I sadly missed out on the last time Florence + The Machine came to town about three years ago, so it was a thrill to see my favourite barefoot flame-haired pagan priestess live again.
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Reviews
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie – Book Review
This classic Poirot murder mystery always hovers near the top whenever a discussion of Christie’s greatest novels arises, rightly so. Along with a handful of later books, it made her name and displayed her particular genius for a simple yet daring concept, and an ending that yanks the carpet from under the unsuspecting reader’s feet.
Christie dedication at the beginning of the book (to her older sister, nicknamed Punkie) playfully refers to it as orthodox detective story, murder, inquest, and suspicion falling on everyone in turn! True enough, until its startling conclusion the novel runs as a straightforward and seemingly conventional murder mystery, taking place in a small village of King’s Abbot.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout – Book Review
Books are like cities. Some you only ever need to visit once and you absorb all they have to offer in one go, while others you could re-visit over and over, getting lost in its alleys and passageways and noticing new things every time. This book, not quite a traditional novel but more like a novel in short stories, about the community in a small coastal town in Maine, is so rich in detail and insight I can see myself picking it up from the book shelf a few times over.
New Music 12/2018 – Muse, The Breeders, Florence + The Machine
It’s nice when your favourite people release albums that don’t suck.
Roma – Film Review
This acclaimed movie is out on Netflix, but I jumped at the chance to watch it on the big screen in the comfort of the ACMI movie theatre. Though I found it easier to admire than to love, it was very much a worthwhile visit.
Endless Night by Agatha Christie – Book Review
Though Christie wrote a great many standalone crime novels, Endless Night feels like a true departure, different to everything else she wrote before or since. It’s not a classic detective story with classic detective tropes, there is barely any criminal investigation and the crime itself happens almost three-quarters into the story. Back when I first read it as a teenager my reaction was ambivalent, but even then this eerie novel imprinted on my brain as much as the haunting passage from William Blake’s poem it takes its name from. Revisiting it now has cemented Endless Night as one of my Christie favourites.
The Breeders @ Forum Theatre
Another year, another fantastic December gig at the Forum Theatre. As a bonus, Melbourne was graced by a stunning sunset that cast the city in an otherworldly light and made everyone on the street reach for their cameras.
