Emily Paull

BOOK: The Luminaries FORMAT:  Trade Paperback This review constitutes part of a challenge series undertaken by myself and Simon from The Blether . Experts are saying that 2013 was the year of the BIG BOOK and you only have to look at recent release lists to see that this is true.  Weighing in at some 830 pages,  The Luminaries  is not the largest book on the 2013 Man Booker Longlist, but it is quite possibly one of the longest books ever to win- this tally includes 2009 winner Wolf Hall and it's sequel, 2012 winner Bring up the Bodies , both by Hilary Mantel.   The Luminaries can also claim several other accolades.  It is one of few offerings ever to win from New Zealand, and it's author, Eleanor Catton, was only 27 years old at the time she wrote it.  If that's not reason enough to be jealous, it's also a remarkable book. In comparison to other books in the shortlist. Reviews in other news media praise Catton for her use of the astrologic...

These reviews comprise part of a challenge undertaken with Simon from The Blether. BOOK: Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw Format: Hardback There are definite benefits to a diverse longlist.  One of these is the chance for me, as a reader, to immerse myself in the world of another culture completely different to mine, as I got a chance to do this week when I devoured Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw, possibly the best author I had never heard of.  I think it’s really easy to assume that because we’re talking about books in English, the longlist is going to consist of Americans, English people, Australians, Canadians and even New Zealanders.  But the extent of the prize reaches much further.  This is demonstrated by a varied longlist that includes (as well as lots of Irishmen), a Nigerian novelist, a Japanese Buddhist monk, and Tash Aw, who was born in Taipei and raised in Malaysia.  He now lives in London.  His grasp of the English language is ...

Graduation ceremony- February 2013 Best Books of 2013 1) Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas 2) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 3) Elemental by Amanda Curtin 4)  The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan 5) The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt by Tracy Farr 6) The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 7) The Shadow Year by Hannah Richell 8) Eyrie by Tim Winton Knitting for warmth!  Winter 2013 (Thanks for your help, Gma)    9) Lexicon by Max Barry    10) Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Notable Writing Milestones While I didn't manage to get anything published, or even placed in any competitions, I feel as if this year has been about growth.  I have grown as a writer and my support network has grown ever wider.  I am ready for a 2014 full of words and wisdom. Read my short story 'Pretending' at the Subiaco Library in April this year, all thanks to Annabel Smith  who wrote the amazing novel, Whisky...

BOOK:  The Marry of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris Format:  Ebook (Courtesy Sandstone Press) The inclusion of The Marrying of Chani Kaufman in the Man Booker Longlist is quite a coup, but will it prove a coup de grace?   First time novelist Eve Harris is represented by independent Scottish publisher, Sandstone Press who were also responsible for 2011 Longlisted title The Testament of Jessie Lamb , distributed in Australia by Allen and Unwin.  As yet, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman is not available through an Australian distributor. Following the story of 19 year old orthodox Jew, Chani Kaufman, the book is a complex meditation on the meanings of marriage and womanhood among religious Jewish societies in the modern world.  Chani is set to marry Baruch, whom she has met just a few times before his proposal.  She has been rejected by other men in the recent past and views this opportunity as a frightening yet exciting prospect, and possibly her ...

Elemental Amanda Curtin UWA Press, 2013 9781742585062 Nearing the end of her life, Meggie Tulloch takes up her pen to write a story for her granddaughter.  It begins with the first years of the twentieth century, in a place where howling winds spin sat and sleet sucked up from icefloes.  A place where lives are ruled by men, and men by the witchy sea.  A place where the only thing lower than a girl in the order of things is a clever girl with accursed red hair. A place schooled in keeping secrets. Moving from the north-east of Scotland to the Shetland Isles to Fremantle, Australia, Elemental  is a novel about the life you make from the life you are given. This year there were two notable books that could be described as atmospheric.  The first, for me, was Hannah Kent's highly anticipated Burial Rites .  The second was Elemental .  Written by Perth local, Amanda Curtin, this book takes its structure from the four earthly elements of Water, A...

“What, this?” I said, my arm still awkwardly entangled around Aurora’s waist.  “This is Mrs Claus.”   The lie even sounded feeble to me, but this kid was young.  Surely she’d believe it.  Her unnaturally dark eyebrows knitted together in a scowl.  She took in Aurora’s costume, the striped candy cane tights, and the plastic pointy ears.  She shook her head.  “That’s not Mrs Claus,” she wailed.  “That’s an elf!” Then she screamed. Perhaps I should start at the beginning, but sometimes it’s kind of hard to pinpoint that moment, isn’t it?  Did this all begin with Natalia, the Spanish chick in my graduating class who, unbelievably, had let me make out with her behind the demountables instead of going to class?  Did it begin with me not getting into University, and failing to apply for TAFE?  Did it begin with my father telling me that he wasn’t going to let me live like a freeloader in the garage anymor...

I've just recently finished Hugh Howey's Silo trilogy at the recommendation of my significant other, and it's got me thinking about end of the world fiction.  More and more, as I read the second and third novels in this trilogy ( Shift and Dust ) I became convinced that Hugh Howey must be a fan of Margaret Atwood.  While the Silo trilogy is distinctively American, particularly in its description of the US Government's involvement in the central premise, both novels are anti-establishment and environmentalist in scope.  The end of the world, in other words, has been caused by us.  We have ruined our landscape and made it impossible for ourselves to go on living the way we know. In Wool, the first of Howey's trilogy, we are introduced to a new way of life.  People live in a silo underground where their way of life is governed by their specific skill set.  Our protagonist, Juliette, is a worker from Mechanical, way down deep towards the bottom of the sil...

The Goldfinch Donna Tartt Little Brown and co (Courtesy the publisher) Cover (Left) and Painting by Carel Fabritius (Right) I don't recall if I have mentioned this before, but Donna Tartt's second novel The Little Friend  was possibly one of the more disappointing novels I have ever read.  Exciting and well written, it is let down by it's strange manipulation of genre; a murder mystery in which the murder is, frustratingly, never solved.  No wonder, then, that I approached this novel, Tartt's third offering in something like 20 years, with trepidation. I had heard from several people whom I respect greatly that this was an unputdownable novel, exciting, clever and what have you.  The proof copy was no easy acquisition.  And finally, last Friday when I began to read, I was put under it's spell for myself. The story begins when Theo Decker is thirteen.  Having fallen in with a bad crowd, he's managed to get himself suspended and he and his love...

Check out this interview that I did with Rachael Russell from Spout Art. http://spoutart.com/artist-005-emily-paull/ So chuffed to be selected to be part of 31 artists, 31 days. Thank you Rachael!

This is a post out there for all the aspiring writers for whom it's JUST NOT HAPPENING. You're frustrated.  I know.  This might totally wreck my credibility as a writer, but in the past twelve months that I have been writing I have not had a single piece published or placed in a competition and so believe me, I get it.  But what I want to share with you today is a little piece of wisdom that's going to help you get over it and get on with it, and the wisdom comes courtesy of Simon from The Blether. Now as you may or may not know, when I'm not pretending to be an author, I work as a bookseller in one of Perth's better known independent book stores.  I love my job- truly.  It is inspiring to spend my days surrounded by books and people who love books.  But for the same reason it can also be a little daunting.  The world has so many writers in it.  There is no guarantee of a place for me.  Now, you may not know this, but Simon has recent...