My Reading Year 2024

2024 was a wonderful year for reading - a year in which I was introduced to new authors, spent time with a few favourites and learned much about the world.

My reading goal for 2024 was 30 books, which I surpassed reading 34 titles this year. When planning for 2024 at the start of the year, I had a stack of books on my to-be-read pile, and managed to read only a handful before I got distracted by other titles. In January I updated my reading bingo card to diversify my reading. While I didn't read all categories, I succeeded in most of them (highlighted) but failed to read a poetry collection, short story collection and a handful of other categories.


So here's what I read in 2024:

Fiction

Reflecting on my novel reading for 2024, I can see that I was influenced by a couple of key factors:

• Hearing authors speak at festivals encouraged me to seek out their work. 
• Favourite authors releasing new novels or series sequels. 
• Award longlists introduced me to books and authors I did not know.
• Film/TV adaptations based on novels which I wanted to read before I saw the adaptation.
• Recommendations from friends, family and fellow book bloggers.

In March I attended the All About Women festival at the Sydney Opera House where I was able to meet Mary Beard, Anne Enright, Anna Funder and other authors I admire. It was wonderful to talk with Irish author Anne Enright about her latest novel, The Wren, The Wren (2023) which I absolutely loved. I followed it up by reading The Gathering (2007) which had languished on my shelf for far too long. These two novels, read back-to-back alongside Enright's audiobook recording, made me wonder why I had not read her work before. I now have her back catalogue and look forward to reading more of her novels. 

Another author I read multiple books by in 2024 was Colson Whitehead. I met him at the Sydney Writers' Festival in 2023 where he signed many of his books for me. I had previously loved his novel The Nickel Boys (2019), so this year I read Harlem Shuffle (2021) the first in a planned trilogy about Ray Carney, a furniture salesman and fence of stolen goods. I read this alongside the audiobook brilliantly performed by Dion Graham. Whitehead is an amazing genre-switching author and I was keen to read his early novel Zone One (2011) about a zombie apocalypse. While I didn't love that novel, I certainly appreciate Whitehead's thoughtful prose. 

Sequels I was looking forward to this year did not disappoint. Colm Toibin's Long Island (2024) was the long awaited sequel to his novel Brooklyn (2009), which tell the story of Eilis Lacey, a young Irish woman who moves to New York and then twenty years later returns home to visit her family. Toibin's storytelling is magical and it was wonderful to revisit this heroine. Pat Barker's trilogy retelling Homer's Iliad from the perspective of women concluded with The Voyage Home (2024) focussing on Cassandra and Clytemnestra. This novel was a worthy successor to The Silence of the Girls (2018) and The Women of Troy (2021). Highly recommended.

Mid-year I embarked on a wonderful reading journey. Percival Everett's James (2024) is a retelling of Mark Twain's novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1886). Before reading James, I went back to the source material and re-read the Twain books I read decades ago. This greatly enhanced my appreciation of what Everett achieved with his novel - he is a master of language and James is a sharp, edgy satire. Without any hesitation, the best novel I read this year!

Among the various novels I read that were award nominees, the Women's Prize and the Booker Prize gave me the most amount of joy. From the Booker Prize shortlist I read Charlotte Wood's Stone Yard Devotional (2023), Everett's James (2024) and winner Samantha Harvey's Orbital (2023).  The 2024 Women's Prize shortlist gave me Anne Enright's The Wren, The Wren (2023) and Kate Grenville's Restless Dolly Maunder (2023) 

Two books I chose because I wanted to see the film adaptations, but prefer to read the book first. Robert Harris' Conclave (2016) was a gripping thriller about the selection of the Pope. It has been made into a brilliant film starring Ralph Fiennes. Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005) was adapted into a film with Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield in 2010. I wanted to see the film but was sparked to re-read the book when it appeared on a list published by the New York Times of the best books of the 21st century. I didn't love it as much as the NYT readers and the film was uninspiring. 

Recommendations from friends, families and fellow readers led me to many of my favourite reads of the year. Alba de Cespedes Forbidden Notebook (2023),  originally published in the 1950s, focusses on an Italian housewife who records her inner life in a diary.  Elizabeth and Elizabeth (2021) by Sue Williams explores the friendship between two women who were instrumental in the early days of Sydney. Claire Keegan's novella Foster (2010) is a gem of a story about a girl who spends a summer away from home. Lisa See's wonderful Lady Tan's Circle of Women (2023) transported me to the Ming Dynasty. Miranda July's brilliant All Fours (2024) was a delight that I have recommended to many friends. Unlike the other novels which focus on women, Alice Winn's gripping In Memoriam (2023) explores the lives of men at war in a novel I will not soon forget.

Crime thrillers always make their way into my reading cycle. Aussie noir shows no signs of stopping and this year I read two great novels by some of my favourite writers in this genre. Chris Hammer's The Valley (2024) is his latest in the Lucic/Buchanan series and was a ripping yarn! Garry Disher's The Way it is Now (2021) is a standalone crime thriller set in the Mornington Peninsula. Journalist Louise Milligan made her fiction debut with Pheasants Nest (2024), a page-turning novel about a journalist who goes missing. 

