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acciodaydreamer's review
4.0
New Australian Fiction 2019 contains 18 short stories from Australian writers, and an introduction from the editor, Rebecca Starford. The short stories explore a range of human experiences, from drought stricken communities and grief to drug addiction and mental health.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I'll start off with my dislikes because there isn't really any. As in most short story collections, there were some short stories I didn't like as much as others. I wasn't particularly engaged with a couple and at times, I was confused about exactly what the story was about. However, even the ones I didn't enjoy as much were still beautifully written, and all had a well developed voice that readers can connect to.
Three stories stood out to me the most: A Still Thing Shaken by Jack Kirne, The Crying Room by Gretchen Shirm, and The Hearing by Wayne Marshall.
My mind still wanders back to Kirne's A Still Thing Shaken whenever I think about this book. The entire time I was reading, I felt like I was in a dreamlike state (which is such a hippy thing to say), lost in the main character's voice, and surprised by the magical nature of Tan's visit and departure. A Still Thing Shaken balances on the line between realism and the magical. The story is also one Australia's can relate to where a drought stricken community begs for rain. Definitely my favourite.
I value the power a first sentence can hold in gripping the reader and Shirm's first sentence in The Crying Room does exactly that: "I cried during the interview." The second sentence is just as intriguing, solidifying the power of the first: "I think that's why they gave me the job."
And then there is Marshall's, The Hearing, which doesn't have an intriguing first sentence but intrigues the reader with a question: "What did Noel Burfitt do on Saturday?" I also enjoyed how Marshall took a cultural problem in today's society and amplified it.
New Australian Fiction 2019 was a very enjoyable read. There is at least one story everyone can enjoy in this collection.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I'll start off with my dislikes because there isn't really any. As in most short story collections, there were some short stories I didn't like as much as others. I wasn't particularly engaged with a couple and at times, I was confused about exactly what the story was about. However, even the ones I didn't enjoy as much were still beautifully written, and all had a well developed voice that readers can connect to.
Three stories stood out to me the most: A Still Thing Shaken by Jack Kirne, The Crying Room by Gretchen Shirm, and The Hearing by Wayne Marshall.
My mind still wanders back to Kirne's A Still Thing Shaken whenever I think about this book. The entire time I was reading, I felt like I was in a dreamlike state (which is such a hippy thing to say), lost in the main character's voice, and surprised by the magical nature of Tan's visit and departure. A Still Thing Shaken balances on the line between realism and the magical. The story is also one Australia's can relate to where a drought stricken community begs for rain. Definitely my favourite.
I value the power a first sentence can hold in gripping the reader and Shirm's first sentence in The Crying Room does exactly that: "I cried during the interview." The second sentence is just as intriguing, solidifying the power of the first: "I think that's why they gave me the job."
And then there is Marshall's, The Hearing, which doesn't have an intriguing first sentence but intrigues the reader with a question: "What did Noel Burfitt do on Saturday?" I also enjoyed how Marshall took a cultural problem in today's society and amplified it.
New Australian Fiction 2019 was a very enjoyable read. There is at least one story everyone can enjoy in this collection.
taylareyn's review
4.0
Favourites: Raven - Chloe Michele, A Trick of The Light - Andrea Gillum, Fight - Tony Birch, Physical Education - Laura Elizabeth Woollett, Spiral - Joshua Kemp, This Version of Her - Allee Richards, Bug Spray - Melanie Saward.
cecooper's review
4.0
This was a really great collection. Not all of the stories were winners for me, but that's pretty standard in a short story collection. My favourite stories were by Chloe Michele, Julie Koh, Laura Elizabeth Woollett, Khalid Warsame, Laura Elvery, and Gretchen Shrim.
wtb_michael's review
5.0
I bloody love these books - not every story completely wowed me, but there's such a breadth of work included so that's hardly surprising. I especially loved Laura Elvery's story (which turns up in her fantastic new collection [b:Ordinary Matter|53173784|Ordinary Matter|Laura Elvery|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586829691l/53173784._SY75_.jpg|80033760], plus stories from Zoë Bradley, Khalid Warsame, Gretchen Shirm and Andrea Gillum.
Hopefully KYD keeps putting these out year after year, they're a great snapshot of Australia's literary scene.
Hopefully KYD keeps putting these out year after year, they're a great snapshot of Australia's literary scene.
mawaridi's review
4.0
A really nice collection of brief, eclectic tales with lots of familiar Australian flavour. The stories are all quite short, good to dip in and out of for a quick reading session, but they can still pack a punch. There's a lot of interesting variety in theme, voice and structure. Plus, they're all really good! It's easy for an anthology to have a few stories that fall flat (according to personal taste) but I didn't find that here. The ones that particularly shone for me were Julie Koh's dry ghost story, Workers of All Lands Unite, the quietly painful The Crying Room by Gretchen Shirm, and Mould by Zoë Bradley, which made me have to put the book down for a while before I could start the next story.
lenin_lover_69's review
5.0
This was such a gorge collection, I think I prefer short stories in collection form, the more obvious changes in tone, subject matter etc keep my interest piqued and wanting more
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