Cass Moriarty (Author of The Promise Seed)

Cass Moriarty rated a book The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
After fulsome adoration of HAMNET and LAND, I reached for the novel by Maggie O’Farrell in between those two that I’d missed: THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT (Headline Publishing 2022). Written in O’Farrell’s consuming and evocative style, it is another triump ...more
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Cass Moriarty rated a book it was amazing The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 (The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion #1) by Beth Brower (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Thanks to Fiona Stager for pressing into my hands this whimsical, witty, sardonic, clever and entirely amusing comedy of manners set in 1883, THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION (Vol 1 & 2) by Beth Brower and published by Bloomsbury Publishing in ...more
Sep 25, 2026 03:03AM · 1 like · like · see review
Cass Moriarty rated a book it was amazing The Beauty of Broken Things by Melissa Sharman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
THE BEAUTY OF BROKEN THINGS (Hawkeye Publishing 2026) is the connection of three stories that weave together to form the complex life of author Melissa Sharman: her experience of childhood abuse and her shocking near miss with an infamous child kille ...more
Sep 23, 2026 09:14PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Beauty of Broken Things by Melissa Sharman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Beauty of Broken Things by Melissa Sharman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cass Moriarty rated a book it was amazing For A Moment More by G.S. Johnston (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
G S Johnston’s poignant and dynamic novel FOR A MOMENT MORE (Broadcast Books 2026) is a fictional account of a particularly traumatic, divisive, misunderstood and tragic time, that of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the mainly 80’s and 90’s. For me, this ti ...more
Sep 19, 2026 03:36AM · 1 like · like · see review
Cass Moriarty rated a book it was amazing Land by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Maggie O’Farrell, the best-selling author of HAMNET, brings us her latest historical masterpiece LAND (Hachette 2026), a story of one particular piece of land, one geographical spot in Ireland, and the happenings there over centuries. O’Farrell is a ...more
Sep 14, 2026 05:50PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Land by Maggie O'Farrell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Land by Maggie O'Farrell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cass Moriarty rated a book it was amazing The Lost Island by Samantha Wheeler (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
THE LOST ISLAND (UQP 2026) by award-winning author Samantha Wheeler is a mystery adventure story for young readers aged eight and up. Set somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, this tale of young Theo and his fight for survival in the wilderness is an emoti ...more
Sep 13, 2026 05:08PM · like · see review
Cass Moriarty rated a book it was amazing Whistler by Ann Patchett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
After reading all of Ann Patchett’s fiction, and almost all her non-fiction, I can say with confidence that a new Patchett book will capture your heart and emotions from the first pages, shake up preconceived ideas, throw in some twists and surprises ...more
Sep 12, 2026 03:32AM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Whistler by Ann Patchett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Whistler by Ann Patchett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cass Moriarty rated a book really liked it Postscript: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters by National Library of Australia	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
POSTSCRIPT: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters (National Library of Australia 2026) by various contributors is a moving, tender, curious and enlightening collection of old letters found in the archives, each with a response (inspired by either ...more
Aug 30, 2026 07:16PM · like · see review
Cass Moriarty rated a book it was amazing Circle of Wonders: An extraordinary novel of awe and wonder perfect for readers of Charlotte Wood, Clare Keegan and Andrew O'Hagan by Kathryn Heyman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This book, this CIRCLE OF WONDERS, is truly an awe-inspiring novel about death and grief, forgiveness and friendship and family. I cried. I too have lost a dear friend too soon, as in this story. I’ve lost a daughter much too young. Both to cancer. A ...more
Aug 24, 2026 06:48PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Circle of Wonders by Kathryn Heyman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Circle of Wonders by Kathryn Heyman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cass Moriarty rated a book it was amazing And in the Morning by Lenny Robinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
AND IN THE MORNING (UQP 2026) by Lenny Robinson collates three stories of women and men (often sons) woven together into a compelling tale of love, sacrifice, desire, grief and survival. The first story, set in 1919, sees Lily and her three-year-old ...more
Aug 23, 2026 07:03PM · 1 like · like · see review

Cass Moriarty rated a book

The Marriage Portrait
by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)

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After fulsome adoration of HAMNET and LAND, I reached for the novel by Maggie O’Farrell in between those two that I’d missed: THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT (Headline Publishing 2022). Written in O’Farrell’s consuming and evocative style, it is another triump After fulsome adoration of HAMNET and LAND, I reached for the novel by Maggie O’Farrell in between those two that I’d missed: THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT (Headline Publishing 2022). Written in O’Farrell’s consuming and evocative style, it is another triumph of characterisation, place and plot.

THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT is perhaps more of a traditional historical novel than the other two. Set in 1561, it centres on 16-year-old Lucrezia, married into the title Duchess of Ferrara when she was betrothed to the elusive, charming, unknowable and unpredictable Alfonso. Until their marriage, Lucrezia led a sheltered life with many siblings, doting parents, countless servants and soldiers to ensure their safe and easy life in one of Florence’s grandest palazzos.

A twist of fate (rather than love or even prior arrangement) orchestrates her marriage to Alfonso, a man much older and more experienced than her. But she is determined to be a good wife, and to represent her family name in words and deeds.

The novel shifts backwards and forwards in time, beginning on a journey when Alfonso takes Lucrezia away from her maids and entourage, and away from his protectors and the stability of his established manor, to visit a country villa. A beautiful place, by all accounts, but the natural wonder cannot unseat Lucrezia’s creeping suspicion that Alfonso means her harm, perhaps even to kill her at this isolated place, without witnesses. But she has only her wits about her to guess at his motives or plans. What is she to do? What can she do? She is no match for Alfonso’s strength, resources and power.

So the novel opens with this very tense time in the countryside, Lucrezia trying to predict her husband’s actions, then goes back through flashbacks and memory and sidebars to her childhood and growing up and all that has led to this one moment of terror. After the first chapter, the reader feels all is lost. What chance does she have? But subsequent chapters reveal that Lucrezia is clever, sly, witty and well used to the bartering and push and shove that occurs in large families. She is not without her own resources, few though they may be.

As a very young child, it was rumoured she had touched a tiger, and that the beast didn’t harm her, in fact let her stroke it, almost as if she had charmed it.

My only (small) criticisms of this book fall towards the end so I can’t say much without spoilers, but I will say that I thought the book was rushed, or finished more quickly than I expected. I would have liked to see more of the final pages. And secondly, the narrative device used by O’Farrell for the resolution is very like one she has used in another recent book; again, no spoilers, but I did get a bit of a de je vu feeling, almost like I’d read that / seen that done before.

But … tiny critiques in what is undoubtably a magnificent historical novel filled with the romance, drama, tragedy and comedy of the time, and with a truly wonderful and engaging female protagonist. Despite being set over 500 years ago, the characters are as real and compelling as if they lived today – their language, motivations, desires, ambitions, worries and loyalties as relatable now as five centuries ago.

And something I do love about all of O’Farrell’s books is that they proffer alternate possibilities to the history recorded in books, paintings, birth and death ledgers, church and state records. They demonstrate how easily these names / details could be changed back then with the stroke of a pen. No digital footprint. And then the new information becomes true, becomes history, and people rely on it going forward. Even now, 500 years later, when researching, we rely so easily on documents that could easily be forged, damaged, misrepresented, erroneous or purposely duplicitous. ...more

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The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 (The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion #1)
by Beth Brower (Goodreads Author)

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Thanks to Fiona Stager for pressing into my hands this whimsical, witty, sardonic, clever and entirely amusing comedy of manners set in 1883, THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION (Vol 1 & 2) by Beth Brower and published by Bloomsbury Publishing in Thanks to Fiona Stager for pressing into my hands this whimsical, witty, sardonic, clever and entirely amusing comedy of manners set in 1883, THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION (Vol 1 & 2) by Beth Brower and published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2026. For several days I lost myself in this enchanting period, documented by Emma in a series of daily journal entries.

Emma is in some ways a classic 1880’s figure: the tragic loss of her parents left her at a young age to take up companionship for an older relative, for which she was to be paid a Tidy Sum, until she reached her adulthood and then claim the beautiful ancestral manor, Lapis Lazuli House, in the small community of St Crispian’s. In the meantime, however, her dastardly and eccentric cousin Archibald has taken possession of the house and rather overextended his spending and gambling debts. Emma’s plans for a quiet life of bookish study (and a recovery from her arduous days at Fortitude, A Preparatory Boarding School For Girls) are stymied when she discovers her cousin’s machinations. She is eventually delivered to stay in the garret of the house. There are mice. An imperious butler. A local Roman ghost who appears around the town. Young Hawkes, the vicar, who is the very opposite of who he seems. Emma is expected by her formidable Aunt Eugenia to play companion and chaperone to the beautiful Arabella as The Season approaches and potential husbands are being considered.

