The 2014 Australian Womens Writing Challenge Wrap Up

It’s that time of year to wrap up the 2014 Australian Women Writers Challenge and I’m pleased to say I made a better effort this year than the measly three books I reviewed last year! And what a great year for reading it has been. Here’s the list of the 26 Australian female writers I reviewed:

     Just_a_girl by Kirsten Krauth

     Letter to George Clooney by Debra Adelaide

Banana Girl by Michele Lee

Like A House On Fire by Cate Kennedy

Beams Falling by P.M Newton

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn

The Women in Black by Madeleine St John

The Mistake by Wendy James

The Poet’s Wife by Mandy Sayer

All The Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld

Tiddas by Anita Heiss

The Jade Widow by Deborah O’Brien

The Tea Chest by Josephine Moon

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell

Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey

Have You Seen Simone? by Virginia Peters

Wildlife by Fiona Wood

In Certain Circles by Elizabeth Harrower

Wild Things by Brigid Delaney

Game Day by Miriam Sved

Vertigo by Amanda Lohrey

This House of Grief by Helen Garner

Return to Coolami by Eleanor Dark

Whiskey Charlie Foxtrot by Annabel Smith

A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists by Jane Rawson

Hades by Candice Fox

   Firstly, all twenty six were a pleasure to read and a testimony to the talent in this country. The breakdown of genres:

YA – 3

Crime Fiction – 3

True Crime – 2

Memoir – 2

Novella – 1

Classic – 3

Contemporary Fiction / Thriller – 9

Short Story - 3

I chose these books spurned by a wide range of reasons thus proving I’m quite haphazard in my book selection: some were from sight at the library or book shop, some from prize winning, some from hearing them reviewed on podcasts, many from reviews in the Sydney Morning Herald, some because the authors spoke at my local library, and yes, some from being mentioned on Twitter (so social media works!). I have to say, the few articles and blog posts last year where people claimed to find it difficult to read a good selection of Australia female writers were quite bizarre: I think there are far too many to choose from and you could spend all year reading quality fiction and non-fiction from the large pool of talented female authors. I’ll be returning to read more from these authors as well, particularly the thriller and crime writers.

So my most memorable five? Firstly, Letter to George Clooney by Debra Adelaide, a wonderful collection of short stories, all of them thought provoking and entertaining. Secondly, All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld which won the Miles Franklin Award over the ‘favourite’ Flanagan. I had read both before the award was announced and wasn’t surprised: I was quite affected by Wyld’s writing and found it to be an assured debut novel. Simmone Howell’s YA novel Girl Defective was charming; I thought it had beautifully drawn characters and a lovely narrative voice. Helen Garner's This House of Grief was number four because she’s brilliant, always. And lastly, Brigid Delaney’s Wild Things which had me thinking about the characters for days afterwards.

Looking forward to another great year of reading in the 2015 Challenge. Many thanks to those who tirelessly coordinate the website and run the social media - your work is appreciated.

*This is part of the Australian Womens Writers Challenge 2014


http://australianwomenwriters.com/

 

Book Review: 'Hades' by Candice Fox (No 21: Crime)

I bought a copy of Candice Fox’s debut crime novel ‘Hades’ after I saw Fox was going to be speaking at my local library: unfortunately I didn’t get to the talk but I did read the novel which won the 2014 Ned Kelly Award for best debut crime. It is indeed a good debut and certainly a plot that demands attention due to its enigmatic characters and grisly murders. ‘Hades’ is the nickname of Heinrich Archer, a huge man who presides over a tip in the Western suburbs of Sydney, where criminals come to dispose of collateral damage. Interrupted by a stranger at his door one night, we meet Hades at the opening of the novel: ‘he was squat and bulky like an ox, power and rage barely contained in the painful closeness of the kitchen’. The stranger wants to offload two small children, whose presence in a bungled kidnapping has become a big problem for some inept crims: they have heard that Hades can ‘fix problems’. And so we are introduced to the back story of Detective Eden Archer, and her brother Eric Archer. The first person narration however, is done through fellow detective Frank Bennett, Eden’s new partner: this outsider point maintains Eden’s mysterious persona, and gives this crime thriller something a little bit fresh.

Eden’s story is drip fed through Frank’s observations and the flashbacks in third person describing Eden’s childhood from her adopted father Hades’ point of view:

‘Eden was a quiet and mysterious child. She kept secrets that he could find no sense in keeping – like where she had been for hours at a time, even if she was only down at the sorting centre helping to fold clothes or over at the gate watching the morning crew arrive. She sang quietly to herself. She did anything Eric asked of her, dropping whatever she was doing to follow him out into the mountain of trash. But she had agency of her own, despite her obedience to her brother. When Hades went to his shed she would be there trailing behind him, strangely frightened that she was unwelcome in his workshop. She would watch him for hours as he sketched and experimented with his sculptures’.

Hades, is in fact, a very interesting character and his home, a huge house filled with broken dolls and towering piles of books, surrounded by scrap metal sculptures made by Eden, is vividly depicted. Frank’s story is more standard detective genre fare: divorced, hiding a dodgy record, and already rubbing Eric the wrong way in the office. He’s a likeable character though: ‘I felt the desire for violence flex in me. A long breath eased through my teeth. I wanted Eden to trust me, as her partner and as a man. She was weird but I liked her. Eric was the predictable catch that came with having a dangerously beautiful and darkly mysterious woman fall right into your lap. I could handle him. He was a prick, a prick with knowledge of my past, but I’d dealt with plenty of pricks in my time.’

We learn little of the killer’s back story but to say anymore would be spoiling the plot. ‘Hades’ has a gruesome premise, and doesn’t hold back in describing fairly cold and ruthless activity. In this way, and coupling with the deliberate mysterious treatment of central characters, elements of ‘Hades’ are over the top: I’m assuming that this is intentional and the aim was to create a hyper dramatised page turner.

Fox writes with confidence and the dialogue and references to police procedures were fine. Like P M Newton’s crime novel ‘Beams Falling’ I reviewed earlier in the year, this novel is set in Sydney, and again I’m pleased to see Sydney used as the backdrop to a detective procedural. Fox’s bio says she hails from Bankstown and she uses little pockets of Sydney that don’t get glamorised very often in Australian literature, Mortdale being a fine example. It’s good to see Western Sydney getting a look in again, like in Luke Carman’s ‘An Elegant Young Man’ I also reviewed this year.

Fox’s next novel has just been released and is titled ‘Eden’ thus suggesting that we are to learn more about the damaged, tough, raven-haired detective. I’m sure Fox will find a committed following for the series.

 *This review is part of the Australian Womens Writers Challenge 2014

http://australianwomenwriters.com/