Bestsellers for April 2009

1	The Women in Black    Madeleine St John    Penguin    $29.95
		This wonderful re-issue of an Australian classic, is sure to endear itself to a whole new generation of readers. First published in 1993, “The Women in Black” is set in Sydney in the late 1950s. The women in black are the sales assistants of the fashion department in a popular department store – F.G.Goodes. Lisa, is the newest woman in black – just left school and waiting for her exam results. She spends her summer holidays meeting the colourful array of customers and fellow staff and coming of age. Written with a light, comic and tender touch, this is a book that will instantly become one of your favourites and you will want to read it again as soon as you have finished it!
2	The Secret Scripture    Sebastian Barry    Faber & Faber    $32.95
		Roseanne McNulty, perhaps nearing her one-hundredth birthday - no one is quite sure - faces an uncertain future, as the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital where she's spent the best part of her adult life prepares for closure. Over the weeks leading up to this upheaval, she talks often with her psychiatrist Dr Grene. This relationship, guarded but trusting after so many years, intensifies and complicates as Dr Grene mourns the death of his wife. Told through their respective journals, the story that emerges - of Roseanne's family in 1930s Sligo - is at once shocking and deeply beautiful. Refracted through the haze of memory and retelling, Roseanne's story becomes an alternative, secret, history of Ireland. Exquisitely written, it is the story of a life blighted by terrible mistreatment and ignorance, and yet marked still by love and passion and hope.
3	The Winter Vault    Anne Michaels    Penguin    $32.99
		At last we can enjoy the long-awaited novel from the Orange Prize winning author of “Fugitive Pieces”! This fascinating and beautifully written novel is set in Egypt in 1964. The great temple at Abu Simbel must be rescued from the rising waters of the Aswan Dam. Block by block it must be dismantled and reconstructed 60 metres higher. This most delicate and daunting of tasks is overseen by Avery, a young engineer who is carefully and joyfully starting his new life with his wife Jean. But all does not go as straightforwardly as hoped, both in the project and in their relationship. The couple’s grief takes the reader to Canada, Poland and other times of loss and reconstruction. “The Winter Vault” tells of the ways in which we salvage what we can from the violence of life, the power of memories and the restorative power of love. A memorable and haunting read.
4	The Slap    Christos Tsiolkas    Allen & Unwin    $32.95
		At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own. This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the event. In this remarkable novel, Christos Tsiolkas turns his unflinching and all-seeing eye onto that which connects us all: the modern family and domestic life in the twenty-first century. The Slap is told from the points of view of eight people who were present at the barbecue. The slap and its consequences force them all to question their own families and the way they live, their expectations, beliefs and desires. What unfolds is a powerful, haunting novel about love, sex and marriage, parenting and children, and the fury and intensity - all the passions and conflicting beliefs - that family can arouse. In its clear-eyed and forensic dissection of the ever-growing middle class and its aspirations and fears, The Slap is also a poignant, provocative novel about the nature of loyalty and happiness, compromise and truth.
5	A Most Immoral Woman    Linda Jaivin    Harper Collins    $32.99
		This novel draws on the larger-than-life character of George Ernest Morrison, the famous Australian journalist - Morrison of Peking, who it turns out was not only an intrepid explorer, doctor, adventurer and China correspondent, but also a romantic adventurer. Set in China at the turn of the 20th century, the novel tells of Morrisons' obsession with Mae Perkins, a free-living American heiress and the exciting world of politics and journalism in the Far East. Inspired by a true story, this is an erotic and beautifully written tale from one of Australia's most exciting writers.
6	Handle with Care    Jodi Picoult    Allen & Unwin    $32.99
		Jodi Picoult's new bestseller explores the moral dilemmas faced by the parents of a severely disabled child. When faced with the reality of a child who will be disabled, at which point should an obstetrician counsel termination? Should a parent have the right to make that choice? And as a parent, how far would you go to take care of someone you love?
7	Revolutionary Road    Richard Yates    Random House    $24.95
		Hailed as a masterpiece from its first publication, Revolutionary Road is the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a bright young couple who are bored by the banalities of suburban life and long to be extraordinary. With heartbreaking compassion and clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April's decision to change their lives for the better leads to betrayal and tragedy.
8	Ransom    David Malouf    Random House    $29.95
		A new re-telling of the story of the Iliad
9	Closed for Winter    Georgia Blain    Penguin    $24.95
		A re-issue to co-incide with the new film, starring Natalie Imbruglia
10	Still Alice    Lisa Genova    Simon & Schuster    $29.95
		This is a compelling debut novel about a 50 year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by Lisa Genova, who holds a Phd in Neuroscience from Harvard. Alice Howland, happily married with 3 children, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the heoght of her career, when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion sets in and she comes to terms with her devastating diagnosis, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live for the moment. But her sense of self is being stripped away... In turns heatbreaking, inspiring and terifying, "Still Alice" captures in remarkable detail what it's actually like to lose your mind.

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Previous Bestsellers Lists

View the previous bestsellers lists by selecting the date of the list you'd like to view

3 September 2010
3 August 2010
4 July 2010
3 June 2010
5 May 2010
6 April 2010
3 March 2010
2 February 2010
28 October 2009
29 September 2009
3 September 2009
30 July 2009

Book of the Month
September 2010

Freedom
by
Jonathan Franzen