Voss

May 26, 2015August 7, 2015 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 9 Comments

Voss, Patrick White, 1957

Australia, #12
Kindle, £4.68 from Amazon
Read May 2014
Rating: 5/5
Recommended for: Fans of Faulkner and Virginia Woolfe (who are looking for something different, of similar quality); lovers of literary fiction who are up for a challenge

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The Shiralee

May 25, 2015August 7, 2015 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 1 Comment

The Shiralee, D’Arcy Niland, 1955

Australia, #11
Paperback, bought from Alibris.com for $0.99
Read October 2014
Rating: 2.5/5
Recommended for: light reading, transparent emotional manipulation

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The Harp in the South

May 24, 2015August 7, 2015 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 1 Comment

The Harp in the South, Ruth Park, 1947

Australia, #10
Kindle, £4.35 for the trilogy (I only read the first book)
Read October 2014
Rating: 3/5
Recommended for: People who like both John Steinbeck and Roddy Doyle

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The Fortunes of Richard Mahony

May 22, 2015August 7, 2015 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 1 Comment

The Fortunes of Richard Mahony, Henry Handel Richardson, 1930

Australia, #9
Kindle, £2.68 from amazon
Read October 2014
Rating: 2.5/5
Recommended for: Those willing to plod through a tedious middle section for the reward of some serious pathos at the end

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Such is Life

May 21, 2015August 7, 2015 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 1 Comment

Such is Life, Joseph Furphy, 1903

Australia, #6
Kindle, free from amazon.com
Read September 2014
Rating: 3/5
Recommended for: People who like Henry Lawson’s subject matter, but want it presented with a plot and a little bit of comedy.

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My Brilliant Career

May 19, 2015July 29, 2017 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 1 Comment

My Brilliant Career, Miles Franklin, 1901

Australia, #5
Borrowed from Camden Library, London
Read May, 2014
Rating: 4/5
Opening Line: “Boo, hoo! Ow, ow; Oh! oh! Me’ll die. Boo, hoo. The pain, the pain! Boo, hoo!”
Recommended for: People who find “Happily ever after” a little bit suspect (especially those who have a sneaking suspicion that it’s the princess who’s getting the raw end of the marriage deal)

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For the Term of His Natural Life

May 15, 2015November 23, 2015 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 3 Comments

Australia, #1
Kindle edition, £0.77 from amazon.co.uk
September 2014
Rating: 3/5
Recommended for: Fans of Victorian adventure stories; people who are interested in reading about Australia’s history as a penal colony and don’t mind it coming with a hefty serving of classism and romanticism.

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