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The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Esther hails from Cork, Ireland and lives in the North West of Tasmania. Esther is the author of Leaving Ocean Road and The House of Second Chances. She’s joining us today with her new novel The Writing Class.
We’d all like to believe we’re the authors of our own story, but when Vivian’s husband Dave abandons her, she learns the hard way there are some twists she wouldn’t have plotted for herself.
Back home in Tasmania, Vivian is at a loss for what to do with herself until a chance encounter sees her teaching a writing class. Amidst the diverse students Vivian learns discovers new things about herself, and about the power of raising up your voice when you have something to say.
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.
Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
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Here are my End of Year Picks and a few recommendations for buying Xmas Gifts for the book lover in your life!
Lech Blaine’s Australian Gospel
‘A Family Saga’. Australian Gospel tells the story of Lech’s siblings. It’s a big family and Lech’s mum and dad Tom and Lenore fostered five children in the years before Lech was born. Three of those children, Lech’s brothers and sisters, happen to be the biological offspring of Michael and Mary Shelley.
Buy it for - Anyone looking for a good Aussie Yarn
Miranda Darling’s Thunderhead
Across a single day we are thrown into the life of Winona Dalloway. From the moment she wakes, stealing a few precious moments before her time is not her own, to the dinner party that looms over her calendar, the reader follows Winona as she tries simply to be herself…
Buy it for - Lovers of literary fiction who are looking for a gorgeously written, stimulating read
Sara Haddad’s The Sunbird
The Sunbird tells the story of Nabila Yasmeen. As a six year old she and her family were expelled from their village in Palestine. Now in her eighties and living in Sydney, Nabila stills feels the weight of this trauma in her daily life…
The Sunbird has been included in a reasoning pack being sent to Australian MPs by a group of authors including Tim Winton, Charlotte Wood, JM Coetzee, Anna Funder, Michelle de Kretser, André Dao and Rosie Batty. Their goal is to educate our leaders in the history of Palestine and the Israel/Gaza conflict
Buy it for - Anyone who wants (or needs) to learn a little more about Gaza
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
In the fractured kingdom of the Yue, Xishi is regarded as a peerless beauty.
Her beauty is famous across her homeland and leads her to be sought out by the advisor to the king. The Yue have suffered terrible defeats at the hands of the Wu. This humiliation and the threat of ongoing war has lead the king to try a desperate plan. With Xishi’s help they will infiltrate the Wu king’s court, win his heart and overthrow his tyrannical rule.
Thrust deep into the heart of the enemy Wu kingdom, Xishi must use all her skills, not only to survive but to bring justice for her people.
Buy it for - Lovers of historical fiction
Honourable Mention Emily Maguire’s Rapture
The Echoes by Evie Wyld
Max waits in the London flat he shares with Hannah. He’s had little to do but wait since he died. He’d never given much consideration to being a ghost and even still it’s not living up to the hype.
Buy it for - Lovers of Ghost Stories, humour and love alike
Sharlene Allsop’s The Great Undoing.
Scarlet Friday is a truth teller in a hyper connected world. Her job is to explore archives and provide context for the official narrative of history. But the past is never truly buried and outside Scarlett’s archives the rest of the world is teetering on the brink. As systems shut down around the world, Scarlet finds herself on the run. Unwelcome in England, she is now a refugee seeking safe passage back to Australia.
Buy it for - Lovers of Speculative Fiction
Honourable mentions Alice Robinson’s If You Go and Jordan Prosser’s Big Time
Siang Lu’s Ghost Cities
Xiang is working as a translator at Sydney’s Chinese Consulate when it’s discovered he really doesn’t speak much Chinese. This is considered a less than desirable outcome and Xiang is both fired and culturally shamed for his lack of national pride.
Xiang is quickly whisked off to the Ghost City of Port Man Tou, where he is set to star in the city wide production of Baby Bao’s simulation of reality. A movie within a city within a movie that is aiming to create an economy so circular it might just get vertigo.
Buy it for - Anyone with Eyes! Probably my book of the year -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Emma Grey is a writer, novelist and photographer. Her novel the Last Love Note was a global bestseller and today she’s joining us with her new novel Pictures of You.
At sixteen years old Evie Hudson feels too young to be married, let alone a widow. And that’s the problem, Evie’s not sixteen but the accident that killed her husband Oliver also stole her memory.
Now she believes she’s a teenager. Thrown back to a time when she felt safe.
