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WBN advance reviews >

Echolalia (Briohny Doyle, Vintage) 

Wednesday, 7 April 2021
Echolalia, Briohny Doyle's skilful second novel, concerns a family on the verge of disintegration. Skipping elegantly between chapters set before and after a traumatic event that changes the family irrevocably,...

Gunk Baby (Jamie Marina Lau, Hachette)

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Leen has opened up a massage and ear cleaning studio in the suburban wastelands of Par Mars. Her shop is housed in the second-best shopping mall in the district—Topic Heights....

Dear Ibis (Kate Liston-Mills, Spineless Wonders) 

Wednesday, 31 March 2021
From the author of The Waterfowl Are Drunk! comes an elegant and moving collection of short fiction set principally in New South Wales. With stories taking place against the backdrop...

A Glasshouse of Stars (Shirley Marr, Puffin) 

Tuesday, 30 March 2021
Meixing and her family have recently arrived in the New Land with hopes of a better life. Everything is different for Meixing, including the large house that is now the...

As Beautiful As Any Other (Kaya Wilson, Picador) 

Tuesday, 23 March 2021
As Beautiful As Any Other is a joyous and thoughtful memoir–travelogue covering the terrains of both the body and the environment. Kaya Wilson's voice makes the reader feel immediately at...

Monster (Ashleigh Synnott, Puncher & Wattmann) 

Wednesday, 17 March 2021
Monster is a collection of dark, finely written short stories by debut author Ashleigh Synnott. The stories are peopled with eccentric, predominantly female characters living atomised, often isolated lives. Mental...

Elsewhere Girls (Emily Gale & Nova Weetman, Text) 

Tuesday, 16 March 2021
Acclaimed authors Emily Gale and Nova Weetman have teamed up to write this beautifully rendered time-slip narrative that delves into the personal and social struggles of young women past and...

Artificial Intimacy (Rob Brooks, NewSouth) 

Tuesday, 2 March 2021
According to evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks, the future holds an abundance of artificial intimacy. New sex technologies, from sex robots to virtual reality porn, will anticipate our every desire. So...

Common Wealth (Gregg Dreise, Scholastic) 

Tuesday, 2 March 2021
In light of the recent change to the lyrics of ‘Advance Australia Fair’, as well as the ongoing debate surrounding January 26, this impassioned plea for recognition and unity from...

The Shape of Sound (Fiona Murphy, Text) 

Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Just like any relationship, even our relationship with our own body can be fraught with difficulty and denial. Fiona Murphy kept her deafness secret for 25 years, compensating for her...

Sunburnt Veils (Sara Haghdoosti, Wakefield) 

Tuesday, 23 February 2021
Sunburnt Veils is a debut Own Voices novel that feels very relevant, and author and political activist Sara Haghdoosti’s voice is fresh and edgy. At times it is uncomfortable to...

No Document (Anwen Crawford, Giramondo) 

Wednesday, 17 February 2021
In this arresting book, Anwen Crawford reckons with the death of a close friend and comrade. Seeking a language suitable for grief, Crawford stitches together material from a wide range...

The Truth About Her (Jacqueline Maley, Fourth Estate)

Wednesday, 17 February 2021
There is a lot to love about Fairfax journalist Jacqueline Maley’s debut novel, the ripped-from-the-headlines story of Suzy, a journalist who’s blamed for the shocking death of Tracey Doran, a...