Percival Everett’s James, a reimagining and recontextualising of Huckleberry Finn is a masterpiece. Satirical, cutting, compassionate, but also in many ways reverential to the original text.
Francis Spufford delivers an amazing alternate history crime novel in Cahokia Jazz. Noir detective styling allows an exploration of a richly imagined alternate America of the 1920s with a vibrant culture.
In The Mighty Red, Louise Erdrich dives deeply into the lives of a community living on the banks of the Red River in North Dakota in 2008. Rich and recognisably flawed characters produce a drama that is in turns comic and tragic, but always feels true.
Rosanna Pike brings 16th Century England gloriously to life in her debut novel A Little Tickerie, a reimagining of a true story of fraud and belief.
John Wiswell’s fractured fairytale Someone You Can Build a Nest In tells the story from the perspective of the monster. Gives a wry, ironic, but ultimately compassionate view of humanity.
Fiona Macfarlane circles a dark aspect of Australian criminal history through a series of short stories in Highway 13. Based around the real-life tale of a serial killer who haunted the highway south of Sydney, these stories pivot backwards and forwards in time to expose the ripple effects of these horrific crimes.
In Service Model, Adrian Tchiakovsky uses a robot civilisation to explore what it means to be human, with a twinkle in his eye, a bunch of pop culture references and more than a bit of philosophy.
Chris Whittaker follows up his award winning debut with another stunning crime novel – All the Colours of the Dark. The book follows two characters over 40 years of their lives and the investigation into a series of horrific, ongoing crimes that consumes them.
Pat Barker continues her reimagining of the Trojan Wars and their aftermath through the voices of the female characters often sidelined in the tale, in The Voyage Home. This third (although standalone) entry follows the return of Agamemenon from the Trojan War with new captive wife Cassandra and her servant Ritsa.
Cory Doctrow explores the worst of American corporate excess and graft in The Bezzle. Based on a word relating to embezzlement, The Bezzle explores Ponzi schemes and the privatisation of the American prison system.
Robert Goodman
For more of Robert’s reviews, visit his blog Pile By the Bed
Robert Goodman is a book reviewer, former Ned Kelly Awards judge and institutionalised public servant based in Sydney. This and over 450 more book reviews can be found on his website Pile By the Bed.
