prestel
PHOTOGRAPHY
ARCHITECTURE
Post Truth
Art Nouveau
On arriving in Los Angeles a decade ago, Australian artist George Byrne became enthralled by the city – he was mesmerised by the way the sunlight transformed it into two-dimensional, almost painterly abstractions. In his Post Truth series, Byrne reassembles his photos of LA’s gritty urban landscape into striking, aesthetic collages of colour and geometric fragments, creating a postmodernist oasis in the metropolis. Borrowing from the clean, vivid clarity of modernist paintings such as David Hockney, Byrne also references the new topographics photography movement seen on Instagram. Post Truth includes 68 colour illustrations as well as essays by leading art thinkers Percival Everett and Ian Volner.
This richly illustrated book of more than 200 photographs offers a fascinating guide to the Art Nouveau movement. The style emerged at the close of the 19th century, a time of new ideas and inventions. Art Nouveau is based on plant forms and fantasy shapes, and has no limit in form of art and design. The style soon became popular throughout Europe as well as the United States. Art Nouveau is a stunning collection of some of the world’s greatest Art Nouveau buildings.
George Byrne
Arnold Schwartzman
$65, Palazzo Editions
THEATRE
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent Judi Dench
$36.99, Michael Joseph
$125, Editions du Chene (E/P/A)
Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig; cavorting naked through the countryside painted green; acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head ... these are just a few of the things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare. In a series of conversations with actor-director Brendan O’Hea, she mischievously guides us through the secrets of the rehearsal process and vignettes of her creative partnerships.
Lost in the Beauty of Bad Weather Christophe Jacrot
In Christophe Jacrot’s eyes, there are two ways of photographing the world: capturing its horror or sublimating it. In view of his nature photography, it quickly becomes clear which he prefers. The French photographer specifically looks for rain and snow to capture his atmospheric snapshots. In his work, weather conditions are always extreme: the city is seen through a windowpane dripping with rain or a curtain of snow. His images capture the beauty of megacities transfigured by the weather with perfection and poetry. $125, teNeues
November-December 2023
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Nonfiction FOOD
The Unofficial Ted Lasso Cookbook Aki Berry and Meg Chano
$35, HarperCollins
Inspired by the beloved, Emmy Award–winning TV show, this is a collection of 50 recipes, DIY ideas, and other Easter eggs for anyone who believes that football is life. Perfect for fans in need of sweet treats to numb the sting of defeat, or those who agree that tea tastes like hot brown water, this collection of recipes will warm your heart and fill your stomach. Featuring delicious dishes from every corner of the Lassoverse, including Pigs in Roy’s Blankie; Ted’s Bullseye BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich; Dani’s Cheeky Mexican Ponche; and, of course, Biscuits With the Boss (along with instructions to make your own pink box).
Brutto
Kindred
Eat Lao
Whether it’s anchovies with cold butter and sourdough, penne with tomato and vodka or sausages with braised lentils and mustard, the food of Florence rests on a few humble ingredients brought together in the rough-and-ready style of everyday cooking but with flavour always at its heart. This stunning cookbook offers recipes from Russell Norman’s acclaimed new restaurant, Trattoria Brutto, alongside an ode to one of Italy’s most beloved cities, Florence and the bohemian district of Santo Spirito.
Maria and Eva Konecsny share the spices, traditions, and recipes from their German heritage that bring their families around the table. Learn how to use spices in simple ways to elevate your cooking. Then, find comfort in more than 80 recipes and treasured rituals that include salted orange marmalade, lavender-crumbed chicken schnitzel and egg dyeing at Easter. Kindred will inspire you to come together with your loved ones, discover the food paths of your kin, and transform your cooking and baking with rhythms that sustain you into the future.
Sam Sempill was born in Australia and raised in a traditional Lao family. The food her grandmother cooked has remained a constant in her life, providing a connection back to a country she left as a child and the story of her family’s journey from Lao to Australia. Through compiling these recipes, Sam has discovered how food was used to communicate empathy and love, in a family where hugs and kisses were substituted with soups and braises.
