AustLit
Latest Issues
Contents
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Brentley Frazer : Scoundrel Days : A Memoir,
single work
essay
'Brentley Frazer has changed names in this memoir to protect the privacy of particular individuals, but every word of it rings true. Children who grew up in far north Queensland will feel Frazer’s descriptions of the place on their skin. Teens who railed against the stultifying suburban hell of late 1970s Brisbane and came of age in share houses, surviving on shit jobs and the dole, will recall the taste of amphetamine and cheap booze and the smell of mouldy sheets on a stained mattress. The story at first glance resembles classic grunge, but proves much more interesting than that narrow pigeonhole suggests.' (Introduction)
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Cat Sparks : Lotus Blue,
single work
essay
'World building is the real star of Lotus Blue, the debut science fiction novel for Australian author Cat Sparks.'
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Caroline Baum : Only: A Singular Memoir,
single work
essay
'Baum’s memoir is replete with examples of emotional deftness of the highest order.
'I have very much enjoyed Caroline Baum’s published essays, and it is a delight to see two of them appearing as familiar landmarks in this big map of a memoir. One, entitled ‘Estranged’, appeared in last year’s collection of essays Rebellious Daughters, edited by Maria Katsonis and Lee Kofman. In that piece, Baum wrote of her estrangement from her parents when she was in her mid-40s. Her rebellion came a little late, she admitted, but from what she told us it was not difficult to understand why it had come so late, and why it had become so necessary. Still, it was heartbreaking to read about it and when, at the end of that memorable essay, she spoke of a reconciliation and alluded to something that was about to happen for which she would have to summon up all the strength of her daughterly love, I was curious. What happened next?' (Introduction)