The River: a journey through the Murray - Darling Basin

In March I read a copy of Chris Hammer's non-fiction book, The Coast, where he wrote about locations on the eastern coast of Australia. In The River: a journey through the Murray - Darling Basin Chris Hammer records journeys he made in the summer of 2008-2009 to parts of the Australia's important river system. 

As well as the two main rivers there are many tributaries and river basins that cover a wide area of eastern Australia including southern Queensland, much of New South Wales, northern Victoria and part of South Australia. The importance of the rivers, and water in general, to people living in and working the land in those areas is one of the themes discussed, especially with the controversy about the implementation of irrigation systems in some regions.

As the author's discovery tours took place towards the end of a long drought that affected much of Australia resulting in the implementation of severe water restrictions, the important topics of water supply and water management feature throughout the book. During Chris Hammer's travels we also learn about the history of the regions he visits and how many of the regions have had to adapt or are changing. He interviewed a variety of local residents, each with a view of what was wrong with the rivers and water supply making it obvious that one solution will not please everyone.

As with The Coast, many of the regions visited are places I have visited and also where family members have lived on properties in the past. However this is a book that any Australian should read for an overview of an important part of our country and the country's river systems as a whole. The fragility of water supply in much of Australia, environmental issues and climate change are topics discussed as well as an overview of the history of local areas visited.

Additional information: 

Millennium Drought (River Murray 2002-2010) -  Dept for Environment and Water

The Drought That Changed Us - ABC 

Son of Nobody

When Canadian scholar, Harlow Donne, has the opportunity to continue his studies at Oxford University he grabs the chance though it means leaving his wife and eight year old daughter, Helen, at home in Canada. When carrying out his research in the library he discovers an excerpt from an Ancient Greek manuscript which appears to be part of an account of the Trojan Wars that differs from Homer's account in The Odyssey and The Iliad. This account appears to be provided from the viewpoint of an ordinary soldier -  Psoas, Son of Nobody. Donne spends the rest of his time in England looking for other clues in order to investigate this alternative version of the story.

 In Son of Nobody, Yann Martel has structured his novel so that the excerpts of the story that Donne discovers are gradually revealed to the reader on the top of some of the pages of the book. A horizontal line divides each page and, in the section below the line, Donne adds footnotes providing explanations and additional information to some of the content. Notes in this section also reveal the deteriorating relationship between Donne and his wife as well as his relationship with his daughter to whom he dedicates the Greek poem he is discovering.

Son of Nobody is a story of parallels illustrating the effects of separation due to war and work plus family relationships as Donne investigates a new telling of a mythical world.

Some reviews: 

Son of Nobody (review) - The Guardian  (20 April 2026)

Ancient texts and marital breakdown: Yann Martel's Son of Nobody descends into implausibility (review) - The Conversation 

 Son of Nobody (review) - Open Letters Review

Three Reasons for Revenge

Set in Melbourne, Three Reasons for Revenge by Dervla McTiernan is an enthralling crime thriller that begs to be read to the final page with few interruptions. When Detective Sergeant Judith Lee interviews Alexis Turner, a young woman who comes to her with the story of a psychologist  who sexually assaulted her, Judith is not prepared for the drama and danger that is to follow.

The story revolves around three parcels that are delivered to three different people. Initially the parcels appear innocent but before long chaos has ensued for the recipient followed by the deaths of two people and the arrest of a third for murder. Judith realises that ten years ago she interviewed a young woman with a similar story and obviously wants to investigate.

This is very much a character driven novel though different locations in the city of Melbourne and other parts of Victoria feature  throughout the story. There are lots of twists and turns as Judith gradually unravels the convoluted threads being laid by the murderer and events of the past become events of today. Three Reasons for Revenge is definitely a good book to read when you have plenty of time to enjoy reading and can become thoroughly involved in the events of the story as they are revealed.

Dark Desert Road

Australian author, Tim Ayliffe has written a suspenseful novel about a sovereign citizen community in the Riverina district of New South Wales. Dark Desert Road is the story of police officer Kit McCarthy who has been told to take leave as she recovers from working with traumatised children for three years. Kit then receives a message from her twin sister, Billie, who she hasn't been in touch with for ten years. The message is brief - Billie is in danger and she has a child. Kit knows that she must locate her sister and nephew - now.

Sovereign citizen communities have been in the news during the past few years and much of the action of the novel is set in such a community as members wage their war against the government and practically everyone else who does not share their beliefs. Motor bike gangs also feature prominently in the novel as they attempt to avenge the death of one of their members. Kit's father is in prison and is not impressed that he has a daughter who is a police officer. However he is proud of the daughter who married a former US soldier who shares his views that the laws of the land do not apply to sovereign citizens. Despite putting her life in danger Kit is determined to locate her sister and the child she has never met. 

Dark Desert Road is a fast moving thriller that explores bonds in a family that has imploded plus the break-down of society and the rule of law in some communities. Once started, this is crime novel is a book that is difficult to put down until the conclusion is revealed. 

What Rhymes With Murder?

Frida and Ben have a six month old son, Finn, who they both love dearly. But Frida has trouble adapting to motherhood and is constantly afraid that something might happen to Finn. She sees a psychiatrist regularly and knows that she must make an effort to leave the house and explore the outside world again with her son. However it is not easy.

Then she decides to attend the Baby Rhyme Time session with Finn at their local library. Finn appears to be enjoying the session and Frida begins to relax and chats to some of the parents until there is a scream and a body is discovered in the library. Things like this should not happen in suburban East Melbourne. When Frida tries to work out what actually happened she discovers that a number of other library users also have opinions about how Beatrice died.

What Rhymes With Murder by Penny Tangey is primarily an amusing cosy crime novel that also has a serious side as it also touches on themes of abortion, post-partum depression, anxiety and women’s rights.  The novel follows the attempts of an eclectic collection of amateur sleuths as they investigate the cause of how and why a body landed on the floor of the library. Eventually they join forces in their investigation and, as well as discovering what happens, new friendships are formed.

