• Sue McCauley – Landed

    Landed - Sue McCauley

    Landed

    Sue McCauley
    A novel rich in character, ‘Landed’ invites the reader to travel alongside Briar Howland, an aging woman who has survived two marriages (one husband walked out, the other took his life) as she gets to grips with the abrupt changes in her life. Juggling the various roles of single woman, ex-wife, mother, grandmother, sister-in-law, and friend, she tries to define and realise her own aspirations.

  • eleanor catton – birnam wood

    Elaeanor Catton - Birnam Wood

    Birnam Wood

    Eleanor Catton
    Set in New Zealand, this inspired, character-driven thriller by Booker-Prize-winning Eleanor Catton has the flaws of human nature at its heart. However, the scope of the story stretches beyond the particular, to reflect on global issues surrounding climate change, and the human hurdles that impede meaningful progress.

  • horse – geraldine brooks

    Horse - Geraldine Brooks

    horse

    Geraldine Brookes
    Two stories, one set in the nineteenth century, the other in the twenty-first, interleave. An oil painting of a renowned racehorse connects the two, as does ruthless racism, which governs the lives of both protagonists. Heartrending, immersive and grounded in fact, this is a stellar and poignant read.

  • small things like these

    small things like these

    small things like these

    Claire Keegan
    A gentle, yet profound tale set in Ireland during the era of the Magdalen laundries, that explores the exponential impact of doing good.

  • grand

    grand

    grand

    Noelle McCarthy
    Journalist and broadcaster Noelle McCarthy’s confrontingly frank reflections on her relationship with her mother, her Irish heritage, and alcohol. Powerful. Humorous. Heart breaking.

  • better the blood

    better the blood

    better the blood

    Michael Bennett
    When Māori detective Hana Westermann connects two apparently random murders to an historical crime committed during the colonisation of NZ, she has to race against time to prevent further deaths. The challenges and tensions she faces are made all the greater for her own morally complex backstory.

  • how to end a story

    how to end a story

    how to end a story

    Helen Garner
    The honesty with which Garner shares deeply personal dairy entries (1995-1998) about her failing marriage to writer Andrew Bail makes for a profound and poignant read. She has a remarkable ability to drill down to the very core of human nature.

  • all the young men

    all the young men

    all the young men

    Ruth Coker Burks & Kevin Carr O’Leary
    The remarkable true story of how one young woman, a solo mother from Arkansas, tended to young men who’d been shunned by society and left alone to die of the feared and little understood “gay disease”. Advocate, educator, carer and empath, Ruth Coker Burks fought prejudice and hypocrisy at every turn to afford comfort, support and a final resting place to many victims of the AIDS crisis.