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The Good Losers
Callie March is fascinated by human absurdity, including the habits of the upper class. So when she pushes her screen-addicted teenage son to join a local rowing club, she is thrilled to discover a whole new world of odd behaviours, irrational obsessions and riverside rooting.
Thrust into a support crew and a very silly uniform, Callie has inadvertently volunteered for a season of pre-dawn parenting, endless fundraising, and pandering to insufferable dickheads. But she also finds friendship, intrigue and lust, while her son might just find love.
Callie is torn between enchantment and repulsion, until a trail of corruption and scandal leads to deep suspicion. There’s something fishy in the rowing shed, and Callie is determined to find out what lurks behind the closed doors of this sports club. In doing so, she will rock the boat – or better still, capsize it altogether.
This novel is set in northern Tasmania. It contains profundity, profanity, heart-ache, bum chafe, terrible winners and very good losers.
Praise for Meg
‘a boisterous tale of music, friendship and women’s rights’ - Books+Publishing
‘a feminist grenade disguised as a book’ - Rebecca Sparrow
Thrust into a support crew and a very silly uniform, Callie has inadvertently volunteered for a season of pre-dawn parenting, endless fundraising, and pandering to insufferable dickheads. But she also finds friendship, intrigue and lust, while her son might just find love.
Callie is torn between enchantment and repulsion, until a trail of corruption and scandal leads to deep suspicion. There’s something fishy in the rowing shed, and Callie is determined to find out what lurks behind the closed doors of this sports club. In doing so, she will rock the boat – or better still, capsize it altogether.
This novel is set in northern Tasmania. It contains profundity, profanity, heart-ache, bum chafe, terrible winners and very good losers.
Praise for Meg
‘a boisterous tale of music, friendship and women’s rights’ - Books+Publishing
‘a feminist grenade disguised as a book’ - Rebecca Sparrow
435 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2025
222 people are currently reading
1151 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
April 25, 2025
What in the actual ever living hell have I just read? I can’t remember the last time a book made me so angry.
I wasn’t sure about this one, but since I ended up quite enjoying The Angry Women’s Choir, I decided to give it a go, and I was, at first, pleasantly surprised . I was immediately drawn into the world of the Levin-Bell Rowing Club and the extreme personalities of the teenage athletes and their parents.
I was even more intrigued once Callie, a private investigator turned wildlife ranger and rowing mum, discovered that the club was keeping some life-altering secrets. With the help of her sister, the investigation was underway. Now, I was really enjoying the change in vibe from Bignell’s previous book. This seemed like a genuine mystery with some major repercussions and some big bads to take down. This couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Once all was revealed, the “twist” was just astoundingly ridiculous to me. It was completely unrealistic and as Callie and the reader were given each new piece of information, it just became more and more ludicrous. You mean to tell me that an elitist and wanky Tasmanian rowing club is the front for a secret global social welfare organisation that is in cahoots with the government, the police, and the navy? And that their methods for hiding this organisation include a secret room behind a bookcase, making the rowing club off limits on Wednesdays, and *checks notes* tasering a suspected old lady who tries to blow the whistle on what she thinks is a load of rich men raping and killing women?
And don’t even get me started on the Harry Styles of it all. I genuinely threw my book down in frustration once I finally finished this atrocity. 3 stars though because the first three quarters was actually enjoyable.
I wasn’t sure about this one, but since I ended up quite enjoying The Angry Women’s Choir, I decided to give it a go, and I was, at first, pleasantly surprised . I was immediately drawn into the world of the Levin-Bell Rowing Club and the extreme personalities of the teenage athletes and their parents.
I was even more intrigued once Callie, a private investigator turned wildlife ranger and rowing mum, discovered that the club was keeping some life-altering secrets. With the help of her sister, the investigation was underway. Now, I was really enjoying the change in vibe from Bignell’s previous book. This seemed like a genuine mystery with some major repercussions and some big bads to take down. This couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Once all was revealed, the “twist” was just astoundingly ridiculous to me. It was completely unrealistic and as Callie and the reader were given each new piece of information, it just became more and more ludicrous. You mean to tell me that an elitist and wanky Tasmanian rowing club is the front for a secret global social welfare organisation that is in cahoots with the government, the police, and the navy? And that their methods for hiding this organisation include a secret room behind a bookcase, making the rowing club off limits on Wednesdays, and *checks notes* tasering a suspected old lady who tries to blow the whistle on what she thinks is a load of rich men raping and killing women?
