No friend but the mountains: Writings from Manus prison

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Behrouz Boochani, No friend but the mountains: Writings from Manus prison. $32.99

It is hard to know where to start with this, except to say if there was ever a book that should be compulsory reading (especially for politicians) it is this one. It has just won the Victorian prizes for Literature and for Non-fiction, and it easy to see why.

The book was produced over five years from within the Manus detention centre, relayed to his translator in Melbourne by mobile phone texting. … Read more »

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White Houses

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Amy Bloom,
White Houses
$27.99

When I read an advance review of this book, I immediately got onto Candelo Books to order my copy. I have been a huge fan of Eleanor Roosevelt all my life so I was excited to see a new book on her. Eleanor and Franklin entered the White House in 1933, living through one of the most tumultuous times in American history – the Great Depression … Read more »

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The Noise of Time

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Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time, $19.99

Reviewed by Heather O’Connor

I remember trying to read Flaubert’s Parrot years ago and vowing not to try anything by Julian Barnes again. Wrong. I have completely changed my mind – might even go back to it! Early this year I read his 2011 Booker Prize winner, The Sense of an Ending, and then picked up this latest book which I liked even more. It is an account of the life of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), arguably … Read more »

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Everyone Brave is Forgiven

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Chris Cleave, Everyone Brave is Forgiven, $29.99 (reviewed October 2016)

Chris Cleave in his notes at the conclusion of the book tells us that he was inspired to write this book as a tribute to his maternal grandfather, Captain David Hill of the Royal Artillery. Captain Hill served on the island of Malta, where near starvation was as challenging as the almost daily bombing raids by the Germans. Some of the facts of his service are reproduced in the novel, but otherwise, the plot is as imagined by the author. The first few chapters didn’t grab me, mainly because … Read more »

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