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World » Australia

Browse book recommendations:

World

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Nicholas Jose recommends his best Australian novels. For a more general introduction to Australian literature, go to Jose’s Literature of Australia: An Anthology, which he compiled with Thomas Keneally. There are also individually recommended Australian authors such as writers Jane Harper, Peter Temple, Alexis Wright and multi-Booker Prize winner Peter Carey.

If you're a historical fiction fan, Australian authors dominated the 2021 Walter Scott Prize shortlist, with the chair of the judges commenting "If Pip Williams, Kate Grenville and Steven Conte set the standard, we can expect more literary treats to emerge from Australia in the years to come."

Elsewhere in nonfiction, Dan Norcross talks about Australian cricket in his best books on cricket and The Cook’s Companion by one of Australia’s most famous cooks, Stephanie Alexander, is recommended by two of our interviewees.  The Australian environmental philosopher, Denise Russell, chooses her best books on the sea. And David Cannadine chooses his best books on the British Empire.

Several other Australian experts have given us their top book choices including philosopher Peter Singer introducing us to nineteenth-century of philosophy books, author James Bradley on climate change novels and economist John Quiggin recommends books for learning about economics.

    The Best Australian Crime Fiction, recommended by Emma Viskic

  • Read
    The Best Australian Crime Fiction - Truth by Peter Temple

    1

    Truth
    by Peter Temple

  • Read
    The Best Australian Crime Fiction - The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jack Serong

    2

    The Rules of Backyard Cricket
    by Jack Serong

  • Read
    The Best Australian Crime Fiction - An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire

    3

    An Isolated Incident
    by Emily Maguire

  • Read
    The Best Australian Crime Fiction - The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter

    4

    The Monkey's Mask
    by Dorothy Porter

  • Read
    The Best Australian Crime Fiction - Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

    5

    Too Much Lip
    by Melissa Lucashenko

  • The Best Australian Crime Fiction - Truth by Peter Temple
  • The Best Australian Crime Fiction - The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jack Serong
  • The Best Australian Crime Fiction - An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire
  • The Best Australian Crime Fiction - The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter
  • The Best Australian Crime Fiction - Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

The Best Australian Crime Fiction, recommended by Emma Viskic

Australian crime fiction—sometimes dubbed ‘Outback Noir’—is enjoying a boom, and its authors are rapturously received overseas. Emma Viskic, the award-winning crime writer, selects five of the best crime novels by her compatriots: outstanding books that blur the line between ‘literary’ and ‘genre’ fiction.

The Best Australian Crime Fiction, recommended by Emma Viskic

    The Best Australian Novels, recommended by Nicholas Jose

  • Read
    The Best Australian Novels - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by M Barnard Eldershaw

    1

    Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
    by M Barnard Eldershaw

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    The Best Australian Novels - The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea by Randolph Stow

    2

    The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea
    by Randolph Stow

  • Read
    The Best Australian Novels - Bliss by Peter Carey

    3

    Bliss
    by Peter Carey

  • Read
    The Best Australian Novels - An Imaginary Life by David Malouf

    4

    An Imaginary Life
    by David Malouf

  • Read
    The Best Australian Novels - Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

    5

    Carpentaria
    by Alexis Wright

  • The Best Australian Novels - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by M Barnard Eldershaw
  • The Best Australian Novels - The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea by Randolph Stow
  • The Best Australian Novels - Bliss by Peter Carey
  • The Best Australian Novels - An Imaginary Life by David Malouf
  • The Best Australian Novels - Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

The Best Australian Novels, recommended by Nicholas Jose

Australia is a highly urban place and yet the imagination of its writers goes to remote places and times, says Australian novelist Nicholas Jose. He picks the best Australian novels.

The Best Australian Novels, recommended by Nicholas Jose

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We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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