The age of apex narcissism has opened the publishing floodgates to myopic and often unnecessary confessionals, personal tales of shame and struggle that, in the past, would more likely have been recounted to a priest or therapist. The memoir genre is at its peak, and the descent may be swift and brutal.

Miles Franklin-winning author Evie Wyld cleverly subverts the genre with her graphic memoir, Everything Is Teeth, in collaboration with illustrator Joe Sumner, a London-based model maker, who enters the publishing fray for the first time here. More akin to a visual short story, this oversized hardback is a delight both to hold and read.

What was it like for Wyld growing up in coastal New South Wales? The answer is simple, funny, and panders deliciously to how the British perceive Australia as being infested with sharks. As a child, Wyld was obsessed with them. She glimpsed fins where there were none, revelled in survivor stories, and fished for the beasts with her family.