And don’t even get me started on the Harry Styles of it all. I genuinely threw my book down in frustration once I finally finished this atrocity. 3 stars though because the first three quarters was actually enjoyable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2025
Three years ago, I read Bignell’s wonderful The Angry Women’s Choir which turned me into a fan.
The The Good Losers features Callie March, a 48-year-old single mother, who’s fed up with her teen boy’s addiction to computer games and worries about their lack of communication and distancing - a common issue. To get her boy away from gaming, she enrols him into the rowing club. That involves becoming a support team member, with early starts, lots of driving and entering the covenant of support mothers who are fierce, determined and great fund raisers. It all gets very involved and energy draining.
Callie is a keen observer, after all she spent over two decades being a private investigator. She’s also got a wicked sense of humour. As with most human endeavours, there’s collaboration, conflict, politics, power trips. I’ll leave it at that, as this novel is best enjoyed knowing as little as possible.
Funnily enough, Harry Styles makes an appearance. Swoon. 😉
Bignell's fourth novel was fun, quirky, relatable, and had some surprising turns.
The The Good Losers features Callie March, a 48-year-old single mother, who’s fed up with her teen boy’s addiction to computer games and worries about their lack of communication and distancing - a common issue. To get her boy away from gaming, she enrols him into the rowing club. That involves becoming a support team member, with early starts, lots of driving and entering the covenant of support mothers who are fierce, determined and great fund raisers. It all gets very involved and energy draining.
Callie is a keen observer, after all she spent over two decades being a private investigator. She’s also got a wicked sense of humour. As with most human endeavours, there’s collaboration, conflict, politics, power trips. I’ll leave it at that, as this novel is best enjoyed knowing as little as possible.
Funnily enough, Harry Styles makes an appearance. Swoon. 😉
Bignell's fourth novel was fun, quirky, relatable, and had some surprising turns.
October 8, 2025
*https://www.instagram.com/mrsb_book_r...
🚣♀️2025 Tasmanian Literacy awards people choice winner Meg Bignell, makes a wonderful return thanks to the release of her fourth novel, The Good Losers. A story of belonging, community, connections, participation, sacrifice, obsession, class, love, suspicion and underhanded actions, this is a fascinating tale from Australian novelist Meg Bignell.
🚣♀️Having reviewed Meg Bignell’s previous titles, I was excited to delve into her new novel. I opted to listen to this one via Borrowbox in audiobook format. I loved the fact that The Good Losers was narrated by the author, which made it a unique listen. There is definitely something special about hearing a story relayed in the exact voice it was written in—it added plenty of truth, heart and honest emotion to the unfolding tale.
🚣♀️From the opening, I was taken in by the messy lives and humorous world of the characters who populate the Levin-Bell Rowing Club. Bignell’s narrative exposes the truth behind the rowing community complete with the early starts, cold mornings, club politics, crazy fundraisers and a few intriguing scandals. The Good Losers covers it all and more, it definitely opened my eyes up to a whole new sporting and club based experience.
🚣♀️For me personally this book’s strength was the stunning Tasmanian setting. I lapped up the sense of place that was rendered extremely well by Bignell’s writing. I felt the cool river mornings, the beautiful Tassie backdrop, the crisp air and the small-town undercurrents. Bignell ensures that her landscape acts as an additional layer to her narrative, lining her story perfectly.
🚣♀️Cast wise, Callie, who is the story’s accidental club recruit, was very authentic and relatable. I’m sure many readers out there will enjoy her dry wit, awkward moments and her efforts to juggle the demands of parenting, romance and club chaos. This is a story that had me alternating between sympathy, mystery solving and laughter.
What I appreciated the most about this one and what I gained from listening to the story unfold was the rowing club culture, the importance of acts of goodwill that often go unnoticed, belonging, resilience and kinship. It was a book of surprising eventualities!
