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Book Reviews
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Series
What’s good, what’s bad, and what’s in between in literature? Here we review the latest titles.
51 stories
Faith, poetic precision and visionary charge: Patti Smith’s new memoir
The singer-songwriter and poet recounts her childhood in this memoir, the place where “the kingdom of the infinite imagination” first opened beneath her feet.
- Today, 12.00pm
- by Michael Dwyer
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Has the creation of superintelligent AI set us on the path to extinction?
Experiments have shown AIs are surprisingly adept at persuading or bribing humans to do their bidding.
- Today, 12.00pm
- by Andrew Leigh
This tale of Louis XV’s mother seesaws between the sweet and the rank
Carmel Bird’s meticulously researched historical novel imagines the untold story of Marie-Adelaide of Savoy.
- Today, 12.00pm
- by Thuy On
From gothic crime to comedian Ben Elton: 10 new books
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases
- November 14, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
Kerry Greenwood’s final Phryne Fisher novel is joyous, witty and fun
The 23rd – and last – Phryne Fisher mystery has been published. This is how the beloved author, who died in March, would want you to read it.
- November 11, 2025
- by Sue Turnbull
Slave to the rhythm: the 1980s rewound
Tony Wellington’s journey through the 1980s is fast, funny, terrible and gloriously fallible - just like the decade itself.
- November 12, 2025
- by Michael Dwyer
From James Dean to Ferris Bueller this is how teenagers took over the big screen
Journalist Bruce Handy’s fun book examines how teen films have always reflected adolescent concerns throughout history, from James Dean to Ferris Bueller.
- November 12, 2025
- by Tom Ryan
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True-crime supergroup examines our collective obsession with the ‘mushroom murders’
Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein’s The Mushroom Tapes is sensitive, insightful and even funny.
- November 9, 2025
- by Owen Richardson
From the Booker shortlist to celebrity cattle dogs: 10 new books
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases.
- November 7, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
A fresh account of legendary British filmmaker David Lean
A new biography – of sorts – analyses the auteur’s films through the lens of technology, sound and narrative structure.
- November 7, 2025
- by Brian McFarlane
A skilfully woven tale of kindness, friendship – and murder
Bestselling author Sally Hepworth is adept at plot twists and red herrings, and her latest novel is full of them.
- November 5, 2025
- by Candida Baker
From domestic tragicomedy to celebrity poems: Here are 10 new books
Our reviewers cast their eyes over new fiction and non-fiction releases
- October 31, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
Who was the reclusive Elizabeth Harrower? Two biographies wrestle with the truth
Despite the archives of the late author being made public, the life of the acclaimed writer still remains a mystery in two new biographies.
- October 29, 2025
- by Declan Fry
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In her new novel, Patricia Lockwood wonders if she’s lost her mind?
The Midwestern poet turned Twitter celebrity has made a career our of the absurd and the personal.
- October 29, 2025
- by Flynn Benson
A rollicking tale of the life of a secret Gold Coast poet
Journalist Phil Brown worked for 40 years as a journalist and jobbing writer, working on his poetry after hours.
- October 29, 2025
- by Thuy On
Ita Buttrose keeps receipts - but only when it suits
The biggest shock in the former ABC chair’s new memoir is what she leaves out - there’s no tea here on the Antoinette Lattouf case.
- October 28, 2025
- by Jenna Price
The early 20th-century women artists sidelined by men
Drusilla Modjeska’s impeccably researched book writes women artists back into history.
- October 28, 2025
- by Nicole Abadee
The inspiration behind history’s greatest authors? Their feline friends
This delightful book explores the sometimes astonishing insights into the minds of renowned writers and the cats they loved.
- October 24, 2025
- by Carmel Bird
Pynchon’s new book is a brilliant exercise in the allure of fiction
The postmodern master’s first book in 12 years centres on a private investigator’s riotous and continent-hopping journey
- October 24, 2025
- by Peter Craven
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From icy dystopia to the volatile world of crypto, here are 10 new books
Our reviewers on recent new fiction and non-fiction releases.
- October 24, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
Full marks for this biography on ‘the father of nuclear physics’
A test of good science writing is how often you feel compelled to look something up. I found myself boning up on New Zealand history, the first quantum theorists, and on it went. Good stuff!
- October 22, 2025
- by Pat Sheil
Virginia Giuffre’s devastating memoir reveals a lifetime of abuse
The late activist gives her devastating but definitive story of sexual abuse at the hands of some of the world’s most powerful men.
- October 21, 2025
- by Nathan Smith
A heady ride through the golden age of a media empire
Inside the rarefied world of Condé Nast, the publishing giant behind Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker magazines where editors once wielded unparalleled cultural influence.
- October 22, 2025
- by Nathan Smith
A historical tale that cracks along with a masterly gusto
Heather Rose’s new novel is set among the champagne vines of 19th-century Van Diemen’s Land.
- October 22, 2025
- by Helen Elliott
Cosy crime, Gaza’s history and an audacious wildlife feat: 10 new books
Our reviewers’ picks of new fiction and non-fiction releases
- October 15, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
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A brutal analysis of how Australia fits into the Trump administration’s agenda
Clinton Fernandes’ compelling and impeccably sourced book does not paint a pretty picture.