Of course Aussies aren't the only crime writers around. Tana French continued her western-style crime series with The Hunter (2024), a sequel to The Searcher (2020) which follows retired American detective Cal Hooper, now residing in a small town in Ireland. I also read another novel in the Simon Serrallier series by Dame Susan Hill, The Vows of Silence (2008) in which the detective has to track down a potential serial killer targeting newlywed women. Finally, I read Dorothy B Hughes' In a Lonely Place (1947) which has been on my shelf for years! Hughes is an amazing writer and this was an interesting take on the genre, told from the perspective of the killer.

Non-Fiction

This year I didn't read as much non-fiction as I had planned to and will need to rectify this in 2025.

I really enjoyed the Quarterly Essays this year. I have subscribed for the past decade and each year there are usually one or two on topics that I am not that interested in. 

This year I read three fantastic essays. Alan Kohler's The Great Divide focussed on the housing crisis. Don Watson's High Noon was all about the 2024 Presidential election. Lech Blaine's Bad Cop showcased the opposition leader Peter Dutton. All were well written and worth reading.

Memoirs and biographies always intrigue me. I love learning about real people, their lives and how they became who they are. Journalist Paddy Manning explores the life of Lachlan Murdoch, media scion, in The Successor (2023). I heard Manning speak about this at the 2023 Sydney Writers' Festival and was keen to read it against the backdrop of the Murdoch family dramas. Richard Flanagan's Question 7 (2023) is unlike any memoir I have ever read as he blends genre and takes readers on a strange journey which links the author's existence to HG Wells and the atomic bomb. I love Flanagan as a novelist and while Question 7 didn't work for me, I admire his twist on the genre.

Sarah Firth's graphic essay collection Eventually Everything Connects (2023) is a beautiful exploration of life. I loved the way Firth tackled big topics and everyday activities in illustrated form. Claire Dederer's book Monsters - a Fan's Dilemma (2023) looks at art and how to balance works of genius created by people who are contemptible. This was a fascinating way to consider what we consume and whether we can seperate the work from its maker.  Finally, I absolutely loved journalist Nick Bryant's The Forever War (2024), an exploration of American political history and how to make sense of what is happening today in the United States.

Best of 2024

I read so many great books this year. I loved and highly recommend:

• Nick Bryant - The Forever War
• Anne Enright - The Wren, The Wren
• Percival Everett - James
• Sarah Firth - Eventually Everything Connects
• Chris Hammer - The Valley
• Robert Harris - Conclave
• Miranda July - All Fours
• Paddy Manning - The Successor
• Lisa See - Lady Tan's Circle of Women
• Colm Toibin-  Long Island
• Alice Winn - In Memoriam
• Charlotte Wood - Stone Yard Devotional

If I had to choose my absolute favourites for 2024, without any hesitation I would pick Percival Everett's James and Nick Bryant's The Forever War.

Well, that's my year of reading! A new year starts tomorrow and I cannot wait to discover new books and rediscover old favourites. Happy New Reading Year!

Divided States

I started reading Nick Bryant's The Forever War - America's Unending Conflict with Itself (2024) during the US election campaign in that strange period between the Biden-Trump debate, the attempted Trump assassination and Biden's drop out of the Presidential race. At the time I was feeling uninspired by the two candidates, a looming dread about the potential of a second Trump term, and overwhelmed by the chaos taking place in the campaign. I turned to Bryant to make sense of what was happening in America. I took a break from reading the book as the campaign gathered momentum under Harris, but picked it up again in November after the results were known, looking for clues as to how we got here.

Historian and journalist Nick Bryant is well placed to write about American political history and does so with the detachment of someone who deeply loves the country but can see it with an outsider's perspective. He takes readers on a crash course in American history to demonstrate how we should not be surprised by the rise of Trump and the MAGA movement. Bryant writes of Trump:

Like previous American demagogues, he could tap into an unholy trinity of racism, religious fundamentalism and the mass media's partiality towards a ratings-winning rabble-rouser.

In many ways, then, Trump became an amalgam of this dangerous tradition. The raucousness of Andrew Jackson. The racism of Father Coghlin. The economic populism of Huey Long. The America First isolationism of Lindbergh. The conspiratorialism of McCarthy. The 'angry white man' rage of Wallace. The nativism of Buchanan. The billionaire chutzpah of Perot. The serial stupidity of Sarah Palin. Throughout history, Americans had always been susceptible to demagogues promising to make their country great again, whatever their qualifications for the job. (p108-109)

Essentially, The Forever War explains that what is happening now is not new, but a continuation of 250 years of conflict and disagreement about how the US should be governed.  

Bryant looks at the history of America from its formation to the present day. He explains how the Constitution was formed and has been used by individuals and parties to serve their own purposes. He explores the three branches of government and how their influence has shifted over time. Bryant takes readers through the War of Independence, the Civil War, the civil rights movement, the January 6 insurrection and shows that America has always resisted a peaceful compromise. 

In the chapter 'In Guns we Trust' Bryant covers America's obsession with weapons and how the country need not have gone down this path. The chapter on 'Toxic Exceptionalism' exposes the many uniquely American flaws, but also its potential to be the beacon of hope for the world. I was particularly interested in the chapter 'Roe, Wade and the Supremes' which explores reproductive rights and abortion. This was the subject of my undergrad thesis many decades ago and I am appalled that women are still having to fight for freedom over their own bodies. 

Bryant's writing style is compelling as he distills meticulous research into lively, engaging prose. This is a thought-provoking and timely book and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to understand American politics or with an interest in history.  