Russell Norman
$75, Ebury Press
Bruno’s Cookbook Martin Walker & Julia Watson
Bruno Courreges, the protagonist of Martin Walker’s acclaimed mystery series, is not only the local police chief of the idyllic village of St Denis, but an impressive amateur chef. In this delightful new cookbook, the culinary and cultural inspiration behind Bruno’s fictional world comes to life, including more than 90 recipes from Duck Breast Fillets with Honey and Mustard to Chard Gratin (Bruno’s comfort meal), Hazelnut Meringue Cake and Homemade Blackcurrant Liqueur. This feast for the senses transports readers to France’s gastronomic heartland. $59.99, Quercus
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Gleebooks Gleaner
Maria and Eva Konecsny
$49.99, Plum
Smash Hits Recipes Nat’s What I Reckon
Life’s tricky, cooking doesn’t have to be. This special hardback collection is a sweary best mate for your kitchen. Nat’s here to take the nonsense out of the kitchen with the most popular, tried-and-true dishes as well as allnew hit singles, There are heaps of savoury power moves that’ll sort your dinner any night of the week, and some sweet sh*t too. Look out for Zero F*cks Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Crowd Goes Mild Curry, Chilli con Can’t Be F*cked and Gimme a Break Celebration Cake. Give it a squiz, champion! $49.99, Ebury Australia
Sam Sempill
$48, Melbourne Books
The Best Things in Life Are Cheese Ellie and Sam Studd
Learn how to buy and store cheese, pair it perfectly every time and put together a rock star cheese board. Ellie and Sam Studd guide you through the key categories of cheese, from blues and washed rinds to fresh cheeses such as mozzarella. Then, celebrate cheese in all its oozy glory, with 70 delicious recipes for all occasions. Get ready to fall (even more!) in love with cheese and arm yourself with all the knowledge you need to select, store, serve, taste and cook with cheese like a true pro. $44.99, Plum
Specials $40
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$60
$17.95
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Bloodbath Nation Paul Auster
The Bookseller of Florence Ross King
Broken Ground Val McDermid
Chastise Max Hastings
$60
$35
$35
$35
$19.95
$14.95
$14.95
$16.95
Collected French Translations John Ashbery
Crooked Hallelujah Kelli Jo Ford
Edie: An American Girl Jean Stein and George Plimpton
Edward Said Dominique Eddé
$50
$25
$40
$35
$19.95
$12.95
$18.95
$14.95
Elegy Landscapes Stanley Plumly
Emerald City & Other Stories Jennifer Egan
The Empire Must Die Mikhail Zygar
The Four Princes John Julius Norwich
$45
$50
$60
$20
$18.95
$19.95
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$10.95
The Gallery of Miracles and Madness Charlie English
Geography Is Destiny Ian Morris
A History of Pictures David Hockney and Martin Gayford
The Jungle Upton Sinclair
November-December 2023
25
Specials $33
$35
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$16.95
$16.95
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Kindness Community Vegan Cookbook Edgar’s Mission
Manifesto Bernardine Evaristo
Mirror & the Light Hilary Mantel
$18
$40
$55
$45
$9.95
$16.95
$19.95
$18.95
Mothering Sunday Graham Swift
Mozart and Beethoven Irving Singer
Napoleon Ruth Scurr
Planet Taco Jeffrey Pilcher
$60
$45
$40
$40
$21.95
$18.95
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$16.95
Planting the World Jordan Goodman
Putin Philip Short
Quichotte Salman Rushdie
Reckless Marele Day
$40
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Song for the Dark Times Ian Rankin
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Metropolis: A History of the City Ben Wilson
Gleebooks Gleaner
Still Life Val McDermid
Walking with Ghosts Gabriel Byrne
Wild Minds Reid Mitenbuler
Poetry
The Lights Ben Lerner
The Lights is a constellation of verse and prose, voice memos and vignettes, songs and silences that brings the personal and the collective into startling relation. These poems are at once alive to the forces that shape human society and to the rhythms of the natural world, to the power of new technologies and the wonder of our timeless planet. Written over a span of 15 years, The Lights records the pleasures, risks, and absurdities of making art and family and meaning against a backdrop of interlocking, accelerating crises. And, even while alert to the darkness, it is the light in the book that remains, in dusk, in images from space, in old poems, in power cuts, in the flickering connections between people. From one of the most celebrated writers of his generation, the poems in this collection come to us as beacons , illuminating new possibilities of thought and feeling.
$26.99, Granta
The Flirtation of Girls/Ghazal el-Banat Sarah M. Saleh
With her first full-length poetry collection, Sara M. Saleh introduces us to the polychromatic lives of girls and women as they come into being amid war, colonial and patriarchal violence, and exile and migration. This searing work interrogates and represents the complexity of Arab-Australian Muslim women’s identities as they negotiate an irresistible world full of music and family, grit and grief, love and loss. Saleh’s poetry is not only an inherently political act, but a deeply personal one, charged with multilayered conversations and meditations amongst three generations of women in Sara’s family. Her poems dazzle with an incantatory force of spirit, survival and selfhood, proving without a doubt that Saleh is one of this country’s most compelling, contemporary poets. $24.99, UQP
ABN 87 000 357 317
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Gleaner is a publication of Gleebooks Pty. Ltd., 181a Glebe Point Rd (P.O. Box 486), Glebe NSW 2037 Ph: (02) 9660 2333 books@gleebooks.com.au
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The Gleebooks Gleaner is published from February to November with contributions by staff, invited readers and writers., ISSSN: 1325 - 9288, Feedback and book reviews are welcome
Bestsellers Fiction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Nonfiction
Lola in the Mirror
1
Stone Yard Devotional
2
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens
3
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life
4
The Wren, The Wren
5
The Fraud
6
So Late in the Day
7
Edenglassie
8
The Bee Sting
9
Trent Dalton
Charlotte Wood
Shakari Chandran Anna Funder
Anne Enright Zadie Smith
Claire Keegan
Melissa Lucashenko Paul Murray
10 The Last Devil to Die Richard Osman
Killing for Country
David Marr
The House That Joy Built
Holly Ringland
The Devil You Knew
Ian Hickie
Unruly
David Mitchell
Question 7
Richard Flanagan
Bright Shining
Julia Baird
The Palestine Laboratory
Antony Loewenstein
The Woman in Me
Britney Spears
Techno-Feudalism
Yanis Varoufakis
10 Best Wishes Richard Glover
For more new releases go to: Main shop—181a Glebe Pt Rd; Ph: (02) 9660 2333. Mon to Sat 9am to 6pm; Sunday 10 to 5 Blackheath—Shop 1 Collier’s Arcade, Govetts Leap Rd; Ph: (02) 4787 6340. Open 7 days, 9am to 5pm Blackheath Oldbooks—Collier’s Arcade, Govetts Leap Rd: Open 7 days, 10am to 5pm Dulwich Hill—536 Marrickville Rd Dulwich Hill; Ph: (02) 9560 0660. Tue-Fri 9am to 6pm; Sat 9am to 5pm; Sun 10 to 4; Mon 9 to 5 www.gleebooks.com.au. Email: books@gleebooks.com.au; oldbooks@gleebooks.com.au