- October 15, 2025
- by Antony Loewenstein
From brooding fiction to moody billionaires, 10 new books to read this week
This week’s reviews range from a stunning work from a new indie Australian publisher to speculative YA, a history of the Spartans, and an optimistic call to arms for how to make Australia better.
- October 10, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
From Jackson to Trump, Mark Ronson’s memoir drops more names than needles
From flea-market vinyl hound to white prince of New York’s hip-hop-fuelled ’90s club explosion, this fever dream of a vanished world will be hard to beat.
- October 10, 2025
- by Michael Dwyer
The lessons we can learn from Jesus’ early radical era
The third title in journalist and author Greg Sheridan’s trilogy about Christianity explores its evolution and influence on Western civilisation.
- October 8, 2025
- by Barney Zwartz
Chilling stories from inside South-East Asia’s ‘scam factories’
This landmark investigation examines the shadowy world of the global hub of cybercrime.
- October 8, 2025
- by Kurt Johnson
Will Trent Dalton rocket back up the bestseller lists with his latest book?
Crime, biography, politics, fiction: there is a bumper crop of new books this month, including the return of a Booker winner after nearly 20 years.
- October 1, 2025
- by Jason Steger
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The true story behind the world’s most famous fake band
In this history of satirical metal band Spinal Tap, the line between fact and fiction is complicated.
- October 5, 2025
- by Michael Dwyer
From breasts to beasts, 10 new books to read this week
From a chilling outback thriller and a dark family saga about intergenerational curses to Stoic philosophy, here’s our literary round-up.
- October 3, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
After the death of her sister, this author wrote a diatribe against social media
UK journalist Adele Zeynep Walton’s call for a new approach to the digital world is passionate, but lacks proper interrogation.
- October 2, 2025
- by Flynn Benson
The fascinating life of one of history’s most cantankerous scientists
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Luis Alvarez was the Indiana Jones of science – albeit a grouchy one.
- October 1, 2025
- by Pat Sheil
The shocking truth about Mohamed Al-Fayed’s decades of sexual abuse
This explosive book about the late owner of London’s luxury department store Harrods is a distressing but compelling read.
- October 1, 2025
- by JP O'Malley
Whisky, war and romance: Fiona McIntosh’s new historical saga
The bestselling author’s new novel is an anticipated sequel to her 2020 novel The Champagne War.
- October 1, 2025
- by Carmel Bird
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This genre-bending book has no beginning and no end – and it’s brilliant
Catherine Lacey’s new novel is both memoir and fiction and the best book our reviewer has read all year.
- October 1, 2025
- by Declan Fry
Sex, drugs and contracts: The Angels’ secrets revealed
Oz rock player Graham ‘Buzz’ Bidstrup lifts the lid on the dark side of showbiz.
- September 24, 2025
- by Michael Dwyer
From serial-killer chiller to the history of play: 10 new books
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction titles
- September 24, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
The long-awaited sequel to Wild Swans is here - and it’s heartbreaking
Decades after Jung Chang’s multi-million selling memoir, Wild Swans, the author brings her family’s story - and that of China - up to date.
- September 24, 2025
- by Michael McGirr
A bold exploration of media censorship around the Israel-Palestine conflict
Randa Abdel-Fattah, who withdrew from the Bendigo Writers Festival, tackles the very issue she faced in her novel set in the world of mainstream media and academia.
- September 24, 2025
- by Sarah Ayoub
Ian McEwan’s new novel features his usual tricks, at a hectic tempo
The British author’s 18th novel is set in a future ravaged by global catastrophes.
- September 24, 2025
- by Peter Craven
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This is one of the best graphic novels I’ve read all year
Lee Lai’s Cannon balances melancholy and a sense of precise observation with a keen sense of humour and intelligence.
- September 19, 2025
- by Declan Fry
The fictional cat who was a pre-meme celebrity and nine other new books
Our reviewers take a look at new fiction and non-fiction releases.
- September 18, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
One kiss changes the fates of two families in this intricate 20th-century saga
Patrick Ryan’s novel, which follows two Midwest American families across several decades, has a particular low-key enchantment,
- September 17, 2025
- by Helen Elliott
Meet a vampire with a difference in this Australian writer’s YA genre mash-up debut
A bookish teen is forced to confront the darkest parts of herself after a strange encounter in the Appalachian wilderness in this fresh take on an old trope.
- September 17, 2025
- by Frances Atkinson
Charlie Sheen comes clean on drugs, booze and womanising … but is he really sorry?
The screen star’s memoir describes a life of excess from his first joint to his very public meltdown.
- September 15, 2025
- by Tom Ryan
From absorbing tearjerker to Miriam Margoyles, here are the latest new books
Our reviewers cast their eyes over new fiction and non-fiction releases.
- September 10, 2025
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
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This Uruguayan-Australian author’s debut is a love letter to the matriarchy
The women in Natalia Figueroa Barroso’s book are fierce and formidable.
- September 10, 2025
- by Sarah Ayoub