The Awakening

An artist leaves her husband and young child to drive from Los Angeles to New York City and back for work. She starts her journey with snacks and a playlist, but half an hour from home she checks into a local motel and stays for the duration of her time away. During this sojourn, the narrator reflects on her marriage, her sexuality and her obsession with Davey, a young man she encountered on the first day of her trip. At forty-five years of age she knows that she has only a small window of time left before she will no longer be considered sexy, and is consumed with concern that her erotic life will fade to oblivion and her creative life along with it. 

Miranda July's All Fours (2024) is a horny, hilarious and brave portrayal of a woman in perimenopause. Consumed with the fear her estrogen will expire before she has a chance to explore all her fantasies, our narrator seeks to pursue her sexual freedom without blowing up the family she has created. She negotiates one night a week escape from her marriage from which she can pursue her mind-rooted desires. But will this freedom help her figure out who she is and what she wants?

All Fours is one of those novels that I have recommended to many friends. There is so much fodder for discussions of aging, desire and life choices. A conversation starter, like Lisa Taddeo's Three Women (2019), this is a fantastic novel for women and will be sure to ignite debate in book clubs. It may even cause some readers to question their life choices and seek a new path for themselves.

I really enjoyed All Fours and my experience of reading it was improved by listening to July's audiobook of the story. July's narration embodies the anxiety, vulnerability and imperfection of the main character as she navigates this new phase in her life. The novel is exceptionally well written and many parts are laugh-out-loud funny. The story unfolded in an unpredictable way and I really did not want it to end. 

Ground Control

Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize this year for her slender novel Orbital (2023), set at the International Space Station over the course of a single day. As the space station orbits the Earth, the four astronauts (from Italy, America, UK and Japan) and two Russian cosmonauts, reflect on the beauty and fragility of their home planet.

Time is strange on the International Space Station as it circles the Earth sixteen times each day. Sunrises and sunsets occur repeatedly, yet the astronauts' time is set by ground control. As they spin silently over the continents and oceans, the astronauts go about their work on scientific experiments, repairs and other essential tasks. Each one has brought a comfort item from home - photos and trinkets - which root them to their families and the life they left behind.

Life in space isn't glamorous, as they eat dehydrated meals, hang in sleeping bags to sleep, and have to exercise to prevent their bodies from failing. Despite their differences, the six bond over their shared humanity.

In many ways Orbital is a love letter to the planet and our global kinship. The borders that divide nations are not visible from space, harmonising the planet. Harvey describes the vibrant colours and features of the landscape. She shifts her gaze between the lights on a fishing boat to a developing weather system which may have devastating impact. 

Harvey's prose was lovely and, as a world traveller, I enjoyed her descriptions of shorelines, mountains and plains. She rhapsodises about the planet and there is something strangely hypnotic about the way she writes. What was missing for me was a plot to ground the story and propel character development, so I felt a bit disconnected to the novel. But I realise that, much like the Velazquez' Las Meninas portrait discussed in the book, the focal point of the story is misleading. While the astronauts gaze down on the planet, on Earth we gaze at the stars. 

I know that some people have avoided Orbital because they worry it will be science fiction. As a fan of the genre, I can assure you it is not sci-fi. This is a novella laced with poetry and it is well worth a read. 

PS - As much as I enjoyed Orbital I still reckon Percival Everett should have one the Booker for James.

The Bonds of Friendship

Elizabeth Macarthur (1766-1850) was a formidable woman in the early days of colonial Australia. She arrived in Sydney in 1790 and settled on a large property in Parramatta where she and her husband John bred sheep. John was an ambitious man who hatched devious schemes which saw him engage in power struggles with Governors and sent back to the UK under court martial. Elizabeth stayed behind with some of their children to tend to their business enterprises. She is now regarded as a founder of the Australian wool industry.

Another Elizabeth arrived in the colony in 1809. Elizabeth Macquarie (1778-1835), wife of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, had a keen interest in architecture and the wellbeing of women and children. The Macquaries spent fourteen years in Sydney, transforming the city. Governor Macquarie, the 'Father of Australia', established institutions, supported emancipated convicts, and promoted the exploration of Australia beyond the Blue Mountains. 

On the surface, Elizabeth Macarthur and Elizabeth Macquarie would seemingly have little in common. The former was a diligent businesswoman and mother, the latter the First Lady of NSW, accustomed to the refinements that came with the office. Further, their husbands known were enemies with Macarthur undermining Governor Macquarie at every turn. Despite this, the women formed an enduring bond, supporting each other through personal struggles and triumphs. The friendship of these two women is the subject of Elizabeth and Elizabeth (2021), a novel by Sue Williams. 

Mrs Macquarie arrives in the colony somewhat naive. She is uncertain in her marriage, has lost a child and longs for a family. Her husband is busy with his work. She is deeply concerned about the plight of young girls in the colony and builds an institution to support orphaned girls. Over time she encourages the Governor to engage in social reforms. 

Mrs Macquarie regarded Mrs Macarthur as a mentor and was in awe of her bravery and fortitude. When they first meet, John Macarthur has gone to England to attend a court-martial for his role in a mutiny against former Governor Bligh. He has taken their sons to England for school, leaving Mrs Macarthur to run the family business. She is excellent at this role, using innovative techniques to ensure the finest quality wool from their large flock of sheep. 