But safe from what?
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.
Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
Twitter - https://twitter.com/finaldraft2ser
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Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/finaldraft2ser/ -
Lech Blaine is the author of the memoir Car Crash and the Quarterly Essays Top Blokes and Bad Cop. His new work is Australian Gospel.
Australian Gospel has the subtitle ‘A Family Saga’. It takes only a cursory glance at the back cover synopsis to understand why Australian Gospel works to reassure readers that this is a very real, very true story. The story contained between the covers and the ride Lech Blaine is about to take you on, well if it wasn’t true, you absolutely would not believe it.
Lech Blaine was born in 1992 and by the time he came along the story of Australian Gospel was already many decades old.
Australian Gospel is the story of Lech’s siblings. It’s a big family and Lech’s mum and dad Tom and Lenore fostered five children in the years before Lech was born. Three of those children, Lech’s brothers and sisters, happen to be the biological offspring of Michael and Mary Shelley.
Michael and Mary Shelley were charismatic Christians, or itinerant and chronic god botherers. The definition really depended on which side of their charms you happened to find yourself on and whether you were standing between them and something they wanted.
The Shelley’s wrought havoc across Australia and the Tasman throughout the 70’s right through till the 2000’s. Thanks to the kindness and good heart of his parents, Lech and their extended family find themselves in the Shelley’s crosshairs as they seek to reclaim the children who were removed for their safety.
Australian Gospel is a wild ride. In his prologue Lech hints at the mammoth task of research an interviews he undertook to bring the story to the page. As a result we are transported to an Australian growing out of the post war period and transforming into the modern country that likes to think it can take on the world (and most of the time can at least give it a shot in sports).
Lech’s prose is spare and as such is able to embrace the competing interests of a sprawling historical narrative and tense domestic fare. It’s a remarkable feat that the narrative can seamlessly jump between a bush prophet’s screed and a domestic drama with nary a blink.
And that could be it for this review; Australian Gospel is worth your time for its fascinating story and Lech’s engaging style. This is a cracking yarn, but it’s also more than just a cracking yarn.
Brimming beneath the surface of Australian Gospel and cleverly hinted at in its title is another, perhaps deeper reason to pick up a copy. Between the fanatical Michael Shelley preaching his own narcissistic version of the bible and Tom and Lenore Blaine’s quiet (and sometimes loud) search for the great Australian idyll, Australian Gospel gives us competing views of what the so-called lucky country could be.
Where Shelley derides Australia’s love of beer and sport, Tom Blaine embraces these as part of life’s purpose. Where Shelley coaxes and gulls all and sundry to get them to see him as the second coming, Tom Blaine gets on with the job and finds himself quietly adored by his children and community alike.
This is a fascinating book about a bizarre chapter in Australian history told through the eyes of a child (now man) who knows it as his family’s story. It’s a story about fear and hope that goes to the heart of who we are and how we love the people around us so that they feel more of the latter.
It is a family saga and in the telling it’s about the triumph of that family and the incredible story that got them there. -
The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Peter FitzSimons is a journalist and writer, former Wallaby and a member of the order of Australia. Peter is celebrated for his history and biography writing and today he's joining us with his new book The Legend of Albert Jacka.
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
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Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
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Esther Campion hails from Cork, but has made the North West of Tasmania her home. She is the author of Leaving Ocean Road and The House of Second Chances. Esther’s new novel is called The Writing Class.
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We’d all like to believe we’re the authors of our own story, but when Vivian’s husband Dave abandons her, she learns the hard way there are some twists she wouldn’t have plotted for herself.
Back home in Tasmania, Vivian is at a loss for what to do with herself until a chance encounter sees her teaching a writing class. Amidst the diverse students Vivian discovers that everyone has their own battles to fight…
Marilyn always dreamed of more but when she got married to an older man it quickly became kids and looking after her pensioned husband. Marilyn always knew her husband was mean but as she comes to know the members of her writing group she discovers he’s also a racist and is holding her back with his insular ideas.
Oscar has always been ashamed of his difficulty with reading and writing. It’s held him back from visiting his son in Japan and may have even cost him his marriage. He’d always believed literacy just wasn’t a skill he’d learn but soon Oscar learns there’s lots he can achieve with the right support.
