Text's autumn Selection
Katharina’s so busy looking after her chaotic family she’s lost sight of her own needs. When an unexpected discovery gets her thinking about what could have been, life spirals out of control. A blackly funny and deeply reflective satire that examines one woman’s fight to have it all.
No two curries are the same. In fact, it is a dish that doesn’t really exist. Using travelogues, recipes, pop culture and his own upbringing, Naben Ruthnum explores how curry has become a maladroit shorthand for brown identity. A sharp, funny essay indebted to Rushdie’s Imaginary Homelands.
An incisive, humorous and heart-rending account of people in post-Communist countries who are nostalgic for their former lives, told through the allegory of the bears of Bulgaria, who, though long since freed, still get up on their hind legs to dance at the sight of a human.
A devastatingly affecting novel from the awardwinning author of Mister Pip. Two mysterious strangers appear at a hotel in a small country town. A flickering sign says, ‘All Welcome’, but hospitality soon descends into deep suspicion. ‘A dark fable of imprisonment.’ Sydney Morning Herald, What to Read in 2018
A captivating novel by visionary author Jesse Ball, inspired by Ball’s late brother. A dying widower with a desire to see the country one last time signs up as a census taker and leaves town with his adult son, who has Down syndrome. ‘So kind, it aches.’ David Mitchell
A poignant tale of grief and memory set in a 1960s Victorian country town. Tom has just lost his boy when he meets bookseller Hannah, a Holocaust survivor whose son died in Auschwitz. Can you lose a child and still believe in love? ‘A novel of great spirit and tenderness.’ Carrie Tiffany
Bear Bavinsky’s artistic genius trumps everything, even parenthood. Living in his father’s shadow, Pinch strives to make himself worthy. But when Bear dies, Pinch hatches a scheme to secure his legacy. A grand, moving family drama set against the prestige of the international art world. ‘A marvel.’ Tom Perrotta.
The groundbreaking story of one of Australia’s most significant but little-known historical figures. Michelle Scott Tucker shines a light on the incredible Elizabeth Macarthur, so often obscured by her famous husband, John. ‘A fascinating, faithful portrait of a remarkable woman.’ Clare Wright.
The intense inner world of Alfred Deakin—scholar, spiritualist, prime minister—is revealed in this acclaimed account. ‘One of the great political biographies of our time.’ Inside Story