MARCH/APRIL REVIEWS

Books Reviews

Let us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Another great novel from the exceptional Jesmyn Ward and the opening line sets the pace:

"The first weapon I ever held was my mother's hand."

Annis and her mother are enslaved on a plantation.

When her mother is sold off and they are separated, not long after she is sent to a chain gang, moving from North Carolina to Louisiana. This section is long and arduous. It has taken some criticism, but Ward always delivers reality. Her words are smooth and poetic. Annis dreams wildly and heavily about her mother, and where she may be. The story takes many twists and turns and whilst quite brutal at times - this was Wards intent - there is hope and humour laced within.

Jesmyn Ward is easily one of the best young African American writers writing today. I always look forward to her next book.

Orbital: a novel by Samantha Harvey

A marvellous novella, set in one day in space where much happens. It follows each astronaut on their routine for that particular day. The space of space is momentous as you read. The simplicity of their everyday routines against this epic backdrop of numerous days in one is a revelation. Samantha creates such an atmospheric novella, and a meditative experience. This is one of those beautiful stories where nothing seems to happen, but yet everything is happening. You can see why it won The Booker.

A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle

I really enjoyed this Australian novel about finding yourself. It is a difficult one to write about without major spoilers. It tells two stories simultaneously, about 2 queer girls. One who is found by her parents in the back shed with another girl at 15, beatings are had, and she runs away never to return. Her life is full of twists and turns, but ultimately she is living as herself. The other young girl keeps her queerness to herself, and lives a good but hidden life for 30 years. The stories intertwine and are interesting and as you move through you start to wonder if this is as it appears, is it about 2 different characters or...well, that would be a spoiler. Highly recommend.

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

4th in the Thursday Murder Club series. I continue to enjoy these romps with our four main characters, seniors solving murders. When their friend, the antique dealer is murdered, they must try and solve it. The world of these books continues to grow, as does the depth of the characters. Things get dark in this one, but it is still a great read with humour interlaced. 

Tilda is Invisible by Jane Tara

Tilda is middle aged, has adult children and is divorced. When she literally starts to disappear she realises she needs to make some changes in her life. This was fun, if you delve too far into it you noticed the clunkiness, the flaws, and the annoying bits, but reading it about the surface, you laugh and have a bit of an escape.

Killing Time by Alan Bennett

This is a short novella about a nursing home in lockdown. As always Bennett, now in his 90s, is sharp and witty and honest and bold. 

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

They say truth is stranger than fiction, and no more than The Art Thief. This is the true story of a young couple who stole a lot of art from galleries and museums. They retell the story to the author who tells it in his own words. It is a fascinating look into how poorly galleries and museums are set up, especially the small ones. And how brazen people can be. It was a page turner like a thriller novel, except this was real. I really enjoyed this one.

The Season on talking book read by HG

I have reviewed this gem before but when the spoken word version, with Helen herself reading it, came through at work I had to listen to it. Listening to Helen read her story is better than reading it yourself. Her tone, inclination, and subtle humour shines through.

The Shadow Box by Jean Kent

Lovely poetry set against the Parisian backdrop by local poet Jean Kent.

Unveiled: a memoir by Vincent Fantauzzo

Vincent Fantauzzo is a great portrait artist, his amazing portrait of Daniel Johns won the Packing Room prize at The Archibald, and he has submitted many to the competition, but never won. HIs memoir tells the tale of his tragic childhood and how art saved him. A fascinating insight into the art world and the man himself.

Dare I Say It: everything I wish I'd known about menopause by Naomi Watts

I have reading much about Menopause lately so this didn't really tell me anything different. But this is totally worth reading, it is smart and intelligently informative. Each chapter has a little recap which is great. Naomi has been advocating for Menopause knowledge and understanding for ages now, probably one of the few celebrities really putting this out there. She seems genuinely concerned. Worth a look if you need this.

Film Reviews

Strange Way of Life

A Pedro Almodovar short film, 31 minutes, staring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as cowboy lovers. A strong and powerful film but I wanted more.

