Wandering the world

WARNING: If you want to see the film spoiler-free, as I did, and you have kept away from reviews and social media commentary, read my review AFTER you have seen the film. Saltburn | Released in Australia November 2023 | Viewed December 2023 | Directed by Emerald Fennell | Main cast: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E Grant, Alison Oliver, and Archie Madekwe I was keen on Saltburn, partly because I wanted to see Emerald Fennell's second film as a director,

I enjoyed Welsh author Ruth Jones's first novel, Never greener . Jones's first foray into fiction was published in 2018 following a successful television career as the co-creator of British comedy, Gavin & Stacey. I was keen to complete the trifecta by reading the other two books that Jones has written to date. I vehemently dislike the 'women's fiction' or 'chick lit' labels. Ruth Jones's books seem to be tagged with these classifications. I don't think the labels are accurat

I'm a little ashamed to say that I am not a fan of stories set in Australia written by Australian writers. Australian fiction doesn't resonate with me, perhaps because I go for dark reads and that's not the Aussie vibe. I wonder, too, if there's a thread weaving through Australian stories that matches the lighter shade of the landscape. The only Australian writer who writes Australian stories whom I love is Christian White , and his works are unique and far from standard Aus

I'd been keen to give Ruth Ware's books a go for ages, and was excited to find her latest outing, The it girl, at my local library. British authors of dark tales are totally my jam, and I was intrigued by The it girl because of its academic setting. I've also read another of Ware's novels. My review is posted here. The It girl | Published July 2022 | Read November 2023 The 'it girl' of the title is April Coutts-Cliveden, a rich, posh, flamboyant student at a fictional Oxfo