eyes.2c Reviews

Lola in the Mirro r: A Novel by Trent Dalton          ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lola in the mirror is controversial. Some say Dalton’s romanticising domestic abuse, others see it treading the recognition of the Tyrannosaurus Waltz, the dance between mothers and their monsters! Some say Dalton’s looking down on the homeless (The girl with no name, the artist figures she’s not of that elk. She’s houseless. There’s a difference! She lives in Brisbane’s West end near the river, in a scrapyard, in a Toyota van without wheels.) Her mother’s running away from a crime she committed. Hence her daughter without a name. Because no one can trace them. When the artist turns eighteen her mother’s going to turn herself in. That’s two months away. A lot can happen in that time. The artist has dreams of becoming another Picasso, of hanging work in the MET! Quirky, fascinating, bringing the underbelly of Brisbane’s forgotten to the fore, this is Dalton at his universal best. Another gritty, ma...

Consolation (Paul Hirschhause #3) by Garry Disher        ***** First up I've been a Garry Disher fan forever.  This third tale of a country / outback cop in Tiverton, South Australia near Flinders Ranges and Wilpena Pound (fabulous country) is taut and vivid. Constable Paul Hirschhausen or rather Hirsch could be a small town cop anywhere where spaces are wide and open, from Canada to the US. The play between the big city cops and the homegrown patrols who know their charges and the lay of the land are brilliantly depicted. The people are familiar. I loved Hirsch's concern for the elderly helping them in small and big ways. Concerned that the elderly females are being targeted by a snowdropper. I didn't know what this meant until now. Being nice sometimes doesn't pay off. Suddenly Hirsch becomes the target for a stalker. So there's  a lot happening here, all more or less connected. Plenty of drama, downplayed and yet it smacks you in the face as large as li...