What Rhymes With Murder is an easy to read crime novel which includes references to parts of East Melbourne that will be familiar to many readers. I suspect that there may be sequels to this book in the future.

The Gambler

Private Investigator Vince Reid is on another case when a family friend asks him to investigate why a young girl was murdered. The person who shot Katie was also shot dead and the case is closed but it is not known why anyone would want to kill her.

During the investigation Reid discovers a gambling scam which might be behind the crime, but how could this involve Katie? He also finds links to another murder committed twenty years earlier. What is the connection to the two cases?

The Gambler by New Zealander J P Pomare, who now lives in Australia, is a fast paced crime novel set in America. The story is primarily told from the perspective of Reid who is investigating the case, Katie the victim and Barbara who pulled the trigger along with occasional links to the earlier crime. It is another crime fiction novel well worth reading.

The Celts: search for a civilization

History tells us a lot about the Greek and Roman empires. However they were not the only peoples living in Europe and western parts of Asia at that time. A general term for many of these, often different, groups of people is Celts but who were they and where did they come from?

Alice Roberts in The Celts: search for a civilization sets out to discover who the people we refer to as Celts really were and any cohesion that might exist between different groups of Celtic people. Existing knowledge about the Celts comes from references to them in Greek and Roman works. The Greeks and Romans each had a written language which provided their viewpoint on the world around them. However to the Greeks and Romans the Celts were inferior peoples, often considered invading savages.

In this book Alice Roberts sets out to explore what is known about the lives of the Celts through past and continuing archaeological excavations, historical information about these people, the ethnic and biological studies as well as linguistic investigations. Although similarities are often found there are also differences between Celtic peoples in parts of Europe.

In later chapters the author investigates recent theories that some of the earliest Celtic settlements may have been in Portugal and not eastern Europe. The settlements near the Mediterranean coast and the Atlantic Ocean were centres for trade throughout Europe, including Britain and Ireland, from earliest times. Peoples from these regions could have merged with people in countries they visited for trade. It is also believed that Celtic peoples crossed over into Britain via Scandinavian counties.

We will probably never know the full history of the various Celtic groups but study can still be done investigating archaeological finds, bones, art, and other clues to the lives of these people in our history and in the ancestors of Celtic groups today.

A New Kind of Dreaming

When teenager, Jamie Riley, arrives at Port Barren on the coast of Western Australia he does not know what to expect. After Jamie had been caught stealing cars he was told that this was his last chance. His brother is in gaol. Next time he too would end up in gaol. Instead he has been sent to what might be the most isolated place on earth. On three sides Cape Barren is surrounded by desert - sand with a few scrubby bushes. The ocean borders the fourth side. On arrival in the town Jamie was greeted by his social worker, Lorraine, who introduced him to Archie who owned the house where Jamie would be staying.

Jamie gradually became familiar with his new surroundings but had difficulty fitting in at school. It was not long before he met the town police sergeant who made it clear that he would be watching Jamie very closely. If anything happened in the town it was obvious that Jamie would be blamed.

One day Jamie found an old boat on the beach and went to investigate. The story of how the boat ended up on the beach is an important part of the story. The boat is also where Jamie meets a fellow student, Cameron, and over time they become friends. Jamie knew that something bad happened in the town and was determined to investigate. He did not expect, however, that his life would be in danger.

 A New Kind of Dreaming by Anthony Eaton is a YA crime novel with some of the themes being friendship, trust, refugees, finding your place in the world, learning to belong in a new and strange environment and survival in the desert. It is one of the books that my grandson needed to read for school in year eight. As we read the book together, the story captured his imagination and he looked forward to discovering what happened next.

A New Kind Of Dreaming - Notes - University of Queensland Press 

Normal People

Normal People by Irish author Sally Rooney is a study of adolescent relationships. Connell and Marianne are students in their final year of school in a small town in Ireland. Connell is one of the popular students at the school while Marianne is mainly ignored by her fellow classmates. Marianne comes from a well to do family that hires Connell's mother to clean their house twice a week. Her mother would never approve of Marianne having a friendship with the son of their cleaner. Despite this, Marianne and Connell do become friends but it must be kept a secret. Both Connell and Marianne do very well in their final exams and gain places to study at Trinity College in Dublin.

Normal People traces the on again / off again relationship between Marianne and Connell from January 2011 to February 2015. They both have encounters with other people but they continue to have a strong connection resulting in them reforming their partnership from time to time. Whatever happens there appears to be a bond between them that cannot be permanently broken. When problems arise they are quick to support each other though obstacles continue to occur to stop their relationship becoming a lasting one. At one stage Marianne observes to herself that it would be good to be normal people.

Two Islands

Niko and his family experienced many horrific experiences during the Balkan wars including the death of his father. His mother approached the Australian Embassy in Zagreb hoping to gain approval for the family to move to Australia. Shortly afterwards Niko was approached to see if he was prepared to tell his story as war crimes were being investigated. This led to Niko meeting Anita, an Australian working for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. As Niko was prepared to identify in court one of the Serbian leaders he was granted protection and moved to England until the trial. Then he disappeared.

On the west coast of Scotland are many islands including two small isolated islands, Skarnsey and Thorkil's Isle, and it is to these islands that Niko fled to try and find safety. Niko is not the only damaged soul seeking refuge on the islands. Fergus had served in the British army in Ireland as well as in a peacekeeping regiment in the former Yugoslavia. Incidents that he witnessed continue to torment him. Ronnie returned to the islands after service in the Second World War and well understands the traumas affecting the new arrivals.

Two Islands by Ian Kemish is a work of historical fiction that, as well as providing information about recent conflicts in the twentieth century, examines the long-term trauma of those involved in such conflicts. The novel contains the stories of Anita who is searching for Niko, Niko himself, Fergus and Ronnie. This is a story of relationships as the villagers come to understand the strangers who have arrived on their shores. Everyone has a past but everyone should also have a future. It is therefore also a story of hope.

