Praiseworthy, Alexis Wright (Miles Franklin, 2024)

This is our second Alexis Wright discussion, the first, pre-pandemic, was "Carpentaria". The setting in Praiseworthy is similar. a First Nation community in Northern Australia dealing with the cruel, unjust, hypocritical and violent circumstances of colonisation. The 700pp monster would (according to the Guardian) give Henry James a heart attack. But also the language is rich, the humour dark and "All life, as in Balzac, is here, on a scale far bigger than anything the caffeinated Frenchman envisioned." We have longer than usual, libraries have multiple copies on shelf, so find yourself one and buckle in! I'm looking forward to the discussion in the New Year.

Since starting this book club a few years ago we have formed a nice core membership. If you haven't come yet, please look out for the books on the table, pull up a chair, order a wine and join us. We like to hear what everyone has to say and enjoy the conversation, we're not cliquey at all! Oh, and to defray the Meetup monthly bill I will accept gold coin contributions or wine if you want to pay for multiple in one hit. I hope to see everyone again at this one with some new faces.