Cirrus@Austlit

'One ordinary extraordinary woman living through a century of massive change, from the bestselling author of The Family Doctor.

'Meet Betty: storyteller, feminist, eternally curious and phenomenally old. On the eve of her hundredth birthday party, Betty tells us her story.

'Born into poverty in pre-war London, and growing up fast during the Blitz, Betty grabs the chance at a bigger life by migrating to Australia. On board the SS Asturias she meets three people who will influence the course of her life—Pearl, a good-hearted party girl; Athena, a Greek woman on her way to marry a man she has never met; and Leo, a German Jew who lost his family in the war.

'In Sydney, Betty is making ends meet as a waitress at the famous Trocadero dance hall when she stumbles into a rushed courtship with Donald, a wealthy businessman, and dedicates herself to being the ideal 1950s suburban housewife. But life has other plans for Betty, and soon she must find a way to do more than survive.

'Set against a century of world events and social upheavals, Betty takes us to the frontlines of the anti-war protests and the women's liberation movement of the 1970s, to the AIDS crisis during the 1980s, to Mexico and eventually becomes a TV screenwriter. Even in her nineties, Betty is still passionately engaged with the world, still surprising us.

'From the creator of Offspring and bestselling author of The Family Doctor, One Hundred Years of Betty is the saga of a strong, intelligent woman born too early in time to make the most of her talents without having to fight for everything. It's about the defining force of motherhood, the family we make, and how the determination to live to the hilt, with all the joy and sorrow that entails, can lead to a life beyond one's wildest imaginings.'  (Publication summary)

'A novel of searing emotional truth, told with the relentless pull of a thriller.

'Paula, a much-loved GP, comes home one evening to the house she is sharing with her friend Stacey and Stacey’s two children, who have moved in with Paula after the break-up of Stacey’s marriage and the increasingly disturbing behaviour of her ex. Paula opens her front door to discover a scene from hell: Stacey and her children are lying dead in pools of blood. As Paula tries to breathe, in walks Matt, who then shoots himself.

'When an obviously scared woman brings in her little boy for a consultation some weeks later, Paula’s eyes are drawn to the bruises around her neck. Determined to never see another woman suffer like Stacey did, Paula talks to the woman, who admits she is being beaten by her husband. A few weeks later, the abusive husband comes in to see a doctor. She realises she has the chance to set things to rights and give the abused woman the freedom she has dreamed of. But can she go against everything she believes to make sure one woman is safe, one child?

'A book to inspire ferocious discussion in book clubs and beyond – the classic moral dilemma writ large and made into a deeply human situation we can all relate to.' (Publication summary)

'As a lapsed playwright, creator of the Offspring TV series, former Junior Champion Hypochondriac and floundering novelist, what should her next move be? And what motivates people to write or create more ‘stuff’ anyway? Shame? Fear of death? The hope of more sexual offers?

'For now, Debra plans to seize control of the Griffin stage: the exact location she fell in love with theatre, aged 11, and the place her plays Mr Bailey’s Minder and The Peach Season came to life.

'In a funny and excruciatingly honest one-woman show, Debra tells stories about her neurotic childhood, clumsy romantic history, and the anxieties and joys of the writer’s life—all in the hope that the audience can help her work out what comes next.'

Source: Griffin Theatre Company.

'An unlikely national hero, Alex is catapulted into government in a cynical power play. Used, abandoned and underestimated, now she's on a path that will send the political establishment into meltdown.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'Our monthly Australian books column also features Melissa Browne, Craig Sherborne and Debra Oswald telling us about their new releases and the books they’re looking forward to.' 

'In the summer of 1976 it’s picking season on an Australian stone-fruit orchard run by Celia, a hard-working woman in her early forties. Years ago, when her husband was killed as a bystander in an armed robbery, Celia left the city and brought her newborn daughter Zoe to this farm for a secure life. Now sixteen, Zoe is a passionate, intelligent girl, chafing against her mother’s protectiveness, yearning to find intensity and a bit of danger.

