Pan's Labyrinth

I noticed Liz Moore's The God of the Woods (2024) as it had been on the New York Times bestseller list for many months and was in the mood for a mystery thriller.

It's August 1975 at Camp Emerson, a retreat on the Van Laar Preserve, in the Adirondacks of New York State. Camp counsellor Louise awakens to find one of the bunks empty and realises that the missing camper is Barbara Van Laar, the thirteen year old daughter of the family that owns the camp. A rapid search begins, made more urgent by the knowledge that fourteen years earlier Barbara's brother Bear Van Laar also disappeared from the property, and the fear that an escaped killer is on the loose. 

Told in alternating narratives and timelines, the story unfolds. Back in the 1950s we meet Alice, mother of Barbara and Bear. In 1961 volunteer firefighter Carl leads a search team looking for Bear. In 1975 camper Tracy is in awe of her bunkmate and navigating the first feelings of a crush. Also in 1975 Judy, the young police investigator, is working the case.  

The Van Laars are a wealthy family who throw an annual party at Self Reliance, their home in the Van Laar Preserve. This is a weekend of alcohol-fuelled games for the Van Laar's glamorous guests. Barbara does not fit in here. She is rebellious, into punk rock, and knows little is expected of her as a girl in a patriarchal family. Her mother, Alice, doesn't fit in either. She is anxious and drinks too much to quell her nerves. 

The God of the Woods is a page-turning mystery, with its twists and turns, but it is so much more than that. There is a story here about class - the haves and have nots - as evidenced by the Van Laars and their guests contrasting with the blue-collar workers on the Preserve. There is also a subtext of gender and societal expectations of girls and women. Moore has created characters who grow on the reader - TJ, Louise, Judyta - as the story unfurls. Plus, Moore has so clearly portrayed the setting of Camp Emerson, that readers who have spent time at a sleep-away camp will be gripped by nostalgia for campfires and mess halls.

I really enjoyed this novel and the ways in which Moore built the suspense. I was also satisfied by the ending, though I can understand why some readers may want a different outcome. While reading I also listened to the audiobook expertly narrated by Saskia Maarlevald. Overall, a terrific read. I hope that Moore writes another novel feature investigator Judyta Luptack, a wonderful character who deserves a series of her own. 

Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Longlist 2025

The second annual Women's Prize for Non-Fiction longlist has been revealed! This prize celebrates non-fiction written by women. The Winner will receive £30,000. Sixteen works of non-fiction were longlisted.

The 2025 longlist is as follows:

Anne Applebaum - Autocracy Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World

This is a timely book that I am keen to read. Journalist and historian Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Gulag: A History (2003), turns her attention to the corrupt networks that infiltrate governments. Given what is happening in America right now, this feels like an urgent road map to return to democracy. 

Eleanor Barraclough - Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age

We often associate Vikings with strong warriors plundering villages.  In fact, the people of the Viking Age were much more diverse. This book looks at the day-to-day lives of the Viking people and their culture. Author Barraclough is a historian and broadcaster who previously published Beyond the Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas (2016).

Helen Castor - The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry 

First cousins, Richard and Henry were born three months apart. As children, Richard was crowned King, and Henry served at his side. Despite their close upbringing, they were opposites: Richard a narcissist and Henry a chivalric hero. Fearful, Richard banished his cousin, leading the pair to a confrontation. Acclaimed medieval and Tudor historian Castor, is also the author of She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth (2010).

Nenah Cherry - A Thousand Threads

Swedish singer-songwriter Cherry achieved global success with 'Buffalo Stance' in 1988. She went on to have a lauded career, winning awards for her music. Cherry has now written a memoir of her life as an artist, and the people who influenced her. 

Rachel Clarke - The Story of a Heart

Palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke, is the author of three bestselling non-fiction books. Here she writes about nine-year-old Keira who was in a devastating car accident. Keira's brain and organs began to shut down, but her heart continued to beat. Her family agreed to donate her heart and it was gifted to nine-year old Max. Clarke tells this story of grief and a lifesaving gift.

Chloe Dalton - Raising Hare

During lockdown, Dalton retreated to the countryside of her childhood and found herself the custodian of a newborn hare. This book is the story of nurturing the animal and preparing it for release in the wild. Dalton is a political adviser and foreign policy specialist who has spent a decade in the UK public service. This is her debut book.

