Australian Recent Release – Anam by Andre Dao
A grandson tries to learn the family story. But what kind of story is it? Is it a prison memoir, about the grandfather imprisoned without charge or trial by a revolutionary government? Is it an oral history of the grandmother left behind to look after the children? Or is it a love story? A detective tale?
Moving from 1930s Hanoi through a series of never-ending wars and displacements to Saigon, Paris, Melbourne and Cambridge, Anam is a novel about memory and inheritance, colonialism and belonging, home and exile.
Anam blends fiction and essay, theory and everyday life to imagine that which has been repressed, left out, and forgotten. The grandson mines his family and personal stories to turn over ideas that resonate with all of us around place and home, legacy and expectation, ambition and sacrifice. As he sifts through letters, photographs, government documents and memories, he has his own family to think about: a partner and an infant daughter. Is there a way to remember the past that creates a future for them? Or does coming home always involve a certain amount of forgetting?
‘Transcendent.’ – The Age
‘Anam is a beautiful book. I loved its hypnotic rhythms, its restlessness, the way memories, dreams and ideas, like waves, kept riding in over the top of one another, undoing and complicating everything. It is the work of a soulful and scrupulous mind.’ – Miles Allinson
Tasmanian Recent Release – Quoll and Quill written and illustrated by Margie Kirk
There’s a party on the hill
At the home of Quoll and Quill.
A friendship unique and rare,
Let’s celebrate with treats to share.
From the author/illustrator of Travelling Tasmanian Tigers (Forty South Publishing, 2018) comes another engaging children’s book featuring Tasmanian native animals.
Kids Recent Release – Alfi the Wombat written and illustrated by James Voute
Things are not as they seem along the fence separating the bush from agricultural land. Alfi the Wombat is asked to breach the fence and faces the wrath of both animal and man.
From the author/illustrator of Benny’s Quest for the Tasmanian Tiger (Forty South Publishing, 2020), comes another charming, illustrated chapter book for 8 to 11 year olds. The story, about a young wombat making his way in the world alongside a number of other native Tasmanian animals, invites the reader to consider issues of environmental conservation, community, and care for wild places.
Tasmanian Classic – A Year in a Bottle by Sally Wise
Sally Wise has been a passionate preserver of fruits and vegetables for over three decades. More than just a method to create nutritional food from seasonal produce, preserving is a way of life, a highly addictive hobby, and you too will become hooked.
In A Year in a Bottle Sally brings together a mouthwatering collection of more than 100 of her favourite recipes for making your own preserves and conserves. From luscious jellies and jams to delicious pickles and chutneys, this inspiring and practical book makes preserving easy and fun. It includes simple recipes, technical advice and helpful hints to ensure success every time. Best of all, the results can be enjoyed all year round!
‘A lively book full of useful information and recipes as a new preserver, a wonderful tool.’ – Anita, Booktopia.
‘Just love this book, full of great recipes for preserves, jams, sauces.’ – An, Booktopia
‘Great book, very helpful as there were a few things – tips and tricks that I wanted to know about making jam (and jelly in my case). Gave me some good insights into the world of preserves, especially useful in today’s climate of do it yourself.’ – Geoff, Booktopia
Compiled by Eva Hale