Kathryn's Inbox

It is not often that I get the chance to read a book set in Bulgaria, so when I found a copy of Time Shelter for sale in Dymocks, I was immediately intrigued. The winner of the International Booker Prize in 2023, the novel boasts an interesting plot. The main character is a collector of things from the past, and soon finds himself employed by the mysterious Gaustine who wants to open a 'clinic of the past' which offers treatments for dementia patients. However, things take a twist when the clinic starts to become too successful and perfectly healthy people begin to spend time and check in to the clinics, which have now sprung up across Europe. Then other places start to embrace this nostalgia for the past, until entire nations decide turn back the clocks and return to the past--or is there something else at work? The author piles on twist after twist in this surprising and cleverly plotted novel. This was something of well, an adventure. The author plays with the reader, often...

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)

Lily is shy, bookish and completely fed up with the very extroverted members of her family who keep trying to set her up on a date. Fortunately, she has a secret. She has an email correspondence (and, one might say friendship,) with her favourite author. Then he ghosts her. Then her family put pressure on her to have a date for her sister's wedding. Then, Nick, her very cute neighbour offers to help. Then, the reader learns that Nick has a secret. He is Lily's favourite author and he's falling in love with her ... This was an entertaining romantic comedy. I found some of the characters a little annoying at times, though it is obvious that they were meant to be. Lily and Nick made for an interesting couple. She's from a wealthy, successful family but her career prospects aren't great--she has a dream to work in publishing but she feels like a diversity hire and she's been relegated to an undesirable branch of the company. Meanwhile, Nick grew up in poverty with n...

The Beauties is most definitely my favourite novel by Australian author Lauren Chater. And that is no insult to her previous work, historical fictions that are always well written with interesting characters. The Beauties has those things as well. As well as offering a glimpse into the lives of women in an interest time in history, it offers a glimpse into the art world. And I think we all know that I'm a sucker for a good book about art.  Set in the seventeenth century we meet Emilia Lennox, a woman who has lost everything due to her brother in law, and the politics of the day. She has come to court hopeful of asking King Charles to restore her brother's estate. The king agrees, but with a condition--only if she will become his mistress. Knowing that her looks are the only thing that will give her any kind of currency, Emilia agrees but only if her portrait will hang among those of the Duchess's Windsor Beauties. We also meet the Duchness in a duel storyline that takes pl...

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)

Who would want to murder a group of seven girls who had formed a baby-sitting business? Well, someone does and it certainly isn't one of their charges or clients. Baby-Sitters Beware is one of the most chilling instalments in the entire BSC series. Branded a Super Mystery, this one is longer than the normal mystery books in the series and like all of the Super Specials chapters are told from the perspective of various characters. The premise is this. Nasty, creepy things are happening to the members of the BSC. Stacey is almost run down by a car. Claudia's kitchen catches fire. Someone throws a rock through Kristy's window. It seems that someone means them harm. And when Kristy, Stacey Claudia and Abby all head to Shadow Lake with Kristy's family for what is supposed to be a fun weekend getaway, the problems soon escalate. Well. This was certainly a revelation. Baby-Sitters Beware was published in December 1995, which is approximately seven or eight months after I stop...

Through Dress Rehearsals Madison Godfrey explores notions of femininity and performing womanhood. It is an interesting concept, told through prose poetry and by an author who is non binary. The collection is divided into three sections--part one tells of the author's younger days, of the teenage fangirl wanting to 'appear sexy' and being treated badly by men and accepting it. As one poem documents Mysogyny takes centre stage and no one walks out, not even me (page 19). In part two there is a greater awareness of self and a longing to be like another woman, while part three is interested in gender more generally. This was an interesting, thought provoking glimpse into a life that is quite unlike mine. Madison Godfrey writes beautifully and dives deep into their own experiences of both the internal and external self to ponder notions of gender. I read this over the course of three evenings, one per night and found myself impressed each time. Recommended. 

Is there a word for re-reading an absolutely loving a book that you disliked the first time around? If so, this most definitely sums up my experience of re-reading Boy Swallows Universe. Published in 2018 to widespread acclaim, and winning multiple awards, Boy Swallows Universe is a semi-fictional account of author Trent Dalton's childhood with a dash of magical realism thrown in. We meet Eli Bell, an ordinary kid growing up in Brisbane in the 1980s, whose Mum is a recovering heroin addict. His older brother Gus hasn't spoken a word since their parents split up. Then there is his stepdad, Lyle, a drug dealer, and his babysitter just happens to be one of Queensland's most notorious criminals. But, at the heart of it all, they're all just regular people trying to get by as best they can under the circumstances they've been given. Circumstances, which get increasingly complicated as time goes on. And which have a truly innovative end. As previously stated, I found Boy ...

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)

Well, it had to happen. Bluey, the phenomenally popular (and exceptionally well made) Australian children's television show, has branched out with a new line of merchandise. And it's such a good idea. Behold, Trains, the first Bluey chapter book. At eighty pages it is just the right size for readers who are moving past picture books and wanting to read chapter books on their own. (Plus there are still some cool illustrations.) The plot, of course, is based on the Bluey TV episode of the same name. In this one, we see some of the series trademark imaginary play, with Bingo taking on the part of a vet who has to get her child (her favourite toy, Poppy,) to childcare on the train, but everything seems to be going wrong for the poor old train driver (Dad/Bandit) mostly in the form of a badly behaved passenger who bares a remarkable resemblance to Bluey. What follows is chaos and all good fun. This one was an entertaining read. Obviously it is for kids, and it is designed so that ...

'You're dropped.' For years, I have somehow managed to resist the allure of reviewing one of the most darkly comic--and controversial--YA novels to ever be published in Australia. Released in 1979 Puberty Blues soon threw its young authors into the spotlight for its explicit language and themes of peer group pressure, surf gang culture and teenage sexuality. Within a few years the book had been made into a film that has gone on to be an Australian classic in its own right. The authors would go on to have very successful and very different writing careers, with Kathy Lette's work showcasing her flamboyant style, while Carey's would be more serious and contemplative. For both, Puberty Blues was a stepping stone that would send them in different but equally successful directions.  Puberty Blues is short and set in the world of surf culture around the Sutherland Shire. Sue and Debbie are fourteen years old and desperate to be a part of ruling Greenhills gang, a group ...

My Salinger Year offers a wonderful insight into the letters that people write beloved author JD Saligner (who famously never responds to any correspondence,) and the life of a twenty-three year old university graduate who finds herself working for Salinger's old-fashioned literary agent in 1996. It is a world where computers and technology are beginning to make their mark ... and Joanna Rakoff finds herself replying to some of the letters that readers are sending JD Salinger. This was an interesting read and insight into an unusual part of the literary world. Some of the anecdotes are startling--such as when the agent passes on beloved, best selling author Judy Blume's latest novel (especially as it went on to be a best seller). It is also a coming-of-age story of sorts for the author, who learns much in her personal life over the course of that year, especially in regards to romantic relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed reading My Salinger Year and found the authors account t...

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)