Two Islands is definitely one of the best books that I have read so far this year.

Balkans war: a brief guide - BBC 

The Two Hundred Years War: the bloody crowns of England and France 1292-1492

The One Hundred Years War between England and France actually covered 116 years from 1337-1453. In this study of European history during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the author argues that the conflicts need to be examined over a longer time period so he has extended his study from 1292-1492. He also looks at events occurring in other nearby countries affected by the conflict between France and England. Burgundy, Brittany, Flanders, Navarre, the Low Countries, Castile, Portugal and Aragon were some of the countries / territories impacted by the conflicts in this period. Scotland and Wales were also areas impacted during this time as they pursued their own differences with the English.

The Two Hundred Years War: the bloody crowns of England and France 1292 to 1492 by Michael Livingston also provides information about wars between these two countries that occurred immediately before and after his designated time period. This study includes maps, a series of coloured images, detailed notes, a bibliography and index. The book has also been published under the title Bloody Crowns: a new history of The Hundred Years War.

Five Golden Wings

Another Meg Andrews' Christmas special. This time, two of Meg's cousins decide to be married at Caerphilly on the Saturday before Christmas. Of course, they and family members move into the home of Meg and Michael, Meg's parents house and the home of Delaney and Rob. Naturally chaos follows as the two cousins are being married at different times at the same church. They also do not like each other and are very competitive. No-one really wants, or needs, the chaos that ensues.

Not only is the family involved in getting ready for Christmas but they also have to deal with differences of opinion that occur between members of the two wedding parties and associated family members. Added to this is the photographer who, to put it mildly, is a demanding and not very pleasant, character. Meg is left with supporting family members who have been insulted and verbally abused by the temporary guests. Then there is, of course, a murder.

Five Golden Wings by Donna Andrews carries on the tradition of including birds, this time three eagles, in the story and the title. The book is another amusing, entertaining, light crime read.

The Cursed Road

We first met DI Georgina (George) Lennox and DI Richard (Ritchie) Stewart in the crime novel, The Wolf Tree, by Laura McCluskey. The Cursed Road is the sequel to that novel. 

When the body of a young unidentified woman is discovered in the highlands of Scotland and a possible link between the victim and a cold case from ten years previously, George and Ritchie are assigned the case. The young woman's body was found at the side of a road known to the locals as 'the cursed road'. For hundreds of years there has been a feud between two families living near the road.

The Cursed Road takes the reader into a world of mystery, intrigue and horror as the two detectives try to discover the identity of the murdered woman and who killed her as well as links that might help them solve the cold case that Ritchie first worked on ten years previously. George and Ritchie are still coming to terms with health issues resulting from their previous case. Journalist, Hendry Shaw, is also back on the scene looking for an interview with George for a story he is working on.

The Cursed Road by Laura McCluskey is a gripping police procedural set in, at times, an almost gothic atmosphere. A new addition to the genre of Tartin Noir.

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, published in 2003, is the story of a young boy, Amir, the son of a wealthy Pashtun family in Kabul, Afghanistan, and his close friend, Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Coming from different backgrounds, the two boys to some extent experience different lives but still enjoy the opportunity to spend time together. The highlight of each year is the annual kite running competition. But Afghanistan is about to enter turbulent times and the lives of the boys are to drastically change.

The Kite Runner is a story about friendship, betrayal, attempting to seek forgiveness, father-son relationships, seeking truth, trust as well as an account of the lives of those living in Afghanistan during a series of revolutions. Amir and his father went to live in America but, after his father's death, Amir received communication from a family friend asking him to visit him in Pakistan where he was now living. This visit led Amir to return to Afghanistan to try and right a mistake from his past.

Having read this book immediately after reading Ian McEwan's book, Atonement,  I noticed similar themes where a mistake made by young people results in the perpetrators experiencing feelings of guilt throughout their life and the need to atone for their past behaviour. 

This is not necessarily an easy book to read but I found that I was compelled to keep reading to the end of the book.

Timeline: Afghanistan's turbulent history - ABC  

Atonement

It is 1935 and thirteen year old Briony Tallis is spending time with her family at their country house in England. As three of her cousins have joined them, Briony decides to organise them to take part in the performance of a play she has written. This plan is easier said than done.

Part one of Atonement by Ian McEwan deals with events occurring in the Tallis household in1935  including a secret relationship between Briony's older sister, Cecelia, and  Robbie Turner. Briony, who loves writing, observes events as they occur around her and makes assumptions about what she notices. Unfortunately she jumps to incorrect conclusions that destroys relationships between family members and friends.

Part two deals with the the horrific experiences of British and French soldiers endeavouring to reach the north coast of France for the Dunkirk evacuation between 26 May and 4 June, 1940.

Part three provides us information about Briony's experiences during the war when she working as a nurse in London hospitals and witnessing the often severe war injuries of rescued soldiers. On a day off she also visits the wedding of two of the protagonists from part one of the book and later that day has an encounter with her sister and Robbie. She is looking for a way to make amends for her past behaviour.

The plot then jumps to 1999 when Briony attends a celebration for her birthday in a hotel which used to be the family home. By this time she has become a successful author but her last novel will not be able to be published until after her death and the death of two of the protagonists in the book. The reader also becomes aware of a twist that occurred in part three of the novel.

Atonement is a book about family relationships, class, impact of war, guilt and the need for atonement as well as what is really required to become a writer. The novel, published in 2001, was nominated for many awards, winning some, and was made into a film in 2007. It is one of Ian McEwan's best known novels.

This Novel Had Everything - Penguin Books 

Atonement by Ian McEwan is a meditation on creativity in later life - The Conversation

Dunkirk evacuation - Britannica

Atonement (novel) - Wikipedia

Sceptred Isle: a new history of the fourteenth century

In Sceptred Isle, historian Helen Carr has written an overview of fourteenth century English history. The book covers the reigns of Edward II, Edward III and Richard II with the many challenges that occurred including wars with Scotland, France and Spain, plagues, unrest between the king and his advisors, disputes with the church and peasants' rebellions.

