Eight new books to add to your bedside table pile this week
Grant Dooley and his wife, Kristan, had barely settled into their diplomatic posting to Indonesia in 2004 when a bomb exploded outside the Australian embassy compound in Jakarta, killing 11 people. Dooley was one of the first responders. Two-and-a-half years later he was on the scene when Garuda flight 200 crashed in Yogyakarta, killing 20 people - five of them Australians. Dooley's description of running to the burning aircraft, hoping desperately to find friends and colleagues on board, is one of the most powerful scenes in a memoir that captures the emotional and psychological toll of his tumultuous time in Indonesia.
Nicole Madigan. Pantera Press. $36.99.
Investigative journalist Nicole Madigan's second work of non-fiction is an intimate exploration of why people choose to stay in toxic relationships and what drives them to leave. It tells the stories of four women who fought devastatingly hard for relationships that were tarnished by betrayal, hurt, lies and behaviours that fractured the foundation on which they were built. This is an impressive follow-up to 2023's Obsession: A journalist and victim-survivor's investigation into stalking. If you liked Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, Torn offers insights into the complexities of love, infidelity, addiction and grief.
Tim Booth. Macmillan Australia. $36.99.
Stories about the bizarre stuff medical professionals face in their daily lives are a rich seam well mined by doctors, nurses and paramedics. The latest collection comes from Tim Booth, who was a motoring journalist before he handed in his road-testing keys and became an intensive care paramedic. From the woman who called 000 because she had run out of milk to a dairy-related crisis of a more adult kind involving the illegal drug GHB and copious amounts of custard, Booth takes readers behind the scenes in the world of emergency medicine, with generous lashings of absurdity and dark humour.
Stuart Mullins & Bill Hayes. Simon & Schuster. $36.99.
It was a crime that changed post-war Australia. On Australia Day 1966 three children - Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont - went missing from Glenelg Beach in South Australia. They were never seen again. It was a story at least as seismic for generations of parents as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007. The authors, one a writer and the other a former police detective, have years of experience with the case. They name the prime suspect in the mystery as a businessman who was considered a pillar of Adelaide society, but who in reality was a serial predator.
Natalia Figueroa Barroso. UQP. $34.99.
Uruguayan-Australian Natalia Figueroa Barroso's debut novel spans two continents and three generations of women. The stories of Gaciela, daughter Rita and aunt Chula explore the different perspectives of a family's migrant past through identity, nostalgia for one's origins and buried secrets. Taking place in Western Sydney, 1970s Uruguay and present-day Montevideo, the novel shows that though trauma can be generational, there are often ways to heal. The author attributes her writing inspiration for her novel to The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn and Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Sophie Green. Hachette. $34.99.
Sophie Green's latest novel is a cozy read that will make you want to curl up on the couch with the crew at the Seaside Salon, Trudy, Anna, Evie and Josie. The four women either work or are clients at the salon in a classic coastal town. We follow them in the winter months of the 1980s as they find love and friendship, sometimes in unexpected places. Green's characterisation brings you quickly onside while the insights into a hairdresser's careful negotiation with their clients makes you smile.
Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship
Amelia Mellor. Affirm Press. $16.99.
This is the first instalment of a promised five-book fantasy adventure series from the author of historical fantasy trilogy The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Recommended for readers aged 8 to 12, Oceanforged follows 13-year-old Cori, who is fighting for her life aboard the pirate ship Harridan skippered by the fearsome Captain Scrimshaw. When a powerful gauntlet from an ancient magical suit of armour fuses itself to her arm, plucky Cori thinks it's her ticket to freedom but first she must learn about courage and resilience, helped by her new friends, Tarn and Jem, who have amazing skills of their own.
Suzanne Do. Macmillan Australia. $34.99.
Lili Berry's life in the charming coastal village of Swanning is upended by the death of her twin sister, Honey. Fuelled by grief, Lili strives to uncover the truth. Pete, who is haunted by the disappearance of his son 15 years ago, is the one who found Honey's body. He and Lili plunge headfirst into the dark secrets and lies of their not always close-knit community. This is the debut novel of former lawyer Suzanne Do, who with husband Anh Do co-wrote The Little Refugee, a children's version of his bestselling memoir, The Happiest Refugee, and the feature film Footy Legends.
