Surprising and haunting from beginning to end, this book of short stories by Vietnamese born Australian Nam Le takes the reader to extreme places and circumstances with each tale. Sometimes it is difficult to find poetry in modern writing, or it can seem contrived, however Nam Le has a delicate use of the English language that discovers beautiful intricacies of human nature, or conversely, the dark and hideous depths.
With six individual and starkly different stories it is hard to believe they come from the same writer – ranging from the perspective of a young woman thrust into the world of Islam, to an aging father dying of cancer trying to reunite with his estranged daughter. Each story will wrangle your emotions and send your visual imagination soaring. This young man seems to know no limits as a writer.
- libby munro
Wombat Stew
25th Anniversary Edition
By Marcia K Vaughan and Pamela Lofts
Scholastic Press
$15.99 Paperback
“Wombat stew, wombat stew, gooey, brewey, yummy, chewy, wombat stew”.
After 25 years, the iconic Aussie critters in this tale are no less entertaining or loveable. When a brazen and ‘clever’ dingo catches a fat wombat on the banks of a billabong and decides to pop him into a billycan to make a stew out of him, the wombat’s bush friends work together to try and save him from his grisly fate. It turns out the dingo is not so clever after all, as the animals come up with a tricky plan to help their mate.
The theme of ‘saving the wombat’ is of more significance today than ever, and the decreasing numbers in the wild of some of the other characters make the gorgeous illustrations all the more the appealing. The adorable wombat in the story steals the show.
This well-loved story remains a fun and entertaining tale which, in its collector’s edition, would be a fine addition to a library of children’s classics.
- linda read
Worldshaker
By Richard Harland
Allen & Unwin
$17.99
Other worlds are fascinating places for a reader to escape to and the one in Worldshaker is as complex as it is complete.
This brilliant fantasy by an exciting Australian author hooks readers and reels them in from the first page. It is set aboard a huge ship that is also a whole society – the privileged live on the top decks and the Filthies work hard below.
Col is set to be the next leader of the society, but then a Filthy girl seeks sanctuary in his room and his world, and the structure of things, is blown apart.
Strongly written, the action in Worldshaker barrels along. There are unexpected twists and the humour is slick. The characters are endearing and memorable.
This book is pitched at 13-16-year-olds but would appeal to any lover of the fantasy genre.
- jane fynes-clinton
The Winner Stands Alone
By Paulo Coelho
HarperCollins
Paperback $32.99
Hot on the heels of Paulo Coelho’s biographical tome, The Magician by Fernando Morais (2008) comes Coelho’s twelfth novel and his most flamboyant piece yet, The Winner Stands Alone (2009). Fans of Coelho’s deeply spiritual writing will find he has taken a side step from ethereal themes such as witches and ghosts to approach more tangible situations involving film, fashion and social faux pas.
The Winner Stands Alone uses the Cannes Film Festival in France as its backdrop and observes its posers and players amidst the glitz and glamour of red carpets, champagne-fuelled parties, and over-sized chandeliers. We follow Igor Malev, a Russian entrepreneur who doggedly pursues his dreams to achieve great success but loses his loved one – Ewa – along the way. Igor swears to win Ewa back from the loving embrace of Hamid Hussein, a successful fashion stylist of Arab origin. Never one to make promises lightly, Igor is intent on destroying whole worlds to achieve his goals.
Coelho intriguingly employs his first-hand research of attending the Cannes festival to meditate upon the way innocent dreams can become unravelled by struggles for money and fame. Most interestingly, Coelho is a master of challenging his readers to relate his meditations to their own lives, even if their reality is sans Gucci stilettos and caviar for breakfast.
- frances frangenheim