y separately published work icon Australian Book Review periodical issue  
Issue Details: First known date: 2024... no. 470 November 2024 of Australian Book Review est. 1961 Australian Book Review
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Contents

* Contents derived from the , 2024 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Jack Hibberd (1940-2024), John Timlin , single work obituary

'Jack Hibberd’s prodigious output includes sixty plays, three novels, and four collections of poetry, including Sweet River (Wakefield, 2021), his most recent collection. This body of work does not represent his sole contribution to Australian letters and culture. He was a long-serving member of the Literature and Theatre Boards of the Australia Council, and the founding chairman of the Australian Performing Group at the Pram Factory Theatre in Melbourne.'  (Introduction)

(p. 5)
‘Schooled in Doubleness’ : Tim Winton’s Enthralling New Novel, Paul Giles , single work review
— Review of Juice Tim Winton , 2024 single work novel ;

'Clocking in at 513 pages, Tim Winton’s new novel carries all the apparatus of a major publishing event. Juice is an ambitious work, technically very skilful, which seeks to delineate not only a dystopian prospect of the planet’s future but also an alternative, revisionist version of its historical past.'  (Introduction)

(p. 29-30)
Norway Sprucei"Winkelmatten", Amy Crutchfield , single work poetry (p. 30)
Resisting the Woolfmother Innovations with Fiction, Memoir, and the Essay, Nicole Abadee , single work review
— Review of Theory & Practice Michelle De Kretser , 2024 single work novel ;
(p. 33-34)
A Deal with Art : Alex Miller’s Absorbing New Novel, Anthony Lynch , single work review
— Review of The Deal Alex Miller , 2024 single work novel ;
'Evocations of artists, art history, and the art world have become a near staple of the literary novel, nationally and internationally. Local examples from the past decade include Emily Bitto’s The Strays (2014), Gail Jones’s The Death of Noah Glass (2018), and Katrina Kell’s Chloé (2024). Alex Miller’s novel The Deal, his fourteenth, is the latest to probe the alluring, sometimes shady art world. It is not Miller’s first such foray; Autumn Laing (2011) was based on the machinations of the Melbourne Heide set.' (Introduction)
(p. 36)
Ellen's Rite of Passage : A Nuanced and Inventive Adaptation of Murray Bail’s Novel, Michael Halliwell , single work review
— Review of Eucalyptus Meredith Oakes , 2024 single work musical theatre ;

'Two new and important Australian operas within a month: Gilgamesh (Symons/Garrick) in Sydney in late September, and now Eucalyptus (Mills/Oakes) in Melbourne in mid-October. This certainly hasn’t occurred for quite some time, if ever. Composer Jonathan Mills, mentored at Sydney University by Peter Sculthorpe, is probably best known for two acclaimed operas. The Ghost Wife – a dark, brooding work with libretto by Dorothy Porter, based on a short story by Barbara Baynton – was a critical success when it premièred at the Arts Centre Melbourne in 1999, with subsequent seasons in Adelaide, Sydney, and London. A bleak and confronting work, it revealed a young composer of promise with an impressive grasp of the form.' (Introduction)

(p. 38-39)
Bad Boy : A Further Collaboration between Patricia Cornelius and Susie Dee, Ben Brooker , single work review
— Review of Bad Boy Patricia Cornelius , 2024 single work drama ;

'Bad Boy is the second work in a series of what playwright Patricia Cornelius and director Susie Dee have called ‘visceral dramatic monologues’. The first, RUNT (2021), centred on the unnamed homunculus of the play’s title, portrayed with memorable physical intensity and dexterity by Nicci Wilks. Bad Boy reunites all three of RUNT’s lead creatives, as well as Romanie Harper (set and costumes), Kelly Ryall (sound), and Jenny Hector (lighting), in a head-on response to the intractable social problems of misogyny and male violence.' (Introduction)

(p. 40)
Backstage with Noni Hazlehurst, single work interview

'Noni Hazlehurst – actor, presenter, ambassador, director, writer, and broadcaster – has been a presence on our screens and stages since her leading role in The Sullivans in 1976. Notable works include Play School (1978-2002), Monkey Grip (1982), Fran (1985), Better Homes and Gardens (1995-2004), Every Family Has a Secret (2019-24), Nancy Wake (1987), The Shiralee (1987), Curtin (2007), and A Place to Call Home (2013-18). Her theatrical appearances have earned multiple awards and she has received several ARIA nominations for her recordings for children. We review Hazlehurst’s memoir, Dropping the Mask, in the November issue.' (Introduction)

(p. 42)
Porter’s Pass, Susan Stewart , single work poetry (p. 43)
On the Beach : The Story of Two Generals, Michael McKernan , single work review
— Review of The Battle of the Generals Roland Perry , 2024 single work biography ;

'What an uneven battle! Thomas Blamey, the little guy, rural-bred, rough, rumbunctious, distrusted; Douglas MacArthur, nobly bred, imperious, destined for greatness, the darling of his own heart. Roland Perry shows the true picture. MacArthur (1880-1964) was a scheming, narcissistic, lying braggard and manipulator. Blamey (1884-1951) fought to keep his Australians from fighting with the Americans, and tried, often with little effect, to influence his prime minister to act in the interests of the Australian troops and the Australian people, while displaying worrying moral failures of his own.' (Introduction) 

(p. 50)
Noni’s Grip : Driven by an Urge to Tell Stories, Diane Stubbings , single work review
— Review of Dropping the Mask Noni Hazlehurst , 2024 single work autobiography ;

'In 1983, actor Noni Hazlehurst was invited to London by Robyn Archer to be part of Archer’s new cabaret Cut and Thrust. Hazlehurst, less than a decade out of acting school and having just been fêted in Cannes for her performance of Nora in the film adaptation of Helen Garner’s Monkey Grip (1982), was ‘thrilled to bits’.' (Introduction)

(p. 56)
Things Saying Their Namesi"It’s the night after Christmas", David Brooks , single work poetry (p. 57)
A Daunting Task : Skirting the Edges of Fiction and Non-fiction, Boris Frankel , single work review
— Review of Dear Mutzi : A Story of Love, Escape and Finding the Forgotten Tess Scholfield-Peters , 2024 single work biography ;

'After sixty years, Hannah Arendt’s phrase ‘the banality of evil’ has almost become a cliché. Yet, in films like Jonathan Glazer’s Zone of Interest it is powerfully present in every mundane detail of the Auschwitz commandant’s family life. What of the banality and trauma of the lives of survivors or those murdered? There is a view that if the victims had been more aware of their fate, they would have escaped and survived. This claim is an insult, as most had no choice. The overwhelming majority of Jews, many of whom were alert to the risk of mass extermination, were unable to get exit visas, afford to flee, or obtain refuge in North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Tess Scholfield-Peters’ grandfather, Hermann (Mutzi) Pollnow, was one of the lucky ones.'  (Introduction)

(p. 61)
Kate Fagan : Poet of the Month, single work interview

'Kate Fagan is a writer, musician, and scholar whose third collection, First Light, was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and The Age Book of the Year Award. She is Director of the Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University and runs The Writing Zone, a mentoring program for emerging writers and arts workers. She also chairs the Sydney Review of Books advisory board. Her latest volume of poetry, Song in the Grass, was published by Giramondo in June 2024.'  (Introduction)

(p. 63)
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