Huge thanks to Meg Bignell for allowing me to be a part of the crew and for narrating it in a way that made me feel part of the adventure.
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫4.5 stars
🚣♀️2025 Tasmanian Literacy awards people choice winner Meg Bignell, makes a wonderful return thanks to the release of her fourth novel, The Good Losers. A story of belonging, community, connections, participation, sacrifice, obsession, class, love, suspicion and underhanded actions, this is a fascinating tale from Australian novelist Meg Bignell.
🚣♀️Having reviewed Meg Bignell’s previous titles, I was excited to delve into her new novel. I opted to listen to this one via Borrowbox in audiobook format. I loved the fact that The Good Losers was narrated by the author, which made it a unique listen. There is definitely something special about hearing a story relayed in the exact voice it was written in—it added plenty of truth, heart and honest emotion to the unfolding tale.
🚣♀️From the opening, I was taken in by the messy lives and humorous world of the characters who populate the Levin-Bell Rowing Club. Bignell’s narrative exposes the truth behind the rowing community complete with the early starts, cold mornings, club politics, crazy fundraisers and a few intriguing scandals. The Good Losers covers it all and more, it definitely opened my eyes up to a whole new sporting and club based experience.
🚣♀️For me personally this book’s strength was the stunning Tasmanian setting. I lapped up the sense of place that was rendered extremely well by Bignell’s writing. I felt the cool river mornings, the beautiful Tassie backdrop, the crisp air and the small-town undercurrents. Bignell ensures that her landscape acts as an additional layer to her narrative, lining her story perfectly.
🚣♀️Cast wise, Callie, who is the story’s accidental club recruit, was very authentic and relatable. I’m sure many readers out there will enjoy her dry wit, awkward moments and her efforts to juggle the demands of parenting, romance and club chaos. This is a story that had me alternating between sympathy, mystery solving and laughter.
What I appreciated the most about this one and what I gained from listening to the story unfold was the rowing club culture, the importance of acts of goodwill that often go unnoticed, belonging, resilience and kinship. It was a book of surprising eventualities!
Huge thanks to Meg Bignell for allowing me to be a part of the crew and for narrating it in a way that made me feel part of the adventure.
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫4.5 stars
November 6, 2025
⭐️4 Stars⭐️
The Good Losers by Meg Bignell is super enjoyable! This was a highly interesting and witty look into team sport at an elite rowing club where parents are very hands on and involved. 🚣
The characters were messy, fun, full of secrets and scandal. Loved the club politics and the parent involvement, this story has a bit of everything and is set in Tasmania, the surroundings creating a wonderful landscape and atmosphere to the story.
Our main female character is Callie a mum and ex-Private Investigator who persuades her son to join a rowing club in order to drag him away from his bedroom and his computer games.
If you love chaos, fun, community, mystery, teenage parenting and family you’ll love this one! A great story about losing and winning and a special appearance by Harry Styles, loved it!
Publication Date 01 July 2025
Publisher Imprint Penguin
Thank you so much Penguin Books Australia for a copy of the book
The Good Losers by Meg Bignell is super enjoyable! This was a highly interesting and witty look into team sport at an elite rowing club where parents are very hands on and involved. 🚣
The characters were messy, fun, full of secrets and scandal. Loved the club politics and the parent involvement, this story has a bit of everything and is set in Tasmania, the surroundings creating a wonderful landscape and atmosphere to the story.
Our main female character is Callie a mum and ex-Private Investigator who persuades her son to join a rowing club in order to drag him away from his bedroom and his computer games.
If you love chaos, fun, community, mystery, teenage parenting and family you’ll love this one! A great story about losing and winning and a special appearance by Harry Styles, loved it!
Publication Date 01 July 2025
Publisher Imprint Penguin
Thank you so much Penguin Books Australia for a copy of the book
July 24, 2025
Big thanks to Penguin for sending us a copy to read and review.
Humans are interesting when they are in a group, all types of personalities and traits rise to the surface like cream.