Jenni Fagan - Ootlin

Fagan was born in state care in Scotland and by age seven had lived in fourteen different homes. In her memoir, Fagan described her experiences of displacement and exclusion on her journey through the UK care system. Novelist and poet. Fagan is the author of novels The Panopticon (2013), The Sunlight Pilgrims (2016), Luckenbooth (2021) and Hex (2022).

Lulu Miller - Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love and the Hidden Order of Life

In her debut book, science reporter Miller explores the work of David Starr Jordan, a 19th century taxonomist. Jordan was a fish specialist mapping out the taxonomy on fish when an earthquake shatters his specimen collection. Besides his work as a scientist, Jordan was also a champion of eugenics and president of Stanford University.

Clare Mulley - Agent Zo: The Untold Story of Fearless WW2 Resistance Fighter Elzbieta Zawacka

Historian Mulley has a keen interest in the experience of women in the Second World War. Here she tells the story of Zo, an emissary of the Polish Home Army Command who travelled from Warsaw to London. Zo was the only female member of the elite Polish Special Forces. The Gestapo arrested her family when the Nazis occupied Poland. She also took a leading role in the Warsaw Uprising. Sounds like an incredible story of a remarkable woman.

Rebecca Nagle - By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land

Award-winning journalist and Cherokee woman Nagle book is about the forced removal of Native Americans onto treaty lands throughout American history. In 2020 a Supreme Court ruling in Sharp v Murphy affirmed that tribal lands are "Indian country" and any crimes committed on these lands are not subject to state prosecution. Nagle traces the long fight for sovereignty in Eastern Oklahoma.

Sue Prideaux - Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gaugin

Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gaugin is best known for his colourful paintings of French Polynesia. In this biography, Prideaux writes about his career as a stockbroker in Paris, a tarpaulin salesman in Copenhagen, a canal digger in Panama, and other diverse endeavours as well as his life as an artist. Prideaux has previously written biographies of Edvard Munch, Strindberg, Friedrich Nietzsche.

Helen Scales - What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World's Ocean

Marine biologist and author, Scales explores the future of the ocean by looking at the past and how the prehistoric ocean ecology has lessons for today. Despite the devastating impact of climate change, Scales is hopeful that protection of the ocean and marine life combined with sustainable industry will protect the ocean for future generations.

Kate Summerscale - The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place

Bestselling author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (2008),  award-winning author Kate Summerscale has turned her attention to another grizzly crime. In London in 1953 police discover the bodies of three young women inside a wall at a Notting Hill terrace. Exploring further they find bones beneath the floorboards and in the garden. A manhunt is launched to find a former tenant Reg Christie. But is he the killer?

Harriet Wistrich - Sister in Law: Fighting for Justice in a System Designed by Men

Solicitor and advocate for women's justice, Harriet Wistrich, has acted in many high profile cases involving violence against women. In this book she explores landmark cases that demonstrate how the legal system is skewed towards men. I have a keen interest in gender and justice and look forward to reading this account of Wistrich's career in law.

Alexis Wright - Tracker

I am thrilled that Waanyi author Alexis Wright has been recognised for her Stella Prize winning memoir of Aboriginal Tracker Tilmouth. Part of Australia's shameful Stolen Generation past, Tracker was raised on a mission on Corker Island and grew up to become a well-regarded activist and advocate. Using oral history and storytelling from Aboriginal folk who knew him, Wright has crafted a memoir of a remarkable man.

Yuan Yang - Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in New China

As the first Chinese-born British MP, Yuan Yang lived in China for four years before she moved to the UK. As an adult she returned as a journalist. Here, in her first book, she tells the stories of four Chinese women aspiring for a better future. China is evolving in the modern era and the role of women is changing with it. Sounds like an interesting portrait of women and a nation.

The Chair of the Judges, Kavita Puri, said of the Longlist:

'What unites these diverse titles, that boast so many different disciplines and genres, is the accomplishment of the writing, the originality of the storytelling and the incisiveness of the research. Here are books that provoke debate and discussion, that offer insight into new experiences and perspectives, and that bring overlooked stories back to life and recognition. Amongst this stellar list, there are also reads that expertly steer us through the most pressing issues of our time, show the resilience of the human spirit, alongside others that elucidate the dangers of unchecked power, the consequence of oppression and the need for action and defiance.'

I have not read any of these titles, but I have a keen interest in the books by Applebaum, Mulley, Nagle and Wistrich. Some are not yet available in Australia so I will have to wait to track them down.