There is plenty of tension given the enmity of their husbands, but the two women are determined to not let this get in the way of their relationship. Mrs Macquarie cannot stop her husband's actions, but she can warn her friend. While both women forged paths outside the confines of gendered roles of the time, in their personal lives they both were limited by their husbands and had to find ways around these restrictions. 

Told in alternating chapters, Williams wisely chooses to call Mrs Macquarie 'Betsey' and uses first person narration for her perspective. Mrs Macarthur is provided a third person account. This makes the novel easier to read, knowing which Elizabeth we are dealing with. I also appreciated that each chapter heading gave a date to allow the reader to place the story in time. 

This is an interesting historical novel and a delightful debut from Sue Williams. I was familiar with Mrs Macarthur's story having previously read Kate Grenville's brilliant novel A Room Made of Leaves (2020) and her compilation of Elizabeth Macarthur's Letters (2022). But I did not really know anything of Mrs Macquarie - other than having been to her chair on Sydney Harbour! So I appreciated being introduced to her by Sue Williams and to learn more about the Macquarie's influence on Sydney. I was intrigued to learn about the Bigge Inquiry and Mrs Macquarie's lifelong attempt to have her husband's influence recognised. 

While this is Sue Williams debut novel she is a prolific writer of travel, true crime and journalism (check out her website for details). I am interested in her follow up novels - That Bligh Girl (2023) about Governor Bligh's daughter Mary, and The Governor, His Wife and His Mistress (2025) about Governor King and his complicated personal life. I will be seeing author Sue Williams this month at a literary festival and I look forward to learning more about her writing process.

The Sea, The Sea

Pat Barker has concluded her retelling of Homer's Iliad from the perspective of women with the recent publication of the third volume of her Trojan War series - The Voyage Home (2024). 

To briefly recap the series thus far... The Silence of the Girls (2018) was told from the perspective of Briseis, a young woman gifted to Achilles as a war trophy for his success at Lyrnessus. Briseis is determined to survive her ordeal and forges bonds with the other women in the warrior camp. Through her eyes we witness the great men of war - Achilles, Hector, and Agamemnon - and their fates. The Women of Troy (2021) continues the story with Briseis, pregnant with Achilles' child, now supporting King Priam's family - Hecuba, Andromache and Cassandra - who have been taken by the Greeks as war prizes. The story ends with the Briseis being led to the ships to begin the journey back to Mycenae. 

I had expected the final instalment to continue with Briseis' narration, but the torch is passed to her friend Ritsa, a slave tasked with caring for Cassandra. The virgin priestess Cassandra was awarded to Agamemnon and now accompanies him on the voyage to his homeland Mycenae. They travel on a ship named Medusa, and Barker does a tremendous job of depicting the dank, claustrophobic quarters and rough seas.

In Mycenae, Queen Clytemnestra awaits the return of her husband. For ten years she has been plotting her revenge for his sacrificing their beloved daughter Iphigenia to the gods for a favourable wind. Her rage and grief have not subsided, and Cassandra has had a vision that she and Agamemnon will die on the day they return. While the reader knows what will eventuate, the way in which the events unfold is thrilling. 

It was wonderful to read another portrayal of Clytemnestra, sister of Helen of Troy. I greatly enjoyed Constanza Casati's Clytemnestra (2023), which gives a richly sympathetic background to this brave Queen. I particularly admired Barker's depiction of Ritsa - a rough and ready, streetwise woman who skilfully  navigates the treacherous company she keeps. As I read, I listened to Kristin Atherton's audiobook narration which elevated the story.

While Barker has concluded this wonderful trilogy, I remain hopeful that she will turn her attention to another mythological retelling. She is a master of the genre. 

As with my previous 

Want more myths?

I have written about other retellings of ancient myths on this blog, including:

• The Silence of the Girls (2019), The Women of Troy (2021) - Pat Barker
• Circe (2019), The Song of Achilles (2011), Galatea (2013) - Madeline Miller
• Atalanta (2023), Ariadne (2021) - Jennifer Saint
• Clytemnestra (2023) - Costanza Casati

Booker Prize Winner 2024

The winner of the 2024 Booker Prize for fiction was announced today, with British author Samantha Harvey receiving the £50,000 prize for the novel, Orbital. 

Orbital tells the story of six astronauts floating high above the Earth at a space station where they conduct experiments on an extended mission. As they orbit the Earth sixteen times a day, the astronauts consider the state of the planet and the fragility of human life.  Readers learn about each astronaut through their communications with their families and the personal effects they brought on their journey.  While they are so far from earth, they feel inextricably linked to and protective of their planet.

Samantha Harvey hails from Kent. She studied philosophy at the Universities of York and Sheffield.  Harvey has written five novels and  was previously longlisted for the Booker in 2009 for her debut novel The Wilderness.

Chair of the Judging panel, Edmund de Waal, said of Orbital:

'In an unforgettable year for fiction, a book about a wounded world. Sometimes you encounter a book and cannot work out how this miraculous event has happened. As judges we were determined to find a book that moved us, a book that had capaciousness and resonance, that we are compelled to share. We wanted everything. 

‘Orbital is our book. Samantha Harvey has written a novel propelled by the beauty of sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets. Everyone and no one is the subject, as six astronauts in the International Space Station circle the Earth observing the passages of weather across the fragility of borders and time zones. With her language of lyricism and acuity Harvey makes our world strange and new for us. 

‘All year we have celebrated fiction that inhabits ideas rather than declaiming on issues, not finding answers but changing the question of what we wanted to explore. Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey’s extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share.’"