Grant Dooley. Affirm Press. $36.99.
Grant Dooley and his wife, Kristan, had barely settled into their diplomatic posting to Indonesia in 2004 when a bomb exploded outside the Australian embassy compound in Jakarta, killing 11 people. Dooley was one of the first responders. Two-and-a-half years later he was on the scene when Garuda flight 200 crashed in Yogyakarta, killing 20 people - five of them Australians. Dooley's description of running to the burning aircraft, hoping desperately to find friends and colleagues on board, is one of the most powerful scenes in a memoir that captures the emotional and psychological toll of his tumultuous time in Indonesia.
Nicole Madigan. Pantera Press. $36.99.
Investigative journalist Nicole Madigan's second work of non-fiction is an intimate exploration of why people choose to stay in toxic relationships and what drives them to leave. It tells the stories of four women who fought devastatingly hard for relationships that were tarnished by betrayal, hurt, lies and behaviours that fractured the foundation on which they were built. This is an impressive follow-up to 2023's Obsession: A journalist and victim-survivor's investigation into stalking. If you liked Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, Torn offers insights into the complexities of love, infidelity, addiction and grief.
Tim Booth. Macmillan Australia. $36.99.
Stories about the bizarre stuff medical professionals face in their daily lives are a rich seam well mined by doctors, nurses and paramedics. The latest collection comes from Tim Booth, who was a motoring journalist before he handed in his road-testing keys and became an intensive care paramedic. From the woman who called 000 because she had run out of milk to a dairy-related crisis of a more adult kind involving the illegal drug GHB and copious amounts of custard, Booth takes readers behind the scenes in the world of emergency medicine, with generous lashings of absurdity and dark humour.
Stuart Mullins & Bill Hayes. Simon & Schuster. $36.99.
It was a crime that changed post-war Australia. On Australia Day 1966 three children - Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont - went missing from Glenelg Beach in South Australia. They were never seen again. It was a story at least as seismic for generations of parents as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007. The authors, one a writer and the other a former police detective, have years of experience with the case. They name the prime suspect in the mystery as a businessman who was considered a pillar of Adelaide society, but who in reality was a serial predator.
Natalia Figueroa Barroso. UQP. $34.99.
Uruguayan-Australian Natalia Figueroa Barroso's debut novel spans two continents and three generations of women. The stories of Gaciela, daughter Rita and aunt Chula explore the different perspectives of a family's migrant past through identity, nostalgia for one's origins and buried secrets. Taking place in Western Sydney, 1970s Uruguay and present-day Montevideo, the novel shows that though trauma can be generational, there are often ways to heal. The author attributes her writing inspiration for her novel to The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn and Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Sophie Green. Hachette. $34.99.
Sophie Green's latest novel is a cozy read that will make you want to curl up on the couch with the crew at the Seaside Salon, Trudy, Anna, Evie and Josie. The four women either work or are clients at the salon in a classic coastal town. We follow them in the winter months of the 1980s as they find love and friendship, sometimes in unexpected places. Green's characterisation brings you quickly onside while the insights into a hairdresser's careful negotiation with their clients makes you smile.
Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship
Amelia Mellor. Affirm Press. $16.99.
This is the first instalment of a promised five-book fantasy adventure series from the author of historical fantasy trilogy The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Recommended for readers aged 8 to 12, Oceanforged follows 13-year-old Cori, who is fighting for her life aboard the pirate ship Harridan skippered by the fearsome Captain Scrimshaw. When a powerful gauntlet from an ancient magical suit of armour fuses itself to her arm, plucky Cori thinks it's her ticket to freedom but first she must learn about courage and resilience, helped by her new friends, Tarn and Jem, who have amazing skills of their own.
Suzanne Do. Macmillan Australia. $34.99.
Lili Berry's life in the charming coastal village of Swanning is upended by the death of her twin sister, Honey. Fuelled by grief, Lili strives to uncover the truth. Pete, who is haunted by the disappearance of his son 15 years ago, is the one who found Honey's body. He and Lili plunge headfirst into the dark secrets and lies of their not always close-knit community. This is the debut novel of former lawyer Suzanne Do, who with husband Anh Do co-wrote The Little Refugee, a children's version of his bestselling memoir, The Happiest Refugee, and the feature film Footy Legends.