The fourteenth century was therefore a time of unrest and change. Each king also discovered the difficulties of working with others who often saw opportunities for gaining power and riches for themselves. The king also had to contend with the power held by the church though, during the fourteenth century, the teachings and control of the congregations by church leaders were beginning to be challenged by people such as John Wycliffe.

Since the Norman invasion, England had been ruled as a feudal entity, however with so many of the population dying due to waves of the plague as well as soldiers being killed in battles, the peasants began to assert their power to gain more control over their lives and certainly better pay and conditions.  

The fourteenth century saw the beginning of the Hundred Years War and accounts are provided of some of the many battles occurring at this time. Battles with Scotland also continued for many years.

Helen Carr, in Sceptred Isle, has provided a readable introduction to the end of the rule of the Plantagenets in England.

Cat's People

This is a story about a black cat and the people he befriends - Núria, Collin, Omar, Bong and Lily. The cat has a variety of names - Cat, Gatito and Itim. He lives on the street but each day is fed by Núria who feeds a number of cats in the neighbourhood each morning before going to work. As Núria likes wearing bright clothes Cat thinks of her as the Rainbow Lady. Then there is Collin who builds Cat a shelter near the back door of his home. Cat's name for Collin is Awkward Neighbor Guy. Omar (Cheery Mailman) delivers the post to local residents and Cat often accompanies him on part of his journey, especially when Omar stops at Bong's small grocery store and purchases Cat a treat. Then Lily (Bright-Pink Person) arrives in the neighbourhood looking for the sister she never knew.

The story in Cat's People by Tanya Guerrero is revealed via the viewpoint of Cat and his five people. We learn not only of the challenges and fears they face but how their individual care for a stray cat brings this small community together helping them make decisions impacting on their future. Once you start reading Cat's People you will want to continue reading until the story ends.

The Importance of Being Earnest and other plays

The Importance of Being Earnest was one of the plays we studied at school many years ago. I also remember seeing a theatre production of the play a few years later. When my grand-daughter told me she was playing Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest in a school production I decided that I should read the play again before going to watch this version of the play.

Oscar Wilde wrote the play in 1894 and the first production was in February 1895. Despite a scandal concerning Oscar Wilde, the play has remained popular and has also been made into a film. The Importance of Being Earnest is the fourth of a series of plays satirising the upper class in Victorian England. In this volume the other three plays, Lady Windemere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband are included as well as Salome.

Characters in The Importance of Being Earnest include Jack Worthing, Algernon Moncrieff, Gwendolen Fairfax, Cecily Cardew, Lady Bracknell, Miss Prism, Dr Chausable, Lane and Merriman. Jack and Algernon are friends who meet regularly in London but in order to escape the country house where he lives, Jack has created an imaginary friend called Ernest. Algernon uses a similar ploy which he calls being a Bunburist. 

When Jack comes to town to propose to Algernon's cousin, Gwendolen, Algernon decides to travel to the country where he meets Jack's ward, Cecily. Life becomes complicated when Algernon also uses the name Ernest. To confuse matters further, when Jack is asked to reveal his parentage all he knows is that he was found in a bag left at a railway station. By the end of this three act play the truth is revealed and all's well that ends well. 

I look forward to seeing a version of the play again.

The Importance of Being Earnest - LitCharts 

The Red Prince: the life of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster

John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III, was never a king, however he played an important role supporting the kingship of his nephew, Richard II, as Richard struggled to be a leader. John was known as a good mediator in disputes at home and overseas. However he had many enemies who plotted against him. Despite these challenges his family was influential in the leadership of England for many years.

Historian, Helen Carr has written  the book, The Red Prince, to provide an account of England during the life of John of Gaunt and also clarify some of the misconceptions about his life as well as his achievements and failures. 

This is an excellent book providing an introduction to a dramatic period of English history. As the author writes there are huge gaps in the available information about these historic times. Much of the information that is available is written by individuals promoting a viewpoint that would receive approval from those currently close to the king. It is therefore a challenge for historians to sift through the information that is available and attempt to discover what really was happening in the second part of the fourteenth century.

John of Gaunt: father of England's Medieval Monarchy and self styled Spanish king - History Extra 

Burial Rites

 

Last year I read the memoir of Hannah Kent, Always Home, Always Homesick, in which she mentions visiting the location where her novel Burial Rites was set. Burial Rites is a novel of historical fiction about Agnes Magnúsdóttir, who with two others was accused of murdering two men. Agnes was executed on 12 January 1830 for her alleged part in the crime.

 

In Burial Rites by Hannah Kent we first meet Agnes when she is in prison awaiting her execution. To say that she is being mistreated in prison would be an understatement. Then one day she is taken from prison to a farm where she is to spend the rest of her life. The farm is a property where she once lived as a young child. Most of the family is not welcoming to the new arrival. 

 

A minister is sent to prepare Agnes for her impending death but it is sometime before she feels that she can begin to confide in him. Eventually the reader learns about Agnes' early life as well as the events that led to the murder of her employer. We gradually come to know more about Agnes as a person.

 

This novel of historical fiction is based on historical records relating to the crime plus life in Iceland at the time. This first novel by Hannah Kent won a number of awards in 2014 including the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist, ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year, Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, Victorian Premier's People's Choice Award, Booksellers Association Booksellers Choice Award and shortlisted for a number of other prizes.

Ghost Stories on the Trail of Agnes Magnúsdóttir - Stuck in Iceland 

Agnes Magnúsdóttir - Find a Grave

The Place of the Last Execution in Iceland - Total Iceland

The Performance

Three women attend the performance of the play, Happy Days, by Samuel Beckett. Meanwhile bushfires rage in the state threatening lives and property.

