Book | No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison| Behrouz Boochani
Review by TIM LAM
This haunting memoir from Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani is an act of resistance against Australia’s ruthless offshore detention regime.
Written via WhatsApp text messages sent from a smuggled mobile phone, and translated from Farsi by University of Sydney researcher Dr Omid ...
Review by Nick Mattiske
Book | Seven Types of Atheism |John Gray
The cover of John Gray’s Seven Types of Atheism features seven highlighted gumnuts.
Is Gray suggesting atheism is a form of nuttiness? Sort of, as even though Gray is an atheist himself, he thinks that only a minority of the wide variety of ...
Review by Nick Mattiske
Book | Wild Sea: A History of the Southern Ocean | Joy McCann
We Australians are beach lovers. But in winter there is a stark difference between our idyllic, northern, Pacific beaches and the southern coastline pounded by icy waters travelling unhindered from Antarctica.
The Southern Ocean is an example ...
Review by TIM LAM
Graphic novel | The Reign of God: Book One | Issey Fujishima
This debut graphic novel from Melbourne-based artist Issey Fujishima blends Western-style comics with Japanese manga to create a fresh take on the Gospel.
The Reign of God is set in 70CE, a period of conflict and bloodshed in the ...
Review by David Merritt
Book | Seasons and Self. Discourses on being ‘At Home’ in Nature | Rex A. E. Hunt
The author’s introduction to this book starts with a quote from American author and philosopher Sam Keen: “Whether we continue to talk about God is not so important as whether we retain the sense of ...
Review by Nick Mattiske
Book | Paul and the Gift | John M G Barclay
The main argument of this large, scholarly book is actually quite simple: if we are to understand what Paul says about salvation as a gift we need to understand what the concept of gift meant in the culture of the day. ...
Review by John Rickard
Book | Why Indigenous Sovereignty Should Matter To Christians | Chris Budden
Chris Budden is profoundly qualified to write this book that examines the issue of Indigenous sovereignty for the church. He has a passionate heart and a willingness to sit and listen to the concerns and desires of the First Peoples of ...
Review by Nick Mattiske
Book | The Long Hangover: Putin’s New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past | Shaun Walker
What’s going on in Putin’s Russia?
The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, Shaun Walker, recently wrote that, while World Cup soccer fans realised Russia is not entirely alien, there remains a dark side. It is a ...
Review by Tyson and Evie Robinson
Book | Mystic Bible | Alexandra Sangster
Tyson (aged 13): Mystic Bible, by Alexandra Sangster, is a children’s book about the story of Jesus.
I got to experience this book firsthand and I am impressed. I was wowed at the beautiful drawings and found it really easy ...
Review by Nick Mattiske
Book | The Wasp and the Orchid: the Remarkable Life of Australian Naturalist Edith Coleman | Danielle Clode
Australians may be more likely to look overseas before recognising our own nature writing endeavours. Women writers are particularly prone to being forgotten.
Zoologist Danielle Clode, formerly with Museum Victoria and the University of Melbourne, is a ...
Review by Nick Mattiske
Book | What Are We Doing Here? | Marilynne Robinson
American novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson is particularly interested in rehabilitating the Puritan founders of the US in this work.
Although they have a reputation for dour strictness, they were, she argues, relatively tolerant for their time and their legacy ...
Review by Bob Faser
Book | A Genuinely Theological Church: ministry, theology and the Uniting Church | Geoff Thompson
At the very least, Dr Thompson has given us a book with a provocative title.
In some UCA circles, whenever the T-word (theology) is mentioned, people look rather tense, as if they assume an all-in brawl ...
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