Here 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 novels, such as the crime novel The Lost Man by Jane Harper.
Elsewhere 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.
The contemporary Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean’s From Wood to Ridge evokes the people of Hallaig, a township that was completely cleared during the highland clearances, with the population shipped off to Australia. And David Cannadine chooses his best books on the British Empire.
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.
