Reviews of Australian Books #40

The UK reviews of Markus Zusak's novel, The Book Thief continue with Philip Ardagh in "The Guardian" stating that everyone should read it: "This is a beautifully balanced piece of storytelling with glimpses of what is yet to come: sometimes misleading, sometimes all too true...Unsettling, thought-provoking, life-affirming, triumphant and tragic, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told. It is an important piece of work, but also a wonderful page-turner. I cannot recommend it highly enough."

Lisa Tuttle, in "The Times" considers a "new departure" for Juliet Marillier, with the publication of her new novel, Wildwood Dancing: "Teenage girls are the target audience, but this may please anyone who enjoys a well-told fairytale. Fans of Marillier's historical fantasy may be disappointed, but the Transylvanian setting lifts it out of the ordinary - and who could fail to love Gogu, the telepathic frog?"

David Malouf's latest short story collection, Every Move You Make, has now been published in the UK and Anna Scott in "The Observer" comes to grips with it: "Emitting a quality of timelessness, the savage beauty of Malouf's native Australia is omnipresent. Brought to life with poetic elegance the vast uncharted territory becomes a metaphor for the human psyche and provides a fitting backdrop to the bemused wanderings of characters trying to make sense of their lives...At times unsettling in the intensity of their vision, Malouf's stories provide a deeply intelligent meditation on the unknowability of the self and 'how small the pressures might be that determine the sum of what is and what we feel'."

Also reviewing Malouf's book is Jem Poster in "The Guardian" who calls it an "outstanding collection".

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This page contains a single entry by Perry Middlemiss published on January 10, 2007 9:40 AM.

On Other Blogs #15 was the previous entry in this blog.

Great Australian Authors #38 - Marjorie Barnard and Flora Eldershaw is the next entry in this blog.

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