Rose Tremain: The Gustav Sonata

Hlahla!

 

Simply messing around in books

 

First up, congratulations to A.S. Patric who has won Australia’s major prize, the Miles Franklin, for Black Rock White City, which we reviewed here:

A.S. Patrić: Black Rock White City

And  three cheers for Patric’s publisher, the small independent Transit Lounge. Although he’s a prize-winning short-story writer, the major publishers wouldn’t even read his book because they thought it wasn’t marketable.

Here’s some other interesting stuff we’ve come across:

Cynthia Ozick, Cinderella of the book tour

Aspiring writers longing for a national book tour should read this hilarious account by Cynthia Ozick in the New York Times:

 

Amy Liptrot: The Outrun

Calling all Callithumpian bogans

MasterChef and the Lamington

My sweet old etcetera

Tobias Wolff: This Boy’s Life

I once went to a writing seminar where the teacher gave us the opening of Tobias Wolff’s autobiography and asked us what we thought happened next*:

Gert’s pinup boy

August 12 was the anniversary of William Blake’s death in 1827.  In celebration of this marvellous man, here are two of his poems: