André Dao has kept the legacy of his grandparents alive in Anam, a brilliant novel of immense scope that became a full quest for the truth of his family history, which spans the two Vietnam Wars.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Book reviews
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It’s a too-common myth that autistic people are incapable of, or inept at, love. Autistic writer Kay Kerr explores 5 autistic people’s experiences of familial, friend and romantic love.
A new book of essays chronicles the failings of the Morrison government, but leaves much unexamined.
This whirlwind tour of social history describes how infectious diseases have shaped humanity at every stage. It suggests reducing inequality will give us our best chance of surviving future plagues.
Forensic anthropologist Alexa Hagerty’s work faced her with the brutality of the genocides in Guatemala and in Argentina’s “Dirty War” – and with the bureaucratic violence of state institutions.
German philosopher Martin Heidegger was one of the 20th century’s most feted thinkers. A new book examining his Nazism in light of the now-available evidence, is a troubling, timely read.
The idea that the poor are impoverished morally as well as materially, that they lack humanity as well as means, has a long history.
Influential jurist Barron Field introduced the concept of terra nullius into the law of colonial Australia. His poetry provides crucial insights into his thinking.
Chris Wallace’s book Political Lives entertains, but also does something far more valuable: it lights up the present by illuminating the past.
Aphrodite’s Breath is the story of the island of Kythera, and of being a sometimes unsatisfactory daughter to a much loved, but aloof, mother.
Alexis Wright’s latest novel is an elegy and an ode to Aboriginal law and sovereignty: innovative, visionary, and volcanic in its rage.
Environmental debates often centre proposals for curtailing emissions, without addressing how we got into this mess and how we might get out. A radical new book ponders the alternatives.
In his latest novel, Gregory Day forces the reader to slow down and attend to the ecology of place.
Resistance, like Rachel Cusk’s Outline trilogy, uses its main character – a therapist, Nina – as a vehicle for others’ stories.
Feminism helped power the tide of change carrying Gough Whitlam to power in 1972. What were his government’s historic achievements for women? And what do Australian women need to fight for next?
Pip Williams’ follow-up to her internationally bestselling debut novel explores World War I, women’s rights and sisterhood – but what makes it special is its unwavering attention to the making of books.
Until recently, little was known of the history of the children convicts brought with them to Australia, or gave birth to while under sentence. Their stories are moving.
Novels aren’t responsible for the climate crisis and probably won’t solve it, but there is plenty they can do. They can make us feel for lives unlike our own; modelling careful thinking and analysis.
Crime fiction’s place-specific exploration of justice seems ideally suited to Indigenous authors wanting to explore historical and contemporary issues.
Privately commissioned histories are a strange literary beast. In MUP: A Centenary History, Stuart Kells does a fine job, but doesn’t quite resolve the matter of maintaining authorial independence.
Top contributors
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Executive Dean (interim) Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra
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Associate Professor in Media, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Adjunct professor, University of Technology Sydney
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Professor, Chair of Australian Literature, The University of Western Australia
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Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of English Literature, University of Southern Queensland
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Senior Lecturer, Writing, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology
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Professor of Communication, Deakin University
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PhD Candidate, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne
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Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape
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Professor of Psychology, The University of Melbourne
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Dennis Altman is a Friend of The Conversation.
VC Fellow, La Trobe University
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Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University
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Senior Lecturer in English Literature, Charles Sturt University
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Professor of Conservation Biology, Charles Darwin University