Grant Dooley. Affirm Press. $36.99.
Grant Dooley and his wife, Kristan, had barely settled into their diplomatic posting to Indonesia in 2004 when a bomb exploded outside the Australian embassy compound in Jakarta, killing 11 people. Dooley was one of the first responders. Two-and-a-half years later he was on the scene when Garuda flight 200 crashed in Yogyakarta, killing 20 people - five of them Australians. Dooley's description of running to the burning aircraft, hoping desperately to find friends and colleagues on board, is one of the most powerful scenes in a memoir that captures the emotional and psychological toll of his tumultuous time in Indonesia.
Nicole Madigan. Pantera Press. $36.99.
Investigative journalist Nicole Madigan's second work of non-fiction is an intimate exploration of why people choose to stay in toxic relationships and what drives them to leave. It tells the stories of four women who fought devastatingly hard for relationships that were tarnished by betrayal, hurt, lies and behaviours that fractured the foundation on which they were built. This is an impressive follow-up to 2023's Obsession: A journalist and victim-survivor's investigation into stalking. If you liked Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, Torn offers insights into the complexities of love, infidelity, addiction and grief.
Tim Booth. Macmillan Australia. $36.99.
Stories about the bizarre stuff medical professionals face in their daily lives are a rich seam well mined by doctors, nurses and paramedics. The latest collection comes from Tim Booth, who was a motoring journalist before he handed in his road-testing keys and became an intensive care paramedic. From the woman who called 000 because she had run out of milk to a dairy-related crisis of a more adult kind involving the illegal drug GHB and copious amounts of custard, Booth takes readers behind the scenes in the world of emergency medicine, with generous lashings of absurdity and dark humour.
Stuart Mullins & Bill Hayes. Simon & Schuster. $36.99.
It was a crime that changed post-war Australia. On Australia Day 1966 three children - Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont - went missing from Glenelg Beach in South Australia. They were never seen again. It was a story at least as seismic for generations of parents as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007. The authors, one a writer and the other a former police detective, have years of experience with the case. They name the prime suspect in the mystery as a businessman who was considered a pillar of Adelaide society, but who in reality was a serial predator.
Natalia Figueroa Barroso. UQP. $34.99.
Uruguayan-Australian Natalia Figueroa Barroso's debut novel spans two continents and three generations of women. The stories of Gaciela, daughter Rita and aunt Chula explore the different perspectives of a family's migrant past through identity, nostalgia for one's origins and buried secrets. Taking place in Western Sydney, 1970s Uruguay and present-day Montevideo, the novel shows that though trauma can be generational, there are often ways to heal. The author attributes her writing inspiration for her novel to The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn and Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Sophie Green. Hachette. $34.99.
Sophie Green's latest novel is a cozy read that will make you want to curl up on the couch with the crew at the Seaside Salon, Trudy, Anna, Evie and Josie. The four women either work or are clients at the salon in a classic coastal town. We follow them in the winter months of the 1980s as they find love and friendship, sometimes in unexpected places. Green's characterisation brings you quickly onside while the insights into a hairdresser's careful negotiation with their clients makes you smile.
Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship
Amelia Mellor. Affirm Press. $16.99.
This is the first instalment of a promised five-book fantasy adventure series from the author of historical fantasy trilogy The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Recommended for readers aged 8 to 12, Oceanforged follows 13-year-old Cori, who is fighting for her life aboard the pirate ship Harridan skippered by the fearsome Captain Scrimshaw. When a powerful gauntlet from an ancient magical suit of armour fuses itself to her arm, plucky Cori thinks it's her ticket to freedom but first she must learn about courage and resilience, helped by her new friends, Tarn and Jem, who have amazing skills of their own.
Suzanne Do. Macmillan Australia. $34.99.