The shortlist will be announced on 26 March 2025 and the winner will be revealed on 12 June 2025. Happy reading!

Want more? Here is the video of the Longlist announcement.

Possession

One of the novels I most wanted to read from the 2024 Booker Prize Shortlist was Yael Van Der Wouden's The Safe Keep (2024). Set in a rural area of the Netherlands, it is fifteen years after the end of the Second World War. The buildings have been reconstructed after the damage of war, but the people still bear deep scars.

It is 1961 and Isabel lives by herself in the serene country home she and her brothers moved to during the war. She cared for her mother until her death and now cares for her house with the same discipline. Isabel has had help in the form of various housekeepers, but is constantly on the look out for someone stealing from her. 

Her brothers left home long ago. Louis lives a bachelor's life with a series of girlfriends. As the eldest is the heir to the home, and plans to allow Isabel to live there until he marries. Younger brother Hendrik is gay, living a closeted life with his partner Sebastian. The three siblings have occasional dinners together but are not particularly close.

Isabel's solitary life of routine is disrupted when Louis drops off his latest girlfriend to live in the house when he travels for work. Eva is the complete opposite of Isabel - charismatic, curious, free. Isabel immediately dislikes the girl and the invasion of her sacred space. Isabel is annoyed that Eva sleeps in her late mother's bed, that she is friendly with the housekeeper, that she touches things in the house. Isabel is openly hostile to her, rather than a gracious host. Over the next few weeks, Eva attempts to get to know Isabel and is rebuffed, often quote rudely, at every turn. Both are uneasy in each other's presence, yet they are drawn together. If Isabel can loosen her self-restraint, she may just find some of the freedom she so admires in others.

In her debut novel, Van Der Wouden has crafted a story about ownership and possession. Isabel is entrenched in a house which she knows she will never own and can be ousted anytime her brother chooses. Isabel carefully counts each teaspoon and obsesses over the Delft plates in the cabinet. They are her only companions. Eva views these possessions quite differently and appears, to Isabel, to be completely untethered to anything or anyone.

Van Der Wouden has created believable characters with nuance and tenderness. Isabel initially comes across as restrained, unyielding and unlikeable. Eva appears superficial and frivolous. But as the story unfolds, and the tensions between them grow, Isabel's hardness begins to crack and she begins a sexual awakening. Likewise Eva reveals hidden depths. The first two parts focus mainly on Isabel. In Part III there is a narrative shift as we read Eva's diaries and get her perspective on past events. There is a wonderful twist and forces readers to see both women in a new light. 

With great skill, the author navigates the post-war reckoning and the legacy of loss and dispossession. The characters were all children during the war, impacted in different ways. Now in their late twenties, there remains a lingering trauma which manifests in different ways for each. 

The Safe Keep is such a good novel. I was engrossed in the story and continued to think about the characters long after I had finished reading. 

Party Time

With a federal election looming in Australia, George Megalogenis' Quarterly Essay (QE96) Minority Report - The New Shape of Australian Politics (2024) is a timely exploration of the Australian political landscape. 

In Minority Report, Megalogenis takes a look at how the electorate is shifting away from the duopoly of Labor and the Coalition to a broader, more representative government. Younger voters in particular are not rusted-on voters to any party, are sceptical about politics, and have a wider range of interests.  The rise of the Teal independents - brilliantly explained in Margot Saville's The Teal Revolution (2022) - has made Australian politics far more interesting and diverse.

Megalogenis argues that a shift began in the Australian electorate with the 2010 election and the end of the historic 40-40-20 rule. This rule held that Labor and the Coalition would each score 40% of the vote and the remaining 20% was made up by minority parties and independents. Indeed the Liberal Party would not survive outside of its decades-long Liberal-National Coalition. The pendulum has swung away from the major parties and it is unlikely to return back to the two-party dominance of the past.

The other shift which has occurred is power moving from Queensland and Western Australia (where the electorate is predominately regional/rural) to more urban, younger and multicultural areas. The dynamic, diverse cities of Melbourne and Sydney will determine the outcome of the next election.

Melalogenis argues that Albanese is pursuing a strategy of building trust and consolidating power in his first term, and then pursuing reform in his second term. But, the failure of the voice referendum (a devastating rejection of our First Nations people that I will never get over), has made Albanese more timid and less ambitious. His opponent is well versed in the politics of 'No' and is growing more Trumpian each day. 