I must admit I was surprised by the choice of Harvey as winner.  I had expected the winner to be Percival Everett for James, but was secretly longing for Charlotte Wood to be acknowledged for Stone Yard Devotional.  But I have not read Orbital yet, so will have to move it up my to be read pile. 

If you missed it, here is the video of the announcement of Samantha Harvey as winner and her acceptance speech.

Summer Sojourn

In choosing this year's 'Novella in November', I selected a book I have long wanted to read: Claire Keegan's Foster (2010). This perfect gem of a story is only 88 pages long, but has the emotional depth of a much longer novel.

Foster begins on a Sunday after Mass. Instead of returning home, a man takes his daughter for a long drive through County Wexford. They arrive at Kinsella's farm, and are greeted by a man and his wife. This is the child's maternal family, but she does not know her Ma's people. Pa drives off, leaving his daughter at the farm without any belongings. The child has no idea when or if he may return to collect her. Over the course of the summer the girl, aged 8 or 9, is cared for by this couple and experiences a sense of belonging she does not know at home. We learn that the child is from a large family and that she was sent away to be cared for while her mother was in the final months of her latest pregnancy. We also learn that the Kinsellas long to give the child a home, and dread the day the girl has to be returned to her family.

Keegan tells the story from the child's perspective as she tries to understand what is happening around her.  The child is naive in many respects, but her time with the Kinsellas shows she is a keen observer. Keegan is masterful in her ability to use the quiet spaces to convey emotion, letting the void speak for itself. 

This is a beautiful story that can be read in an hour. Do yourself a favour - make a cup of tea and curl up with Foster. It is magnificent!

Foster was adapted into an Irish language feature film called The Quiet Girl (2022)

My review of Claire Keegan's wonderful novella Small Things Like These (2021) is also available on this blog. 

Medicine Woman

Despite my love of historical fiction, Lady Tan's Circle of Women (2023) by Lisa See, was not on my radar. Fortunately, it was recommended by a friend who loaned me a copy. As soon as I started reading, I became fully enthralled. 

It is the story of Tan Yunxian, born 1461 in the Ming Dynasty. Yunxian is sent at age eight to reside with her grandparents in the Mansion of Golden Light, when her mother dies after an infection in her bound feet. Her grandmother was a physician who taught Yunxian at her side, passing on treatments to support women.  Here she befriends Meiling Shi, the daughter of a midwife, the first and only friend she has. 

At age 15 she is married to Yang Maoren, the eldest son of wealthy silk merchants, and sent to live in the Garden of Fragrant Delights. Isolated from her family, and under the thumb of her husband's family, Yunxian's only role is to give birth to sons. Her mother-in-law, Lady Kuo, forbids her to practice medicine. Despite this, many women in the household know of Yunxian's skills and seek her wisdom.

During this time women were not permitted to practice medicine.  Doctor Wong would attend to his female patients by sitting behind a screen so he would not gaze upon them. Men did not understand the challenges women faced and were ill-equipped to support fertility issues, menopause, miscarriage, postnatal depression, and other concerns. Midwives, who were essential during childbirth, were viewed with distaste by the medical establishment and carried the burden of ensuring a safe delivery. 

Lady Tan's Circle of Women is a story about a lifelong female friendship, forged across class divides. But beyond Yunxian and Meiling, the circle includes daughters, sister, aunts and concubines. The social network was essential as the men were so often away. Life for women in this time was dangerous and strictly aligned to traditional gendered roles. While men could earn money, take exams and be appointed to positions of power, women existed for the pleasure or succession of men. 

The story follows Yunxian throughout her life, as she ages and becomes head of the household. Along the way there is plenty of intrigue as she travels to Beijing to the court of Empress Zhang, battles illnesses, and uncovers a dark secret. In later life she solidifies her legacy by publishing Miscellaneous Records of a Female Doctor, one of the earliest writings of a female doctor in China. It remains in print today. 

Author Lisa See weaves her extensive research into the novel. I was fascinated by how Yunxian would diagnose her patients, the inventive treatments she prescribed, and the way in which various terms were used ('child palace', 'heavenly flowers').  The descriptions of the courtyards, gowns, furnishing and scenery are vivid, transporting the reader to another time and place. Lisa See's website has a section where readers can step inside Lady Tan's world and learn more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this historical novel. Lisa See is probably best known for her novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005) but there are plenty of others including Peony in Love (2007), Shanghai Girls (2009), and The Island of Sea Women (2019) to name a few. I have no doubt that I will be exploring other novels by Lisa See in the future.

Solid Gold

Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic and Detective Senior Constable Nell Buchanan are back for their fourth outing in Chris Hammer's The Valley (2024). Still based in Dubbo, the homicide investigation team are used to travelling across the Central West of New South Wales to manage complex cases. This time, they are sent further afield, down to the Southern Tablelands, when a body is discovered.

Told in alternating timelines, in the 1990s we meet a young police officer Simmons Burnside. Stationed in the Valley, caught up in a protest between environmentalists and loggers, Burnside also moonlights as security at the historic gold mine, which a local couple is trying to restart in an effort to revive the town. Back in the present, the body discovered is Burnside's son Wolf - an entrepreneur with plans to commercialise the Valley. Was he killed to stop his proposed development? For political reasons? For money?

