Australian Book Review

January-February 2019, no. 408

January-February 2019, no. 408

Welcome to the January-February 2019 issue of ABR.

Read the facsimile edition

ONLINE ONLY

Full Contents

Fiction

Danielle Clode reviews 'Tales from the Inner City' by Shaun Tan

by Danielle Clode

Art

Simon Caterson reviews 'Chromatopia: An illustrated history of colour' by David Coles

by Simon Caterson

Art

Ron Radford reviews 'Australian Art Exhibitions: Opening our eyes' by Joanna Mendelssohn et al.

Theatre

Brian McFarlane reviews 'Performing Hamlet: Actors in the modern age' by Jonathan Croall

by Brian McFarlane

Theatre

Tim Byrne reviews 'The World Only Spins Forward: The ascent of angels in America' edited by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois

Open Page

Open Page with Geoffrey Lehmann

Advances

News from the Editor's Desk - January-February 2019

by Australian Book Review

History

Alexandra Roginski reviews 'Empire of Enchantment: The story of Indian magic' by John Zubrzycki

by Alexandra Roginski

Poem

'Jim Carroll’s Ass', a new poem by Alice Notley

by Alice Notley

Essay Collection

John Hawke reviews 'Feeding the Ghost 1: Criticism on contemporary Australian poetry' edited by Andy Kissane, David Musgrave, and Carolyn Rickett

Politics

Lyndon Megarrity reviews 'Back from the Brink, 1997–2001: The Howard Government Volume II' edited by Tom Frame

by Lyndon Megarrity

Letter collection

Ian Dickson reviews 'The Luck of Friendship: The letters of Tennessee Williams and James Laughlin' edited by Peggy L. Fox and Thomas Keith

Fiction

Tali Lavi reviews 'Insomnia' by Marina Benjamin

Environmental Studies

James Dunk reviews 'The Environment' by Paul Warde, Libby Robin, and Sverker Sörlin

Highlights of the Year

2018 Publisher Picks

by Nathan Hollier et al.

Fiction

Chris Flynn reviews 'Sydney Noir' edited by John Dale

Poetry

Bernard Cohen reviews 'horse' by Ania Walwicz

by Bernard Cohen

Fiction

Jane Sullivan reviews 'Half Moon Lake' by Kirsten Alexander

by Jane Sullivan

Fiction

Alice Nelson reviews 'Cedar Valley' by Holly Throsby

by Alice Nelson

History

Kyle Wilson reviews 'The Secret World: A history of intelligence' by Christopher Andrew

Memoir

Morag Fraser reviews 'Leeward: A memoir' by Geoffrey Lehmann

by Morag Fraser

History

Simon Tormey reviews 'The Rise and Fall of the British Nation: A twentieth-century history' by David Edgerton

by Simon Tormey

History

Ben Vine reviews 'These Truths: A History of the United States' by Jill Lepore

History

James Walter reviews 'Tiberius with a Telephone: The life and stories of William McMahon' by Patrick Mullins

by James Walter

History

Ian Donaldson reviews 'In Pursuit Of Civility: Manners and civilization in early modern England' by Keith Thomas

by Ian Donaldson

History

Alan Atkinson reviews 'The Land of Dreams: How Australians won their freedom, 1788–1860' by David Kemp

by Alan Atkinson

Letter collection

Sarah Holland-Batt reviews 'The Letters of Sylvia Plath Volume 2: 1956–1963' edited by Peter K. Steinberg and Karen V. Kukil

by Sarah Holland-Batt

Society

Jane Cadzow reviews 'Breaking News: The remaking of journalism and why it matters now' by Alan Rusbridger

Essay Collection

Alex Tighe reviews 'Net Loss: The inner life in the digital age (Quarterly Essay 72)' by Sebastian Smee

Poetry

Amy Lin reviews 'White on White' by Anne Elvey and 'The Sky Runs Right Through Us' by Reneé Pettitt-Schipp

Politics

Varun Ghosh reviews 'The World As It Is' by Ben Rhodes and 'Yes We (Still) Can' by Dan Pfeiffer

Politics

Jim Davidson reviews 'The Empire’s New Clothes: The myth of the Commonwealth' by Philip Murphy

by Jim Davidson

Fiction

Helena Kadmos 'The Valley' by Steve Hawke

by Helena Kadmos

Society

Lucas Thompson reviews 'The Recovering: Intoxication and its aftermath' by Leslie Jamison

by Lucas Thompson

Letters

Letters to the Editor - January-February 2019

by Marilyn Lake