The reform success of past governments is explored. Hawke/Keating brought forth Medicare, superannuation, immigration and closer ties with Asia. Gillard created the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Howard took the GST to the electorate and brought in gun reform. Albanese sought to do this with the Voice to Parliament, but needed the support of the Opposition. 

Housing is the big issue in the electorate, especially in Melbourne and Sydney where median house prices have exploded but supply has not kept up with demand. Older generations, especially those who have acquired multiple properties as investments, want to hold and pass down their wealth. Younger generations have long since given up the idea of owning property as they have been priced out of the market. Housing is in need of bold reform, not tinkering at the edges. Alan Kohler spoke of this in his excellent Quarterly Essay 92 - The Great Divide (2023). 

Politics requires a vision for the future and a willingness to negotiate to get things done. It is highly likely that whoever wins the next election will face a hung parliament and will need to work with the crossbench. Prime Minister Julia Gillard worked with independents to bring about positive change. 

Megalogenis concludes his essay with optimism, sharing his view 'that a hung parliament offers our last best chance to restore purpose to our politics - and policymaking' (p65). We won't have to wait too long for the election to be called and to see whether this view holds up. I hope it does. 

Another quality Quarterly Essay - so glad I subscribe to this publication! My review of George Megalogenis' Quarterly Essay 61 - Balancing Act (2016) is also available on this blog.

Shetland

From 1750 to around 1860 landowners in Scotland evicted tenants from their land in the Scottish Highlands and Islands in what is known as the Highland Clearances. Landowners sought to increase their income by converting small plots of land farmed by multiple tenants into larger fields for pastoral farming. The displaced tenants were relocated and encouraged to take up other work like fishing. In the later years of the Clearances, landowners expelled tenants or assisted them to emigrate.

The Clearances are the backdrop for Carys Davies' remarkable novel Clear (2024). Set in 1843, Clear tells the story of John Ferguson, a minister who has recently broken away from the Scottish Church to be part of the new Free Church of Scotland. Without the backing of his former parish, Ferguson has no income and needs to find a means of caring for himself and his wife Mary while he establishes his new existence as a minister. Ferguson's brother-in-law puts him in touch with a landowner's factor who offers to pay him to evict the last remaining inhabitant on a remote island in the Northern Isles. 

Ferguson arrives on the island with one change of clothes, a pistol, some basic supplies, a slice of Mary's fruitcake and a small, leather-framed calotype photo of his beloved wife. He has one month until the Lily Rose returns to convince the tenant to return to the mainland. Of course Ferguson is best suited to the streets of Penicuik and Perth, not the rugged landscape of a remote island. He makes his way to the basic Baillie cottage where he is to reside on the island. 

Ivar has lived alone since his family left the island years ago. He has a solitary existence with only his animals for companions. When Ferguson and Ivar finally meet, the two do not have a common language. The illiterate Ivar peaks Norn (now extinct), which bears no resemblance to English or Scots. Ferguson is eager to learn, and writes the words Ivar teaches him, forming a dictionary which allows them to communicate. Ferguson revels in the words for different cloud formations, waves and types of rocks. Over the days they spend together, the men form an incredible bond. But time is not on their side. The ship will be returning at the end of the month. Will Ferguson tell Ivar why he is there? Will Ivar leave his home? Will their companionship endure?

Carys Davies is a gifted storyteller. At only 150 pages long, Davies conveys depth and emotion with a concise choice of words. This is a story of loneliness, friendship, and language. Clear is a brilliant novel which can be read in one sitting. I love Clear and look forward to seeking out Davies' previous works - West (2018) and The Mission House (2020).

Dublin Literary Award Longlist 2025

The longlist for the 2025 Dublin Literary Award has just been announced. Seventy-one books have been nominated by 83 libraries from 34 countries. I don't normally write about this award, but it is a delicious list of titles.