Lili Berry's life in the charming coastal village of Swanning is upended by the death of her twin sister, Honey. Fuelled by grief, Lili strives to uncover the truth. Pete, who is haunted by the disappearance of his son 15 years ago, is the one who found Honey's body. He and Lili plunge headfirst into the dark secrets and lies of their not always close-knit community. This is the debut novel of former lawyer Suzanne Do, who with husband Anh Do co-wrote The Little Refugee, a children's version of his bestselling memoir, The Happiest Refugee, and the feature film Footy Legends.
Grant Dooley. Affirm Press. $36.99.
Grant Dooley and his wife, Kristan, had barely settled into their diplomatic posting to Indonesia in 2004 when a bomb exploded outside the Australian embassy compound in Jakarta, killing 11 people. Dooley was one of the first responders. Two-and-a-half years later he was on the scene when Garuda flight 200 crashed in Yogyakarta, killing 20 people - five of them Australians. Dooley's description of running to the burning aircraft, hoping desperately to find friends and colleagues on board, is one of the most powerful scenes in a memoir that captures the emotional and psychological toll of his tumultuous time in Indonesia.
Nicole Madigan. Pantera Press. $36.99.
Investigative journalist Nicole Madigan's second work of non-fiction is an intimate exploration of why people choose to stay in toxic relationships and what drives them to leave. It tells the stories of four women who fought devastatingly hard for relationships that were tarnished by betrayal, hurt, lies and behaviours that fractured the foundation on which they were built. This is an impressive follow-up to 2023's Obsession: A journalist and victim-survivor's investigation into stalking. If you liked Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, Torn offers insights into the complexities of love, infidelity, addiction and grief.
Tim Booth. Macmillan Australia. $36.99.
Stories about the bizarre stuff medical professionals face in their daily lives are a rich seam well mined by doctors, nurses and paramedics. The latest collection comes from Tim Booth, who was a motoring journalist before he handed in his road-testing keys and became an intensive care paramedic. From the woman who called 000 because she had run out of milk to a dairy-related crisis of a more adult kind involving the illegal drug GHB and copious amounts of custard, Booth takes readers behind the scenes in the world of emergency medicine, with generous lashings of absurdity and dark humour.
Stuart Mullins & Bill Hayes. Simon & Schuster. $36.99.
It was a crime that changed post-war Australia. On Australia Day 1966 three children - Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont - went missing from Glenelg Beach in South Australia. They were never seen again. It was a story at least as seismic for generations of parents as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007. The authors, one a writer and the other a former police detective, have years of experience with the case. They name the prime suspect in the mystery as a businessman who was considered a pillar of Adelaide society, but who in reality was a serial predator.
Natalia Figueroa Barroso. UQP. $34.99.
Uruguayan-Australian Natalia Figueroa Barroso's debut novel spans two continents and three generations of women. The stories of Gaciela, daughter Rita and aunt Chula explore the different perspectives of a family's migrant past through identity, nostalgia for one's origins and buried secrets. Taking place in Western Sydney, 1970s Uruguay and present-day Montevideo, the novel shows that though trauma can be generational, there are often ways to heal. The author attributes her writing inspiration for her novel to The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn and Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Sophie Green. Hachette. $34.99.
Sophie Green's latest novel is a cozy read that will make you want to curl up on the couch with the crew at the Seaside Salon, Trudy, Anna, Evie and Josie. The four women either work or are clients at the salon in a classic coastal town. We follow them in the winter months of the 1980s as they find love and friendship, sometimes in unexpected places. Green's characterisation brings you quickly onside while the insights into a hairdresser's careful negotiation with their clients makes you smile.
Oceanforged: The Wicked Ship
Amelia Mellor. Affirm Press. $16.99.
This is the first instalment of a promised five-book fantasy adventure series from the author of historical fantasy trilogy The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Recommended for readers aged 8 to 12, Oceanforged follows 13-year-old Cori, who is fighting for her life aboard the pirate ship Harridan skippered by the fearsome Captain Scrimshaw. When a powerful gauntlet from an ancient magical suit of armour fuses itself to her arm, plucky Cori thinks it's her ticket to freedom but first she must learn about courage and resilience, helped by her new friends, Tarn and Jem, who have amazing skills of their own.
Suzanne Do. Macmillan Australia. $34.99.
