From a blob to birds:Eight new books to read this week

From a blob to birds:Eight new books to read this week

Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases.

  • byCameron Woodhead andFiona Capp

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All is not as it seems in this risky new Australian novel

All is not as it seems in this risky new Australian novel

Similar in narrative style to Kafka’s The Trial,Lukins’ new novel,centred on the crimes of a wealthy American family,withholds specific details.

  • byJack Cameron Stanton
This book is so powerful,it’s hard to resist the urge to cry

This book is so powerful,it’s hard to resist the urge to cry

Jewish scholar Peter Beinart imagines a world where Jews who support Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and Jews who are utterly opposed make accommodations with each other.

  • byJenna Price
Grief in every detail:Geraldine Brooks on life after loss

Grief in every detail:Geraldine Brooks on life after loss

Brooks’ memoir of her marriage and grief is vulnerable and tender.

  • byMichael McGirr
Rachel Kushner’s Booker-nominated novel questions everything

Rachel Kushner’s Booker-nominated novel questions everything

The Booker Prize-shortlisted author says even when she stays late,she somehow leaves early.

  • byKerrie O'Brien
Once my favourite author,David Sedaris has become a first-class prat
Opinion
Literature

Once my favourite author,David Sedaris has become a first-class prat

I thought it would be impossible for a writer who revels in shock value to get me offside,but then he started talking about wealth.

  • byAnnemarie Fleming
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The extreme measures writers take for a killer book blurb

The extreme measures writers take for a killer book blurb

Blurbs can be a delicate matter in the book world. They can make or break a literary friendship.

  • byDavid Free
‘Bouncy pork’ and ‘clown bus’:The new words that went viral overseas
Opinion
WordPlay

‘Bouncy pork’ and ‘clown bus’:The new words that went viral overseas

Before 2025 gets too old,let’s see the alternative coinages that captured the global year that was.

  • byDavid Astle
Japanese fantasy,espionage and colonial adventure:Eight new books

Japanese fantasy,espionage and colonial adventure:Eight new books

Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases.

  • byCameron Woodhead andSteven Carroll
Neil Gaiman accuser files case alleging sexual assault,human trafficking

Neil Gaiman accuser files case alleging sexual assault,human trafficking

A New Zealand woman has filed a lawsuit accusing the author of rape and his estranged wife Amanda Palmer of presenting her to him for abuse.

  • byTodd Richmond
A solemn reimagining of the 1958 Munich air disaster

A solemn reimagining of the 1958 Munich air disaster

The third novel in David Peace’s football trilogy,Munichs is the story of the aftermath of the plane crash that killed eight members of Manchester United’s team.

  • byAdrian McKinty