And all of this to the backdrop of The Great Burning of 1882, The Scar (inflicted by Emma on Archibald and never forgiven), and the arrival of a rather unusual tenant who takes up residence in the other half of the garret, to assist Emma resolve her poor pecuniary situation.

These two slim volumes together make up the one book, and I believe there are more to follow. Emma is clever, intelligent, scheming, entrepreneurial, adventurous, witty, charming, and not above petty revenge. An astute judge of character, she moves through her world with the utmost grace, determined to make the best of her unfortunate circumstances, even if it means making some deals with the devils around her.

In the background is the death of a former paramour, only hinted at in these volumes but I suspect expanded upon further in latter volumes.

This book is an absolute delight, a heartwarming and pleasant comfort read that denotes with great detail and light the social mores and expectations of the period, with the intrepid Emma at the centre of the tale. It’s laugh out loud funny, sweet, curious, and always with a touch of mystery just beyond the pages. I can’t wait to read of Emma’s further adventures. ...more

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The Beauty of Broken Things
by Melissa Sharman

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THE BEAUTY OF BROKEN THINGS (Hawkeye Publishing 2026) is the connection of three stories that weave together to form the complex life of author Melissa Sharman: her experience of childhood abuse and her shocking near miss with an infamous child kille THE BEAUTY OF BROKEN THINGS (Hawkeye Publishing 2026) is the connection of three stories that weave together to form the complex life of author Melissa Sharman: her experience of childhood abuse and her shocking near miss with an infamous child killer; her navigation of domestic and family abuse, coercive control and guilt; and finally her incredibly generous and courageous initiatives and activism in the world of egg donation and surrogacy, loving and losing her own children, and loving and sadly losing the children of others she helped so hard to become families. But the shining jewel of this book is her achievement of not only founding a support organisation, but assisting in bringing at least 22 babies into the world, some through egg donation and some through surrogacy, a fraught and emotional experience for all concerned.
I was privileged to read an early draft of this memoir and I wrote to the author at the time: ‘You’re an amazing woman. Congratulations on surviving and telling your story.’

Through this warm-hearted, honest, vulnerable, raw account, Sharman opens her chest and shows us her big, beating heart. By the time she is in her thirties, she has lived more lives than many of us ever will. Travel, love, heartbreak, mistakes, poor decisions, generosity, fear, courage, self-identity, passion, spirit and determination to make a better life for her own children, along with assisting other couples to create their own families, are the hallmarks of this beautiful story that I know will help others navigate difficult challenges.

‘Does one keep secrets or do your secrets keep you?’ Sharman explores this question in THE BEAUTY OF BROKEN THINGS, an exquisitely evocative, painful yet optimistic story of childhood trauma, domestic abuse and the ultimate gift of giving joy to families through egg donation and surrogacy. Sharman wears her physical and emotional scars with honour because they represent her mantra: ‘Women are strong and resilient; we can handle more hardship than we ever imagine possible.’

This vulnerable, honest and wise account is beautifully crafted with lyrical phrases and connections to the natural world. It cracks open a carapace of secrets to reveal the dichotomy of terrible abuse and trauma versus altruistic generosity, love and the simple joy of the greatest gift. THE BEAUTY OF BROKEN THINGS is about the family we choose and how hard we fight to build the life we want.

Sharman begins life faced with more difficulties than most and by 15 is an adult in behaviour and lifestyle if not in the eyes of the law. Damaged, frightened, wary and vulnerable, she falls for the first man to show an interest in her and finds herself on the other side of the world with no safety net. Even once back home, as a divorced woman of the grand old age of 18, she has difficulty setting boundaries, telling the right man from the wrong one, and all the while facing the inevitable guilt of giving up a child (what an impossible choice in impossible circumstances), bringing children into the world (what a joy but also what guilt at the instability and possibly dangerous situation she is exposing them to), and her continual, never-ending battle between self-esteem and a fragile ego, between resentment towards her partner and her family and self-loathing for her own behaviour, the dichotomy between the self-less love and all protective guiding hand towards her children and her fear that she has – and continues to have – that she might damage them because she cannot seem to change her behaviour. Even as she works in the domestic violence space, and sees what other women go through, what they will put up with and still stay, what they will not stand for and leave, what is the final straw, she STILL cannot recognise that in herself, or if she does (and it’s not for want of trying – therapy, ultimatums, leavings, promises) she still can’t seem to take that final step.