Lili Berry's life in the charming coastal village of Swanning is upended by the death of her twin sister, Honey. Fuelled by grief, Lili strives to uncover the truth. Pete, who is haunted by the disappearance of his son 15 years ago, is the one who found Honey's body. He and Lili plunge headfirst into the dark secrets and lies of their not always close-knit community. This is the debut novel of former lawyer Suzanne Do, who with husband Anh Do co-wrote The Little Refugee, a children's version of his bestselling memoir, The Happiest Refugee, and the feature film Footy Legends.
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Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Vogue Australia runway show to make Perth debut
A touch of Vogue magic will return to Karrinyup next month for a renowned weekend-long spring-summer fashion festival. The festival returns to Karrinyup Shopping Centre in partnership with Vogue Australia for an elevated four-day celebration of new season fashion trends, following its sold-out debut last year. To kick off the event, starting on September 4, customers can secure tickets to experience WA's first Vogue Fashion After Dark runway show, where the most coveted looks of the season will be showcased. It will take over Karrinyup's West Deck and is expected to set the tone for a style-filled weekend wrapping up on September 7. Some of the brands to feature on the runway, curated by Vogue's Australia fashion team, include Scanlan Theodore, Viktoria & Woods, Coach and Morrison. Vogue Australia's fashion director Kaila Matthews said she was thrilled to bring first-to-market looks to Karrinyup, giving guests the chance to experience new trends. 'The Vogue After Dark Runway will be a celebration of fashion in all its forms,' she said. 'We're bringing a breadth of statement styles – from effortless high-summer dressing to bold, head- turning evening wear – giving our guests a first look at what's next. It's an opportunity to experience the energy, creativity and glamour of the season.' The four-day festival will feature WA's first Vogue Fashion After Dark runway show. Credit: Supplied Karrinyup Centre general manager Trudy Cook said the centre was anticipating another record-breaking turnout for what is fast becoming one of WA's premier fashion events. 'Karrinyup continues to set the standard for exclusive and memorable experiences for our customers, unlike anywhere else,' she said. 'Building on last year's success, this will be a celebration of Australian fashion and showcase the true breadth of what our customers can experience in our centre.' People who miss out on tickets to the launch will have the chance to get a taste of the action in the centre's outdoor dining precinct, where the show will be projected live on the shopping centre's facade. Fashionistas can expect exclusive panels, workshops and fashion, beauty and interior styling masterclasses across the festival days. Event highlights also include in-store styling sessions, shop-and-sip experiences, matcha carts, exclusive Vogue merchandise and photo booth pop-ups. Tickets to Karrinyup's Vogue Festival events go on sale from Thursday at
Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Looking for a new book? Here are 10 new titles to try
This week's books include the fiction debut of the former 'queen of current affairs', some Australian coastal noir, two true wartime tales and shocking tales from Australia's paramedic frontlines. FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK The Far Side of the Moon Jana Wendt Text Publishing, $40 Anyone who had a nerd-crush on Jana Wendt growing up (raises hand) will be eager to read the short stories in her debut fiction collection, The Far Side of the Moon. Wendt was a fixture on Australian television for decades, establishing herself as a star reporter with Channel Nine's 60 Minutes in 1982 and going on to become – as her fictional alter ego is described in the story Fame and Nothingness – the 'queen of current affairs'. That story probes the disconnect between fame and the (often quotidian) private life of someone touched by it, with an appealing blend of wistfulness and playful bemusement. Only two of the tales are related: the final stories deliver drastically divergent perspectives from co-workers at a numismatics shop, in a fable-like illustration of the effects of cynicism and openness. It isn't Rashomon, exactly, but Wendt's keen intellect and imagination make for a strikingly plausible, humane contrast. Readers will take pleasure, too, in the volume's running themes – particularly the puzzles it constructs from the different kinds of truth, and the opposing strategies deployed to uncover them, in journalism and fiction. Billed as 'Great Ocean Road noir', Luke Johnson's King Tide is a foreboding, character-driven crime fiction set in the fictional town of Lagunes Bay on Victoria's Surf Coast. In the wake of a monster storm and king tide, a buried corpse is washed free from its sandy grave. The victim is a