Cass Moriarty, author of The Promise Seed and Parting Words, is back with more fantastic reviews for us.
Death in Her Hands (Jonathan Cape Penguin Random House 2020) by Ottessa Moshfegh is a superbly intimate study of a possibly unreliable narrator in a captivating setting. An unsettling note found in the woods leads to a sinister blurring of truth and imagination.
The Safe Place (Affirm Press 2020) is a compelling psychological thriller by debut Australian author Anna Downes, with an enchanting but sinister setting, unsettling characters, possibly unreliable narrators, gradually increasing suspense, evocative writing and engaging dialogue. A dream job in a luxury French estate with a sophisticated family; what could possibly go wrong?
Throat (UQP 2020) by Aboriginal, queer, non-binary poet Ellen van Neeven is meditative, vulnerable, confronting, honest, intimate and brave. A tender and thought-provoking collection.
Griffith Review 69: The European Exchange (Griffith University 2020), co-edited by Ashley Hay and Natasha Cica, includes contributions by authors such as George Megalogenis, Julienne van Loon, Christos Tsiolkas, Lee Kofman and Frank Bongiorno, on topics ranging from multiculturism, colonialism, war, history, art, refugees and identity. A densely packed, informative collection by some of Australia’s brightest intellectual writers.