Lucic is told by head office that they should not trust local law enforcement, so they proceed with caution. During the investigation Nell learns that her birth mother once lived in the Valley. This unforeseen connection to the case rattles Nell. Fortunately Lucic has her back, and the colleagues have a trust and confidence in each other that allows them to do their jobs exceptionally well.

Like all of Hammer's novels, the location plays a central role. The Valley is vividly portrayed - from its natural beauty, to its quirky inhabitants - and it feels very much like a real place. There are multiple issues at play in both the historic and contemporary timeframes in this well researched novel. 

I really enjoy the Lucic/Buchanan series and have grown fond of these characters. Hammer has a way of weaving various story threads together which build pace and page-turning excitement. Unlike his previous novels, in The Valley Hammer shifted his narrative in the 1990s to give us a first person account from Burnside's perspective. This was a great way of signalling the change in timeline to the reader and giving a fresh look on activities that would become important thirty years later. 

I hope Hammer continues the Lucic/Buchanan series as it is so enjoyable. While The Valley can be read as a standalone book, readers will get more out of it if they start at the beginning of the series.

My reviews of other Chris Hammer novels are available on this blog: 

• the Martin Scarsden Series - Scrublands (2018); Silver (2019); Trust (2020);
• the Lucic/Buchanan Series -   Treasure and Dirt (2021), The Tilt (2022) and The Seven (2023). 

For readers outside Australia, the Lucic/Buchanan novels are published under different titles - look for Opal Country (Treasure and Dirt), Dead Man's Creek (The Tilt) and Cover the Bones (The Seven) instead.

The Great Divide

There are only three weeks to go before election day in America. Like many political science nerds around the world, I have been avidly following the twists and turns of the campaign. The uninspiring Biden-Trump rematch was hard to watch. Were these two men the best a nation of 345 million people had to offer?  Generational change in both parties, at all levels of government, is needed to reinvigorate American politics and bring things back to a more moderate, less divisive centre.

In the latest Quarterly Essay, High Noon: Trump, Harris and America on the Brink (QE95, 2024), by Australian author, political adviser and historian Don Watson, readers are taken to America - to Los Angeles, Detroit, Kalamazoo, New York - to learn about the issues shaping this election. 

When Watson began writing this essay Biden was still on the ticket. He explores Biden's life in politics and the many achievements of his presidency. More Americans have health insurance, job growth and wages have risen, worker protections have improved. The economy is better, crime is declining and there has been serious action on climate change. Biden has reduced inequality. Watson pointed to many initiatives I did not know about and I reckon when non-partisan historians write of the Biden legacy he will be viewed with much admiration.

After the depressing Trump-Biden debate things had to change. Within a few short weeks, JD Vance was named as Trump's running mate, Biden was out, Harris was the Democratic nominee, and there had been an assassination attempt on Trump. 

Watson writes of the threat of a second Trump presidency, the way he has shifted the Republican party towards populism, xenophobia and isolationism. His family and acolytes are entrenched in the party, making Trumpism the test of loyalty and favour. Watson contrasts Trump's appearance at his hush money trial with his campaign rallies - ever the showman, relying on entertainment over substance. 

The swap from Biden to Harris brought with it a glimmer of hope that change was possible. Watson talks with everyday Americans about the polarisation of politics, misinformation and division. He explores how the media has a lot to answer for, racism and fear run deep, and how voters mistrust the electoral system. Whatever happens on election day, America is a tinderbox ready to ignite.

I greatly enjoyed Watson's exploration of American politics. He is an intelligent, unpretentious and persuasive author. This is a brilliant Quarterly Essay, well worth a read.

My review of Don Watson's previous Quarterly Essay, Enemy Within: American Politics in the Time of Trump (QE63), is also available on this blog.

Nobel Prize for Literature 2024

South Korean author Han Kang has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature. The 53 year old author is best known for her International Booker Prize winning novel The Vegetarian (2016).

Born in Gwangju, South Korea, Han Kang is the daughter of author Han Seung-won and the sister of writer Han Dong Rim. She studied literature at Yonsei University before attending the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.

Her first published work was in 1993 when five poems were included in the winter issue of Munhak-gwa-sahoe (Literature and Society). The following year she won a literary contest in Seoul for her story Red Anchor. She is the author of a number of short story collections, novellas and eight novels.

Han Kang is the first South Korean author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and only the 18th woman.

Let's take a look at her novels which have been translated into English.

The Vegetarian (2015)

Originally published in 2007, it was translated by Deborah Smith and published in English in 2015. Set in modern day Seoul, The Vegetarian tells the story of a woman who decides to stop eating meat after having a nightmare which includes images of animal slaughter. Abstaining from meat causes a distance between herself and her family.  Composed in three parts, each has a different narrator exploring the woman's rebellion. 

Human Acts (2016)

Originally published in 2014 as A Boy is Coming, it was translated by Deborah Smith and published in English in 2016 as Human Acts. This novel is about the 1980 Gwangju massacre in which the military brutally suppressed an uprising killing an estimated 2300 people. The uprising was in response to the coup d'état which saw Chun Doo-hwan installed as dictator and martial law imposed. The novel follows victims and the bereaved as they try and make sense of the brutality.

The White Book (2017)

Originally published in 2016 as White, it was translated by Deborah Smith and published in English in 2017 as The White Book. In this novel, the unnamed narrator is on writers residency in Warsaw.  She meditates on the colour white to make sense of her older sister's death. White is a recurring theme which she uses to explore grief.

