March Reads 2024

Mostly fiction this month which was fun.

Two of the four books were grounded in the authors’ autobiographical experience and Alex Miller’s book is a memoir drawn, with his wife, from decades of his letters, diary notes and writing.

The exception is Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko. Edenglassie is based on real events in Queensland in the 1850s as the aboriginal population navigated their way in the new context of white colonisation. A difficult read, particularly in the early pages, that was well worth the effort. I continue to think about this story and the many tragedies in Australia these past 250 years, that have killed and harmed thousands of first nation people and damaged our collective psyche.

Fiction of this calibre opens one’s heart and mind and invites so many questions. I could feel my personal growth happening as I devoured this beautifully written book.

Question 7 by Richard Flanagan remains a bit of a mystery to me. Like A Kind of Confession by Alex Miller, both books are studies of a life and the communities around these individual lives. Question 7 seemed to be a sad story of loss and love and may need a second read … in a few years time….

Alex Miller is one of my most favorite writers, having captured my attention and devotion with his book Lovesong published in 2012. This memoir “Confession” has me desperate to go and read all of his books that I have not met yet! This book offers many insights into the process of writing as a long, deep immersive process and is coupled with Miller’s deep devotion to his friendships. I go forward regarding him as some kind of role model for human connection and deep reflection that notices the integration of all things. His publishing experience sits in stark difference to the last author’s commentary in Yellowface.

Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang tried my patience and in truth it was a battle to finish it. It is a clever study of self doubt and the harm social media can do to the ego. Access to and dependence on, everyone else’s opinion is not good for the mind or the soul. Social media friends can never replace the perspective and the skills gained from interacting in the real world with each other, as social beings. This story demonstrates brutally that time on our phones, especially on social media platforms, is more likely to amplify one’s sense of isolation and loneliness. This book also asks important questions about the publishing industry, like who decides which voices are heard?

As with all media and art, it is not a level playing field.