'Barging into this world as itinerant fruit-pickers come a desperate brother and sister from Sydney. The hard-bitten Sheena has kidnapped her wild, ebullient eighteen-year-old brother Kieran and dragged him out west, away from trouble in the city. Kieran and Zoe are drawn to each other the instant they meet, sparking excitement, worry, lust, trouble . . .

'How do we protect people we love? How do we bear watching them go out into the perilous world with no guarantee of safety or happiness? What bargains do people make with darkness in order to survive? From the creator of Offspring and author of Useful, The Whole Bright Year is a gripping, wry and tender novel about how holding on too tightly can cost us what we love.' (Publication summary)

'Sullivan Moss is useless.

'Once a charming underachiever, he's now such a loser that he can't even commit suicide properly. Waking up in hospital after falling the wrong way on a rooftop, he comes to a decision. He shouldn't waste perfectly good organs just because they're attached to his head. After a life of regrets, Sully wants to do one useful thing: he wants to donate a kidney to a stranger.

'As he scrambles over the hurdles to become a donor, Sully almost accidentally forges a new life for himself. Sober and employed, he makes new friends, not least radio producer Natalie and her son Louis, and begins to patch things up with old ones, like his ex-best mate Tim. Suddenly, everyone wants a piece of him.

'But altruism is not as easy as it seems. Just when he thinks he's got himself together, Sully discovers that he's most at risk of falling apart.' (Publication summary)

'Nina prepares for the biggest day of her life. Meanwhile, Mick goes on a search to bring Billie home.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 31/1/2014)

'Born out of the telemovie of the same name, Offspring is a contemporary drama series about Nina Proudman, a thirtysomething obstetrician and her fabulously messy family. Following the Proudman family's adventures searching for love, fulfillment and balance in the chaos of modern life, Offspring is about the life forces that drive us all: love, sex, babies, food and music. Stylistically fresh and visually exciting, Offspring mixes conventional narrative drama with flashbacks, graphic animation and fantasy sequences, showcasing the vibrant world of Fitzroy, Melbourne, where Nina and the extended Proudman family go about their unpredictable daily lives.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive.

'Ash is drooling over his favourite guitar - the one he can't afford - when he meets Charlie Novak. One jam session later and Charlie convinces Ash to play in his band. But it'll never work. Bands never do.

'Erin is wandering down a corridor at school - overthinking things as usual - when she runs into Charlie. Literally. The guy is a fruit loop with his weird hair and hyperactive rantings. When Charlie invites her to be the band's keyboard player, Erin can't get a word in to say no. She's a classical pianist. It'll never work.

'But maybe this time things will be different. Maybe blues music is just what Ash and Erin need.' (From the publisher's website.)

'A terrified 12-year-old boy finds himself separated from his family in the unfamiliar streets of a war torn city. Dodging sniper fire and mortar shells he takes refuge in a bombed-out house and in the total blackness his bravado crumbles into tears.

'Into his life steps Anna - older, street smart and scornful of his crying. As a way of shutting the boy up, she starts to tell him a story that she vaguely remembers from her own childhood. And so begins a journey into the shifting, shimmering world of ogres, princes, singing bones, foolish lads and wolf-mothers.'

Source: Riverside Parramatta website, http://www.riversideparramatta.com.au
Sighted: 10/04/2007

'After the murder of her husband, Celia has shut herself and her 16-year-old daughter Zoë away, toiling on a peach farm in the middle of nowhere. The arrival of two young people to help during picking season heralds the beginning of the end for Celia's safe existence.

'Her daughter falls in love with enigmatic, erratic Kieran, but when the relationship is threatened, they run away together. The safe, perhaps smothering, world that Celia has created unravels; her paranoia and insecurities amplified to full volume. Playing out alongside her fear, we see the increasingly degrading and dangerous lifestyle that the two elopers have fallen into.

'Peach Season is a powerful, salutary tale showing what it's like to be a young person desperate for independence, but also, crucially, what it's like to be a parent during the painful process of letting children fly the nest.' (Publisher's blurb)