| Category | Title | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Cinema Non-fiction Tom Shone blockbusters Book Review Free Press movies | Book review: Blockbuster by Tom Shone | Rating: 8 of 10 |
If this was food, it would be a giant tub of fresh popcorn, covered in hot, molten butter, with an old-school choc top for dessert. | ||
| Crime fiction Peter Temple aboriginal australia Book Review crime police Text Publishing victoria | Book review: The Broken Shore by Peter Temple | Rating: 8 of 10 |
In the starkness and wild of the Victorian coastal countryside, a seemingly straightforward murder is committed. Detective Joe Cashin, who is in recovery from a mentally and physically scarring encounter on the job, pushes through the veneer of simplicity, and is plunged into a dark, complex crime... | ||
| Contemporary literature Extreme Dodginess Fiction Vladimir Nabokov Book Review humbert humbert lolita Orion Publishing paedophilia | Book review: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov | Rating: 9 of 10 |
If this was about a pubescent boy instead of a pubescent girl, it would confirm everything a certain sort of person likes to pretend lurks primarily within the purview of the homosexual mindset. But it isn't, so deal with it, heteros. | ||
| Modern fiction Katherine Scholes baby Book Review love Pan Macmillan Australia tasmania | Book review: The Stone Angel by Katherine Scholes | Rating: 5 of 10 |
How do you know it's going to turn out exactly as you think it will down to the last painful ellipses? Probably the proud "international bestseller" label, partially covered by the "$2 Kmart" pricetag. Redeeming feature? It was purchased by someone else. | ||
| Modern fiction Richard Bachman Book Review Hodder & Stoughton | Book review: Blaze by Richard Bachman | Rating: 7 of 10 |
A slow man, a dead man, and a baby - Blaze is a soft-pseudo noir novel with a little crime and a big personality, discarded then resurrected by Stephen King. | ||
| Airport novel Legal thriller John Grisham Book Review Island Books | Book review: The Firm by John Grisham | Rating: 6 of 10 |
Perhaps having read Patriot Games recently has given me a certain intestinal fortitude/high tolerance for pulp. Whatever the case, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t hate The Firm anywhere near as much as I thought I would. Not that I’m advocating the reading of John Grisham as such, but it really wasn’t as bad as all that. | ||
| Fantasy Fiction Neil Gaiman Book Review dark fantasy Headline Book Publishing london | Book review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman | Rating: 7 of 10 |
Neverwhere is a whimsical tale about a man called Richard, doors, rats, myths, and what really happens underneath London. | ||
| Art Biography Non-fiction Peter Poplaski Robert Crumb Book Review comic crumb M Q Publications sex | Book review: The R. Crumb Handbook by Robert Crumb and Peter Poplaski | Rating: 6 of 10 |
If this was funnier, contained no sex whatsoever, five times less interesting to look at, but only slightly more suitable for children, it would be a The Charles Schulz Story, published 1971. (Have you READ early Peanuts? Good grief.) | ||
| Autobiography Non-fiction Travel literature Sarah MacDonald Bantam Books Book Review india religion travel | Book review: Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald | Rating: 7 of 10 |
An incredibly candid exploration of a few of the religious and cultural elements of that great and varied nation, India. Love it or hate it, there's just something about it... | ||
| Classic literature Fiction Evelyn Waugh 1920s Back Bay Books bohemian Book Review jazz | Book review: Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh | Rating: 7 of 10 |
If this was a dance, it would be the Charleston. | ||