Sienna was barely out of high school when Cole whisked her off her feet and down to Tasmania. Now with a new baby, Sienna must face up to the fact that Cole is not the man she thought her was. He’s gaslit her into thinking she’s worthless but with the help of The Writing Class she might finally be able to pursue her dreams and escape Cole’s clutches.
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The Writing Class is simultaneously feelgood and very much the emotional rollercoaster. The ensemble cast are brought together to lift each other up but we are also privy to their lives and the obstacles they must overcome.
The Writing Class doesn’t shy away from dealing with issues and I’d acknowledge that this novel explores a range of heavy topics including sexuality, abuse and coercive control. Each of these stories moves the characters towards realising their true selves even as they fight back against the forces that have worked to keep tied to their old sense of self.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Writing Class as both a page turner that gave me the strong character arcs I expected but also for its ability to surprise and challenge me with hard left twists.
At its heart is the notion that we can realise our dreams but that this is not some fantasy but involves real work. Through each of the characters we see that what has taken them from their path is that someone else has tried to tell their story and only when they take back control of the narrative, only when they start to write their own stories can they truly live. -
The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Emily is a lawyer and writer of Greek heritage based in Western Australia. Her writing has been published in Westerly, Griffith Review and Science Write Now. Emily is joining us with her debut novel Matia.
When Sia emigrates from her village in Greece to Perth in the aftermath of the Second World War she is looking for a new beginning. Sia brings with her four Matia and four prophesies that will shape the lives of the women in her family.
Across four generations Matia weaves the stories of Sia, Koula, Athena, and Clara as they seek to forge their own lives and stay true to their culture in an ever changing world.
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.
Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
Twitter - https://twitter.com/finaldraft2ser
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Emma Grey is a writer, novelist and photographer. Her novel the Last Love Note was a global bestseller. Her new novel is Pictures of You.
At sixteen years old Evie Hudson feels too young to be married, let alone a widow. And that’s the problem, Evie’s not sixteen but the accident that killed her husband Oliver also stole her memory.
Now she believes she’s a teenager. Thrown back to a time when she felt safe.
But safe from what?
Evie’s lost her memory, which throws up more than a few problems. The last thing she remembers is her parents cautioning her against getting into cars with strangers and talking to people on the internet. Now she somehow has to figure out Uber?!
A week after awakening in a hospital a stranger to herself, Evie is freaking out that none of her so-called family seem to like her and her real parents haven’t tried to contact her.
Evie flees her husband’s funeral and jumps straight into Uber waiting outside.
Only problem, that’s no Uber and this guy seems to know a lot about Evie’s past.
Pictures of You is a pacy and thought provoking thriller that races the reader to discover how Evie wound up so isolated in her own life.
I’m going to give you the spoiler free review here but that means I’m only really touching on the opening chapters of the novel.
Suffice to say though that when you buy your ticket you can expect an edgy mix of drama, social commentary and a mystery to solve just for good measure.
The narrative alternates between Evie’s contemporary battle to remember who she is and flashes back to her life at sixteen. The life she thinks she has returned to.
We meet an idealistic and driven young woman who knows exactly where she’s going in life. The contrast couldn’t be more stark between adolescent Evie and the isolated, desperate woman struggling to understand what’s happening to her.
Pictures of You asks important questions about love and how far it’s meant to go whilst still remaining healthy. Evie believes in a Romantic vision of love but the book challenges the idea that our romantic notions should be trusted.
Eagle eyed listeners might have noticed that this is one of a few novels we’ve discussed this year that involve a character with memory loss. This device thrusts the reader into the protagonist's shoes as the act of reading mirrors the slow unraveling of a story that could very well mean life or death.
Evie’s story hits the beats of hope and loss in satisfying ways that keep us going till the bitter end. Will we like the Evie who emerges when her memory returns?
That’s the joy of storytelling. By taking the ride with her, whoever emerges by the end we will hopefully have greater understanding and compassion for her journey. -
The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Mike Barry is an award winning writer and artist. His Action Tank series has won the Comic Arts Award of Australia and has been shortlisted for a slew of awards including the NSW Premiers Literary Award and the Aurealis.
Mike’s joining us today because Action Tank 3, the conclusion of the series, is out now!
A young boy wakes up on the other side of the solar system, with little more than his brains, courage and an incredibly powerful piece of space technology to rely on.
Strap in, it’s going to be a wild ride home for his mum’s spaghetti carbonara.
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.
Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
Twitter - https://twitter.com/finaldraft2ser
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/finaldraft2ser/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/finaldraft2ser/ -
Emily Maguire is the author of seven novels and has been shortlisted for the Stella, the Miles Franklin and many more awards.
In Emily Maguire’s new novel Rapture, the life of a young woman in ninth century Europe is fraught at best.
Under her father’s roof Agnes is indulged in her reading and stands out for her intelligence and wit. But this is no life for a girl, let alone a woman and Agnes must soon face the prospect that she will be married off.
Rejecting this fate Agnes implores her father’s friend to hide her. Obscuring her sex, Agnes enters a Benedictine monastery where she must forever be on guard against discovery.
The story of Agnes is based on the history or perhaps legend of Pope Joan/Ioannes Anglicus, an officially unofficial female Pope. The story has long fascinated and perturbed the sorts of people who gatekeep these sorts of male spaces and you can see how the possibility of a learned woman who rose to the top of the Catholic Church might ruffle a few feathers.
In Maguire’s hands Agnes’ story moves between the worldly and the divine.
At an early age Agnes is gored by a hog. This brutal action both convinces her she is not fit for marriage and also foreshadows the brief but also visceral encounters she will have with men in her future.
Agnes must negotiate a life wholly embodied; she is never able to forget her sex despite it going unnoticed by the myriad men around her. This life of the flesh convinces her to try and transcend it through her studies where she excels at academics beyond her male monkish peers.
Her excellence is taken for granted, because I guess they couldn’t possibly imagine a woman might be this clever, and Agnes rises through the clergy. Her talents put her on a course for Rome where she is destined to be seen as a paragon of learning.
It is perhaps because of her efforts to efface her womanhood that Agnes comes to be desired by so many around her. The tension and enjoyment of Rapture comes in the characterisation of Agnes’ struggle and the inner torment she suffers as she tries to find the place she has always craved in the world.
Maguire is a tremendous writer of character and through Agnes’ story we see both a history of submission challenged and a paralleling with women’s experience of success and the quest to live a public life today.
Rapture is far from the narratives of Australian life that have occupied earlier novels like An Isolated Incident and Love Objects. What the reader can expect though is the same concern with power structures and who gets to tell the story that occupies all her novels. -
The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Ann Liang is a New York Times bestselling author of YA novels This Time It’s Real, If You Could See the Sun, and I Hope This Doesn't Find You.
She’s joining us today with her new novel A Song to Drown Rivers.
In the fractured kingdom of Yue, Xishi is regarded as a peerless beauty.
In another time her beauty might see her make a good marriage and support her family, but when she is sought out by the advisor to her defeated king she sees a larger destiny on her horizon.
Thrust deep into the heart of the enemy Wu kingdom, Xishi must use all skills not only to survive but to bring justice for her people.
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.
Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
Twitter - https://twitter.com/finaldraft2ser
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/finaldraft2ser/
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Tigest Girma is an Ethiopian writer based in Melbourne. Her debut novel is Immortal Dark.
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Kidan Adane has been living a half life since the disappearance of her sister.
Ever since Kidan and her sister June were rescued as children they have lived in fear that they will be discovered by the dranaics, immortal creatures who live on the blood of humans. The dranaics power has been tempered somewhat by their bond to specific human bloodlines. Unfortunately Kidan’s family is one such bloodline.
Kidan has crossed lines to try and recover her sister and has all but given up when she is summoned by the Dean of Uxlay University. The University's long relationship with the dranaics is threatened by the ambition of one Susenyos Sagad. Susenyos is bonded to house Adane and now Kidan must return and take up her birthright, or risk an imbalance that threatens her whole world.
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Immortal Drak is a fresh and compelling reinvention of vampire lore that dives deep on the parasitic relationship between the immortal bloodsuckers and the humans they prey on.
As Kidan returns to Uxlay University and enrolls in the courses that will allow her to come into her inheritance, we are taken on a history tour of the world of Immortal Dark. A world where vampires and humans are bound to each other. It limits the blood loss but ramps up the intimate tension to eleven.
Kidan presents as a loner, but she’s no Bella Swan or even Buffy Summers. For starters Immortal Dark’s mythos traces its origins to Africa and this feeds into the history and character of the families of Uxlay.
Kidan is also neither a clear slayer, nor consort of the sexy vampire/dranaic. Rather there is a lot of brooding and even more on and off screen violence.