Her story is, as she says, not linear. It’s not from bad to good to better to best. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, physical and mental injuries, police reports, break-ups and reconciliations. But, in the end, it is a complex story of her life, all the ups and downs, and how she finally came to be free to be herself, to manage her own life and expectations, to protect her children, and to find love again.

And somehow, amongst it all, this extraordinary woman finds her calling: assisting other couples desperate to have a child to achieve their goal. She does this selflessly and with no expectation of reward. But the intrinsic rewards are manifold. Her life has become inextricably intertwined with the women and men she has helped become parents, and just as importantly, she has forged friendships of iron with other women who like her, donate to help others, or who are the beneficiaries of her generosity.

This book is for anyone navigating confronting familial circumstances; it is for every mother who would protect their child with their life; it is for those women who yearn to be mothers, and the women who make that possible without expectation of reward. It is for all of us that believe it takes a village, and that female communities and friendships are the bedrock of society.

Bright, illuminating, vulnerable, wise, evocative and generous. ...more

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For A Moment More
by G.S. Johnston (Goodreads Author)

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G S Johnston’s poignant and dynamic novel FOR A MOMENT MORE (Broadcast Books 2026) is a fictional account of a particularly traumatic, divisive, misunderstood and tragic time, that of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the mainly 80’s and 90’s. For me, this ti G S Johnston’s poignant and dynamic novel FOR A MOMENT MORE (Broadcast Books 2026) is a fictional account of a particularly traumatic, divisive, misunderstood and tragic time, that of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the mainly 80’s and 90’s. For me, this time is represented in my memory as associated with the TV Grim Reaper ads, the ghoulish figure scything down everyone from young children to adults, but of course especially homing in on the queer community, mostly young gay men.

Gays were widely considered to be promiscuous, and along with drug users and sex workers, targeted as the primary ‘victims’, although in most conversations (remember the protests? Fred Niles?) they were denigrated as somehow having brought this on themselves through their actions and choices.

Johnston’s novel is a sometimes sad but often joyful and optimistic account of the opposite side of the coin. He explains how the lack of knowledge of this new and devastating virus restricted any widespread information about protection, either through prophylactics or preventative medication. He details the convoluted journey of medical progress, the experimental drugs, first only for treatment but then for prevention, and the many awful co-existing diseases that developed because of a HIV positive lack of immunity, and how these illnesses were often the ones that caused death. He notes the terrible physical symptoms of HIV/AIDS and the debilitating conditions they caused. He doesn’t hold back. This is a novel that looks HIV/AIDS face on and explores the impact it had then on the day to day life of people who were not only living with the disease, but often without knowing they had it, frightened to admit they had it (especially to family and friends), guilty for believing they had somehow brought it on themselves, at a loss as to how or who to approach for care (and often being turned away or shunned) and feeling survivor guilt as one by one their friends died painful and sometimes lonely deaths.

But despite the subject and awful brutality of this novel, it is not dispiriting or depressing. Rather it is the story of Chris, a young man of 33 who is living with all the emotional and physical effects listed above, but nevertheless attempting to make the best of his life and to make healthy decisions about his lifestyle and relationships.

Set in 1993 in Sydney, Chris has been HIV positive for eight years. He has had a difficult past relationship and is wary of entering another. He has friends and lovers with whom he has complex and complicated physical and emotional navigations. But he does have a sort of epiphany during the midst of the gay ghetto nightlife scene: this disease does not have to be a life sentence, and if he’s going to get through it, he must do everything in his power to alter the course of his life.

This means making some difficult decisions, ones he often cannot square with the opinions of his friends and family, some also HIV positive, who have either a cavalier or depressive attitude, and are unable to share his views. He has experiences both positive and negative with medical professionals and educators. He must overcome his own fear of speaking out. He must decide how hard he wants to fight, for himself and for those he loves. He must choose between telling people what they want to hear, and living his own truth. His life becomes one of resilience and resistance.

FOR A MOMENT MORE is full of acerbic wit (the kind of black gallows humour only the severely ill and dying can muster), fierce love, desire and tenderness, human connection, perseverance, tolerance and compassion. Through this time and story of fear, Johnston constructs a balance of determination, self-belief and defiance.

The postscript, set after the COVID pandemic, echoes many of the same themes, and reminds us of our human vulnerabilities but also the strides in medical progress and viral immunity treatment and prevention.

This is an excellent resource about a time which so many of us know so little about (but unfortunately, for some readers, will resonate all too clearly). Whichever reader you are, this book will engage you in a warm and compelling story.