young woman, Hayley, who vanished from the town years before; suspicion falls widely in a community that did little to find out what happened to her. Now young adults, Hayley's peers must know something, and the gruesome secret implicates Tate, the town's golden boy who may have been Hayley's final boyfriend, and his 'bad boy' best friend Luther. Meanwhile, Brylie and her Anglican vicar father have returned to Lagunes Bay – the former still resentful and clueless about why they left town in the first place – setting everyone further on edge. King Tide leans into its rugged setting to amplify the sense of danger and deliverson genre tropes. Johnson has written a mystery laden with dark secrets, suspense, and small-town menace, while crafting young adult characters realistic and complex enough for a coming-of-age novel to infiltrate by stealth. Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime Fiona McKenzie Kekic HQ, $32.99 Eva wakes up to the 50th birthday from hell. She receives an anonymous Facebook message informing her that her husband is having an affair. And she loses her job. As if that's not enough, her elderly parents have gone missing in India, Bollywood dancing their way to some obscure fate with only a trail of very weird TikTok videos as clues to their whereabouts. Eva decides to put miles between herself and her faithless husband and embarks on an epic rescue mission. What's disguised as a search for lost parents is, of course, a quest of self-discovery, as Eva steps outside her humdrum existence into a larger-than-life subcontinental adventure. Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime is strongly reminiscent of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, though it'll also remind readers of the feelgood classic Shirley Valentine in its main arc – a middle-aged woman liberating herself from the weight of social expectation and reckoning with middle age, love, and second chances in an exotic locale. Luke Harris returns to Melbourne and appears to be an ordinary university student, but his past life won't leave him alone. As a teenager, Luke was an underworld enforcer, and his skills – from street smarts to how to bury a body – remain of value to Gus Alberici, the brutal crime boss he worked for. It was only a matter of time before Gus resurfaced, and when he does, it's to coerce Luke into finding a few things that have vanished – Luke's father, for one, and a large pile of Gus's cash, for another. Pressured to resume his old life, Luke seems to have no choice but to resort to nefarious skills to stay alive, track down his dad, and discover what happened to the missing loot. Stillwater is a gritty Australian crime thriller with plenty of action and suspense. It's artfully paced, written in a muscular style, and the fortunes of its flawed (anti)hero should keep readers on the edge of their seats. Land of Hope Cate Baum Indigo Press, $29.99 Land of Hope folds a dystopian fable into an Emily Bronte-like gothic novel. It's a fascinating idea for a crossover, and the central character, Hope Gleason, seems to emanate from the wild and windswept moors as if she were a ghost already. Rumours and myths about Hope – and her role in her husband's brutality – swirl long before an indescribable sound annihilates a nearby village. A weapon of some kind has been unleashed, and Hope takes an orphaned lad under her wing, as the two survivors embark on a grim quest for a serial killer amid the apocalypse. Like Bronte, Cate Baum uses the brooding, elemental landscape to expressionistic effect, and she channels the spirit of Cormac McCarthy in the mercilessness and extremity of the novel's examination of evil. The orphan is irritating, it must be said, but the passions at play and Baum's morbid imagination should have you hooked regardless, especially if you're a fan of Wuthering Heights, gothic sensibility, serial killer chillers, or all three. Survival in Singapore Tom Trumble Penguin, $36.99 In September 1943, Australian commandos – after having sailed from Australia in a craft disguised as an Asian fishing boat – entered Singapore Harbour and sank a reputed seven Japanese ships. The somewhat surprised Japanese assumed it was a local operation and arrested large numbers of suspects, including detainees in Changi prison. It's the repercussions of the raid that are the main focus of Tom Trumble's evocative study of extraordinary fortitude and inner strength. Elizabeth Choy, for example, who became known as the Heroine of Singapore, endured intense torture and brutal beatings, her ordeal (via a variety of primary sources) presented here in vivid, grim detail. Likewise, British diplomat Robert Heatlie Scott, who drew strength from a volume of the complete work of Keats given to him by an interrogating member of the Japanese military police. Both survived the war. It's not just the characters, though – Trumble is adept at describing the city itself at this time with eerie details like hooded Japanese informants cruising the