Welcome to Patana Page Turners, our monthly installment of recommended reads. In this issue the English Faculty share favourite books from their summer holiday reading.
Rosie Marshall
The President by Xander Beattie
I bought this novel on a whim in a bookshop in Cape Town and I read it as I travelled through Namibia. Beattie explores corruption, revenge and media backlash in South Africa in a fast-paced satire. Reading The President was a fascinating insight into the politics of South Africa.
Collette Blackman
North of the Sunlit River by Jessica Bryant Klagmann
I really enjoyed reading North of the Sunlit River this summer, particularly its vivid descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness and the way the author encouraged readers to consider our responsibility as stewards of the environment. I found the themes of family and relationships particularly thought-provoking, while the elements of magical realism added a sense of mystery and intrigue to the narrative.
Purnima Ghogar
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Loved reading Theo of Golden by Allen Levi on the idyllic beaches of Phu Quoc, Vietnam. Beautifully written, it follows Theo, an elderly Portuguese man who arrives in Golden and quietly transforms lives through kindness, exploring healing, loneliness, art and human connection. Surrounded by sea, Theo’s lifelong draw to water felt especially fitting.
Ruth Greener
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
I love dystopian fiction. Here I’m reading Sunrise on the Reaping in Chester’s Roman amphitheatre. Once a venue for gladiatorial contests and animal fights, it echoes the arenas of The Hunger Games. The comparison reminds me that societies have long turned suffering into entertainment, raising questions about our own choices today.
Caroline Corker
Land by Maggie O’Farrell
In the comfort of the La Trobe Reading Room in the State Library Victoria, Melbourne, I enjoyed reading this epic, which charts the aftermath of rural Ireland’s Great Hunger. The story follows a map maker and his children as they discover the power of Nature and its secrets and mysteries, often in the face of adversity and devastation.
Lindsay Tyrrell
The Mercies by Kiran Millward Hargrave
I enjoyed reading this historical fiction novel while I travelled down the western coast of South Africa. Set in a Norwegian coastal town, it centres around the 1621 Vardø witch trials, where a community of women must survive suspicion and oppression after a devastating storm kills most of the community’s men.
Jennifer Avila
The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein
I spent a week travelling the Maldives by boat and stumbled upon this true crime story on the boat’s little library. Three Australian crime writers team together to cover the 2025 Erin Patterson trial, who was convicted of poisoning and killing three members of her ex-husband’s family with death cap mushrooms. It’s a fascinating read with a plot seemingly pulled right from the pages of classic crime fiction.
Katie Sloane
Is A River Alive? by Robert MacFarlane
Are rivers living, evolving beings who should be recognised as such by law? As I traced the meandering Hueang river bordering Loei province and Laos before it joins the wide beast of the Mekong, I read about MacFarlane’s stunningly evoked journeys to Ecuador, India and Canada where he meets activists who are striving to do just that.
Casey Thatcher
Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford
One of my favourite genres is adventure non-fiction. I have read several books by Ranulph Fiennes, in which he provides detailed accounts of journeys through some of the most extreme places on Earth. The story of Ed Stafford’s trek along the Amazon reminded me of the stories of Ranulph Fiennes. It was fascinating and served as a reminder of what humans are capable of when we step outside our comfort zones.