Margot, an older lady, is a professor of literature. She lives with her husband whose health is failing and has outbursts which end with her covered in bruises. As the prospect of retirement approaches, Margot is concerned about her future.

Ivy attends the play with her lifelong friend, Hilary. Ivy is a philanthropist and is making a donation to the Theatre Company producing the play. But Ivy has had problems with relationships over the years and is concerned as to how to relate to her son and his family.

Summer is a drama student who works for the theatre company. Once the play begins she is allowed to watch the play. Summer is very concerned about the bushfires, especially as she knows that her partner will have attempted to drive to meets her parents who will be trying to escape the fire.

Throughout the book we have visions of what is happening on the stage as the play unfolds. However we are also shown how concerns about their own lives affect the viewing of the play by the women. At interval Ivy recognises Margot as she was once one of Margot's students and Margot, Ivy and Hilary attend the function organised in the break. Meanwhile Summer goes to the staff room to check her phone for phone calls about the fires and manages to make contact with Alice who is safe.

 By the end of the play the three women have a greater understanding of their lives beyond the theatre.

Happy Days By Samuel Beckett - Wikipedia

Pamela Rabe shines in this hypnotic revival of Samuel Beckett’s classic play Happy Days - The Conversation May 12 2025

Happy Days - SparkNotes 

Other People's Words

In 2001, Other People's Words:the life and times of an accidental publisher by Hiliary McPhee was published. Twenty-five years later the story of the author's experiences in the world of publishing has been republished with some additional material.

After working in publishing for a number of years, in 1975 Hiliary McPhee and Dianna Gribble decided to form their own publishing company, McPhee and Gribble. Other People's Words tells of the experiences and challenges faced by the two women as they tried to make their way in the male dominated world of publishing. Another major problem was trying to break into overseas markets which, especially in Britain, were not interested in Australian authors and books.

The first project was publishing a series of non-fiction books for children. Gradually they were able to attract authors of adult fiction and non-fiction to publish their books. Hiliary McPhee spent much of her time convincing overseas publishers to work with them promoting Australian publications and authors overseas.

Other People's Words describes the work involved in editing a book and gaining the confidence of some authors especially when changes needed to be made. McPhee and Gribble had partnerships with other publishes until 1989 when they decided to try working on their own. However the timing was not good due to the economic downturn resulting in the business being sold to Penguin Books. For two years the McPhee Gribble logo still appeared on the books with the Penguin logo. 

The new chapter at the back of the book warns of the changes AI is making to the publishing industry.

Great Writers & the Cats Who Owned Them

Australian writer, Susannah Fullerton, has compiled a book about seventeen authors whose lives have been ruled by cats and / or have included cats in their books. 

The authors include: Dr Johnson and his cat Hodge, Horace Walpole and his cat Selima, Robert Southey and the cat Rumpelstilzchen, Andre Dumas and his cat Mysouff I, Eward Lear and Foss, Charles Dickens and Bob, Mark Twain and Bambino, Collette and La Chatte, L M Montgomery and Daffy, Sir Winston Churchill and his cat Nelson, Ernest Hemingway and Boise, Margaret Mitchell and Old Timer, Dorothy L Sayers and Blitz, Paul Gallico and Sambo, Dame Muriel Sparks and Bluebell, Doris Less and Magnifico, plus Dame Lynley Dodd and her cat Wooskit. The authors often owned many cats but the book concentrates on one special cat for each writer.

At the end of most chapters there is a section called Paws For Thought with information about other cats and their owners. The chapters in Great Writers & the Cats Who Owned Them contain illustrations of cats by Susie Foster. Great Writers & the Cats Who Owned Them is a book for cat lovers as well as for lovers of literature.

On Not Climbing Mountains

An Australian woman travels to Switzerland to visit the country where her father, who has recently died, was born. She explores the country by train following suggestions from a copy of an old Baedeker guide and during her travels reflects on lives and works of a variety of authors, playwrights, actors, artists, explorers and others associated with Switzerland over the years. The daughter also remembers an exhibition that she once saw of a series of paintings by Jean-Frédéric Schnyder (JFS) of railway station waiting rooms  throughout Switzerland. She describes the paintings relevant to the railway stations as her journey progresses.

On Not Climbing Mountains by Clair Thomas does not really have a plot though the daughter's reminiscences develop into a pattern during the journey allowing the reader to gradually learn about the daughter's memories and relationship with her father. Once I became used to the style of the writing I enjoyed reading about the lives of  people involved with Switzerland in different ways as well as the experience and thoughts of the daughter as her journey progressed until she returned home.

Swiss Baedeker guides - Hidden Europe 

Art of Jean-Frédéric Schnyder (part VI Waiting Rooms for the Eyes) - On Schnyderian Art

 Jean-Frédéric Schnyder Waiting Room exhibition  - Mamco art exhibition

On Not Climbing Mountains - The Guardian 27 February 2026. 

The Cat Who Saved Books

Rintaro Natsuki became the new owner of the second-hand bookshop, Natsuki Books, after the death  of his grandfather. The original plan was that he would go and live with an aunt but that plan changed after he met Tiger, a talking cat. The cat was on a mission and needed help to save books that were being destroyed. This led to Rintaro, Tiger and later Sayo to journey through four labyrinths to save books.

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa explores the importance of books in the lives of individuals and how reading can open up new worlds for us to explore. As Rintaro travels on the expeditions he comes to understand himself better and what his future should be. He also learns more about the importance of books.

Statements about books and reading (pages 195-197) include:

Books have tremendous power.

Books can give us knowledge, wisdom, values, a view of the world ... the joy of learning something you didn't know before and seeing things in a whole new light. Books teach us how to care about others.

Books are filled with human thoughts and feelings ... we learn about the hearts and minds of other people besides ourselves.

Human beings don't live alone, and a book is a way to show that. 

Empathy - that's the power of books. 

The Cat Who Saved Books is a heart-warming read about the love of books and literature. Once I started reading this book I just had to keep reading until the final page.