At the time of reading, I find myself in hospital, and many of Johnston’s references, fears and anxieties are very real to me. It’s comforting to read a version of your own story in another’s writing, even if the subject, content or circumstances may be very different. This is why stories are so important. They breed tolerance for difference, and engender resonance for the familiar. ...more

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Land
by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)

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Maggie O’Farrell, the best-selling author of HAMNET, brings us her latest historical masterpiece LAND (Hachette 2026), a story of one particular piece of land, one geographical spot in Ireland, and the happenings there over centuries. O’Farrell is a Maggie O’Farrell, the best-selling author of HAMNET, brings us her latest historical masterpiece LAND (Hachette 2026), a story of one particular piece of land, one geographical spot in Ireland, and the happenings there over centuries. O’Farrell is a brilliant, evocative writer and it’s easy to be dropped right into the centre of her stories and become immersed in every aspect as if we are living them.
LAND reminds me very much of two other recent novels that focussed on a singular location and all the activities, both human, environmental and animal, that occur there over time: NORTH WOODS by Daniel Mason, and THE END AND EVERYTHING BEFORE IT by Finegan Kruckemeyer, both of which I also loved. The idea of taking the one piece of land where you currently reside, and examining all the many iterations of the uses of that land and the people who have lived there over centuries or even thousands of years before you, is an appealing premise.
In LAND, that place is on a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic Ocean, where in 1865, Tomas and his son Liam are undertaking surveying work for the great Ordnance Survey, a project to map the whole of Ireland. The work is commissioned by the British, and Tomas, while he adores the work of mapping, is unsettled by the knowledge that only a few years earlier, the Great Famine decimated the local Irish people, which leads him to consider the inhabitants of years well before even that time of crisis. Who are the traditional owners of the land? What are the traditional place names? Why do the British get to decide names, titles and borders? It’s a conundrum that bothers Tomas enormously, especially when he stumbles into a hidden copse with a secret (magical?) wellspring that seems to hold mysteries beyond his comprehension. Normally taciturn and quiet, Tomas undergoes a transformation which bewilders his family.
The novel then takes a step backwards, to a time centuries earlier, with the well and copse at the centre of another time of crisis.
But the main story is of Tomas and his family, his wife and children, and the other inhabitants of the small peninsula where they live. As the years pass and his children grow and go their own ways in the world, we are treated to O’Farrell’s masterful ability to encapsulate an individual’s journey both as a part of and separate to the main narrative. His son Liam, only 10 at the time of Tomas’ conversion, struggles to bring his father home safely. Tomas’ wife has her own story to tell. And their other children all take different paths towards adulthood, with many surprising twists and turns along the way.
I found the last third of this book particularly sad and poignant, with sliding doors moments, history repeating itself and characters replicating their ancestors in ways they don’t understand.
To say too much would be a spoiler, but as with any book by O’Farrell, readers know they are in good, safe and confident hands, and will not be surprised by the touch of fantastical / mystical whimsy and nostalgia woven in and out of the story. Exhilarating, courageous, adventurous and evocative, this is a story about separation, connection, belonging, reunion, colonisation, invasion, rebellion, ancient woodland, overlapping lives and a particularly loyal dog who appears again and again over the years. An epic and true family saga covering generations, continents and eons of time. Highly recommend. ...more

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The Lost Island
by Samantha Wheeler (Goodreads Author)