The rowers, parents and officials of the Levin Bell Rowing Club are prime examples of this.
Through adversity, turmoil and consideration they battle to compete, win and perhaps unify.
Among the cohort are alphas, the tumultuous and the complicit.
Their interactions are at times barbed, funny, caring and beneficial.
Early mornings, camping trips to isolated lakes and regattas all test and enhance the status quo.
Pretension and scandal are never far away in a sport renowned for its prestige and ability to allow social climbing.
A Tasmanian setting is enhanced by a comedic element and touch of profanity.
Everything about this narrative was authentic and influenced by personal experience.
The main POV was colourfully offset by group chat text dialogue which as well as we all know is another dimension of human interaction.
The conflict between two ladies was funny and the ever so efficient self proclaimed leaders commentary and demands was great too.
Humans are interesting when they are in a group, all types of personalities and traits rise to the surface like cream.
The rowers, parents and officials of the Levin Bell Rowing Club are prime examples of this.
Through adversity, turmoil and consideration they battle to compete, win and perhaps unify.
Among the cohort are alphas, the tumultuous and the complicit.
Their interactions are at times barbed, funny, caring and beneficial.
Early mornings, camping trips to isolated lakes and regattas all test and enhance the status quo.
Pretension and scandal are never far away in a sport renowned for its prestige and ability to allow social climbing.
A Tasmanian setting is enhanced by a comedic element and touch of profanity.
Everything about this narrative was authentic and influenced by personal experience.
The main POV was colourfully offset by group chat text dialogue which as well as we all know is another dimension of human interaction.
The conflict between two ladies was funny and the ever so efficient self proclaimed leaders commentary and demands was great too.
September 13, 2025
There were elements of this I really enjoyed but it just took too long!
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
February 7, 2026
Meg Bignell has yet to disappoint me, I adored The Sparkle Pages, Welcome to Nowhere River, and The Angry Womens Choir, which is why The Good Losers was on my Christmas wish list, so I was delighted to find I was snickering from the opening pages of the novel as the parents, whose teenage children are members, old and new, of the Levin-Bell Rowing Club, are added to a group chat and invited to introduce themselves.
Set in Tasmania, The Good Losers features brash single mother Callie Marsh who forces her sixteen year old son, Pip, to join the local rowing club in an effort to pry him away from his computer. Callie, planning to observe from the sidelines, is alternately amused and repulsed by the behaviour of the club’s mostly wealthy patrons, but with Pip unexpectedly taking to the sport (or more accurately a fellow team member), and the accidental destruction of a prized boat, she suddenly finds herself on the inside, drawn into the undertow of club politics, competition, controversy, and a whiff of corruption.
Outspoken and observant, Callie is an entertaining character. She hasn’t got much respect for the haughty attitudes and traditions of the club, and delights in being subversive. She’s surprised however to find herself forming friendships with at least some of the other parents (and the delectable but much younger coach), but as a former private investigator, when she begins to suspect certain members of the rowing club are hiding something, she’s determined to find answers.
The supporting characters in The Good Losers are a mix of the sublime, ridiculous, and reprehensible, and not just the adults. Though there is plenty of humour, and even sheer absurdity, to be found in Good Losers, there is some emotional depth to this novel as Bignell explores issues such as grief, elitism, domestic violence, and redemption. I was totally invested in all the drama and the mystery.
Droll, cheeky and engaging, The Good Losers is a real winner.
Set in Tasmania, The Good Losers features brash single mother Callie Marsh who forces her sixteen year old son, Pip, to join the local rowing club in an effort to pry him away from his computer. Callie, planning to observe from the sidelines, is alternately amused and repulsed by the behaviour of the club’s mostly wealthy patrons, but with Pip unexpectedly taking to the sport (or more accurately a fellow team member), and the accidental destruction of a prized boat, she suddenly finds herself on the inside, drawn into the undertow of club politics, competition, controversy, and a whiff of corruption.
Outspoken and observant, Callie is an entertaining character. She hasn’t got much respect for the haughty attitudes and traditions of the club, and delights in being subversive. She’s surprised however to find herself forming friendships with at least some of the other parents (and the delectable but much younger coach), but as a former private investigator, when she begins to suspect certain members of the rowing club are hiding something, she’s determined to find answers.
