Sister Viv
Grantlee Kieza. HarperCollins. $35.99.
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On Bangka Island in 1942, Australian Army nurse Vivian Bullwinkel was 26 when she managed to survive a mass execution by Japanese soldiers. She helped others during stints in brutal prisoner of war camps and after the war became a giant in nursing and helped drive Operation Babylift, the mass rescue of orphans during the Vietnam War. Bullwinkel was the first woman to be honoured with a statue at the Australian War Memorial - a country girl who become one of the highest ranking women in the Australian army, and who spent her life caring for others.
The Great Housing Hijack: The hoaxes and myths keeping prices high for renters and buyers in Australia
Cameron K. Murray. Allen & Unwin. $34.99.
While Australians on regular incomes dream of lower rents and prices, the housing policy debate sails further away from workable solutions. Economics commentator Murray reveals how property insiders shape the housing market and its policy settings. He explains what property developers really mean when they call for more supply in order to provide affordable housing. He shows why landlords and the real estate industry resist rent controls and why the tax and first home buyer policies achieve little for first home buyers. For every winner in the property market, there is a loser.
The Diggers of Kapyong: The story of the Aussies who changed the course of the Korean War
Tom Gilling. Allen & Unwin. $34.99.
April 1951. After 10 months of fighting, the Korean War hangs in the balance. A single Australian battalion, backed by Kiwi gunners and American tanks, is dug in on a hilltop overlooking the Kapyong Valley, north of Seoul. Together with a Canadian battalion on a nearby hill, they are all that stands between Mao's army and the South Korean capital. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides have been killed or have frozen to death in the cruel Korean winter. On the barren hills above the Kapyong Valley, the heavily outnumbered Diggers of 3RAR wait in darkness for a battle that could decide the war's outcome.
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
Salman Rushdie. Penguin. $36.99.
On the morning of August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when he was stabbed by a man dressed in black. This happened 30 years after the fatwa calling for his death by Ayatollah Khomeini over his novel The Satanic Verses. Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey towards physical recovery and the healing that was made possible by the support of his wife, Eliza, his family, his doctors and physical therapists, and his readers.
Women of Good Fortune
Sophie Wan. Ultimo Press. $34.99.
When Shanghai's most eligible bachelor proposes to Lulu, she accepts, despite misgivings. 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: Rina, who is tired of being passed over for promotion as her biological clock ticks away; and Jane, a housewife desperate to divorce her husband and trade up. Each desires something different: freedom, time, beauty. None of them can get it without money. They decide to form a plan to steal the cash wedding gifts. But things get increasingly complicated.
Notes On A Murder
B P Walter. HarperCollins. $22.99.
Middle-aged Oliver is trying to recover from an addiction when he's confronted by something from his past. Twenty years earlier, he was on a family vacation in Greece with his parents and older brother. Oliver fell in love with Alistair and they were invited to dinner at a luxury villa. There's good food and good company but as the night progresses, things take a dark turn: the host tells Oliver he can kill another guest who has committed a heinous act with no consequences. Can this possibly be true? Is Oliver capable of killing someone?
At the Going Down of the Sun
Mary-Anne O'Connor. Penguin. $34.99.
In 1914, brothers Thom and Archie Hogan tinker with their father's old biplane and dream of flying it over their farm. Both fall in love with newcomer Molly James and then war strikes, the brothers enlist, and Molly becomes a nurse in London. In the Middle East and Europe, the brothers become involved in aerial combat, and Molly is faced with a dangerous mission on her own. This book is based on a true story of the war experiences of Sydney author O'Connor's grandfather.
Mad Honey
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. Allen & Unwin. $22.99.
After a messy divorce, Olivia finds herself back in her sleepy New Hampshire home town. Meanwhile, Ava is also in search of a fresh start, moving to the same town with her daughter Lily, who is in her final year of high school. Olivia's son Asher falls for the new girl and Lily can't help loving him in return. With Ash she feels happy for the first time, yet she wonders if she can trust him completely. Then one day Olivia receives a phone call. Lily is dead and Ash is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent, but she also recognises the flashes of his father's dangerous temper in him.