Culture
Books
Dystopian fiction rings eerily familiar
Patrick Allington's Rise and Shine has some prickly truths regarding power.
- by Jack Callil
Latest
Literature
The Salt Madonna's slick marketing might drive sales, but are they to the right audience?
It’s got a stormy cover and an exciting blurb. It's eye-catching, but those caught might not be those who will properly appreciate this complex literary work.
- by Emma Young
Opinion
Indigenous culture
Archives are only what the victors have left behind
That might be why a lot of writers who are interested in the past, and how it got us to today, are writing fiction.
- by Jenny Sinclair
Literature
Stories that will grip you, then pull the rug out from under you
Growing Up Disabled in Australia, edited by Carly Findlay, will up-end our ideas about disability.
- by Fiona Capp
Review
My Dark Vanessa might be the best novel to emerge in the wake of #MeToo
Kate Elizabeth Russell's book unfolds with devastating power and psychological nuance.
- by Cameron Woodhead
Good Weekend
Life lessons learnt from the quarterdeck of HMS Surprise
Perhaps all our favourite books do this – teach us something about the world, or about ourselves.
- by Amanda Hooton
Culture wars
'Gobsmacking': Writers savage humanities fee hike
Author Richard Flanagan said Australia would pay a heavy price in the years to come.
- by Broede Carmody and Fergus Hunter
Opinion
WordPlay
Alphabetical order is not always as easy as ABC
Despite our ease with A-to-Z, the sequence needed time to embed into the Western mind.
- by David Astle
Review
Lionel Shriver takes on cult of fitness zealotry in new book
The controversial author also takes aim at charges levelled at her about political correctness, diversity and cultural appropriation.
- by Thuy On
Review
Writing as an instrument of universal understanding
Award-winning Indigenous author Alexis Wright is all for a new kind of writing drawn from ancestral tradition.
- by Jane Sullivan
Review
An optimistic view of human nature
Dutch historian Rutger Bregman argues that humans are not inherently horrible, after all.
- by Michael McGirr