The 2025 Longlist is:

1. Pip Adam - Audition
2. 
   Kaveh Akbar - Martyr!
3. Selva Almada - Not a River
4. Stefani Auci - The Triumph of the Lions
5. Muriel Barbery - One Hour of Fervor
6. Colin Barrett - Wild Houses
7. Lou Berney - Dark Ride
8. Sarah Bernstein - Study for Obedience
9. Gerda Blees - We Are Light
10. Maya Binyam - Hangman
11. Ivana Bodrozic - Sons, daughters
12. Meihan Boey - The Enigmatic Madam Ingram 
13. John Boyne - Water
14. 
    Rita Bullwinkel - Headshot
15. Dulce Maria Cardoso - Eliete: A Normal Life
16. Steven Caroll - Death of a Foreign Gentleman 
17. Yagsze Choo - The Fox Wife
18. Michael Crummey - The Adversary
19. David Diop - Beyond the Door of No Return
20. Elisa Shua Dusapin - Vladivostok Circus
21. Percival Everett - James
22. Laurence Fearnley - At the Grand Glacier Hotel
23. Dominique Fortier - Pale Shadows
24. Ia Genberg - The Details
25. Sinead Gleeson - Hagstone
26. Norhafsah Hamid - If Only You Remember
27. Kristin Hannah - The Women
28. Siamak Herawi - Tali Girls: A Novel of Afghanistan
29. Catherine Hernandez - Behind You
30. Bo-reum Hwang - Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
31. 
    Frida Isberg - The Mark
32. Howard Jacobson - What Will Survive of Us
33. Michel Jean - Kukum
34. Juhani Karila - Fishing for the Little Pike
35. Shubnum Khan - The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil
36. Nicole Lagioia - The City of the Living
37. Ariel Lawhon - The Frozen River
38. Aube Rey Lescure - River East, River West
39. Hilary Leichter - Terrance Story
40. Catherine Leroux - The Future
41. Melissa Lucashenko - Edenglassie
42. Paul Lynch - Prophet Song
43. John Marrs - The Family Experiment
44. Daniel Mason - North Woods
45. James McBride - The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
46. 
    Sara Mesa - Un Amor
47. Elizabeth O'Connor - Whale Fall
48. Nuala O'Connor - Seaborne
49. Andrew O'Hagan - Caledonian Road
50. Chigozie Obioma - The Road to the Country
51. Orla Owen - Christ on a Bike
52. LJ Pemberton - Still Alive 
53. Emily Perkins - Lioness
54. Sebastijan Pregelj - In Elvis' Room
55. Lucas Rijneveld - My Heavenly Favourite
56. Deborah Rodriguez - Farewell to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul
57. Mohmed Mbougar Sarr - The Most Secret Memory of Men
58. Lutz Seiler - Star 111
59. Umar Abubakar Sidi - The Incredible Dreams of Garba Dakaskus
    
60. Sheyla Smanioto - Out of Earth
61. Ingrid Storholmen - Here Lay Tirpitz
62. Vikas Swaroop - The Girl with Seven Lives
63. Morgan Talty - Fire Exit
64. Colm Toibin - Long Island
65. Andrea Tompa - Home
66. Justin Torres - Blackouts
67. Christos Tsiolkas - The In-Between
68. Tanguy Viel - The Girl You Call
69. Douglas Westerbeke - A Short Walk Through a Wide World
70. Don Winslow - City in Ruins
71. Charlotte Wood - Stone Yard Devotional

Of these titles I have read and loved: James, Long Island, and Stone Yard Devotional.   On my list to read are the novels by Hannah, Lucashenko, Leroux, Lynch, O'Hagan, and Tsiolkas.

Many of these books are familiar to me from awards last year. Several titles were on the Booker Prize Longlist in 2024 - Barrett, Bullwinkel, Everett, and Wood, with Paul Lynch winning the Booker in 2023 for Prophet Song. Lucashenko's Edenglassie was on the 2024 Stella Prize Longlist, while the novels by Binyam and Lescure were on the 2024 Women's Prize Longlist. The translated novels by Almada and Genberg were on the International Booker Longlist in 2024.

It is wonderful to see Australian authors like Wood, Lucashenko and Tsiolkas doing well overseas. 

Of the longest, the Patron of the Award - the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emma Blain said:

“For over 30 years The Dublin Literary Award has connected readers through the best of fiction from around the world. I am delighted to see that this year’s longlist continues to reflect the breadth of imagination we associate with the award showcasing cultures, traditions and unique perspectives.”

The Shortlist will be announced on 25 March 2025 with the winner of the 100,000 Euro prize declared on 22 May 2025. Happy Reading!

Sunshine Sketches

Elizabeth Strout is an acclaimed American writer, best known for her Lucy Barton books and Olive Kitteridge novels.  I have many of her books, which have been recommended to me by friends and fellow book bloggers, and they have appeared on many longlists of literary prizes. Yet somehow I have never read them.

I decided to begin my Strout experience with Olive Kitteridge (2008), her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, told through thirteen connected short stories. 

