Nina —
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Beyond the promise of an unreliable narrator and a postmodern twist, I had no idea what to expect from Katie Kitamura’s latest novel. An aging actress. A man half her age. The restaurants, theatres, and past lives they seem to share. But, like the metamorphosis that occurs between two acts of a play, Part Two of this story rewrites its earlier half. If you read Audition, please do not try to solve it; to attempt an objective claim about who Kitamura’s protagonist is, and who she is to those around her, would be to undermine it entirely. This is a hypnotic, tense, and sharp illustration of the identities we perform, for others and ourselves, and it left me stunned but nonetheless enriched.
Rachel —
The Montegiallo School of Swearing by Andrew HC McDonald
The Montegiallo School of Swearing is a fun romp through the challenges of making friends in a new community. Brian Chapman buys a villa in Sicily online for one euro after an alcohol- infused evening. What follows is a refreshingly silly version of the “start a new life in Italy” genre. This is neither biography nor travel writing; it is sublimely subversive fiction about an Aussie who starts a language class in a pub where all the locals learn how to swear like an Australian. If you are happy to suspend belief for a while, this is a fun weekend read. Do not pick this book up if you don’t like bad language. What I like about this book is its way of showing that swearing can be both powerful and meaningless depending on your perspective. It’s a fun book about learning a new language and the highs and lows of finding yourself through a new culture.
Annie —
Melaleuca by Angie Faye Martin
Who doesn’t love an Australian rural crime novel? Melaleuca‘s point of difference is that the author and main character are Indigenous, and in the vein of greats like Jane Harper and Chris Hammer, Martin explores broader societal issues through her fiction. Aboriginal policewoman Renee Taylor returns to her small Queensland hometown to care for her ailing mother, but is quickly drawn into the murky history of the town when the body of an unknown woman is found. Jumping between the present day and the 1960s, Martin reveals the ongoing effects of racism and violence in small communities with lyrical, evocative prose. The importance of truth-telling and acknowledging our painful past is clear, as is the strength that can be found in listening and speaking out . I can’t wait to see what Detective Taylor gets up to next!