Greek Lessons (2023)

Originally published in 2011 as Greek Time, it was translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won and published in English in 2023. A Greek language teacher is slowly losing his sight. He is drawn to a young woman in his class who tries to speak but has no voice. The two have both experienced tragedy which incapacitates them.

We Do Not Part (2025)

Originally published in 2021 as Don't Say Goodbye, this forthcoming novel was translated into English by Emily Yae Won and Paige Aniyah Morris. It is scheduled to be published in February 2025. We Do Not Part tells the story of a woman who travels to a friend's house in the countryside to care for her friend's pet bird while she is in hospital. While pet sitting, the woman discovers letters from the Jeju massacre in 1948. 

One expects that Kang's previous novellas and short stories will be translated and she will gain a wider audience on the strength of the Nobel acclaim. Her win is a reminder how valuable it is to read works in translation and the importance of supporting small imprint publishers. 

Seda Vacante

On a recent work trip I scrolled my e-reader for unread books, I opened several and read the first paragraph to see what would grip me and match my travelling mood. When I came across Robert Harris' Conclave (2016), I could not stop at the first paragraph; I was immediately enthralled and rapidly read this book in a few short sittings.

Conclave starts with the death of the Pope, who passed that evening from a heart attack. Late at night, a handful of Cardinals gather round the deceased Pope's bedside to pray and immediately the machinations begin as to who will replace him. Cardinal Lomeli, Dean of the College of Cardinals, is tasked with facilitating the conclave in which Cardinals from around the world gather to determine who will be the next Pope. The elderly men are sequestered in the Vatican, the windows of their rooms boarded up to prevent external influences. The men will remain isolated together during the papal interregnum, until they can agree on who will serve as the global head of the Catholic Church.

Unable to connect with God, Lomeli is greatly troubled by the disconnect he is experiencing with his faith. Lomeli wants Cardinal Bellini, Secretary of State, to take the papacy as he shares the former Pope's desire for reform. Bellini humbly claims to let God's will determine the outcome and refuses to actively seek the role. Unlike Bellini, Canadian Cardinal Tremblay, the Camerlengo, is overtly vying for the top job and lobbying Cardinals from the developing world to rally behind him. The top ranked African Cardinal Adeyemi, formerly Archbishop of Lagos, is also in the running and could become the first black Pope. Amidst all these front runners, factions have formed.  The Italians want it the Pope to be from Italy, like Cardinal Tedesco, who reflect traditional, conservative values. They fear the papacy will go to someone in Asia or South America where Catholicism is on the rise.

Each day the Cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel and vote as per their ritual. The world's media and the faithful masses gather outside awaiting a plume of white smoke emerging from the chimney to signal a new Pope. But the Cardinals cannot decide and each ballot ends with black smoke instead. Meanwhile Lomeli is conflicted as to whether he should reveal what he learns about the skeletons in various Cardinals' closets as it may impact conclave.

This could have been a fairly pedestrian depiction of what happens behind closed doors. But Harris has added so many intriguing subplots - political manoeuvring, modern issues facing a tradition-bound church, a surprise candidate -  that the reader cannot help but be gripped. As the votes tighten and candidates fall off the ballot, the action quickens. 

I had not expected to enjoy this book quite so much. Having visited the Vatican, I reminisced about my travels to Rome when reading about the Sistine Chapel and the various places I had seen. I learned a lot about the Catholic Church and the papacy from this novel, which is surprisingly filled with rich detail from Harris' meticulous research. The author also subtly infuses his novel with deep questions about faith, power and the role of women in the church and society. Overall, a greatly enjoyable read. 

A film version of Conclave premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2024 and will have wider release in late 2024.  The film stars Ralph Fiennes as the troubled Lomeli (renamed Lawrence in the film), Stanley Tucci as Bellini, John Lithgow as Tremblay and Isabella Rosellini as Sister Agnes. The film was directed by Edward Berger, best known for his 2022 remake of All Quiet on the Western Front.  I look forward to seeing this film when it is available in Australia. The trailer is below.

Joie de Vivre

Sarah Firth's debut graphic novel Eventually Everything Connects (2023) is a beautiful, articulate, meditation on life. Subtitled 'Eight Essays on Uncertainty' Firth writes about the environment, diversity, and the joys of the little things in life, in interconnected visual essays.

The first essay, 'Joie de Vivre' is about the repetitions of life, our daily routine and finding the joy in simplicity. Can we find meaning in the seemingly meaningless?. In 'Like a moth to a flame' Firth ponders our obsession with our phones and the need to disconnect. In other essays she writes about sexual dreams and taboos, life cycles, the environment, mental health. 

These are deeply thoughtful, personal essays in which Firth grapples with the complexities and contradictions of life. Despite the deep subject matter, Firth's humour and creative illustrations make the essays relatable and compelling. 

I found this book fascinating on many levels. Had Firth written on these topics in prose they would have been interesting enough. But she has elevated the reader's connection to her and the subject material through her illustrations. She positions herself in many of the illustrations - at various stages in her life - and shares her vulnerability and anxieties. 

After reading each essay I went back and spent time reviewing some of the intricate drawings and really appreciate them. Whether a panel of illustrations on what diverse people were doing at that moment in time, or a whole page devoted to self-reflection, Firth's drawings provide another layer of meaning. 