streets. A comprehensive, dramatic (sometimes novelistic) re-creation of dramatic times. As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, 'The very rich are different from you and me'. Indeed! One measure of it can be found in the things they consume – such as the world's most expensive spirit, a US$44 million Limoncello. Coleman has fun delving into the obscenities of the rich and famous throughout history, which he divides into seven parts, one for each of the deadly sins. There's no shortage of rogues for the gallery, be it the aptly named Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus, whose wealth equated to the yearly incomes of 32,000 citizens – or the almost universally detested Belgian king Leopold II, whose genocidal greed bled the Congo dry. From papal orgies hosted by the Borgias to exorbitant modern weddings, this is a chronicle of fantastical sounding but true excess. And, as much as we might think ordinary punters admire them, Coleman highlights the case of Luigi Mangione, who murdered multi-millionaire Brian Thompson and became something of a cult hero on social media. In the spirit of Boccaccio, funny and sobering. The Last Tour Ann Curthoys MUP, $39.99 When Paul Robeson sang to workers on the construction site of the Sydney Opera House, it became famous as the first concert on the site, but was one of many in the tour of Australia and New Zealand by Robeson and his wife, feminist and activist, Eslanda. This may be an academic study of what proved to be Robeson's last tour, but it's a very engaging one: Robeson is the subject of the book, but it's also a window into post-war, Cold War Australia. In what amounts to a portrait of the tour, Curthoys emphasises its many facets, especially its political side, Robeson being a Marxist who made his support of the USSR well known; a political stance that led to his and his wife's passports being revoked. Apart from the music, the Robesons were deeply interested in Indigenous and women's rights movements in Australia and New Zealand. Along the way, we learn about Robeson's studies and reading, Robeson being the only African American at Rutgers in 1915. First-rate cultural, political and social history. This series of dispatches from the battlefront of ambulance duty comes layered with grim humour, but as former journalist and ambo driver Tim Booth explains, it's a way of coping with the drama and sheer absurdity that can come with the job. Take Darlene and Fluffy. After being called by a neighbour, Tim and a workmate enter the stench of Darlene's flat and find her, barely conscious, cradling the rotting Fluffy. It's clear Darlene's not going anywhere without the pet, and so they wind up taking a dead cat to emergency. Other cases are just plain gripping, such as a car crashing through a clothing shop window, leaving a teenage girl critically injured. But, even here, the absurd is not far away – the site strewn with confusing, life-like mannequins. Other anecdotes include the time a young woman called 000 for a broken toenail. Collectively, they paint a darkly comic picture of a system stretched to its limit (in this case, NSW), that is also dealing with the absurdities of all-too-human foibles. Blamey Brent D. Taylor ABC Books, $36.99 In what became something of a controversial address, General Blamey (commander-in-chief of Australian military forces in WWII) spoke to troops who had just seen action in New Guinea in 1942, the rumour spreading afterwards that he had said they ran like 'rabbits'. It's part of the mythology surrounding the 'flawed' figure of Blamey that Taylor examines in this no-nonsense biographical assessment. He cuts through the innuendo, the quirks and the public image, and Blamey emerges as the country's greatest general. He coolly examines the facts of Blamey's career and concludes that, by any reasonable standard, he was an outstanding leader. Pivotal to this is the death rates of Australian troops in WWII, which were very low. He may or may not have been popular among the troops, but he was efficient and diplomatically successful in dealing with our allies in arguing for control of Australian troops. Taylor takes us back to a tough rural upbringing in NSW, his invaluable time under Monash in WWI (especially the groundbreaking significance of the Battle of Hamel), his civic life and sometimes controversial private life. A bit like Blamey himself, no fuss, and to the point.
AU Financial Review
4 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Arkley, Olley soar at $14m art sale
Collectors flung their umbrellas in a soggy tangle at the door of a Sydney auction room to help send three paintings through the million-dollar mark on Tuesday night. And it was two of those in-room bidders who secured the top-priced works in Smith & Singer's 93-lot auction of Important Australian Art. One attendee landed Howard Arkley 's deliciously gaudy painting, Contemporary Units, 1988, with a decisive $2 million gambit, knocking out a rival's $1.7 million bid in one go.