 Sosuke Natsukawa has also written The Cat Who Saved the Library.

True Story of the Kelly Gang

Peter Carey, the author of True Story of the Kelly Gang, once remarked that anyone who puts the word 'true' in a work of fiction is indicating that this is definitely not a true story. In this work of historical fiction the Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly, writes an account of his life to his young daughter. It is the story of his family - an Irish Catholic family - living in country Victoria in the nineteenth century. The struggling family is under surveillance by the local police with family members often in gaol. Eventually some family members, including Ned Kelly, turn to bushranging.

Ned Kelly and his gang have become part of the folklore of Australia. There have been many books, television series and films based on the life of Ned Kelly. Peter Carey tells this version of the story from Ned's viewpoint while he is in prison in Melbourne. There are conflicting views about the life of Ned Kelly - a person struggling to survive in an antagonistic environment or a criminal.

True Story of the Kelly Gang, published in 2000, won many awards including the Booker Prize (2001), Commonwealth Writers Prize (2001) two awards, Courier Mail Book of the Year (2001), The Age Book of the Year (2001) two awards,Queensland Premier's Literary Awards (2001) fiction award, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Vance Palmer Award for Fiction (2001), Festival Awards for Literature (SA), The Premier's Award (2002) two awards, One Book One, Brisbane (2002) winner, Centre for Australian Cultural Studies Award (2000) winner, Colin Roderick Award Best Australian Book (2000) winner, Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (France) (2003) winner, Booksellers Choice Award (2000) shortlisted, Miles Franklin Award (2001) shortlisted, International Dublin Literary Award (2002) shortlisted.

True History of the Kelly Gang - ANZ LitLovers 

True History of the Kelly Gang - The Guardian 

Hagtale: a Macbeth origin story

Hagtale by Sally O'Reilly consists of two stories set three hundred years apart. Wulva is a wolf child discovered and brought up by three witches but, as she discovers, the witches have a plan for her future involving the Scottish king, Macbeth. Meanwhile, hundreds of years later Brother Rowan is sent from his monastery to an abandoned monastery in the Scottish Highlands to transcribe the history of Scotland’s kings. It is via the forest that Wulva and Rowan traverse that they meet and connect through time.

Hagtale is one of the many books involving characters or stories from Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. Macbeth (1005-1057) actually ruled Scotland from 1040-1057).

The Coast

A major feature of Australia is its dramatic coastline which, being an island continent, is extensive. In The Coast by Chris Hammer, originally published in 2012 and republished in 2026, the author explores some of the areas of the majestic eastern Australian coast which stretches more than 3,500 kilometres.

Chapters in the book focus on the Barrier Reef and its environmental issues, the islands in the Torres Strait, living on the 'cyclone coast' of Queensland, the Gold Coast, beaches on the coast north of Sydney, Bermagui and Bass Strait. When visiting Heron Island the staff of the scientific centre on the island had to evacuate as Cyclone Yasi was approaching. Later in the book we learn of the effects of Yasi and other cyclones on the Queensland coast.

Many of the locations described in the book were places that we had visited including Horn Island and Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, Cairns when we holidayed at Port Douglas and Mission Beach near Dunk Island where we enjoyed a holiday before Cyclone Yasi devastated the island. The effect of the environment, especially climate change, are topics discussed throughout the book. Surfers Paradise is a very different built-up, commercial area on the coast.

Chris Hammer explored various parts of the coast at different times. Sometimes this journey provided the opportunity to explore areas associated with his family in the past, especially on the NSW coast. The chapter on Bermagui included reflections on family holidays in the area which can lead readers to reflect on their own family beach holiday experiences. Further south he encounters the Bass Strait between Victoria and Tasmania which leads to exploring parts of northern Tasmania before concluding with a visit to Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles in Victoria.

I found this an interesting book to read as the author described a significant part of the Australian environment and how we need to appreciate it and protect it. By telling of his own experiences with holidays on the coast he encourages readers to remember coastal areas significant to them and their family story.

Iluka

When Paddy, their grandfather, dies, Helen, Sylvie and Brendan agree to spend a few days together cleaning up the family home and deciding what to do with the property. But all does not go according to plan.

Iluka was built by Paddy and his friends when he and Iris were married. Not only was it a home for their daughter, Margaret, but also for Margaret's three children when their mother had trouble looking after them. The children were told that their mother was dead and it was only after reading a pile of letters that Iris had kept that they learned the truth.

In Iluka written by Cassie Stroud, the reader encounters the family dynamics between the three siblings as they come to terms with their past and what they should do in the future. Helen's daughter, Tegan, also visits Iluka and spends much of her time filming events for a university assignment. 

The novel deals with a variety of topics including grief, sibling rivalry, challenges of being a lone parent, addiction, and family secrets. The setting of the novel on the outskirts of a coastal New South Wales town adds to the atmosphere of the story.

The Woman in Cabin 10

Laura (Lo) Blacklock wakes up in the middle of the night. There is an intruder in the house. She is locked in her room. This experience reactivates anxiety issues that have troubled her for years. However she still accepts an invitation to travel on a new luxury ship in order to write an article for a travel magazine.However this adventure does not turn out to be the relaxing excursion she expected.

The journalists and other guests are allocated their cabins and Lo stays in cabin nine. The next door cabin is empty as the guest changed his mind about coming on the voyage. Then during the night Lo hears a scream and something, possibly a body, is thrown into the sea. When Lo reports the matter she is basically ignored. No-one on the ship is missing. But Lo knows that something is very wrong. So begins this account of Lo's nightmarish sea voyage. Parts of the novel move slowly but the tension builds as the story continues.

The sequel to this book is The Woman in Suite 11. 

In 2025 The Woman in Cabin 10 was made into a film for Netflix. 