It begins with 'Pharmacy', focussed on Henry Kitteridge, and his shop in the fictional New England town of Crosby. Henry hires a young assistant, Denise Thibodeau, whom his wife describes as 'mousy'.  Henry thrives in the simplicities of his daily life, meeting townsfolk and serving customers alongside Denise. At home however, his wife Olive is domineering. A math teacher at the local junior high school and volunteer in the community, Olive can be curt and cold. 

The following stories about other townsfolk give glimpses of Olive at a funeral reception, at church, or in town, In other stories Olive has a starring role, visiting her son or spending time with Henry at the nursing home. We learn how she once fell for another married teacher, about her strained relationship with her son, and about Henry's ill health. 

In Olive, Elizabeth Strout has created a wonderful character.  Opinionated, stubborn and gruff, Olive could be unlikable. But below the surface she has wells of empathy and a desire to for love. Her strained relationship with her son is heartbreaking, especially as Henry's health deteriorates and she has to do more on her own. Olive also has a delightful turn of phrase, not shy about expressing her feelings. Olive is the cranky neighbour you avoid, but if you got to know her you would realise she is merely lonely and in need of connection. 

What Strout does so well is show how ordinary people deal with their daily lives. She realistically presents each character's thoughts and feelings and gives the reader a sense of place. It made me think a lot about loneliness, relationships and aging. I also found myself wanting to know what happened to characters in each story. Did Angela from 'The Piano Player' find happiness? What did Kevin Coulson do after his conversation with Olive in 'Incoming Tide'? Did Marlene ever travel to a destination in her 'Basket of Trips'? 

The style of interlinked short stories is wonderful. Jennifer Egan has used that form to great effect in A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010) and The Candy House (2022). I love this way of bringing a novel together like crocheted squares that combine to form a beautiful blanket. 

I am so glad to have read Olive Kitteridge and delighted that I have a full catalogue of Elizabeth Strout books to explore. 

Olive Kitteridge has been made into a mini-series by HBO in 2014 starring Frances McDormand as Olive, Richard Jenkins as her husband Henry. Now that I have read this book, I will seek out the series. 

Safe House

Garry Disher's Sanctuary (2024) is a crime thriller about a woman trying to escape her past. Grace is a thief, skilled at stealing small, expensive items like watches, coins, and stamps. She is smart, and knows what to look for.  But the nature of her work means she is always on edge - constantly scanning her environment, looking for exit paths, and trying to keep track of the lies she needs to tell.

Grace not only needs to make sure she does not get caught, she also needs to avoid people from her past. She swears she saw Adam Garrett at the Brisbane stamp expo, and she does not want to run in to him! 

After a near miss at the expo, Grace goes on the run and ends up in South Australia at a small town in the Adelaide Hills. Here she meets Erin Mandel, the agoraphobic owner of an antique store, Erin offers Grace a job, a home and an opportunity for a normal life.

But it soon becomes apparent that Grace isn't the only one in hiding. Erin also has someone looking for her. They are both being stalked by dangerous men, but neither knows about the other's past. The two women have become important to one another and have started to finally feel safe. Which one will be confronted by their past first? 

Sanctuary is quite different from the other Disher novels I have read and loved which were more like police procedurals.  Here we follow the criminals, rather than the cops. I really liked Grace as a character. She is a loner, desperate for connection. She also has a good heart - helpful to strangers and keen to ensure she is only robbing those who deserve it.  

Initially I found it hard to get into the book as it was not what I expected, but I was quickly sucked in by Disher's excellent storytelling and was eager to find out what would happen to Grace and Erin. This is a fantastic standalone crime novel - although I do hope that Grace appears in a future novel.

My reviews of other novels by Garry Disher are also available on this blog:

• Bitter Wash Road (2013) - Hirschhausen series 1
• Peace (2019) - Hirschhausen series 2
• Consolation (2020) - Hirschhausen series 3
• The Way it is Now (2021) 

Devotion

Helen Garner is one of my favourite writers. I have read so much of her past work - fiction, non-fiction, diaries - that I have often said I would read anything she writes, even her shopping lists! The last time I saw her speak was at the Sydney Writers Festival in 2023 when she was talking about crime and justice and was asked about what she was working on. Garner mentioned then that she was planning to write about AFL as she is a Bulldogs supporter. At the time I wrote 'I am not a fan of sports ball, but Garner can make anything interesting'.

