Spectrum
A dazzling Nigerian novel and a history of undersea exploration
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
Latest
Could wannabe writers be the next reality TV stars?
With the Literary Death phenomenon being made into a television pilot, perhaps authors will be the next big thing on TV.
- by Jane Sullivan
Can we still love the work of those we’ve cancelled?
After her viral 2017 Paris Review essay, What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?, critic Claire Dederer considers how we should respond to art made by dreadful people.
- by Cameron Woodhead
Doctors, dentists and dermatologists: Being old is a fulltime job
The sending of medical reminders to the over-60s must be the only thing keeping the postal service going.
- by Richard Glover
Australian TV gangster fashion is embarrassing, take these mobster style cues instead
Knitted torquoise polos, slim fit slacks: How Barry’s charming Chechen mobster, Noho Hank, became a television power dresser.
- by Robert Moran
Please, make it stop. Disney’s live-action remakes are ruining childhoods
I love and respect the relentless pursuit of money, but how much more of this can we take?
- by Nick Bhasin
Nothing to see here – and that’s the way the writer wants it
The Booker-shortlisted Percival Everett makes use of pop culture in his latest satirical novel.
- by Owen Richardson
Lives reimagined in poetry hurled like a javelin at the page
These two poetry collections have two ordinary lives as their scaffolding.
- by Pip Smith
Anger and conflict as Stan Grant reflects on monarchy in Australia
The broadcaster’s response to the death of the Queen is subtle and passionate.
- by Dennis Altman
APY Lands art investigation the elephant in the Wynne Prize room
The country’s oldest art prize is awarded for best landscape painting of Australian scenery or figure sculpture.
- by John McDonald
Is Jury Duty the end point for prank TV?
These days a scam has to be very creative, and very new, to catch us out. That goes for TV prank shows, too.
- by David Free