Emily Paull

Cracking the Spine edited by Julie Chevalier and Bronwyn Mehan published 2014 by Spineless Wonders There are many books on the market that claim to tell the budding writer how to write, but few that provide deep insight into the myriad ways that writing actually occurs.   Cracking the Spine , part short story collection and part theoretical essay collection, fills a gap in the market that sorely needed to be filled. The book begins and ends with two extremely well known Australian writers of short fiction, Ryan O'Neill and Jennifer Mills.  O'Neill's contribution, 'An Australian Short Story' is a pastiche of the Australian fictions which have come before it, and is made up of collaged lines borrowed from famous and well-loved stories.  Ostensibly, the story is that of a failed relationship, but the plot pales in importance when compared to the impact of the structure of the story.  At the other end of the book, Mills' story, Architecture, brings the col...

We Were Liars  is an amazing book; it kept me up reading past bedtime, and it was the first book to move me to tears in a long, long time, despite starting off as a seemingly generic tale about spoilt, old-money rich kids living on a private island off America's east coast... The problem is, I can't really tell you what it's about without spoiling it. So here's a mini review, and a few words to urge you to read it.  And here is a link to the book's page on Goodreads. Thank me later. (Four stars!)

Nest Inga Simpson Hachette 9780733632341 Earlier this year, I decided to take a chance on a fairly popular novel which didn't really seem like my cup of tea.  That book was called Mr Wigg , and I read it in a day and a night, compelled through page after page of fruit picking, cake baking and iron working by the authentic voice of the eponymous character. But I didn't know what to expect from Inga Simpson's second novel.  I knew it was called Nest, so it seemed logical that birds would feature prominently, and I did almost wonder if this book would be more of the same but with birds instead of fruit.  How wrong I was. Nest is a perfect blend of everything that was divine in Mr Wigg  and a heartbreaking suburban story.  At times, it reminded me of the ABC television program 'Bed of Roses', because the town it was set in felt exactly the same.  Jen Anderson (who has changed her surname from Vogel, to cut ties with her past) returns to the place where...

Family Secrets Liz Byrski Macmillan Australia 9781742613925 Western Australian writer Liz Byrski follows on from her previous best sellers with another novel of family and friendship, the themes on which she writes so well.   Family Secrets  begins in Tasmania, as the Hawkins family gather to scatter the ashes of their father and husband, Gerald.  Gerald has passed away after a long battle with moto-neuron disease, and the family can finally concentrate on getting their lives back on track now that the burden of his care is over.  But it's harder than they think.  His wife, Connie travels to France to stay with Gerald's estranged sister, bemoaning the artistic life she gave up when she married Gerald.  Meanwhile, Flora has her own unfinished business with him; a lingering sense of her own low self worth impressed upon her by her brother's strong opinion about her sexual orientation that has left her drifting and unable to put down roots.  His ...

The Miniaturist Jessie Burton Picador 9781447250920 In Amsterdam, during 1686, eighteen year old Nella Oortman travels from the country to the home of Johannes Brandt to take up the position of his wife.  She arrives and is greeted not by Johannes but by his sister, Marin, who it appears will not easily be relinquishing the position of lady of the house.  Also in residence are Cornelia, an outspoken maid, and Otto (Toot), a West African manservant.  More family than mistress and servants, these three draw Nella into a whole new world.  She dreams of love, but when she finally does meet Johannes she discovers that his affections are more of a filial nature.  Bitterly disappointed, Nella despairs of her position in life.  When Johannes gives her a belated wedding gift of a large, ornate miniature of their own house, Nella sets out to furnish it.  If she can have no control over her real home, at least she will have this.  But the mysterious...

My most over-used word for June/ July?  Fail. I think most people are fairly quick to use this word.  I'm having what some writers refer to as a 'dry spell', meaning that I cannot place a story for love nor money (and I'm talking about both journals and competitions here).  It's so easy to just write myself off (no pun intended) and say that it's because I'm no good.... but I'll let you in on a big arrogant secret:  Sometimes I am!  Where does this idea come from, that in writing you're supposed to think you're rubbish, even when you're winning your second Miles Franklin?  Last night I started reading Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer (Thanks to Natasha Lester for the recommendation) and she starts off by saying she thinks it's pretty awful that so many creative writing teachers start by saying that 'Genius cannot be taught.'  Agreed!  Even in the 1930s, someone thought that was a bit off, so why is it still happening?  Fl...

The Giver Lois Lowry In a perfect world in what could possibly be the not too distant future, Jonas is born into a system where everything is organised for citizens by the council, right down to rights of passage like ribbons in the hair and learning to ride a bike.  The story begins when Jonas is an Eleven (eleven years old) and is nervous about his ceremony of Twelve, where he will be assigned his future career based on aptitudes.  He can guess what some of his friends might be given, but Jonas has tried a little bit of everything.  What will he get? At the ceremony, Jonas's name is not called when it should be.  The crowd is just as stunned as he is.  And then, at the very end of the ceremony, Jonas is given a great honour.  He is named the new Receiver of Memory, a role in the community which prevents chaos and fear. Jonas works with a wizard like figure, the Giver, whose job it is to hold onto memories from the old world, memories of snow, of wa...

So if you missed it, this Wednesday past I was an expert guest on the ABC 720 Drive Program... for almost a whole five minutes. Oh yeah. Still, someone thought I was enough of an expert on something to broadcast my opinion to a local radio station worth of listeners and that actually was pretty cool.  The topic was reviews, and whether or not reviews in the big name newspapers still equates to anything as far as book sales go.  We also covered the impact of amateur reviewing on the book buying scene.  All of this was prompted by a glowing review of Tim Winton's Eyrie in the Washington Post. I love reviews.  I have to read a lot for work, but it's kind of a Catch 22, because actually being at work means I am not reading and therefore I don't have enough time to actually read all of the new books that come out.  For people like me, reviews in reputable newspapers are a great time saver, and a great resource for recommending books to customers at the booksh...