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THE LOST ISLAND (UQP 2026) by award-winning author Samantha Wheeler is a mystery adventure story for young readers aged eight and up. Set somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, this tale of young Theo and his fight for survival in the wilderness is an emoti THE LOST ISLAND (UQP 2026) by award-winning author Samantha Wheeler is a mystery adventure story for young readers aged eight and up. Set somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, this tale of young Theo and his fight for survival in the wilderness is an emotional rollercoaster of family, belonging, resilience and perseverance, relationships with animals, and a touch of magical realism that elevates the story, especially towards the end, with a mystical and charming ambiguity.
After his mother’s death some years earlier, Theo and his Dad have found their groove as a team of two, but this all changes when his father re-partners with Lyn (about whom Theo definitely has mixed feelings) and Lyn’s daughter Mozzie, who is the perfect child: athlete, academic and all-round great sibling (except Theo feels constantly in her shadow). A Pacific cruise (Lyn’s idea of heaven) is Theo’s idea of hell. He doesn’t fit in with the other kids, he hates the Kidz Club activities, Mozzie treats him like a younger bother, and nobody but him seems to be interested in all the nerdy facts he can recite about the world and all the special things about nature and the environment.
So when Theo accidentally falls overboard and finds himself washed up on a lonely, isolated island, he must use all his wits not only to survive the basic necessities (food, shelter, water) but to try to either escape and find his family, or somehow get a message to them that he is alive and waiting to be rescued.
The island is like nothing Theo has ever read about, full of spooky noises, possible ghosts and strange birds that he’s pretty sure are extinct. And when he meets the most unlikely of strangers who become friends, his ideas of what is real and what is dreamlike converge, convincing him he has stumbled upon a magical place where time and history are not what they seem.
Punctuated with illustrations by Anke Noack, THE LOST ISLAND is an exciting adventure story that takes young readers on a journey of mystery and wonder. And as with all books by Samantha Wheeler, animals, the natural world and the protection of our global environment sit at the heart of this endearing tale. Funny, witty, slightly scary, hopeful, determined and full of environmental facts, this book will entice reluctant readers with its fast-paced narrative, and satisfy ardent readers with its emotionally rich characters and spot-on tween dialogue. ...more

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Whistler
by Ann Patchett

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After reading all of Ann Patchett’s fiction, and almost all her non-fiction, I can say with confidence that a new Patchett book will capture your heart and emotions from the first pages, shake up preconceived ideas, throw in some twists and surprises After reading all of Ann Patchett’s fiction, and almost all her non-fiction, I can say with confidence that a new Patchett book will capture your heart and emotions from the first pages, shake up preconceived ideas, throw in some twists and surprises, take you to unexpected territory and by the last pages, leave you simultaneously enormously satisfied yet gasping for more. Her latest novel WHISTLER (Harper Collins 2026) is further proof the reader is in the hands of a masterful writer who combines the daily minutia of life with the great themes of humanity and what it means to belong, to love, to lose, to forgive and to survive.

The cover of WHISTLER (and even the title) is somewhat confounding. Yes, there is a horse in the book named Whistler, but the story is not at all about horses. The horse Whistler is a story within a story within a story in the book, a metaphor about resilience and survival and bonds forged over the passage of time. Whistler (the horse) is a fable, an analogy, a myth. And like all good myths, it is reflective of our current times.

The action begins in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Daphne and her husband are enjoying the exhibits when he notices an older gentleman appears to be following them (or more specifically, Daphne). When confronted, nobody is more surprised than Daphne or Eddie (the older man) that they have stumbled upon each other after more than forty years. Eddie is Daphne’s stepfather, or he was, for the short time he was married to her mother (in between two other husbands). Their time together was brief but impacted by a significant and life-changing event. This event led to the disappearance of Eddie from the family, and for most of Daphne’s life she has blocked out his brief but kindly presence. He was (is) a good man, and meeting again after forty years, their friendship is rekindled, sparked by the traumatic incident when she was only nine years old, and fanned by their new-found respect for each other, and their fond memories of the people they were so long ago.

Together, Daphne and her family (especially her mother and sister) revisit what happened when the girls were children, and how and why life played out the way it did. Eddie discovers his commitment to Daphne is as strong now as it ever was when she was a child.

The story is told mostly in chronological order, from the first meeting in The Met, but is punctuated with scenes from 1980, the time of the incident, told in present tense so it feels very real and current. In this way, we are given glimpses of what happened then, and are able to construct this with what’s happening now in the lives of all the characters.

WHISTLER is moving, tender, joyful, poignant, rueful and optimistic, full of companionship, family, regret, forgiveness, courage, grit, fear and love. The blurb describes the story as ‘… an intimate portrait of the sweetness and impermanence of life …’ and it certainly is a colourful, unforgettable, profound encapsulation of memory, time and relationships. Highly recommend. ...more

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Postscript by National Library of Australia

Postscript: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters
by National Library of Australia

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POSTSCRIPT: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters (National Library of Australia 2026) by various contributors is a moving, tender, curious and enlightening collection of old letters found in the archives, each with a response (inspired by either POSTSCRIPT: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters (National Library of Australia 2026) by various contributors is a moving, tender, curious and enlightening collection of old letters found in the archives, each with a response (inspired by either content, tone or emotion) by a contemporary writer. The effect is a lovely combination of days past, when letters were handwritten and often weeks or even months in the delivery, and today, with instantaneous emails or quirky or heartfelt letters written to loved ones or perhaps even those long dead.