EO

EO is about a donkey who is travelling through its world in Modern Europe, it get moved by humans, ill-treated, escapes and goes on its own journey. Basically a story about the inhumane some animals are treated. It was pretty full on.

Fun Mum Dinner

I watched this for Toni Collette, Bridget Everett, and Molly Shannon. Look, it was a silly comedy with a very boring script, but seeing these wonderful gals on screen was joyous.

Mafia Mamma

Toni Collette finds she is summoned to her Italian roots after her grandfather dies, only to find she is now head of a mafia family. Look, this was ok, a bit of fun, but nothing too deep. Collette is always good in anything she does, despite a dodgy script.

Television Reviews

Severance S1

We started watching this when it first came out and found it a bit heavy going. When we returned to it some time later we were hooked. It is hard to write about without spoilers. It is one of the best shows I have ever seen. We watch as Adam Scott turns up to work and find out he has been 'severed' and leading essentially two lives. One at home where he doesn't know what he does for work and one at work where he has no recollection of his life outside of work. This is something you can do, but why? What is the organisation that does this, who is running the show and why are there glitches. Absolutely compelling viewing, very dark comedy interweaved with intense drama. 

The cast is phenomenal with Scott being joined by John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, Zach Cherry, and a bunch of amazing unknowns. The stand out being Tramell Tillman as their stitched up boss Milchick. Also visually exquisite, this show is unlike anything you have ever seen. We devoured it and have many many theories!

The White Lotus S3

This definitely was the weak link in the chain of this series. Nothing really happened until the very end and then it was predictable. As always there were no redeeming characters, but that is ok. I was just bored by this one.

The Handmaid's Tale S5

I am way behind on this series, mostly as I need to garner up the courage to watch it. It can be difficult, this picks up after the wonderfully gruesome ending to S4 and we follow June back into Canada. But life on the outside isn't great without her daughter or Gillead still operating. I do love this show but boy, it can be rough.

The Newsreader S3

As we head into the 80s, the demons of our lead characters are breaking through the cracks. The news covers The Logies, Oil Spills, and the Berlin Wall amongst other news. There are triumphs and some comeuppances! This is so well produced, the set design, hair and makeup and so forth, you are truly transported.

Documentary Reviews

Becoming Led Zeppelin

Great doco about how Led Zeppelin formed and came to be. Loads of music, interviews, excess, and humble brags...exactly as you would expect. It was a great watch.

Little Richard: I am everything

This is a little underrated gem, much like Little Richard himself. Such a showman, such a tragic character. It follows his trajectory and interviews loads of musicians, most of whom explain what they stole from him.

John Water's moustache is because he loved Little Richard, Elvis called him The King, Mick Jagger watches him and realised you can use the entire stage and not stand in one spot to sing.

I covers his dark years after his car accident and his triumph of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is a special documentary, and well worth watching.

SHE'S SO UNUSUAL: She's an International Treasure - CYNDI LAUPER IN CONCERT

I have loved Cyndi Lauper since she burst onto the scene in 1983, I was 12. I was always drawn to the unusual, and she certainly was, she said so herself!

It was her voice, the music, the colour, the clothes, and the fun she was definitely having. Girls Just Want to Have Fun was an anthem then, although I didn't know that, and it still is.

When she announced this tour and it was coming to Newcastle I was excited, but then I found out it was at The Shed, I hate that venue. Some friends were thinking of going, but that fell through and I decided I would get a ticket and go solo. But then other friends decided to go and invited me, yay! And we got some really decent seats, especially given it was pretty last minute.

Because it was last minute and because it was the Monday after the Writer's Festival weekend, I hadn't really thought about expectations. We arrived and caught the last 2 songs from The Veronicas, and they seemed like a tight group with good voices.

During the break we sat and took in the crowd, a real range of ages from much older than us to young kids and everyone in between. There was a lot of dressing up and colour and so much laughter and joy. It was contagious and fun to be within. We were in the 12th row which was pretty close. Behind us was a lady with the exact same cut and colour from Girls Just Want To Have Fun film clip, it was her own hair and I was super impressed and gave her two thumbs up, lol!

