Twenty-nine-year-old Momoko has been tragically dumped. So Momoko does what many broken-hearted people do – she gets incredibly drunk. So drunk that she passes out in a nearly empty café. When she wakes, she pours her heart out to Iori, the curious and impossibly handsome manager, and Hozumi, a Buddhist monk in training and caféContinue reading “Review: ‘The Ex-Boyfriend’s Favourite Recipe Funeral Committee’ serves up delicious food and emotional healing”
Author Archives: novelfeelings
Review: ‘The Experiment’ is a flying adventure
Nathan never understood what was ‘fun’ about secrets, probably because he’s always had to keep a very big one, even from his best friend, Victor. Although he appears to be a typical grade-six kid, Nathan learned at an early age that his family is from another planet, and he’s part of an experiment to workContinue reading “Review: ‘The Experiment’ is a flying adventure”
December Book Club: Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
Two people meet in the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist, undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. By the end of the story, these things will still be true. But this is not aContinue reading “December Book Club: Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake”
Review: Love, shame, and redemption in Madeleine Gray’s Chosen Family
Books about friendship are not often described as love stories, but this is one.At the age of twelve, Nell has accepted that hers will likely be a friendless existence. She’s not interested in boys or makeup or competing to see who can eat the least – so fitting in at her all-girls’ school feels impossible.Continue reading “Review: Love, shame, and redemption in Madeleine Gray’s Chosen Family”
Review: ‘The Farm’ delivers suspense and reflections on women’s body autonomy
When 37-year-old Leila suffers a health tragedy, she doesn’t recover as quickly as she expected. Her partner, James, suggests a year away from the city – they’ll stay on his family farm, where the wide, open spaces and clean country air will help her come to terms with her grief. But the property is remote and the houseContinue reading “Review: ‘The Farm’ delivers suspense and reflections on women’s body autonomy”
Q&A with Pip Smith on The Pull of the Moon
Coralie is thirteen years old and lives on Christmas Island, where sea birds circle the sky and the seasons are marked by the migratory patterns of crabs. But life on the island isn’t always paradise. During a fierce tropical storm, a fishing boat carrying eighty-nine asylum seekers crashes into the island’s cliffs. Coralie locks eyesContinue reading “Q&A with Pip Smith on The Pull of the Moon”
Review: Cosy, bibliophile friendly vibes in Dinner at the Night Library
The Night Library on the outskirts of Tokyo isn’t your ordinary library. It’s only open from seven o’clock to midnight. It exclusively stores books by deceased authors, and none of them can be checked out — instead, they’re put on public display to be revered and celebrated by the library’s visitors, akin to a bookContinue reading “Review: Cosy, bibliophile friendly vibes in Dinner at the Night Library”
October Book Club: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Ada carries separate selves within her. When a traumatic experience crystallises the selves into something more powerful, Ada’s life shifts in a dangerous direction. Our September October book club discussion is about Freshwater, a semi-autobiographical novel by Nigerian writer, Akwaeke Emezi. We talk about multiplicity and the character’s experience with alters, and the role ofContinue reading “October Book Club: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi”
Q&A with Mark Mupotsa-Russell on The Wolf Who Cried Boy
Six-year-old Henry believes his life is a fairytale. He’s a Star Prince, his mum is a Star Queen and they’re hiding from Henry’s father, the mysterious ‘Wolf King’. When news arrives that his Grandma is gravely ill, Henry and his mum must take a road trip across the country and back into the Wolf King’sContinue reading “Q&A with Mark Mupotsa-Russell on The Wolf Who Cried Boy”
Review: ‘How to Dodge Flying Sandals’ and other advice to balance culture and self-acceptance
Meet Daniel Nour: Egyptian and Australian; loud and painfully awkward; conservative and very confused (especially about other boys). He’s never quite pulled off normal, but ‘not-normal’ is where the best stories are. Now he’s made his peace with that and is ready to share his wisdom in this highly unreliable ethnic memoir. Told as aContinue reading “Review: ‘How to Dodge Flying Sandals’ and other advice to balance culture and self-acceptance”
Novel Feelings 