Her latest work The Season (2024) is the book she was referring to. Her youngest grandson Amby plays in his local under-16s team - the Colts. Garner goes to the training and the matches and bonds with her grandson over their shared love of the game. She observes these boys, on the cusp of manhood, as they share the highs and lows of the season. 

This is not really a book about football. Garner writes:

'I'm surprised how many people jump to the conclusion that it's something polemical, a critical study of football culture and its place in society, informative, analytical, statistical. Really I'm trying to write about footy and my grandson and me. About boys at dusk. A little life-hymn. A poem. A record of a season we are spending together before he turns into a man and I die.' (p92)

This is what I love about Garner. She is forthright and does not shy away from writing about vulnerability - the frailties of aging, battling with Covid, loosing a game. Garner lives in the house next door to her daughter and three grandchildren. The family bonds are lovely as they share meals, watch footy, talk about haircuts. They are devoted to one another and to their love of the sport.

I lost interest when Garner wrote about various Bulldogs players and did not care for the mechanics of the game. But Garner is so good at looking at the human aspects of mateship and team bonding, as she describes the boys tackling one another and rallying to bolster their fellow players. While trying to keep her distance as an observer, Garner becomes quite attached to Amby's team  - Boof, Meth, Angus, Remy, Silas etc - and becomes familiar with the coach and various parents who cheer on from the sidelines. She writes lovingly of these young men and how they support one another on and off the field. And as I read, I cared for them too and was cheering them on from the sidelines as they advance towards the grand final. 

I have only ever been to one AFL match when my friend Susan took me to see the Sydney Swans play about twenty years ago. While I enjoyed the match, and my friend did her best to explain the rules to me, it never took hold of me the way that many of my friends have embraced the sport. 

So, did The Season make me interested in AFL. Nope! But I was interested in Garner's take on the sport, its rituals and fandom. 

Like much of her writing, Garner is ever present. She shares her anxiety about taking on this topic for a book and speaks with candour about her limitations. Now in her eighties, Garner writes about aging and her difficulty seeing and hearing the games played in the low light of winter. She describes not wanting to return a stray ball as it has been seventy years since she last kicked a ball and fears embarrassment.

The Season is not my favourite Garner, but I enjoyed reading it. This is a charming love letter to her grandson and the game she loves. 

My reviews of other works by Garner appear on this blog, including:

• The Spare Room (2008)
• This House of Grief (2014)
• Everywhere I Look (2016)
• Stories - Collected Short Fiction (2017)
• Yellow Notebook - Diaries 1978-1987 (2019)
• Postcards from Sydney - Diaries 1987-1995 (2020)
• How to End a Story - Diaries 1995-1998 (2021) 

Little Fires Everywhere

In March 2024 The Atlantic magazine published a list of great American novels of the past 100 years. There were many books on the list which I have but not got around to reading. Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here (2019) was one of these books which has languished unread, despite so many people recommending it to me. On 1 January 2025 I picked it up and was immediately engaged in this wonderfully hilarious story. 

Raised by a single mother, Lillian Breaker grew up poor. She was bright and studied hard to win a scholarship to an elite boarding school where she meets Madison Billings, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy family. The two share a dorm room and become fast friends, despite their differences. An act of poor judgement by Madison results in Lillian leaving the school. Madison continued on her trajectory to attend university and marry well, while Lillian continued on hers. Now 28, working two jobs in retail and living in her mum's attic, Lillian never lived up to her potential and escaped her circumstances. 

The two friends kept in touch, writing letters to one another. Madison's latest letter comes with an opportunity for work if Lillian is prepared to relocate to Tennessee. With nothing to lose, Lillian goes to Memphis and finds her friend living in a mansion with her Senator husband and their young son Timothy. The job offer is highly unusual. The Senator was married previously and has ten-year old twins, Roland and Bessie. Their mother has died and now they need to come and live with him. Would Lillian be a governess to the two children and ease their transition into the family?

Lillian has no skills in child-rearing and has no desire to be a parent. But she is kind of intrigued by one fascinating aspect - the twins have a rare condition which causes them to spontaneously combust. When they burst into flames they are unharmed, but all around them catch fire.  Lillian agrees to meet the children and realises that she may just be able to put her own childhood trauma to good use and make a difference in their lives. Over the summer Lillian throws herself into caring for these feral twins and does all she can to make sure they don't burn everything to the ground.

