Welcome to Litsy!

A young woman is raped and murdered in small town Australia, leaving her sister in desolation. We follow Chris as she tries to struggle along and May, a reporter looking for her story, in the aftermath. I expected this to be a fairly straight mystery/crime novel and it‘s not. Rather, it‘s a study of grief with all its raw edges. Good but emotionally difficult.

A good little 3 minute introductory ‘outback noir‘ from the great website Five Books

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=flDwALaiFik

Another Aussie read for me. A murder in a small town. The ripples it has and the story of the sister and the journalist . I enjoyed this read. Interesting observations on grief, the media and relationships.
@MrsMalaprop
#2020joybooks

(This Is What A Feminist Looks Like is still not in the database, so I've tagged a different book by the same author.)

More awesome women. Also, kudos to this book for not uncritically reverting the suffragists, but instead going into some detail of how their movement ignored and screwed over Aboriginal people.

(This Is What A Feminist Looks Like is still not in the database, so I've tagged a different book by the same author.)

Edith Cowan was pretty badass.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I was gripped enough to keep listening and the whole media/journalist angle made it a bit different from most crime novels. But the small country town didn‘t feel authentic to me and some of the characters were under-developed and the ending was super fast.

Another picture from my weekend away. I restrained myself and didn‘t take anything with me.

Bella Michaels, a 25 year old, works at a home for the aged. Everyone is stunned when her brutally beaten murdered body is found. The media goes crazy. Was Bella a victim? Someone is responsible but Chris, her sister is only feeling more paranoid as she learns the facts.
This whole book really timely and wonderfully done. The last few chapters mind blowing and unforgettable.
#AnIsolatedIncident #NetGalley
goodreads.com/overtheedge

This was a compelling but bleak read. It‘s not your conventional crime novel, we aren‘t looking for the killer as much as we are observing the profound and extensive ripples that a crime like this causes. This, more than anything is a catalogue of violence against women, and a pointed comment on social misogyny, and the temporal and misogynistic nature of the reporting of crimes against women. A decent read.

I get it, but it doesn‘t make me feel great about the world.

Next up I‘m going back to my fave- Aussie literature with this one- shortlisted for the Stella 👌🏻 🇦🇺 ❤️

Shortlisted for the #MilesFranklin award, to be announced tomorrow. Psychological thriller set in rural Australia, this is distinctive for putting the women front & centre: Chris, whose sister was murdered, & journalist May. Maguire sustains the constant feeling of threat that men may pose to women, & the ambiguities & blurred lines. Chris & May are unapologetically flawed, memorable characters. Misogyny theme overt at times but thoughtfully done.

Heavy to have read in nearly one sitting, but I did it anyway. This wasn't a generic "whodunnit" - solving the murder is almost an afterthought. The primary focus is on examining the female experience in this world & how it affects the two main characters. Macguire scrutinizes the male-gaze & male entitlement & everything that follows, leaving me sad & wary. Definitely recommend.

I'm going off the #TBRbingo card with this one for bedtime reading. It's a finalist in the Miles Franklin award to be announced this week. 📚

What an exhausting, difficult yet important story this is. The book follows Chris after her younger sister Bella is raped and murdered in a small NSW country town. It is also told from the point of view of a young journalist trying to get the story. This isn't a crime procedural, it is instead a study of being a woman, the male gaze, choices we make and the consequences on your psyche and of painful grief. It was worth the pain to read this

Another shortlisted book from the #stellas Have been meaning to read this for 6 moths so glad I'm picking it up at last

I'm planning to read the whole Stella a Prize long list - this is my starting point

Library Haul. An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire, Foreign Soil and Carrying the World by Maxine Beneba Clarke.

Was this entirely successful in its narrative? No. But the main voice was strong. It felt like the outback and I cared about the outcome.

Getting stuck into Emily Maguire's latest. #perfectfridaynight

Enjoying this one so far... Trying to read more Fiction and this is just the right amounts creepy and addictive.

Currently trying to read more Aussie authors