Happy’s Best New Books (1st November – 7th November)
Updated weekly by the fine folk at Happy Mag, these are the best new books that this week has to offer from Australia and around the world!
Shane Jenek aka Courtney Act – Caught in the Act
Caught in the Act reads like two biographies in one. First, we meet Shane Jenek: child to loving parents in the working-class suburbs of Meanjin (Brisbane), grappling with awakening sexuality while navigating the rough and tumble of school. Then, we meet Courtney Act: an ambitious new construction, climbing to notoriety in the Oxford Street drag scene, then fame on a global scale. The warmth and hard-won wisdom that emanates from these pages is palpable.
9.5
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SHANE JENEK AKA COURTNEY ACT
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Christos Tsiolkas – 7 ½
Christos Tsiolkas — one of the most significant voices in contemporary literature — has returned with a surprising new work of autofiction, addressing his current and past lives, and weaving in a fictional character: an ex-porn star returning to Australia from America. The most provocative aspect of this new volume lies in Tsiolkas’ departure from the political contexts that cut through art, to a focus on the purity of beauty.
9.3
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CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS
7½
Matt Garrick – Writing in the Sand
With an introduction from Yalmay Yunupingu and Witiyana Marika, Matt Garrick traces the story of one of Australia’s most influential bands: Yothu Yindi. Their most famous song, Treaty, had a seismic impact all over the world and gave voice to the call for recognition of Australia’s Indigenous people. Featuring extensive interviews, it sheds new light on this musical phenomenon that rose from East Arnhem Land.
9.4
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MATT GARRICK
WRITING IN THE SAND
Rebecca Solnit – Orwell’s Roses
George Orwell is a colossal figure in literature and our imaginations — but do we know all there is to know? In Orwell’s Roses, Rebecca Solnit definitively answers that question with a firm no. The clues are in his writing: Orwell’s works are laced with reverence of nature. Inspired by his still-surviving rose garden, Solnit reflects on the author’s life with plants and how it informed his work.
9.4
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REBECCA SOLNIT
ORWELL’S ROSES
Shaun Ryder – How to Be a Rock Star
Shaun Ryder, the lead singer of Happy Mondays, was the poster child of the hedonistic ‘Madchester’ scene, which bloomed from post-punk roots to be a powerhouse of acid house. His warts and all story details his rise from the industrial heart of Northern England, to playing the biggest festival crowds in history. He’s just about survived to tell the tale; it lies between the covers of this book.
9.0
BUY HERE
SHAUN RYDER
HOW TO BE A ROCK STAR
Alberto Prunetti – Down and Out in England and Italy
Speaking of Orwell, Alberto Prunetti has taken that inspiration and delivered a wry portrait of life on the margins. He and his cohort’s existence in England is precarious, but its resonances can be felt much further than the bounds of Europe. An urgent examination of class in a 21st-century context.
9.2
BUY HERE
