Brian Castro's “The Chinese Postman” is a meditation on old age with a central character whose life mirrors his own. The story strays into fiction when the protagonist, Abe Quin, begins a correspondence with a woman seeking refuge from the war in Ukraine. This acclaimed work of autofiction is short-listed for this year’s Miles Franklin Award.

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In Bronwyn Rivers’ menacing thriller “The Reunion” five friends meet for a weekend on a lonely property in the Blue Mountains. Ten years earlier they were amongst a group of six who went hiking in the area …only five returned. Now the survivors are being stalked by someone who wants to know what really happened to their friend Ed – it seems everyone has something to hide.

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Our very assiduous random reader, Lesley, is currently reading “Pompeii” by Robert Harris and “Under the Banner of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer. She’s listening to the audio version of “Limberlost” by Robbie Arnott. Piled on her tsundoku are “The Island of Sea Women” by Lisa See, “The Wedding People” by Alison Espach, The Shardlake Series by CJ Sansom and “Kairos” by Jenny Erpenbeck.

Guests

Brain Castro, author of “Chinese Postman”

Bronwyn Rivers, author of “The Reunion”

Other books that get a mention:

Brian mentions a poem by TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”

Bronwyn mentions inspirational crime writers Agatha Christie and PD James

Sarah mentions the DS Walker series of thrillers by Patricia Wolf

Annie is reading Charlotte McConaghy’s “Wild Dark Shore”

INSTAGRAM
@giramondopublishing
@hachetteaus
@bronwynriversauthor

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James Bradley introduces his latest novel; one of crime in a time of climate crisis. The desperate search for a missing child is set against a terrifying Sydney of the future, where sea levels are rising with the temperature and the social divide has become a chasm.

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Catherine Jinks, known for her children’s fiction, has turned her deft writer's hand to adult thrillers. In ‘Panic’ her main character Bronwyn leaves town when the fallout from a misjudged text inflames the wrath of social media. However, worse awaits her in the country where conspiracy theorists and escapees from society have created a hell of their own.

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Our young random reader Arlo recommends The Star Wars trilogy and anything by Roald Dahl.

Guests

James Bradley, author of “Landfall”. His other books include the novels “Wrack”, “The Deep Field”, “Clade” and “Ghost Species”, a book of poetry, “Paper Nautilus”, and a work of non-fiction, “Deep Water”.

Catherine Jinks, author of “Panic”. Her other thrillers include “The Attack” and “Shelter”. Her children’s books include “Traitor’s Mask” and “Demon Thief”.

Other books that get a mention:

Michaela’s been reading “The Accident” by Fiona Lowe. You can find Sarah’s interview with Fiona in Episode 40 of Tsundoku.

As part of her judging gig for the Ned Kelly Awards, Cath has discovered “Home Truths” by Charity Norman and “Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter” by Nicci French.

James Bradley mentions “Dream Hotel” by Laila Lalami, “Human Nature”by Jane Rawson and “Is a River Alice” by Robert Macfarlane

INSTAGRAM

@penguinbooksaus
@ghostspecies

@catherinejinksauthor

@text_publishing

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Kate Grenville is best known for her book “The Secret River” published in 2005 which became an analogy for white settlement of Australia. More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, Grenville has taken another journey through that same country which her ancestors settled, resulting in her latest book, “Unsettled”. In this episode, Kate Grenville chats to Annie Hastwell about the importance of facing our true history.

Guest:

Kate Grenville

INSTAGRAM:

@blackinkbooks

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Cath discovers the people in Damien Wilkins’ life who inspired his latest novel, “Delirious”. It’s an emotionally powerful novel about families, ageing and the surprising ways second chances come around.

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Annie visits Orchard Books in the Adelaide Arcade where she receives a masterclass in styling a warm, inviting and delightfully idiosyncratic second-hand bookshop.

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Our random reader recommends “Time of the Child” and “This is Happiness” by Niall Williams.

Guests:

Damien Wilkins, New Zealand author of “Delirious”... and 14 other novels.

Nick Patrick and Kate Treloar, owners of Orchard Bookshop, Adelaide Arcade.

Other books that get a mention:

Cath recommends her holiday reads; “Molly Keen; A Life” by Sally Phipps and “Overtaken” by Alexei Sayle

Annie recommends “The Tenderness of Wolves” by Stef Penney

INSTAGRAM

@thwupbooks
@orchardbookshop

@damienwilkins103

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Sarah is joined by Candice Fox who reflects how her “scrappy” upbringing in Bankstown and her Dad’s work in the local prison informed her crime writing. It still makes her a magnet for people willing to share their dark and strange story ideas.
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Annie takes you to the launch of “Splinter”, a new literary journal, to meet its editor, Farrin Foster. In the tradition of such journals Splinter will be a place for new writing of any kind to get a showing, and a welcoming forum for South Australia’s literary community.
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Sarah recommends “Australian Gospel: A Family Saga” by Lech Blaine
Our random reader recommends “Technofeudalism: What killed capitalism” by Yanis Varoufakis and “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy.

Guests
Candice Fox, author of “High Wire”
Farin Foster, editor of “Splinter”
You can find more information about “Splinter” here: https://splinterjournal.com/

INSTAGRAM
@candicefoxauthor
@penginrandomhouse
@splinterjournal

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Cath and Sarah delight in sharing what they loved about Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey’s short novel, “Orbital”

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Cath then settles into a cosy chat to author Melanie Cheng. She’s created a delicate and wise novella in which a family’s grief is articulated and haltingly addressed with the adoption of a pet rabbit.

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Michaela enjoys revisiting Margaret Atwood’s enigmatic classic “Alias Grace” with Flinders University Associate Professors, Kylie Cardell and Lisa Bennett.

Guests

Melanie Cheng, General Practitioner and author of “The Burrow”, “Room for a Stranger” and “Australia Day”

Lisa Bennett is Associate Professor of Creative Writing and English at Flinders University. She’s the author of “Viking Women: Life and Lore”. The follow-up volume, “Viking Women: Myth and Magic” is due out this year.

Kylie Cardell is Associate Professor of Creative Writing and English at Flinders University. She’s the author of “Dear World: Contemporary Uses of the Diary” and Editor (with Kate Douglas) of “Telling Tales: Autobiography of Childhood and Youth” and she is the essays Editor for the Australian scholarly journal, “Life Writing”.

INSTAGRAM

@lisalhannett

@kyliesays

@text_publishing

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Catherine McKinnon’s tense but tender tale, “To Sing of War”, immerses the reader in the lives of three characters strung across the globe during the dying days of World War II …as the days tick towards the detonation of the first nuclear weapon on Hiroshima.

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Poet Ken Bolton makes a good case for why British writer Beryl Bainbridge should not be forgotten.

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ABC Broadcaster and poet Mike Ladd shares what’s in his tsundoku.

Guests

Catherine McKinnon, author of “To Sing of War” and the Miles Franklin Award shortlisted “Storyland”

Ken Bolton, Australian poet whose most recent collection is titled “Salute”

Our Random Reader is ABC broadcaster and poet Mike Ladd

Other books that get a mention

Catherine McKinnon mentions “The Regeneration Trilogy” by Pat Barker, “Cloud Cukooland” by Anthony Doerr.

Ken Bolton mentions Beryl Bainbridge’s books, “An Awfully Big Adventure”, “Injury Time”, “Master Georgie”, “The Birthday Boys”, “Watson’s Apology”, “According to Queeney” and “A Quiet Life”.

Mike Ladd mentions “The story of Wy-lah, the cockatoo” by Leslie Rees, “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller, “Selected Poems’ by Elizabeth Bishop, “The Years” by Annie Ernaux, “The Pole and Other Stories” by John Coetzee and “Salt Creek” by Lucy Treloar.

INSTAGRAM

@cathmckinnonauthor

@harpercollinsaustralia

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Michaela talks to one of her favourite writers, Robbie Arnott, about “Dusk”; a beautiful and beguiling tale of siblings, so down on their luck they embark on an impossible quest to slay a puma in the Tasmanian highlands and claim a life-changing bounty.

Sarah chats to stand-out millennial Hannah Ferguson about her second book, “Taboo: Conversations we never had about sex, body image, work and relationships”

Then, the Tsundoku gang gets together to discuss their favourite books of 2024 and the book they’d most like to find in their Christmas stocking.

Guests

Robbie Arnott, author of “Dusk”

Hannah Ferguson, author of “Taboo: Conversations we never had about sex, body image, work and relationships”

Other books that get a mention

Robbie Arnott also mentions “Creation Lake” by Rachel Kushner, “The Sound of Waves” by Yukio Mishima, “Deep Water; The world in the ocean” by James Bradley, “Old School” by Tobias Wolff and “The Hobbit” by JRR Tolkien

Cath mentions “The Red Children”, “The White Children”, “My Driver” and "My Cleaner” by Maggie Gee and Belinda Bauer’s books “Snap”, “Exit” and “The Impossible Thing”

Annie mentions “The Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St John Mandel,“The Beesting” by Paul Murray, “Caledonian Roads” by Andrew O’Hagan and the Robert Harris books, “Precipice”, “Pompeii” and “Fatherland”

Sarah mentions “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin, “All Fours” by Miranda July, “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and “Stone Yard Devotional” by Charlotte Wood

Michaela mentions “Other Houses” by Paddy O'Reilly and “Orbital” by Samantha Harvey

INSTAGRAM

@robbie_gc_arnott

@macmillanaus

@hannahferguson_
@affirmpress

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