Top ‘Books+Publishing’ adult reviews of 2013
In 2013 Books+Publishing reviewed over 130 adult fiction and nonfiction titles. But which books did our reviewers enjoy the most? Here’s a round-up of the top-scorers:
One of the first books to impress our reviewers was Joyful Strains: Expat Writers on Making Australia Home (ed by Kent MacCarter & Ali Lemer, Affirm Press), published in January. Joanne Shiells gave it four and a half stars, describing the collection as ‘intelligent, relevant, absorbing writing’. Released in February, Karen Foxlee’s The Midnight Dress (UQP) was the first book of the year to receive five stars. ‘This is a beautifully crafted story that builds in tension to the final page,’ said Melanie Barton.
In March, J M Coetzee’s The Childhood of Jesus (Text) received four and a half stars from Kate Blackwood, who said the novel ‘will challenge the way we think about this world—and the next one’. The Railwayman’s Wife by Ashley Hay (A&U), which was published in April, received five stars from Paula Grunseit. ‘This is a heart-crunching novel about reading and writing, dreaming and hoping, loving and taking flight. It’s been awhile since I felt so deeply affected by a novel and I will be very surprised if this book is not an award winner,’ said Grunseit.
In July, the short-story collection Transactions (Ali Alizadeh, UQP), the novel Mr Wigg (Inga Simpson, Hachette) and the nonfiction book Fukushima: Japan’s Tsunami and the Inside Story of the Nuclear Meltdowns (Mark Willacy, Macmillan) were our reviewers’ top picks. Of Transactions, Portia Lindsay said: ‘Alizadeh has created a truly global and uncompromisingly frank narrative, spanning the Red Light District in Amsterdam; various war-torn countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan; an Iranian prison; and a British literary festival’. John Purcell said that on finishing reading Mr Wigg he was overwhelmed by ‘that warm feeling that comes from having read something that has strengthened or even reawakened a sense of what is right and good about the world’.
In August, Chris Harrington awarded full marks to Peter Goldsworthy’s His Stupid Boyhood: A Memoir (Hamish Hamilton), while a couple of big-name releases were our reviewers’ top picks in October. Clive Tilsley said he ‘truly believes anyone with an interest in Australia’ will enjoy Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Vintage) while David Gaunt said Tim Winton’s Eyrie (Hamish Hamilton) is the author at his ‘most intense and haunting best’.
In November, Martin Shaw gave Barracuda (Christos Tsiolkas, A&U) five stars and coined a new adjective, ‘Tsiolkasised’, while reviewer Patrick Mullins described The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka (Clare Wright, Text) as ‘lively, incisive and timely… essential reading for devotees of Australian history’. Mapping Our World: Terra Incognita to Australia (NLA), also published in November, was the last of the top picks for the year, receiving five stars from Chris Harrington.
Category: Fancy Goods Reviews