The supporting characters in The Good Losers are a mix of the sublime, ridiculous, and reprehensible, and not just the adults. Though there is plenty of humour, and even sheer absurdity, to be found in Good Losers, there is some emotional depth to this novel as Bignell explores issues such as grief, elitism, domestic violence, and redemption. I was totally invested in all the drama and the mystery.
Droll, cheeky and engaging, The Good Losers is a real winner.
October 2, 2025
It starts out like a teenage boys book written for middle aged women. Absolutly. Fucking. Hillarious.
The middle gets a little darker but still with fun stuff going on.
And the final part is nothing but downright wholesomeness.
A fun read
The middle gets a little darker but still with fun stuff going on.
And the final part is nothing but downright wholesomeness.
A fun read
September 16, 2025
DNF at page 47. The language used is coarse. It’s not funny.
April 19, 2026
Very funny and great on audio.
March 16, 2026
pushed through with this book as it was a book club one…. not many likeable characters and very hard to believe there would be a physical punch up at a sports club meeting and thereafter everyone to continues as business as usual? also the nastiness of the whatsapp group is a hard sell, especially for australia which has a very “stiff upper lip” commonwealth culture.
callie was an extremely annoying character imo, the only saving grace was some beautiful parts in the book talking about her relationship with her son, pip.
also was hard to believe her codependancy on the ex husband… at 400pages this critical component was,
incredulously, missed.
callie was an extremely annoying character imo, the only saving grace was some beautiful parts in the book talking about her relationship with her son, pip.
also was hard to believe her codependancy on the ex husband… at 400pages this critical component was,
incredulously, missed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2025
DNF at 25%
I would never have picked up this book on my own, but it was this month’s book club pick… so here we are.
Callie drove me up the wall. For a 40-year-old woman, she reads like a moody teenager who’s been handed a diary and too much free time. Every decision, every thought, every reaction felt immature, overdramatic, or just plain irritating. I kept waiting for her to grow up, but after a quarter of the book, it was clear that wasn’t happening.
At 25%, I realised I was forcing myself to care — and failing miserably. Life is too short, my TBR is too long, and this book wasn’t giving me a single reason to keep turning pages.
DNF. No regrets.
I would never have picked up this book on my own, but it was this month’s book club pick… so here we are.
Callie drove me up the wall. For a 40-year-old woman, she reads like a moody teenager who’s been handed a diary and too much free time. Every decision, every thought, every reaction felt immature, overdramatic, or just plain irritating. I kept waiting for her to grow up, but after a quarter of the book, it was clear that wasn’t happening.
At 25%, I realised I was forcing myself to care — and failing miserably. Life is too short, my TBR is too long, and this book wasn’t giving me a single reason to keep turning pages.
DNF. No regrets.
June 30, 2025
I devoured this!!
August 3, 2025
I absolutely loved Angry Women’s Choir I had high expectations of this book. I did enjoy it, but didn’t feel it had the depth and smart wit.
April 3, 2026
5-Word Review:
Farfetched, childish unlikeable main character
Memorable Quotes
Farfetched, childish unlikeable main character
Memorable Quotes
"By the time I was forty-eight, the world as I saw it was irreversibly stupid and endlessly annoying, and most humans were dicks."
"…they all wore their privilege like comfy old pyjamas."
"He seemed an impossible age. I was struck by both the extraordinary ways of the human body and the cruelty of longevity."
"Easton McGoey had the gift of lighting up a room – right up until he switched the light off altogether."
"It was a beautiful, sparkly day. The lake was wearing sequins and the trees were calm and strong."
April 7, 2026
Initially hard to keep up with the characters, maybe that’s the audio but some great names and hilarious one liners flipping between bigger events central to the plot. 3.5 rounded up for the girls.
March 15, 2026
Loved this. It probably took me about half the book to actually get into it but it then became that book I couldn’t put down.
March 13, 2026
Look, I liked it at the beginning. Was totally into it but the ‘mystery reveal’ was so off centre that it lost me: I don’t feel that it fitted the characters or the story line.