The Slap

Hector and his wife Aisha invite family and friends to attend a family barbecue. All is going well until Hugo, one of the young children present, loses his temper and lashes out. His parents do not discipline him but eventually peace is restored. Later on the child has another break-down and when one adult, not related to the child, intervenes the child kicks him in the leg. Unfortunately the man slaps the four year old boy causing horror and a variety of reactions from those present, as well as bringing an early end to the barbecue.

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas examines the aftermath of the slap from the perspective of eight of the adults present at the barbecue including, a family friend - Anouk, Hector's cousin - Harry, Connie who works with Aisha, Hugo's mother - Rosie, Hector's father - Manolis, Connie's friend - Richie, as well as Hector and Aisha. The novel deals with many topics including family relationships and values, parenting, discipline, respect, marital relationships. It also provides a glimpse of multicultural Melbourne at the beginning of the 21st century.

Awards and commendations for The Slap: Australian Literary Society Gold Medal 2008; Commonwealth Writers' Prize - best book - 2009; Shortlisted for Miles Franklin Award 2009; Winner of Nielsen BookData Booksellers' Choice Award 2009; Victorian Premier's Literary Awards - Winner of Vance Palmer Prize for fiction 2009 and long listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2010.

The book was the basis for an eight episode television series made in Australia 2011. The series was remade for an American audience in 2015.

 

The Cat Who Saved the Library

Nanami spends most of her time in the library so she knows the collection well. Until one day she noticed that books had vanished from the shelves. Feeling concerned she watched some of the other library users until one evening she spied a strange man who may be the thief. Nanami began to follow him until a cat appeared and warned her that danger lies ahead.

Nanami and Tiger, the talking cat, work together to retrieve the missing books that are now in a building in a different world. The entrance to this other world is via a passage in the library but there is no guarantee that it will always be there. Another passage, Nanami discovers, leads to a book shop. 

In The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa,  Nanami and Tiger discover a world where the occupants are expected to mechanically follow what others are doing and not think for themselves. Questioning decisions and beliefs is harmful and not an option. That is why books that encourage readers to question different theories and beliefs, to experience different worlds and ideas through literature and come to their own conclusions are being removed. 

For those who love books and reading this is a book worth considering for your to be read list. It is a sequel to the first book in this series - The Cat who Saved Books.

Dirt Music

Dirt Music is a novel by Tim Winton published in 2001. Set in locations in Western Australia it is a study of three characters who have had a complicated past and are trying to readapt their lives. As with most of Tim Winton's books the setting where the action takes place is an important feature of the novel.

Georgie Jutland has been living in White Point with a local, well to do, fisherman, Jim Buckridge, whose family has a reputation in the community's past. Georgie feels that she doesn't belong until she meets a local poacher, Lu Fox, who was a local musician until his family members died in a car accident. He now lives alone keeping away from the local community.The relationship between Georgie and Lu grows with Georgie considering leaving Jim to live with Lu. Then Lu disappears up north. 

Meanwhile we learn more about the former lives of Georgie and Jim and how they deal with memories of the past. Eventually Jim decides that he and Georgie should head to northern West Australia to locate Lu who retired to a small island where he is trying to survive. 

Dirt Music is about people attempting to gain redemption from past events and deciding on possible changes that may shape their future lives and relationships.

Dirt Music was a 2002 Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel and winner of the 2002 Miles Franklin Award. It was a film in 2019.

The Woman in Suite 11

The Woman in Suite 11 is the second book in the Lo Blacklock series by English author, Ruth Ware. When Laura, also known as Lo, receives an invitation to visit the opening of an exclusive hotel in Switzerland she is uncertain whether to take up the offer. She wants to return to the workforce after the birth of her two boys but a traumatic experience when attending a ship launch ten years previously, plus the gap in her career largely due to the COVID pandemic, makes her think twice about accepting the invitation. Still she needs to start writing again sometime.

Arriving at the impressive hotel, Laura is surprised, and disturbed, to find three of the men who had also attended the ship launch had also been invited to the Swiss hotel. Then she is contacted by a fourth person who had been on the ship and Laura's quiet visit to Switzerland, where she hopes to interview the owner of the hotel for a commissioned article, becomes another dangerous episode in her life.

Throughout the novel there are many references to the events that occurred ten years earlier so I suspect that reading the previous novel, The Woman in Cabin 10, first would have been an advantage. However, I still enjoyed reading this fast paced mystery with Laura endeavouring to prove her innocence.

The Painted Veil

The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham was first published in 1925. Kitty Fane lived with her husband, Walter, in Hong Kong. He was a bacteriologist dedicated to investigating, often exotic diseases. Kitty did not love Walter but had married him because her mother was convinced that Kitty would become an old maid. It was when Doris, Kitty's younger sister, announced that she was getting married that Kitty decided to marry Walter and travel with him to Hong Kong before her sister's wedding.

It was in Hong Kong that Kitty met Charles Townsend and their romantic relationship began. When Walter discovered what was going on he convinced Kitty to accompany him to a village in China where there was an outbreak of cholera. If she did not come with him he would divorce her. Kitty eventually decided to go to China with her husband.

In the novel vivid pictures of life in a Chinese village after the First World War are portrayed, especially when a deadly disease has invaded the village. Kitty soon forgets Charles and becomes involved in trying to help nuns in a local convent look after abandoned children. Meanwhile Walter spends hours from home treating patients with cholera during the day and investigating the causes of the disease in the evening.

Kitty made many bad decisions but eventually she gained an understanding of what really matters in life and relationships with people, including family. Much of the book is about the economic and social standing of members of a family or community. 

When first published, The Painted Veil caused an outrage among some readers for its portrayal of social attitudes at the time and descriptions of infidelity. Today this is unlikely to be a concern but the author's constant derogatory remarks about the Chinese and their lives in the village will concern many readers in the twenty-first century.

The title of the book, The Painted Veil, comes from a sonnet by Percy Byshee Shelley with the same name. The poet suggests that people hide their true selves under a veil of superficiality. A veil is not mentioned in the book. The sonnet begins:

Lift not the painted veil which those who live 

Call Life; though unreal shapes be pictured there, 

And it but mimic all we would believe 

With colours idly spread,—behind, lurk Fear 

And Hope, twin Destinies; who ever weave 

 Their shadows, o'er the chasm, sightless and drear. 