I read a review a few days later that said it was more than your average concert, and that was an understatement.

The vibe was high as they played a video montage of her career, and the enormity of Cyndi as an artist really sank in, I got emotional and very excited.

The huge glitter bombs popped on stage and she appeared and got straight into She Bop, the perfect opener. We were on our feet and in awe.

In fact, the first 4 songs, She Bop, Goonies theme, When You Were Mine (which Prince wrote for her) and I Drove All Night, showed the powerhouse singer and range in style that she has. 

Each song had videos made to go with it which added to the spectacle and her band were really tight. They were a mix of young and old and all were excellent musicians, who obviously loved being there and playing with Cyndi.

But Cyndi, she was amazing!

Almost unbelievably so.

She looked great, sounded fantastic, and told many amusing and interesting stories in between the songs. Stories of her life, her feminism, her songwriting and more. 

And that accent, absolutely adorable.

ONce she swore, looked into the audience and saw kids and apologised, she was very humble and sweet.

She spoke about Molly and his support but then also mentioned he had been cancelled, which is not exactly true but close, lol.

She spoke about women in rock and how elder statesmen in the industry were dismissive of her and she ratted off a list of strong women who came before her. This led into her singing Wanda Jackson's Funnel of Love!

The concert was incredibly arty, and she spoke about that, from the set design, to the costumes, to the videos, it was as visual and it was musical. 

She wore this amazing flowing white dress during I drove all night, to which old cars were projected, very clever. She said she wrote that, because there were so many songs about men and cars, why can't a woman write one too!

There were many costumes changes, some funky and cute, and some extravagant and mesmerising.

She wore a washboard dress to Iko Iko, so she could get her rhythm on.

For the haunting, Sally's pigeons, she wore a dramatic black dress, but pulled off her wig for a pared back look. She wore many wigs during the night. During one costume change, the cameras were with her to see how it happens so quickly. She was full of praise for her stage, hair, beauty help, and for her band. It is clearly reciprocated too.

She finished the show with Time after Time, and a very rousing version of Money Changes Everything, but we knew she would be back for an encore, but we didn't realise how amazing it would be.

Just to the right of our seats, was an area, that we thought was a mixing desk, but no, it was a small stage, and for the encore she came down the aisle and went to that stage.

We were beside ourselves, we moved ever so slightly to be closer and if we had reached out we could have touched her. Grins on faces all round, we just couldn't believe our luck!!

She sung Shine, and then some fans started up and she reached into an old suitcase for a rainbow coloured long scarf, and sang True Colours and it was jaw droppingly good. Her voice, as good, if not better, it sounded as good as the record, truly beautiful and emotional moment.

Then she talked about a famous artist she had met, and I realised she meant Yayoi Kusama, and she changed into a red and white dotted dress and made her way back to the main stage to the opening strains of Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Her bands were dressed similarly and they pumped it out.

The evening ended with small cannons pushing out streamers of red and white into the crowd. Everyone was on a high, it was one of the best concerts I have seen I declared as we walked back to our car.

She fierce and authentically herself, she was a role model to women and the most brilliant performer; what a show!!!!

Setlist

She Bop

The Goonies 'R' Good Enough

When You Were Mine

I drove all night

Who let in the rain

Iko Iko

Funnel of Love (Wanda Jackson)

Sally's pigeons

I'm gonna be strong

Sisters of Avalon

Change of heart

Time after Time 

Money changes everything

Encore

Shine

True colours

Girls just want to have fun

NEWCASTLE WRITER'S FESTIVAL 2025

 As always NWF 2025 is my weekend of the year, I am a Librarian after all!!

I have also always called it Mecca for Book Lovers.

It is pure joy, and so incredibly stimulating.

Here is my breakdown.

Opening Night: Benjamin Law in Conversation with Gina Chick

I have never missed an opening night, and whilst I didn't really know Gina Chick, that didn't stop me. I do however love Benjamin Law. I first came across him as a journo and columnist for various quality mags and newspapers. His book came across my way at work and I read it immediately recognising his name. And then I loved him even more.

