The Bookshelf

We review the latest in fiction for dedicated readers and for those who wish they read more.

This week The Bookshelf revisits the Trojan War from the ground up in Yann Martel’s Son of Nobody, moves through friendship and loss in Debra Adelaide’s When I Am Sixty‑Four, and dives into queer Sydney in the 1940s with Fiona Kelly McGregor’s The Trap. BOOKSFiona Kelly McGregor, The Trap, PicadorDebra Adelaide, When I Am Sixty-Four, UQPYann Martel, Son of Nobody, TextGUESTSTom Wright, theatre writer and adaptor; Artistic Associate, Belvoir TheatreHannah Kent, novelist, scriptwriter and memoirist, whose books include Burial Rites, Devotion and Always Home Always HomesickOTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDSarah Waters, Tipping the VelvetDelia Falconer, worksPeter Cornell, The Ways of Paradise Ingrid Horrocks, All Her Lives: Nine StoriesCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound, Craig Tilmouth and Hamish CamilleriArts editor, Sarah L'Estrange

A rich mix of voices and stories in short fiction from acclaimed Native American writer Louise Erdrich; essays and memories from two‑time Miles Franklin Award winner Alex Miller; bleakly funny childhood tales by English author Mark Haddon; and, from Michael Winkler, a surreal and darkly comic story about a man who decides he’d rather be the family dog.BOOKS Michael Winkler, Griefdogg, Text Louise Erdrich, Python’s Kiss: Stories, Corsair Alex Miller, Journey to the End of Time, Allen & Unwin Mark Haddon, Leaving Home: A Memoir in Full Colour, Chatto & Windus GUESTS Shannon Burns, writer and critic from Adelaide, whose first book Childhood: a memoir, was published in 2022 Tony Birch, poet, writer, and Professor of Australian Literature at Melbourne University. His latest book is the short story collection Pictures of You OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDGrimmish, Michael WinklerAct of the Damned; Fado Alexandrino, António Lobo AntunesWhat We Can Know, Ian McEwanThe Transformations, Andrew Pippos Brawler, Lauren GroffCREDITSPresenter: Kate Evans, Cassie McCullaghProducer: Kate Evans, Sarah Corbett, Ce BenedictSound: Craig Tilmouth, Antonia GauciArts editor: Sarah L' Estrange

What if the most talked‑about streaming show of the moment was a mirror reflecting your most private fears and failures? That unnerving question sits at the heart of John Lanchester’s Look What You Made Me Do, a sharp novel about resentment, revenge, money, class and generational unease. Plus: the art of the short story, as Hannah Kent reads and reflects on Lauren Groff’s new collection Brawler; and a woman’s inner life rendered with quiet and devastating precision in Mary Costello’s A Beautiful Loan.BOOKSJohn Lanchester, Look What You Made Me Do, FaberLauren Groff, Brawler, Hutchinson HeinemannMary Costello, A Beautiful Loan, TextGUESTSHannah Kent, novelist behind the phenomenon Burial Rites + The Good People, Devotion and Always Home, Always HomesickTim Rogers, author of Detours; frontman of You Am I, The Hard-Ons and various musical escapades. His solo tour Le Charme Defensif kicks off this weekOTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDAndrew O'Hagan, Caledonian RoadCharlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë, Wuthering HeightsMichelle de Krester, Theory and PracticeJacqueline Maley, Lonely MouthErin Somers, The Ten Year Affair James Joyce, The Dubliners; The Dead Thomas Mann, The Magic MountainColm Tóibín, The MagicianSteve Hanley, The Big Midweek: Life Inside the FallCREDITSPresenter: Kate Evans, Cassie McCullaghProducer: Kate Evans, Sarah CorbettSound: Craig Tilmouth, Antonia GauciArts editor; Sarah L'Estrange

A Bookshelf festival special with Kate Evans onstage with writers Jock Serong and Emily Maguire on historical fiction, from the 2025 Sydney Writers Festival.

Statues come alive and London is re-imagined in Francis Spufford's Nonesuch, and surprising parallels in two Australian novels of secrets, shame, land and time in M L Stedman's A Far-Flung Life and Eva Hornung's The Minstrels. Kate Evans, Cassie McCullagh, Michael Robotham and Roanna Gonsalves - to help you decide what to read next.BOOKSFrancis Spufford, Nonesuch, FaberEva Hornung, The Minstrels, TextM L Stedman, A Far-Flung Life, PenguinGUESTSMichael Robotham, internationally acclaimed crime writer – whose books include the Joe O’Loughlin series, the Cyrus Haven/ Evie Cormac series, and his latest – featuring Philomena MCcCarthy, The White Crow. His first Australian-based novel is out later this yearRoanna Gonsalves, writer whose collection of short stories is The Permanent Resident, and whose first novel (The Servants) will be published later this year. She is also one of the hosts of a monthly book club at the State Library of NSWOther books mentioned:Phillippa McGuiness and Richard Neville (eds) The Library that Made Me (you can write your own stories about libraries that have shaped you right here)Anita Heiss, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray: River of Dreams Emily St John Mandel, Station ElevenCormac McCarthy, The RoadRashida Murphy’s Old Ghosts and Karleah Olson’s Bloodwood (forthcoming)Michelle de Kretser, The Hamilton CaseNatasha Brown, Assembly, UniversalityCharlotte McConaghy, Wild Dark ShoreDon Winslow, The Power of the Dog, The Death and Life of Bobby Z, The Final Score [stories]Presenters: Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer: Kate EvansSound engineers: Timothy JenkinsArts Editor: Rhiannon Brown