W Somerset Maugham has written a work about characters dealing with the challenges of life including duty, sacrifice and working out what is important in life.

The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham was one of the three short listed books for Monash University Alumni Book Club for May 2026.

Book review - The Painted Veil - Marjorie's Musings 

Book review - The Painted Veil - henry.kisor.com 

Book review - The Painted Veil - Roof Beam Reader

 

On Chesil Beach

July 1962 and Florence and Edward, who had been married in the morning, arrive to spend the beginning of their marriage at Chesil Beach in Dorset. Looming over both of them are fears involving the consummation of their marriage that evening. Florence and Edward come from different backgrounds, from very different families. They have become good friends and love each other but are they really ready for marriage?

In On Chesil Beach Ian McEwan provides an account of the thoughts and actions of the young couple on this important night in their young lives. Meanwhile the  reader discovers the back story of their different lives and how they accidentally met. 

The 1960s saw many changes in society, especially for younger people, but for Florence and Edward this was a future still to come. Decisions made at Chesil Beach would affect their lives, not just on that day but permanently. On Chesil Beach was published in 2007.

What We Can Know

The year is 2119 and much of England is flooded. Those who survived the Inundation and Derangement in the mid twentieth century have retreated to higher ground. Disaster occurred with the accidental dropping of a nuclear weapon into the ocean causing tidal waves flooding much of a world already threatened by rising sea water. Travel between the small islands was by boat and on land by bike. Before this catastrophe countries continued their wars, further developed nuclear weapons and climate change was imminent. Millions of people died and those left struggled to live a very different life.

Professor Tom Metcalfe works at the University of the South Downs where he attempts to interest students in history and literature, especially in the time period 1990-2030. He is also interested in discovering what happened to the only copy of a poem, A Corona for Vivien, written by Francis Blundy in 2014. He has set out to study all available sources about the poet and his wife.

In part one of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan we learn of events that led to the writing of the poem and the the party where Francis read the poem to the guests. We also get to know Tom Metcalfe and the extent to which he has researched the lives and work of Francis and Vivien Blundy.

In part two the reader has access to a copy of a manuscript written by Vivien Blundy where she provides an account of her life and relationships and reveals what happened to the poem. Tom Metcalfe had edited Vivien's manuscript for publication.

Much of What We Can Know is about how we treat history and evaluate life that occurred at other times. The author questions what we really know about the past, how much don't we know and how reliable are the sources. Many people are reluctant to learn about the past and accept how knowledge of past events may affect what happens in the future.

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan is a social commentary on life and how current events may affect our future. This is a novel that readers should set aside uninterrupted time to read.

The Proving Ground

Increasingly we hear of the possible effects of AI on people's lives. 

In  Michael Connelly's new novel, The Proving Ground, the plot evolves around the death of a teenage girl when her former boyfriend may have been encouraged by his AI friend to kill her. Mickey Haller, now working as a lawyer in the Civil Court, has taken on the case to prove that the company creating the AI chatbot had produced a program with many flaws. The murdered girl's mother wants the firm to publicly admit that their program was responsible for the death of her daughter.

The novel follows the challenges faced by Mickey Haller and his team as they collect the evidence and witnesses to present their case to court, despite obstruction from those opposing the case. The second part of the novel follows the trial. Michael Connelly has produced a crime novel relevant to changes currently occurring in society. It is also a great book to read.

Uproar!: Satire, scandal and printmakers in Georgian England

Alice Loxton has the knack of choosing an aspect of life to describe a particular time frame in British history. In Uproar! the author investigates the lives and works of artists and satirists, particularly Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827), James Gillray (1756-1815), and Issac Cruikshank (1764-1811), who recorded aspects of British history in satirical caricatures. 

During the long reign of George III (1760-1820) artists created caricatures of people and events which were displayed in print shops to view and purchase. Some were compiled into books. Artists such as Rowlandson, Gillray and Cruikshank had the ability to quickly sketch a likeness of a person who was then portrayed in a satirical image. The images were then engraved on plates to be quickly printed, displayed and sold. 

This was the time of the American Revolution, the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, William Pitt the younger as prime minister dealing with a raucous opposition led by James Fox, the Gordon riots, industrial revolution, British abolition of the slave trade and the Regency period when the king was unable to rule. Plenty of material for the satirists to work with. However, by the Victorian period, attitudes had changed and the demand for the work of caricaturists had diminished. Eventually cartoons appeared in newspapers and magazines such as Punch and feature in daily newspapers today.

Uproar! provides a detailed account of the lives of the three main caricaturists in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Copies of many of their caricatures appear throughout the book. Through telling the story of the lives of the artists, the author also provides an overview of life in Britain at the time including events in other parts of the world impacting on life in Britain. Detailed notes, a bibliography and index are at the back of the book. 

Question 7

In Question 7 Richard Flanagan weaves biography, history, memoir and historical fiction in one book. Some of the topics covered include the experiences of the author's father as a prisoner of war in Japan, Leo Szilard and the bombing of Hiroshima, relationship between H G Wells and Rebecca West, a look at the little known futuristic books by H G Wells including one on an atomic bomb, treatment of Indigenous peoples in Tasmania, rivers and near death experiences - snippets of his family story and observations on world events and life are all interwoven in one short book.

The title of the book, Question 7, is based on a question asked by Anton Chekhov in his story, Questions Posed by a Mad Mathematician.

This title was one of the books considered for possible discussion by the Monash Alumni Book Club in March 2026. 

Richard Flanagan Question 7 - Whispering Gums March 2024

Question 7 - ANZ LitLovers Lit Blog January 2024

Question 7 review - The Guardian November 2023

The atomic bomb and a near death experience ... - The Conversation November 2023