AAR’s Summer Reading Guide

Summer Reading Guide AARAs 2020 comes to an end, Australian Arts Review takes a look at a number of terrific books to while away the hours over Summer. Click on the links to find out more…

AAR-Trent-Dalton-All-Our-Shimmering-Skies-featureTrent Dalton: All Our Shimmering Skies
The bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton, returns with All Our Shimmering Skies – a glorious novel destined to become another Australian classic. Darwin, 1942, and as Japanese bombs rain overhead, motherless Molly Hook, the gravedigger’s daughter, turns once again to the sky for guidance. She carries a stone heart inside a duffel bag next to the map that leads to Longcoat Bob, the deep country sorcerer who put a curse on her family. By her side are the most unlikely travelling companions: a razor-tongued actress named Greta and a fallen Japanese fighter pilot named Yukio. A buoyant, beautiful and magical novel abrim with warmth, wit and wonder, a love letter to Australia and the art of looking up.

Penguin The YieldTara June Winch: The Yield
Winner of numerous awards including the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award, Tara June Winch’s The Yield is the story of a people and a culture dispossessed. But it is as much a celebration of what was and what endures, and a powerful reclaiming of Indigenous language, storytelling and identity. Profoundly moving and exquisitely written. Knowing that he will soon die, Albert ‘Poppy’ Gondiwindi takes pen to paper. His life has been spent on the banks of the Murrumby River at Prosperous House, on Massacre Plains. Albert is determined to pass on the language of his people and everything that was ever remembered. He finds the words on the wind.

Kerry-Greenwood-Death-in-Daylesford-featureKerry Greenwood: Death in Daylesford
Surrounded by secrets, great and small, the formidable Miss Phryne Fisher returns to vanquish injustice. When a mysterious invitation arrives for Miss Phryne Fisher from an unknown Captain Herbert Spencer, Phryne’s curiosity is excited. Spencer runs a retreat in Victoria’s spa country for shell-shocked soldiers of the First World War. It’s a cause after Phryne’s own heart but what could Spencer want from her? Phryne and the faithful Dot view their spa sojourn as a short holiday but are quickly thrown in the midst of disturbing Highland gatherings, disappearing women, murder and the mystery of the Temperance Hotel. Disappearances, murder, bombs, booby-traps and strange goings-on land Miss Phryne Fisher right in the middle of her most exciting adventure.

AAR-Di-Morrissey-Before-the-Storm-featureDi Morrissey: Before the Storm
Di Morrissey AM is one of the most successful and prolific authors Australia has ever produced, publishing twenty-seven bestselling novels. After being double-crossed by a devious colleague, career woman Ellie Conlan quits her job on principle. With no idea what to do next, she retreats to Storm Harbour, an idyllic Victorian beach town. Ellie’s grandfather runs The Storm Harbour Chronicle, the trusted local newspaper. As Ellie is drawn into a story about a development which could split the coastal community – and involves her with the influential O’Neill family – an event she has long suppressed threatens to overwhelm her. Dark clouds gather as rumours fly and tensions mount. And when a violent storm breaks and rages, Ellie will finally have to confront her past.

Rosalie Ham: The Dressmaker’s Secret
It is 1953 and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a past she is desperate to escape and good reason to prefer anonymity. Meanwhile, Sergeant Farrat and the McSwiney clan have been searching for their resident dressmaker ever since she left Dungatar in flames. And they aren’t the only ones. The inhabitants of the town are still out for revenge (or at least someone to foot the bill for the new high street). So when Tilly’s name starts to feature in the fashion pages, the jig is up. Along with Tilly’s hopes of keeping her secrets hidden…

Text-Publishing-Kate-Grenville-A-Room-Made-of-Leaves-featureKate Grenville: A Room Made of Leaves
What if Elizabeth Macarthur-wife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in the earliest days of Sydney-had written a shockingly frank secret memoir? And what if novelist Kate Grenville had miraculously found and published it? That’s the starting point for A Room Made of Leaves, a playful dance of possibilities between the real and the invented. Marriage to a ruthless bully, the impulses of her heart, the search for power in a society that gave women none- this Elizabeth Macarthur manages her complicated life with spirit and passion, cunning and sly wit. Her memoir lets us hear-at last!-what one of those seemingly demure women from history might really have thought. At the centre of A Room Made of Leaves is one of the most toxic issues of our own age- the seductive appeal of false stories. This book may be set in the past, but it’s just as much about the present, where secrets and lies have the dangerous power to shape reality. Kate Grenville’s return to the territory of The Secret River is historical fiction turned inside out, a stunning sleight of hand by one of our most original writers.

Penguin-Mary-Li-Mary's-Last-Dance-featureMary Li: Mary’s Last Dance
The highly anticipated memoir of Australian ballerina Mary Li – and the long-awaited sequel to her husband Li Cunxin’s bestselling memoir, Mao’s Last Dancer. Mary’s Last Dance is a powerful and uplifting memoir about chasing an impossible dream, and sacrificing one’s own ambition for the love of a child. It is a moving and unforgettable story of passion, dedication and devotion – and the highly anticipated sequel to one of the world’s most beloved books. Mary Li (nee McKendry) is an international ballet star and a mother like no other. She became a household name when her husband Li Cunxin published his bestselling memoir, Mao’s Last Dancer – but that book told only half the story. Millions fell in love with Mao’s Last Dancer. Finally here is Mary’s story…

Jimmy Barnes Killing TimeJimmy Barnes: Killing Time
From the rock legend turned master storyteller, this collection of non-fiction short stories is vintage Jimmy. Stories of adventure, misadventure, love and loss from the #1 bestselling author of the critically acclaimed memoirs Working Class Boy and Working Class Man. Outrageous, witty, warm and wise, Killing Time shares more than 40 yarns from an epic life – a dazzling collection of tall tales, out-takes and B-sides from one of Australia’s finest storytellers.

Jane-Harper-The-Survivors-featureJane Harper: The Survivors
The compelling new novel from Jane Harper, the award winning and bestselling author of The Dry. Kieran Elliott’s life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home. Kieran’s parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn. When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away…

David McAllister: SOAR
David McAllister has always belonged onstage. As the middle child in a Catholic family who knew nothing about dance, he watched himself twirl in the reflective glass of the TV and dreamed about becoming the next Rudolf Nureyev. As a little boy taking ballet lessons, he was mercilessly bullied. As a young man joining the ranks of The Australian Ballet, he worried that he would never play the prince because he lacked the height and lean limbs of a classical dancer. Every time he heard ‘no’ – he simply did what he loved – danced. Fifty years since he stepped into his first ballet class, McAllister reflects on his dance journey, his relationships, embracing his sexuality, and the combination of talent, timing and sheer perseverance that gave rise to his transformative career. An inspiring memoir from one of Australia’s ballet greats on finding himself, onstage and off.