I first heard about this book at the Sydney Writers Festival in 2022 when Nakkiah Lui introduced her as part of a panel of new talent. Firth read an excerpt and shared her website with illustrations for Joie de Vivre. Firth said at the time that she was glad Lui's new publishing house Joan had picked up the book as other publishers had rejected it as it could not be easily categorised. I had totally forgotten to look out for this book and was only reminded of it in August this year when it was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, prompting me to order a copy. 

I am so glad to have read Eventually Everything Connects. For anyone wanting to have a look at Firth's work before committing to the whole book, her website has extracts from this book. 

Graphic novels are not for everyone, but I really appreciate this genre. My reviews of other graphic novels can be found on this blog, including: Mandy Ord's When One Person Dies the Whole World is Over (2020), Jim Broadbent's Dull Margaret (2018), Nick Drasno's Sabrina (2018) and Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (2000).

The Walking Dead

I usually follow librarian Nancy Pearl's 'Rule of 50' when it comes to reading books. This rule says if you are 50 years old or under, you need to read 50 pages before deciding whether to continue or give up on a book. If you are over fifty, subtract your age from 100 and use that number. I am fine with deciding not to finish a book, and have often put aside books that I couldn't get into, did not like, or felt life was too short to waste on time on. 

I offer this preamble because there were a number of times during reading Colson Whitehead's Zone One (2011) where I almost gave up, and probably should have. I did not enjoy this book and kept waiting for it to get better. About 60 pages in, I looked at some readers' reviews who promised it would improve (they lied!), so I persisted.

Set in New York City over three days, Zone One is a literary zombie novel. A few years ago a global pandemic caused the rapid end of the modern world. Humans infected with the plague turned into living dead 'skels'. Some, who didn't fully become carnivorous zombies, are 'stragglers' caught in a loop, tethered to their old life. The survivors of 'Last Night', the origin of the plague, have been trying to rebuild the world. In Buffalo NY a government has begun to form and work has begun on reclaiming lost territory. The army was sent into Manhattan and established Zone One in the Southern end. Barriers have been built along Canal Street and skels have been cleared in the Zone, in the hopes of eventually repopulating the city. 

Here we meet protagonist Mark Spitz and his colleagues Kaitlyn and Gary. They are a team of sweepers whose job it is to go floor by floor in the skyscrapers and make sure no skels or stragglers have been left behind. They know what to look for -  barricaded offices, dark stairwells - and if they find any living dead they dispatch them and place them in body bags to be incinerated. 

Mark is an average guy. He is nothing special. Over three days Mark's memory goes back and forth in time as he reflects on his Last Night experience, his life before and his existence since. We learn bits and pieces about Kaitlyn and Gary as they all try and survive.

I had high-hopes for this novel. I admire Colson Whitehead and was interested in reading this when I heard him speak about his work at the Sydney Writers Festival in 2023. I like the way Whitehead experiments with genre. He is a thoughtful, intelligent writer, with a gift for cinematic descriptions. 

In Zone One, Whitehead has included some intriguing elements. The 'American Phoenix' campaign with its anthem and merch, designed to instil a sense of comradeship and American can-do spirit in the survivors. The frozen stragglers which provide the sweepers with a morbid guessing game of how they ended up there. The Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder (PASD) which plagues the survivors and accounts for their insomnia, addiction, and depression.   

Despite this, the novel did not gel for me. Zone One is strangely paced, and I found is so slow and boring, with a lot of description that goes nowhere. Like a dud episode of The Walking Dead, I found myself wanting to fast forward and get to the action. I only wish I had followed Nancy Pearl's advice.

My reviews of Whitehead's The Nickel Boys (2019) and Harlem Shuffle (2021) are available on this blog.

Booker Prize Shortlist 2024

The Shortlist was announced last night for the 2024 Booker Prize. The thirteen titles on the Longlist have been whittled down to six:

• Percival Everett - James (America)
• Samantha Harvey - Orbital (UK)
• Rachel Kushner - Creation Lake (America)
• Anne Michaels - Held (Canada)
• Yale van der Wouden - The Safekeep (Netherlands)
• Charlotte Wood - Stone Yard Devotional (Australia)

 

Chair of the judging panel, Edmund de Waal, said of the shortlist:

“I am enormously proud of this shortlist of six books that have lived with us. We have spent months sifting, challenging, questioning – stopped in our tracks by the power of the contemporary fiction that we have been privileged to read. And here are the books that we need you to read. Great novels can change the reader. They face up to truths and face you in their turn. If that sounds excessive it reflects the urgency that animates these novels. Here is storytelling in which people confront the world in all its instability and complexity. The fault lines of our times are here. Borders and time zones and generations are crossed and explored, conflicts of identity, race and sexuality are brought into renewed focus through memorable voices. The people who come alive here are damaged in ways that we come to know and respect, and we come to care passionately about their histories and relationships."

I am delighted with this shortlist. First, last year the shortlist was dominated by guys named Paul. Here, we have five women on the list. Most of the authors are established, with van der Wouden the only debut novelist. I am also thrilled that Charlotte Wood is on the shortlist. Her books deserve a wide readership and I hope this boosts her profile internationally. 

Thus far I have only read Wood's Stone Yard Devotional and Everett's James - both brilliant. My sincere hope is that Everett wins this year's prize. James is a triumph. 

The Winner of the Booker Prize, and recipient of £50,000, will be revealed on 12 November 2024. Happy reading!