Books + Reviews
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        Zbig: a bracing life of Carter’s abrasive national security adviserZbigniew Brzezinski, the Polish-born rival of Kissinger, is the subject of a highly readable biography by Edward Luce
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        The best recent poetry – review roundupMidden Witch by Fiona Benson; Dwell by Simon Armitage; Nature Matters edited by Mona Arshi & Karen McCarthy Woolf; Lode by Gillian Allnutt; Silk Work by Imogen Cassels; A History of Western Music by August Kleinzahler
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        Red Pockets by Alice Mah review – finding hope amid the climate crisisA professor’s quest to make sense of her eco-anxiety takes her from her ancestral village in China to Cop 26 and beyond
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        Little World by Josephine Rowe review – a beautiful novella that lacks heftAustralian literature is littered with dead girls in the bush – and this finely wrought tale is narrated by a corpse who feels like just a gauzy metaphor
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        Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata review – a future without sexThe Convenience Store Woman author imagines the creep of a new worldview, in a novel that highlights the weirdness of normal life
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        Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley review – a delightfully grounded romanceThis irresistible love story braids the personal and the political – from Brexit to who gets to use the spare room as an office
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        Parallel Lines by Edward St Aubyn review – troubled minds and family mysteriesThe Patrick Melrose author brings his trademark dark wit and flinty compassion to this wide-ranging sequel
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        Notes to John by Joan Didion review – an invasion of privacyThere’s a crude fascination in seeing the contents of a literary celebrity’s therapy sessions, but no one comes out of it well
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        Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane review – streams of consciousnessAn impassioned plea to save our rivers combines poetry and adventure
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        Sister Europe by Nell Zink review – all the ideas Trump deems most dangerousThis comedy of manners set among Berlin’s cultural elite is a prescient interrogation of language, identity and power
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        Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novelsA gosling grows up; a campaign to save trees; the impact of partition; thorny dilemmas; wearing a hijab in Essex and more
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        The Sun Was Electric Light by Rachel Morton review – a clever novel about searching for belongingAustralian book reviewsThe Sun Was Electric Light by Rachel Morton review – a clever novel about searching for belongingA woman who feels disconnected from her life in New York moves to Guatemala to chase a distant memory of happiness in this languid and profound debut