The journey into the world of Uxlay University works hard to balance world building and driving narrative. We are privy to this strange outpost of humans and vampires through Kidan’s eyes and so it is appropriately strange. The novel doesn’t seem to want the reader to get too comfortable and so be prepared for blood and angst in equal measure.
Immortal Dark, Kidan and Uxlay defy any stereotype about supernatural schooling you might bring to your reading of the novel. There are obvious parallels to be drawn here with other franchises both magical and bitey, but that’s only going to thwart the reader. It’s not until you take Immortal dark on its own terms that the narrative of legacy, disenfranchisement and attraction can work their own magic on you.
I’ll confess, I think this is my first foray into the genre known as Romantasy (a portmanteau of Romance and Fantasy) and I was pleasantly surprised. The angst is heavy, but no heavier than I’m sure I was when I was an angsty, university aged person. The lore and the worldbuilding offer a hook that lets you discover and rediscover what you thought you knew about undead bloodsuckers. As for the narrative, it provides mystery and suspense in a pacy way that invites page turning.
Immortal Dark is a must for lovers of genre but should also be on the TBR of readers who like to challenge their preconceptions. You know what they say about vampires; into every generation a new take on the undead is born. Maybe Immortal Dark is the latest to take us by storm. -
The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Lauren Keegan is a psychologist and writer. Her debut novel is All the Bees in the Hollows.
With the death of her husband, Martye must take care of the family’s hollows. She is not alone, although her daughter Austeja has always fiercely resisted her families vocation as beekeepers. There is more loss to come though when the Hollow Watcher is found dead beneath an abandoned hollow. With suspicion turning onto the community Martye and Austeja must learn to rely on each other, and they must trust to the bees. Bees don’t sting good people.
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.
Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
Twitter - https://twitter.com/finaldraft2ser
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/finaldraft2ser/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/finaldraft2ser/ -
Blue Mountains Writers Festival brings together incredible minds and exciting new talent set against the stunning backdrop of the Blue Mountains.
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The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Emily Maguire is the author of seven novels and has been shortlisted for the Stella, the Miles Franklin and many more awards. You’ve met her on Final Draft before and it is a pleasure to welcome her back with her new novel Rapture.
The life of a young woman in ninth century Europe is fraught at best.
Under her father’s roof Agnes is indulged in her reading and stands out for her intelligence and wit. But this is no life for a girl, let alone a woman and so Agnes must hide herself and her sex to enter a Benedictine monastary and embark on a most remarkable career.
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.
Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
Twitter - https://twitter.com/finaldraft2ser
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/finaldraft2ser/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/finaldraft2ser/ -
Ann Liang is a New York Times bestselling author of YA novels This Time It’s Real, If You Could See the Sun, and I Hope This Doesn't Find You. Ann’s new novel is A Song to Drown Rivers.
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In the fractured kingdom of the Yue, Xishi is regarded as a peerless beauty.
Her beauty is famous across her homeland and leads her to be sought out by the advisor to the king. The Yue have suffered terrible defeats at the hands of the Wu. This humiliation and the threat of ongoing war has lead the king to try a desperate plan. With Xishi’s help they will infiltrate the Wu king’s court, win his heart and overthrow his tyrannical rule.
Thrust deep into the heart of the enemy Wu kingdom, Xishi must use all her skills, not only to survive but to bring justice for her people.
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A Song to Drown Rivers is based on the ancient Chinese story of Xishi, one of the four famed beauties of legend. From this source material Liang weaves a compelling tale that blends political intrigue with the all too human story of Xishi.
The conceit that Xishi is valued only for her beauty is tested against the development of the character as she prepares to enter the enemy Wu kingdom. Early on Xishi is shown to be jaded by her reputation as a beauty and longs to find more purpose than that found at the end of a man’s gaze.
Through her training and then in the court of the Wu King Fuchai Xishi is challenged to be bold and clever if she is to rise above the level of concubine.
The novel works hard to explore the inner world of Xishi and build on the legend that exists through history. We see Xishi questioning the rituals of the court and comparing them to the practicality of her village life. Xishi must confront that the tragedy of her family's life and loss through the war is mirrored in many other families, including those of the Wu.
Xishi is also embroiled in an impossible love story that can only be further complicated by her mission to seduce the king.
A Song to Drown Rivers works to complicate the romance and spectacle of so many epic tales of Kingdom’s clashing. Xishi is both an ethereal figure of legend and a kind of every person, struggling to find a morality that can encompass the brutal world she finds herself in.
