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Absolutely not: Joanna Lumley on why Ab Fab could never be made today
In the countdown to her Australian tour, the grande dame of English comedy explains why the outrageous Patsy Stone is a creature of the past.
- by Kerrie O'Brien
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The Beach Boys tell their own story of triumph and tragedy
It’s not all good vibrations, as our reviewers reveal in this week’s pick of fiction and non-fiction releases.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
Pet Shop Boys on Taylor, Beyonce and making their own ‘queer album’
More than four decades on, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are still making pop’s most transcendent music.
- by Robert Moran
His book was rejected 13 times, now it’s a hit TV show
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel The Sympathizer won him a Pulitzer Prize and employs cinematic tropes, but that doesn’t stop him being a fierce critic of the Hollywood machine.
- by Kurt Johnson
Is the ‘Troye Sivan bump’ real? This cult singer-songwriter is about to find out
The Aussie pop star sampled Jessica Pratt’s singular vocals on his last album. Now Pratt returns with her adventurous Here in the Pitch.
- by Robert Moran
This exhibition from Australia’s most ambitious regional gallery is a Francophile’s dream
Bendigo Art Gallery’s collaboration with the Musee Carnavalet embraces the romance of Paris’ Belle Epoque.
- by John McDonald
Dramatic novel asks pertinent questions about mental health treatment
Anne Buist’s experience as a perinatal psychiatrist informs the novel she has written with Graeme Simsion.
- by Jessie Tu
This classy detective novel marries weighty concerns with playful delight
Steven Carroll’s latest novel represents a shift in genre after his prize-winning books about T.S. Eliot.
- by James Bradley
A scathing portrait of London, a society steeped in corruption
Andrew O’Hagan’s latest novel is a sprawling bit of social realism that exposes the inner workings of a society.
- by James Ley
Was Juliette Binoche wary about acting with her ex? It’s complicated
The Taste of Things director Tran Anh Hung found his co-stars’ history was a recipe for success.
- by Stephanie Bunbury