Book Reviews
West Girls by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s fourth novel is a blunt exposé on girlhood, stripping bare self-worth and beauty to encourage us to question it’s value, as our narrator comes to realise it will only get her so far.
But the Girl by Jessica Zhan Mei Yu
Jessica Zhan Mei Yu’s debut novel explores belonging in a new, enthralling world and delves deeply into the complexities of girlhood.
Kill For Love by Laura Picklesimer
Hailed as the ‘female American Psycho’, this novel that will delight fans of the genre while adding a fresh twist to an old narrative.
the body country by Susie Anderson
Award-winning poet Susie Anderson’s collection of poems is a deeply evocative experience capturing marginalisation, connection and love.
Tissue by Madison Griffiths
Madison Griffith’s nonfiction debut is an ode to complexity, in a searing analysis of abortion and everything it intertwines with.
Women in Translation: 8 Translated Works to Discover this Month
From Bengali to Chinese, Korean to Russian, here are some fantastic reads for Women In Translation Month.
The Exclusion Zone by Shastra Deo
In this engaging, experimental collection, Deo interrogates the effect that ecological collapse has on the self, language and civilisation.
A Dangerous Land by Marisa Jones
Jones’ debut historical novel is gripping and harrowing story of love and war in New Guinea.
The Hummingbird Effect by Kate Mildenhall
The third novel from Aussie literary fave Kate Mildenhall takes us on an epic journey across time through the lives of four different women.
More Fiction to Get Your Hands On in 2023
Alongside fresh new literary voices, and epic tales from old favourites, there’s still a lot to look forward to in 2023.
Alternative Hollywood Ending by Heather Taylor-Johnson
Taylor-Johnson’s sixth collection explores climate change and the environment, the domestic sphere, the political injustices of the Trump era, chronic illness and the body.
Emma of 83rd Street by Emily Harding and Audrey Bellezza
A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma sees our titular heroine experiencing life, love and dating in Manhattan.
A Real Piece of Work by Erin Riley
This ‘memoir in essays’ explores how we create our identities and how we can transcend them.
I Am Homeless If This is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore
Lorrie Moore’s fourth novel is an ornate, interwoven meditation on mortality, where death is “kind of a spectrum.”
Compulsion by Kate Scott
Compulsion is a story about love, yearning and trying to come right in a world that makes it too easy to self-destruct.
Greek Lessons by Han Kang
The masterful Han Kang continues to captivate readers with her profound exploration of language, connection and loss.
Blue Hunger by Viola Di Grado
Grief, infatuation, lust and pain coalesce in this voracious novel of appetites by Italian author Viola Di Grado.
Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
This poignant and multilayered narrative explores themes of war, trauma and the quest for closure.
Owlish by Dorothy Tse, Trans. by Natascha Bruce
This beguiling world of magicians, dolls and sleight of hand mirror tensions in modern-day Hong Kong.
The Dominant Animal by Kathryn Scanlan
The tragicomic narratives in this short story collection border on fable-like, where much is left unsaid and readers are left to consider their own moral takeaways.