AustLit

'"Because Stanley came into my life in 2001 and Sophie in 2004, this is a tale, tangentially, about Manhattan in those first confounding years of the new millennium. Years when our lives were a rhubarb of noisy emotion: a devil's chorus of fear, blatting rage, birring anxiety, tweedling incredulity, roupy sorrow."

'Stanley and Sophie is a book that woofs. Ostensibly an animal book, it's about two beloved border terriers in New York City and two monkeys in Bali. It is also a book about terrorism, about grieving, about finding one's way through sadness, and about remaking a life.' (Libraries Australia)

'My life is about to begin. This is the only thought in Irene’s head on the day she marries a handsome Second World War veteran and becomes a farmer’s wife. But Irene quickly grows restless. Bored to her back teeth, she is scornful of her dutiful husband, heedless of her children. She wants adventure, to experience whatever is on offer: men, travel, culture. As Irene and Rex raise children and crops, the tension between them builds and builds …

'Kate Jennings’s black humour and pared-back prose, at once understated and rich in startling imagery, resonate long after the final unnerving chapter. Set in an irrigation area – barren soil blessed by water – Snake is a modern classic.' (Publication summary)