Exploring themes of love, loss, health, politics, the environment, individual rights and responsibilities, creativity and family, each letter says so much about the sender and the receiver. The original older letters are all available for viewing through the National Library archives. The more recent responses are often funny, poignant or nostalgic, as today’s writers read the words of those long gone and react in their own interesting ways.

The original letters include those from Jane Austen, Judith Wright, Henry Lawson, Mem Fox, Neville Bonner and Adela Pankhurst. The respondents include contemporary literary award-winners and social commentators such as Frank Bongiorno, Kate Forsyth, the always hilarious Robert Skinner, Michael Winkler and Maggie Mackellar, to name only a few.

Chosen from millions of archival letters, the original missives evoke times and places long past, with their authors denoting moments of significant national or international importance, world events, social change, or merely the day-to-day minutia of living. Important themes such as relationships and reconciliation are echoed in both the older and newer letters.

One aspect I found particularly interesting is that the original letter writers wrote with only their singular audience in mind – their friend or child, their colleague or sibling. Whereas the modern responses are crafted very much with the view they will be shared widely through the vehicle of this book. Consequently, the earlier letters are often more spontaneous and casual, with less attention to form, but the responses by contemporary authors are thoughtful, well-crafted and designed with a wider audience in mind.

It’s also fascinating how the contemporary writers were each drawn to respond to a specific letter and how often the subjects they chose to write about echoed or aligned with the original missives.

A slim book of treasures, POSTSCRIPT will appeal to anyone who loves epistolary correspondence, history, passionate personal thoughts put on paper, or the lovely symmetry between something penned a hundred years ago or more, and a response composed recently. Fascinating and eerily haunting. ...more

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Circle of Wonders: An extraordinary novel of awe and wonder perfect for readers of Charlotte Wood, Clare Keegan and Andrew O'Hagan
by Kathryn Heyman (Goodreads Author)

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This book, this CIRCLE OF WONDERS, is truly an awe-inspiring novel about death and grief, forgiveness and friendship and family. I cried. I too have lost a dear friend too soon, as in this story. I’ve lost a daughter much too young. Both to cancer. A This book, this CIRCLE OF WONDERS, is truly an awe-inspiring novel about death and grief, forgiveness and friendship and family. I cried. I too have lost a dear friend too soon, as in this story. I’ve lost a daughter much too young. Both to cancer. A trauma only understood by those who’ve experienced it. Author Kathryn Heyman writes about this loss with so much compassion and empathy and vulnerability.

CIRCLE OF WONDERS (Harper Collins) is a miraculous, profoundly sad tale of complicated love, estranged family, the unbreakable sisterhood of friendship, the complex relationships between mothers and their children, and the heart wrenching end-of-life decisions that must be made by people with a life-limiting illness. People who know they are soon leaving but do not want to go. People with regrets, dreams, wishes. People who mourn the past and yearn for it to be different. Those afraid of the future. And those around them, getting through the present, day by day, every little moment, every breath, every last … last bite, last sip, last word, last touch …

This novel celebrates those who leave us too early and all they leave behind for us. It commends those of us who stay, and continue to live, while our hearts are broken and the fabric of life itself frays and comes undone. This book is indeed a circle: of women, of friends, of love, of gratitude, of service. And it’s a book of wonders: birth, motherhood, friendship, music, art, song, dance, creativity, sharing, making peace, forgiveness, endings not going to plan yet anyway accepted, tolerance, feistiness, strength, courage and the capacity to survive life’s worst acts, thrown at us with the terrible force of warning and pre-knowledge, understanding that we cannot change what is to come, we can only get through it, moment by moment, and try to stay sane.

Roni is dying, her body shutting down. She creates a Book of Wonders in which she attempts to capture or notate all the many luminous moments of her life she has experienced, or wished to experience. She is leaving this life unprepared – her family fractured and fractious, her to-do list incomplete, her awful ex (‘the Drone’) hovering in the background like an opportunistic vulture. She doesn’t want to leave this precious life but her body gives her no choice. Time is running out, and with it, the chances she has to make things right, to forgive, to forget, to make peace.

Her own mother Sylvie, across the mountains and estranged, is already dying her own death. The two so close together seems too much for one family to bear. Her sister Anna, returned from London, full of petty grievances, a changed woman once she must face the death of her mother and her sister in the same month. Roni’s daughters, Belle and Shanti, one a reformed addict and one an absent sprite, each in their own way having to deal with their mother’s death, this woman who broke the rules of motherhood in so many ways, who let them down and abandoned them. And yet. As the hour of death, of leaving, draws closer, each must decide how to best accept this loss, for their own sakes and for their mother.

Heyman writes luminous, glowing, iridescent prose that sparkles with joy and humour amidst the pragmatic facts of dying (the body’s gradual dissemblance, the mind’s slowing, the emotional rollercoaster of knowing it is the end). Her characters are authentic, raw and flawed. The dialogue is real. The practicalities of death are true.

The terrible beauty of a cardboard coffin waiting to be inscribed with messages of love with crayons and paint. The meaning of flowers and food and incense and last gifts. A living wake, planned meticulously then almost abandoned, then reignited as something new.

If you have ever loved, read this book. If you are a mother, or a daughter, read this book. If you are a loyal friend, read this book. If you realise you are an awful partner or a bad friend or an unforgiving soul, read this book. If you know there is a line in the sand in relation to your past, and you refuse to cross it, no matter the pressure of society and friends to ‘let things go’, read this book. If you are human, read this book, because within it you will discover yourself and those you love. You will find connection and belonging. You will find awe and wonder. It might make you cry. Tears of recognition or tears of comprehension or tears of what might have been.

This novel will stay with me. Unforgettable. Teaching me the unteachable. Resonating on so many levels. Touching my heart. ...more

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And in the Morning
by Lenny Robinson

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AND IN THE MORNING (UQP 2026) by Lenny Robinson collates three stories of women and men (often sons) woven together into a compelling tale of love, sacrifice, desire, grief and survival.

The first story, set in 1919, sees Lily and her three-year-old AND IN THE MORNING (UQP 2026) by Lenny Robinson collates three stories of women and men (often sons) woven together into a compelling tale of love, sacrifice, desire, grief and survival.

The first story, set in 1919, sees Lily and her three-year-old Teddy rushing through the streets of Melbourne to welcome home her husband Bert who has returned from the war and never met his son. Four years of trauma in the Middle East has irrevocably changed Bert, and the fledgling romance and passion he and Lily shared before he left is now complicated by the addition of Teddy, and the hurt Bert carries from the war.

The second story is also set in Melbourne, during World War Two, on the eve of what many suspect may be a Japanese invasion. A young servicewoman, Frankie, is celebrating a night of leave when she meets an airman at a dance. The juxtaposition of the heavy seriousness of war and the spontaneous flirtation of a romantic spark makes for strange bedfellows.

The third section of the book is perhaps the most moving. In 1969, amid anti-war protests, Fran is mourning her only son and preparing for his funeral after he was conscripted to fight – and subsequently died – in Vietnam, a war nobody seems able to explain.

Each of these sections is moving and evocative, each placing the reader firmly in the time and place in which it’s set. Each involves complex relationships threaded with doubt, desire, longing, love, grief, fear, regret, worry, anger, desperation, loss and the feeling that this experience, whether fleeting or sustained, might be too much to bear.

Although I did enjoy dropping in and out of each of the main characters’ lives, I would have preferred that each section was written in one piece, rather than a chapter from each woman’s perspective, ever changing, first Lily, then Fran, then Frankie. At times I felt this pulled me out of the story. But as the novel continues, the reader begins to see threads of connection and it becomes clear that there is more binding together these three women than at first is apparent.

Robinson writes with empathy of the conflicted relationship between Lily and Bert, which had only just begun before he was whisked off to war, and the complications that arise when he returns and has to not only re-learn his love for his wife, but find love for a toddler he’s never met and who doesn’t take kindly to this man, this father, competing for the attentions of his mother.

The author also captures really well the flights and fancy of servicewomen and men on leave during the Second World War, when every day could be your last, the concept of enjoying every moment is paramount, and nobody knows what is around the corner.

But it’s perhaps Fran’s section that is most empathetic and compelling. She moves through the blurred treacle of the empty days after the news of her son’s death, and attempts to cope with the practicalities of organising his burial and contemplating her own role in his fate (should she have forbidden him to go? Could she have prevented him doing his duty even though he was conscripted? In the long history of mother-guilt, how on earth could she have allowed such a thing to happen?) I found this thread particularly intimate, gripping and powerful.

This remarkable debut incorporates authentic dialogue and high emotion with the delicate minutiae of living, and the forces greater than ourselves that control our lives and set us on paths not of our own making. A heartrending and moving story of love and loss. ...more

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