March Reading Guide March Reading Guide | Page 7

SISTERHOOD
Cathy Kelly
$ 32.99
available 6 march
On the night of Lou ’ s 50th birthday , her mother reveals a shocking secret , and it changes everything . Lou needs to get to the bottom of the shocking truth that alters who she really is . Along with her sister , Toni , who is facing her own crisis , the two women set out on a life-changing journey – one that will take them through Ireland ’ s wildest coastline and to Sicily ’ s sunbaked rocky shores . It will also take Lou deep into her relationships with her mother , her sister , and her daughter to figure out how to stop pleasing everyone else – and carve out who she really wants to be .
THE REVENGE CLUB
Kathy Lette
$ 32.99
Best friends Matilda , Penny , Cressida and Jo are approaching their sixties with flair until , one by one , their bubbles are burst . Matilda , a bestselling novelist , is dropped by her publisher ; Penny is cut from her prime-time TV show in favour of her male co-host ; Cressida ’ s acting agent can only offer her female incontinence adverts and Jo ... well Jo realised it ’ s still a man ’ s world a while ago . Confronted by a society that believes they ’ re all
past their amuse-by dates , the friends vow to face their non-entity crises together . Each has been trampled on by men , so it ’ s time for a little revenge . Let the games begin !
ALL THE WORDS WE KNOW
Bruce Nash
$ 32.99
Rose is in her eighties and has dementia , but she ’ s not done with life just yet . Alternately sharp as a tack and spectacularly forgetful , she spends her days roaming the corridors of her aged-care facility , ruminating on the staff and residents and enduring visits from her emotionally distant children and grand-daughters . But when her friend is found dead after an apparent fall from a window , Rose embarks on an eccentric and deeply personal investigation to discover the truth and exposes all manner of secrets – even some from her own past . A wickedly funny and genuinely moving novel about memory , language , and love .
COMPASSION
Julie Janson
$ 34.99
From the acclaimed author of the Miles Franklin longlisted Madukka : The River Serpent and the
Barbara Jefferis Award shortlisted
Benevolence , Compassion continues Julie Janson ’ s emotional and intense literary exploration of the complex and dangerous lives of Aboriginal women during the 1800s in colonial New South Wales . Compassion is the dramatised life story of one of Julie Janson ’ s ancestors who went on trial for stealing livestock . Follow Duringah , aka Nell James , the outlaw daughter of the Darug hero of Benevolence , Muraging . An exciting and violent story of anti-colonial revenge and roaming adventure .
WOMEN OF GOOD FORTUNE
Sophie Wan
$ 34.99
available 6 march
Three women .
One daring plan . A wedding heist to remember . Lulu has always been taught that money is the ticket to a good life . So , when Shanghai ’ s most eligible bachelor surprises her with a proposal , the only acceptable answer is yes . His family ’ s fortune would solve all her parents ’ financial woes , but Lulu isn ’ t in love or ready for marriage . The only people she can confide in are her two best friends : career-minded Rina , who is tired of being passed over for promotion as her biological clock ticks away ; and Jane , a sharptongued , luxury-chasing housewife desperate to divorce her husband and trade up . Each of them desires something different : freedom , time , beauty . None of them can get it without money .
COOL WATER
Myfanwy Jones
$ 32.99
Cool Water is an unforgettable novel by Miles Franklin shortlisted author Myfanwy Jones about fathers and sons , and the damage that can ripple through generations . Frank Herbert ’ s family has gathered beside Tinaroo Dam for his daughter ’ s wedding – the first time they ’ ve been together since the death of his father , Joe . Like Frank , the dam is at an all-time low and as the water recedes , objects begin to emerge from below the surface – abstract and disquieting . It seems the past is always lurking . Can Frank eclipse his family ’ s shadow , to find a way into a future of his own making ?
APPRECIATION
Liam Pieper
$ 34.99
available 12 march
Oli Darling ’ s art has brought him fame , money , fashionable substance abuse issues and only a little imposter syndrome . But then he says the one thing that can get a rich white guy cancelled . His reputation in tatters , nobody is buying Oli ’ s schtick . That ’ s a problem for all the people who ’ ve invested millions in him . To save his own skin , together with a ghostwriter , Oli must do the most undignified thing imaginable – write a memoir . Oli

stella selection
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN LOVE
Heather Rose
$ 22.99
In her seventh published book , The Museum of Modern Love , Tasmanian writer Heather Rose highlights the healing and transformative power of art .
Set in New York , The Museum of Modern Love narrates the life of Arky Levin , a film composer happily wedded to the famous architect Lydia Fiorentino , who suffers from a genetic neurological condition . When Lydia ’ s illness worsens , Arky realises that his marriage was not as joyful as he had imagined : Lydia secured legal arrangements to seclude herself in a nursing home , preventing Arky from visiting her . Not knowing how to reach his wife , he is at a loss .
When Arky visits the Museum of Modern Art ( MOMA ), he encounters Marina Abramović ’ s performance piece The Artist is Present , in which the Serbian artist sits still on a wooden chair from march 14 to May 31 , 2010 .
Abramović is known for her provocative and physically demanding performances , pushing the audience to engage and participate in the artistic experience . In the controversial piece The Artist is Present , over 1500 visitors sat on a chair opposite Abramović and met her gaze . Yet she never
uttered a word or made a single movement , but like a priest , she heard the confessions of many who either spoke to her or simply made eye contact to convey their stories .
Rose places her ensemble of characters amongst the visitors to the Abramović ’ s exhibition : Jane Miller , a widowed school art history teacher ; Brittica van der Sar , a doctoral student writing her dissertation on Abramović , and Healayas Breen , an art critic and singer , who was the girlfriend of Arky ’ s former musical partner . Each of them is at a crossroad and , as they wait to sit opposite Abramović and be under the artist ’ s gaze , their lives collide . Rose explores these ‘ collisions ’ to delve into grief , friendship , love and art ’ s capacity to transform both the artist and audiences .
Rose also won the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and the Margaret Scott Prize for this novel , which has been adapted to the stage . Much has been written about The Museum of Modern Love but , as Rose ’ s narrator says : ‘ There is nothing more beautiful than watching an artist at work . They are as waterfalls shot with sunshine .’ And this novel , which stands the test of time , is like a waterfall showering us with light .
about stella
Stella is the voice of change . Founded in 2012 , the organisation ’ s flagship program is the annual Stella Prize . Each year the Stella Prize is committed to recognising the best books by Australian women and non-binary writers . The judging terms are that the winning book be excellent , original and engaging .
4 | march 2024 australian author hardback paperback flexi 5-8 kids age range