Ann Liang’s writing takes in the source material and embellishes it both for our times and with a sense of pacy, engrossing storytelling. Xishi’s tale rockets forward even as we feel the encroaching moment where she must make a decision about who she is after so long living a lie.
This book is a must read, ready to appeal to lovers of epics, history, war and romance. It hits its beats in thoughtful and engaging ways and had me hanging on to the last page. -
Maeve Marsden is a writer, producer and theatremaker. She is also the Creative Director of Varuna the National Writers’ House and Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival.
Blue Mountains Writers Festival brings together incredible minds and exciting new talent set against the stunning backdrop of the Blue Mountains. -
The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.
These are the stories that make us who we are.
Stephen Downes is a writer and a journalist with an expansive career in news, TV and radio. His debut novel The Hands of Pianists was shortlisted for the 2022 Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. He joins us today with his new work Mural.
What drives a person to commit unspeakable acts?
At the request of his psychiatrist ‘D’ is recording his thoughts. Held ‘at her majesty’s pleasure’ D has little else to occupy his time.
But is D complying with Dr Reynold’s humble request and if so what should we make of this strange journey into the mind of a self confessed madman?
Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople
Want more great conversations with Australian authors?
Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.
Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!
Twitter - https://twitter.com/finaldraft2ser
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Lauren Keegan is a psychologist and writer. Her debut novel is All the Bees in the Hollows.
All the Bees in the Hollows takes place in a remote beekeeping community in 16th century Lithuania. With the death of her husband, Maryte must take care of the family’s hollows. She is not alone, although her daughter Austeja has always fiercely resisted her family's vocation as beekeepers.
The death of their father is compounded when Austeja discovers the Hollow Watcher dead beneath an abandoned hollow. As the representative of the Duke he was not a beloved man but his sudden death, alongside the disappearance of the bees, does not bode well for the upcoming harvest.
Their little community is small and not used to outsiders and so suspicion turns inward and onto the families. Maryte and Austeja must learn to rely on each other, and they must trust to the bees. Because bees don’t sting good people.
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All the Bees in the Hollows is a pleasing mix of genres and a fascinating exploration into a way of life that has been changed utterly by our modern world.
It was interesting to read this novel at the onset of our spring, as the bees gathered in my garden and everywhere I turned they were working to collect pollen. Our relationship to bees is so very fundamental to our entire ecosystem and is also one of the most precarious relationships we have with our natural world.
In the novel we are treated to the traditions of Hollows Beekeeping, where swarms are attracted to the hollows of trees and the families manage their development and are careful to harvest only the barest necessity to maintain their livelihoods.
The questions of production and how the profits of the bees are used emerges as a theme when Maryte and Austeja must confront the upcoming spring without their beloved husband and father. Maryte is proud of her skills as a beekeeper but worries at how she will be accepted by the community. There is also the question of the encroaching influence of the church that threatens the practices that have supported the community and their hives for generations.
All the Bees in the Hollows explores the impact of colonial forces in the form of religion and economics at the point when the communities ways are most tested. The sixteenth century was a turning point for beekeeping in Lithuania and so the novel takes advantage of the stakes in this history.
By focussing on the family and the wider biciulyste (the community of beekeeping families) we have both the satisfaction of a contained narrative and the ability to closely observe the psychology of each of the players. That there is a murder mystery in the mix adds an extra frisson driving the narrative forward.
Between the thematic reach and the character driven tension, All the Bees in the Hollows is a wonderfully entertaining read. Even if you don’t share my fascination with bees, you’ll undoubtedly find something to hook you in this tale. -
The Final Draft podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love.These are the stories that make us who we are.Lauren Crozier won the 2023 Text Prize for her debut novel The Best Witch in Paris.Luna has three loving aunts and a whole lot of questions. Being raised in a witch family comes with all the familiar trappings; an out of control broom, charms & curses and a whole lot of black.Luna hasn’t found her familiar yet and so it’s with trepidation and surprise that she greets the offer of a Boobook Owl from a shadowy figure in the Forgotten Forest.Sounds legit doesn’t it?Luna’s about to find out…Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew PopleWant more great conversations with Australian authors?Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week.Get in touch with Andrew and Final Draft. We love to hear about what you’re reading!Twitter - https://twitter.com/finaldraft2ser Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/finaldraft2ser/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/finaldraft2ser/
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