I was lucky enough to meet and have a conversation with him at the Newcastle Young Writers Festival well over a decade ago. And remember him and his partner at Marieke Hardy's curated People of Letters Program at the 2014 SWF. I don't really get fanatical about performers, but I do love to share the love around, and Ben is one of them.

So I was keen. 

It was a great night. The usual chats and thanks from ever brilliant MC, Dan Cox, Uni VC, and our heroine of the moment, Festival director, Rosemarie Milsom.

Ben was Ben, charming and intelligent and hilarious. Gina Chick was entertaining, better than I thought. Whilst she poo-pooed Woo Woo and Hippyness, she was definitely a good smattering of both. Some of her stories were fascinating, others not so much. I didn't hate her, but definitely didn't mind her.

SATURDAY 5 APRIL

Saturday is the big day! It is not for amateurs, lol! I go all in on the Saturday, and for the past few years Andrew was with me, this year also. He loves the weekend as much as me now, which is kinda everything to me!

We arrived early, around 8.45am, to get breakfast from Olive Tree markets, and then head to our first session.

Breaking the news: the future of media 

Rick Morton and Eric Beecher were in conversation with Kylie Morris. Rick is a young and wonderful journalist for The Saturday Paper. His autobiography, One Hundred Years of Dirt, is remarkable. Eric Beecher is the editor of Crikey! Kylie Morris is a Foreign Correspondent, she is the wife of Bharat Nullari, director and show runner for Boy Swallows Universe.

They spoke about the media today, the future and all things Murdoch. Spoiler: they are not fans, lol! It was such an honest and glorious chat about their backgrounds, and past work, and work today. They have different styles, but clearly think similarly. These people that report honestly, are the heroes of today. Was a pure pleasure to be in their midst.

A wild life: Markus Zusak in conversation

This was a big one, you could feel the excitement in the air as people lined up outside the theatre at The Con. My history with Markus goes way back. When I was a new Library worker, I did a lot of kids and teen work and programming. He was a teen writer back then, and I had enjoyed his book, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, a book about boxing for tween boys.

I headed to a Teen Conference at the NSW State Library in the early 2000s and Markus was our guest speaker. He was there to talk about writing for teens, and his new book, yet to be published, The Messenger. He would have been in his mid to late 20s, but looked much much younger and was very good looking. You could feel the silent oohs of a room full of Librarians straighten up and sigh with a smile. He was either on his way to or from his publisher and showed us his manuscript for The Messenger, with playing cards taped in - just as they would be in the book when I read it later in the year.

You knew he would be a star.

How much of course, was beyond our wildest imagination.

So twenty years later I saw him again, and he was everything. Humble, funny, intelligent, warm, generous and engaging. He was in conversation with the lovely Dan Cox, and talking about his new book, a memoir of his dogs. He held the audience in the palm of his hand. He is the superstar of Australian writing. The author who struck gold. And yet, he was so available and open to everyone. He signed books for 3 hours after his session, ensuring every person got a good chunk of his time. His appearance was simply a gift to book lovers.   

I cannot wait to read his book and wish I had time to line up and tell him the above story, I think he would have loved it.                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                  

Theory and practice: Michelle de Krester

I was thrilled to see Michelle de Krester in conversation with Michaela Kalowski. I have loved her work since reading the epic Questions of Travel many years ago. Her books are highly philosophical and at times a little stream of consciousness. She plays with book format, and her latest is the perfect example. She wrote it as if it was non-fiction, it is a novel, and she purposely used many non-fiction tropes within it. I had read and enjoyed the novel, Theory and Practise, but struggled with it at times, this was when she changed the writing style. Had I known this going it I think I would have loved it more. I need to re-read it. 

She spoke about the research for the book, and whilst fiction, how much of it was based on her own time at Uni. She also went into behind the scenes of writing, her style, and especially her style in this latest book. She was exactly as I imagined, quietly spoken but strong of convictions, highly intelligent, lovely and beautifully presented.

After the voice referendum: Thomas Mayo in conversation

While I was at Michelle de Krester, Andrew went to Thomas Mayo in conversation with Clare Wright. He said it was an uplifting session, with a lot of hope. Very powerful and wonderful.

LUNCH

Breaks are important at festivals such as this, you need sustenance to keep you going and you run into friends. I love festivals for catching up with friends I have not seen in a while or close friends. This is one of the best aspects of the festival. We found a great Woodfire pizza near the Uni, especially for the festival, and enjoyed a nice pizza. This gave up time to debrief, see and chat to friends, and take five with some yummy food before going back into it. 

The men who killed the news: Eric Beecher in conversation

After lunch, we headed back into the media landscape. Eric Beecher again, this time in conversation with the goddess, Jennifer Bryne. They spoke about his latest book, which 'lifts the lid on the abuse of power by media moguls', and his grand career as a journalist. They had worked together, way back, and had a great rapport. Both Andrew and I have a big crush on Jennifer so it was great to see her there in front of us. I loved that Eric said the news of now and the future are podcasts and Substack, two things where I mainly get my news from now. Phew, I am not as old and backward as I have thought. This was a good session.

Stories with heart: Anita Heiss in conversation

Anita is a long-time friend, so seeing all her sessions was a must, and I will try not to be biased, lol. Anita was in conversation with Courtney Collins. Both had a great rapport, and the session was a sheer delight. Hilarious and insightful this was a cracking session. Anita talked about both her new books, Dirrayawadha, historical fiction about the frontier wars in Bathurst, and Red Dust Running, chick-lit. 

She had the audience in the palm of her hands, with her fabulous commentary, about love, life, Indigenous history, and behind the scenes of writing. She commenced the session with a call to country in indigenous language, which is a real treat. She spoke with Courtney about her work, she is prolific, and her new publishing company, and everything in between. Engaging, and generous, this was a fun and informative session.

DINNER

We had a few hours break before our last session, so jumped on a tram and headed up to the beach, then had a light dinner at Grain Store. We then headed back to the playhouse for the final session. While waiting, we got to see some of the authors arrive for the session. Andrew was thrilled with a small exchange with one of his faves, David Marr. I was thrilled to see Marieke Hardy, who looked amazing. We caught up with friends and excitement and buzz was in the house.

Better off said: eulogies for the living and dead

Better off said is Marieke Hardy's latest salon and it is a cracker. Her first was women (and sometimes men/people) of letters, where she would curate a group of women (men/people) to write a letter about a specified topic and they would give a live reading of it to an audience. I have been lucky enough to see a few Women of Letters, and they are always magnificent. My favourite was at SWF some years ago, and it was couples reading letters to each about how they feel about each other. Dr Karl and Zan Rowe, about working together, Ben Law and his long time partner, and so on. But the evening ended with David Williamson and his wife. She spoke first and about helping David through his recent stroke. Not a dry eye in the room, and when David took to the stage he was so emotional he couldn't go on and the night ended abruptly!

Better off said is similar, still a letter, but to someone or something you know or knew and things you wish you had said to them. 

The evening was hosted by Emilie Zoey Baker, under the watchful eye of Marieke. Zoey was the perfect host, quirky and funny, kind and welcoming.

The first author was Krissy Kneen with a hilarious but touching reach out to her ex best friend. Krissy was wonderful, a great start to the evening. Anita Heiss was next with a love story to her father, who passed 10 years ago. It was very warm, funny, but also not a dry eye in the theatre at the end of hers. She really rose the bar. Next up was Nikki Gemmell, with tribute to her recently passed father. Sulari Gentill told a great story about a lawyer who saved her bacon very early on in her law career. He was from the opposite side but still fixed her mistake and was an older, polished gent named Rolly. Hers was a thank you to him, and of course she named her main character in her series, Roland, after him.

David Marr rounded out the evening with a brilliant eulogy to Rupert Murdoch, who had passed on this very day at 108. It was eloquent, clever, sharp, political, and hilarious as only you can imagine. Marr at his finest, he had the audience in awe and laughing. It was a charming and lovely evening. I got to speak to Marieke on the way out, thanking her to her involvement in Broad Radio, which I love. She was really chuffed, genuinely too. I hate fangirling over people, it is so very uncool, but if I can think of something genuine to say and the timing is right, I find you get genuine back.

It was the perfect way to end a perfect day, we got home around 9.45!

SUNDAY 6 APRIL

After hitting our fave cafe for a big breakfast, we headed for Sunday, a much lighter day.

Culture and the creative spirit

We split up for session one. I was at Nardi Simpson and Anita Heiss in conversation with Kate Mildenhall. This was by far Anita's best session. I was there early, had a chance to chat to Anita and to listen to Nardi warm up. Nardi is a musician and poet, her songs are stunning. She was walking nervously around the room humming to herself. 

The session started with Nardi singing us a song in her language, one she had written earlier that morning while going for a walk at the beach. It was stunning. I have sung indigenous songs in choir, and they are always beautiful to sing, a lot of vowels which open the song up, and almost always in the minor key. So she had us all hooked in and a little teary. 

Both Anita and Nardi were differing writers, and personalities, and yet they complimented each other beautifully. They both spoke about country and writing about it, how they write, when they write and how creativity is sparked. Whilst they both spoke about their new books, it was more about writing, their heritage, and what they most want to convey with their words. This was great.

The correspondent: Peter Greste in conversation

While I was with Nardi and Anita, Andrew was with Peter Greste. He said it was pretty intense hearing about Peter's ordeal, but how he dealt with it then, and even now. He said Peter was quite commanding, but also humble and lowkey. He also was amusing, talking about the film coming out about his experience with Richard Roxburgh playing him. Sounded like a great session.

Pushing the boundaries: John Safran in conversation

Another biggie, we headed to Safran. We both fell in awe/love with Safran from Race Around the World. I had recently read his book and had very mixed feelings about it, mostly worried for his mental health. He was in conversation with his good friend Marieke Hardy, and it was a great conversation, they have great chemistry, and he indeed seemed ok. He spoke a lot about the book and why he did it but mostly the first half of the book, which I loved, and not so much about the later half. This was what I found concerning, so I guess spoilers. He was funny and Safran, the session was wonderful.

sidenote: Good friends were at the session, and then headed to Darby for lunch, he ended up at the same cafe. They chatted to him and he ended up heading to their place nearby. I saw a message from them as I was leaving the festival but was tired, I didn't read it properly until I arrived home. They had invited me over, I was stuffed so dumbly declined. They said he was lovely and quiet and interesting.

LUNCH

More catch ups and chats with people we knew, and lovely savoury crepes for a light lunch before Andrew headed home. He had a great weekend and had thoroughly enjoyed himself, how my heart swells at this. To know my partner in crime enjoys what I enjoy means everything to me.

About a boy: Helen Garner in conversation

And so to my final session, one of my all-time favourite writers, and easily Australia's best writer, Helen Garner. She was in conversation with Rosemarie and the theatre was packed. I was in the sort of front row. I had run into an ex-colleague and her family beforehand. I had not seen her in a long time, so was thrilled to see her, I took my seat right next to them, how perfect!

As soon as Helen and Rosemarie took to the stage, I teared up. I get so emotional with some people, Helen is one. She means so much to me and I know at 82, she is getting on. She certainly writes about it in her latest book, The Season. She was sharp and smart and funny as always, but you know, this might be the last time I see her IRL. I felt a little silly for getting weepy and hung my head a bit until I realised it might look like I was falling asleep lol. After I saw a close friend and they said they also teared up for the same reasons! Yes, I felt much less silly.

Anyway, Helen spoke about her book, her family, writing and everything. She was generous with her words and her time, and she had us all in awe of her genius. Rosemarie did ask her what was next, and she said she had nothing. This was dreadful to hear, I suspect she will write small things for serials and newspapers as she always had done, but The Season may be her last book.

It was the perfect way to end my festival, I mean, how can you top Helen Garner, I drove home for a long nap.

Huge thanks to everyone who pulls together this special weekend, I know it is a huge cast of behind the scenes people and volunteers. Just marvellous. But without the incredible vision of Rosemarie Milsom, there would be no festival. What an inspirational woman, thank you!!!