The Islands by Emily Brugman
Julia Tsalis, Program Director
The Islands is the debut novel of NSW based author, Emily Brugman. It follows a group of Finns who migrate to a tiny island off the coast of Geraldton, WA in the 1950s. They make their lives on the very remote Rat Island, building a community and earning a living crayfishing.
The novel beautifully captures this wild and unfamiliar place, following three generations of the Saari family as they transition to a new life. They each grapple with how to make a home for themselves in this strikingly different part of the world and still hold onto the traditions that nurture them. Brugman has created rich characters who gently unfold a story of love, longing, and loss.
Seeing Other People by Diana Reid
Amy Lovat, Professional Development Officer
Googlecholia by Michael Farrell
Isaac Wilcox, Administration and Digital Services Officer
This is another of my bus reads, a collection of poetry that fills the moments between my house and work. I started reading on the bus to get off the phone and find more time in the day for reading. Here I’m not sure I’ve achieved that, as Googlecholia speaks the language of google.
Farrell uses search-engine form and filters to shape his poems (with artistic license). He uses some cultural references I didn’t get, but all good, a quick search helped me get them! I’m really enjoying the form and use of language. The result is very entertaining and thought provoking.
Minds Went Walking, Fremantle Press
Keira Baker, Project and Communications Officer
Minds Went Walking is an upcoming collection of stories by prominent Australian writers in response to a Paul Kelly song. Writers like Jock Serong, Mirandi Riwoe, and Claire G. Coleman were asked to ‘go walking through the Paul Kelly songbook,’ reflecting on what his work means to them.
Some of the contributors reimagine the songs as short fiction, whilst others recount where they first heard them or lyrics they’d gotten wrong. It’s a literary mixtape. Kelly’s songs take these writers back to childhood or a first love, to ghosts at St. Kilda or the treatment of the Noongar people. In Jock Serong’s case, even as far as a Western Australian prawn processing plant.
I love the title Minds Went Walking, because that’s how I read it – wandering in and out of stories, the familiar images of grimy pubs and unmown yards, beat-up vans and Melbourne summers. The collection is a testament to Kelly’s ability as a storyteller.
It’s also just interesting to see what a song you know so well might mean to others. There’s definitely a few here that will stick with me!
Minds Went Walking, Fremantle Press – (Released November 2022)
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