I also didn’t enjoy the angry woman’s choir so I’m thinking this author isn’t for me
The first 3/4 was enjoyable: then it got a bit silly
I also didn’t enjoy the angry woman’s choir so I’m thinking this author isn’t for me
The first 3/4 was enjoyable: then it got a bit silly
April 12, 2026
I could not finish this book - it’s the book for March for my book club - Birds of a Feather. I found it vulgar, small and really tedious … the carry on surrounding being in a local rowing team - tried to keep going … 148 pages in - but then someone said - “life is too short to read poor books”. I don’t really understand why many Australian female authors think that a MAFS style genre in written form is appealing. Perhaps I am missing something?
November 20, 2025
Meg Bignell’s books are always full of wonderful, quirky & a little bit wicked humour.
THE GOOD LOSERS gives Meg a large cast of characters to play with & she takes full advantage, creating heroes & villains, mysteries & truly zany personas. This was a chaotic read!
I enjoyed the mystery element of the story, though the twist really came from left field and felt a bit implausible. I know I need to relax my disbelief muscle more when I read fiction. The 2 main twists at the end both left me surprised and I probably would have enjoyed a deeper dive on both reveals, just so they were more firmly embedded in the world of this little rowing community.
Meg is a wonderful writer. The pages turn themselves with all her books and in THE GOOD LOSERS, she really brings the community of rowing club members to life - perhaps too well, as the book left me mostly glad I’m not involved in the politics of a rowing club!!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
THE GOOD LOSERS gives Meg a large cast of characters to play with & she takes full advantage, creating heroes & villains, mysteries & truly zany personas. This was a chaotic read!
I enjoyed the mystery element of the story, though the twist really came from left field and felt a bit implausible. I know I need to relax my disbelief muscle more when I read fiction. The 2 main twists at the end both left me surprised and I probably would have enjoyed a deeper dive on both reveals, just so they were more firmly embedded in the world of this little rowing community.
Meg is a wonderful writer. The pages turn themselves with all her books and in THE GOOD LOSERS, she really brings the community of rowing club members to life - perhaps too well, as the book left me mostly glad I’m not involved in the politics of a rowing club!!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
June 30, 2025
I loved every single word of this book! I don’t think I have ever laughed so much and loved so many characters in one book before. The actual plot was really well crafted and I thoroughly enjoyed the twists that it provided. This book had me hooked right from the start. I absolutely loved everything about it. What a read!
January 10, 2026
I am so conflicted about this book. Despite hating it at first and then hating it at the end I couldn't put it down. Great characters, loved Bright and Jupiter. Loved the insight into the rowing twats but the 'brotherhood' and Harry Styles was a bit much 🤣 Still a good holiday read and I' d try another of Meg's books nevertheless.
August 3, 2025
I’m baffled again by Meg Bignell’s writing. The characters (and their names!!) are completely nutty, the plot bizarre .. but somehow amidst the absurdity there is so much depth and meaning. A lot like life really!
January 15, 2026
2.5 stars. A great first 2/3 and so disappointing in the last third.
February 11, 2026
well not my usual choice of read - but another Book Club book. I would have put it down but carried on ( as it was a book club read) and it got better and became quite compelling. Light entertainment, kind of Jilly Cooper genre set in a rowing community in Tasmania. If nothing else it has inspired me to be more vocal and assertive at my body corporate meetings ! If you fancy an easy holiday read with a glass of wine - this is it.
March 20, 2026
This book had some really funny moments, I’d literally laugh out loud or be like “wtf did I just read?” 😂. I loved the ending, really warm finish to this story. The “twist” felt a bit random/unnatural/forced and the Harry Styles stuff was also super random 😂 but overall I actually really enjoyed this book, super funny.
September 26, 2025
Loved this. Based on her own experiences as a rowing parent. I didn't want it to end. She provides sharp observations on human nature.
November 25, 2025
Funny and fun and clever. Ugh I loved it so much.
February 21, 2026
3.5: I recommend audiobook over reading it. I found it annoying to read this writing style but worked better in audio form.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews