Entries by Darryl Butler

Boy Swallows Universe

Trent Dalton, Boy Swallows Universe, $32.99

I admit to nearly abandoning this novel after the first 50 pages, but I persisted and am glad I did so (on the recommendation of the staff at Candelo Books – thanks again!) It is the first book of award-winning journalist Trent Dalton and has been received to wide acclaim.

Set in Brisbane in the 1980s, it is a stark reminder of the corruption, crime and racism that infected Queensland. The story is of two brothers, told through the eyes of the younger … Read more »

Yellow and Black

Konrad Marshall, Yellow and Black:
A Season with Richmond, $34.95

Normally, the monthly Triangle review involves a best-seller, hopefully with fairly wide appeal. But this one is unashamedly for the handful of AFL tragics, of whom I am proudly one. Detailed conversations, descriptions, explanations covering one season for the Tigers – the Premiership year of 2017. How could it warrant a book of 500 pages? Easily!
Sixty years of following Aussie Rules and I had no idea … Read more »

Dancing Home

Paul Collis,
Dancing Home.
$29.95

Thanks to the Bermagui U3A, I was introduced by one of our fantastic teachers, Debra Cushion, to the David Unaipon Award. This annual award is to acknowledge previously unpublished Indigenous writers, and is supported by the national treasure which is the University of Queensland Press.

Winner of the 2016 Award, Dancing Home is the first novel of Paul Collis, a Barkindji man from Bourke. He has worked with young offenders and in … Read more »

New Power: How power works in our hyperconnected world – and how to make it work for you.

Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms,
New Power: How power works in our hyperconnected world – and how to make it work for you.
$32.99

For someone totally uninterested in technology like me, this was a difficult book, but one that I acknowledge is important as I try to understand the changing world. There was a wealth of information about the new media, emerging industries, new ways of organising for social change; I learnt of organisations of which I … Read more »

Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race

Reni Eddo-Lodge
,
Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race
$28.00

The genesis for this book lies in a blog written by the author, who is a journalist. She wrote of her frustration about the manner in which race and racism is being discussed in the UK. Her ideas went viral, and resulted in her decision to write this book.

This book is not for the faint-hearted white reader who refuses to acknowledge the structural … Read more »

Saga Land: The island of stories at the edge of the world

Richard Fidler and Kari Gislason, Saga Land: The island of stories at the edge of the world, $39.99

I chose this book for the Triangle review because I presume many readers are fans of Richard Fidler’s interviews on ABC radio. I also recently read his book, Ghost Empire, relating the trip to Turkey he took with his son, and loved it. I was also interested in the book because I know virtually nothing about Iceland.

The structure of Saga Land is interesting: the two authors write … Read more »