Pan MacMillan

Book Review: Di Morrissey’s Arcadia is a modern mystery in a timeless Tasmanian forest

Australia’s favourite storyteller, Di Morrissey, returns with her Twenty-sixth book, Arcadia, a modern mystery born in a timeless Tasmanian forest. Set in the 1930’s, Arcadia tells the story of a young new wife, Stella, as she arrives at her husbands isolated property in Tasmania, where she finds love and beauty nestled amongst the nearby untouched forest. The…

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Five Books You Need To Read This Month: August

After a two-month semi-self-imposed hiatus (life got in the way a bit there!) we’re back with another month of recommended reads. Now, the absence of these articles in June and July is not to suggest there was nothing of note published. On the contrary, there were many great books released in those intervening months. If…

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Book Review: Enter the dangerous world of the South African poaching industry with Tony Park’s Captive

Eager Australian lawyer Kerry Maxwell arrives in South Africa, ready and raring to help veterinarian Graham Baird in his fight against poachers in the country’s national parks. But Baird is not what she expects – he’s drunk, jaded, and, worst of all, he’s behind bars in Mozambique. Baird is responsible for the death of the brother…

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Interview: Jessie Burton on bringing her beloved novel to the small screen in The Miniaturist

The Miniaturist became a worldwide bestseller upon its release in 2014. It tells the story of 18 year old Nella Oortman, who comes to Amsterdam as the wife of Johannes Brandt, a wealthy merchant in the employ of the Dutch East India Company. But as Johannes seems increasingly disinterested in being a husband, and his…

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Book Review: Dr. Karl’s new book Karl, The Universe and Everything offers facts and figures about everything!

Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki, or Dr. Karl as we all know him, really needs no introduction. He is an Australian institution. Karl, The Universe and Everything is his 43rd book! That is a lot of books, and a lot of knowledge, but he is still keen to share his knowledge, and make it fun. There are no boring…

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The AU Review’s Top Ten Books of 2017

Happy New Year everyone. Now we’ve packed away the Christmas decorations and finished the last of the festive treats, we in the book review team at the AU thought it’d be a good time to look back at some of our favourite books of the last year. A veritable smorgasbord of great books were released…

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Book Review: Oliver Sacks’ The River of Consciousness is a look inside a beautiful and enquiring mind

For decades Oliver Sacks was lauded as a gifted scientist and storyteller. He penned several books, the most famous being Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. Prior to his death from cancer in 2015 Sacks had been busy working on two final books. The first, Gratitude, was published posthumously in late 2015. The latest…

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Meet the 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award Shortlist (Part 1): Emily Maguire & Mark O’Flynn

On the 18th June the shortlist for the 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award – an award now in it’s 60th year – was unveiled to the public. And what an exciting shortlist it was, with all five of this nominated authors shortlisted for the very first time! It was also great to see many of…

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