Nothing to See Here was such a fun novel to read. Lillian is such a quirky character and I absolutely loved her! She is a red hot mess, but is such a delightful narrator.  I enjoyed seeing how her relationship with the children unfurled. The premise of the story is utterly ridiculous but so well written and laugh out loud funny. Amongst the frivolity, Wilson has some serious messages about class and inequality. A really enjoyable novel to start off my reading year.

High Achiever

Dervla McTiernan's Cormac Reilly crime series began with The Ruin (2018) in which readers were introduced to the Detective Sergeant who had recently moved to Galway with his girlfriend Emma.  In The Scholar (2019), Reilly is back and this time he has personal reasons for wanting to resolve a case. 

Reilly is a decent, hard working cop who doesn't want to participate in office politics or put up with slackers. After a year of working in Galway, he still hasn't found his footing and has been relegated to working on cold cases. Meanwhile his colleague DS O'Halloran is swamped in cases and struggling to find a balance between work and her family. She needs to offload some work to Reilly, and he is keen to take on active cases.

One night Reilly's partner Emma stumbles across a body in a parking lot at the pharmaceutical lab where she works. A young woman has been killed in a hit-and-run. Despite the potential conflict of interest, Reilly takes on the investigation. The case becomes highly sensitive when a connection is found to Carline Darcy, the granddaughter of the wealthy businessman who owns the lab. Can Reilly solve this case without involving Emma? 

This was a great crime novel - fast-paced and easy to read. I figured out whodunnit quite early, but it was interesting to see how the story would unfurl and there were still quite a few surprises. I really like McTiernan's writing style and her characterisation of all the cops at the station. In each novel she adds more layers of information, which make me want to continue with the series and see how Reilly evolves. Fortunately, I have the third book, The Good Turn (2020), and the fourth novel, The Unquiet Grave, is due out in May 2025 so there is plenty to look forward to.

My review of other DS Reilly novels can be found on this blog here:

• The Ruin (2018)  (Reilly #1)

Planning for 2025

2025 marks my 15th year of book blogging!

My reading year begins with a review of the stack of books on my 'To Be Read' pile to see which ones need to be prioritised and which can be shelved a little longer. Remaining on my list include:

• Helen Garner - The Season
  
• Evie Wyld - The Echoes
• Emily Maguire - The Rapture
• Hayley Scrivenor - Girl Falling
• Devla McTiernan - The Scholar
• Kevin Wilson - Nothing to See Here
• Garry Disher - Sanctuary 
• Cher - Memoir (Part 1)

I am looking forward to a number of new books due to be published in 2025, including:

• Bernhard Schlink - The Granddaughter (January)
• Constanza Casati - Babylonia (January)
• Sue Williams - The Governor, His Wife and His Mistress (January)
• Anne Tyler - Three Days in June (February)
• Curtis Sittenfeld - Show Don't Tell (February)
• Geraldine Brooks - Memorial Days (February)
• Emma Donoghue - The Paris Express (March)
  
• Graydon Carter - When the Going was Good (March)
• Julian Barnes - Changing my Mind (March)
• Dervla McTiernan - The Unquiet Grave (April) - fourth book in her Cormac Reilly series
• Kevin Wilson - Run for the Hills (May)
• Jacinda Ardern - Memoir (June)
• Taylor Jenkins Reid - Atmosphere (June)
• Irvine Welsh - Men in Love (July)
• Lionel Richie - Memoir (August)
• Robert Galbraith - The Hallmarked Man (September)
• Zadie Smith - Dead and Alive (October)
• Tara Moss - Next Billie Walker book 
• Philip Pullman - third instalment of the Book of Dust trilogy

While I won't get to all of them this year, I have preordered many from my library. 

I have renewed my Quarterly Essay subscription and am looking forward to coming issues by Jess Hill, Hugh White and others. I have also renewed my Audible subscription so will be able to explore audiobooks to enhance my reading.

I am travelling to Canada in 2025 so will add some Canadian content to my reading list. I have blogged previously about my love of Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, Lawrence Hill, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje, Emily St John Mandel, and more. Recommendations from friends are welcome!

For the past few years I have consistently been able to read at least 30 books a year. This year I will push myself by setting a higher goal, aiming for 35 books! I will continue to explore new authors, genres and subject matters. I may even join an online book challenge (#DollopeofTrollope ?) if I can find one that suits me.  To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more broadly, I have updated my annual checklist to add some fun to my reading.

Happy reading everyone!