Blood was Tony Birch's debut novel, published in 2011 and shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award. It appears now as part of the University of Queensland's First Nations series.

Thirteen-year-old Jesse and his younger sister, eight-year-old Rachel live an itinerant life with their mother, Gwen. Gwen is a terrible mother- there's no other way to put it. She's banned Jesse and Rachel from calling her “Mum” - a word she can't stand. She has no money, lives on the occasional job and a bit of drug running. Her boyfriends are generally pretty bad – ex convicts and worse. Things get so dire at one stage that she dumps Jesse and Rachel with her father, an ex-alcoholic who has found the Bible. The children like their grandfather and wish they could stay with him. He has his rules, but also provides stability and regular meals. They are soon disappointed when Gwen turns up again, with a new boyfriend, the borderline psychopath Ray Crow.

Gwen takes Jesse and Rachel from Melbourne to Adelaide, with the creepy Ray in tow. They meet up with Ray's mate, the equally scary "Limbo", so named because his criminal court cases were always in limbo. When Jesse finds a stash of cash and a gun, he knows the two men are up to something dangerous and illegal. The children decide to make a run for it and try to make it back to their grandfather in Melbourne.

Tony Birch's sparse, clipped prose (think James M. Cain and Cormac McCarthy) is a page-turning delight. Instantly the reader is hooked on this nail biting story as Jesse and Rachel live by their wits, trying to evade Ray and Limbo who are out looking for them with evil intent. The scenes and situations seem  so real that you feel certain the book is some thinly disguised autobiography. The descriptions of outback roads, greasy diners and dingy suburban shopping malls are all easily recognisable, giving the book an attractive realism.

A First Nations perspective is added by the fact that Jesse's father is Indigenous (his sister, Rachel, was fathered by a white man). Jesse is yet to fully realise his heritage, but witnesses the racism of white people around him. A brief encounter with an otherworldly Indigenous man, Magic, opens his eyes to other life possibilities – of identity and destiny.

An edge-of-your seat story told with consummate skill.

Blood, by Tony Birch. Published by University of Queensland Press. $19.99

​Review by Chris Saliba

Two unhappy wives lease an exotic Italian castle for the month of April, with happy results.

Mrs Lotty Wilkins is stuck in a rut, dissatisfied with her marriage to Mellersh, a narrow minded solicitor only interested in money. When she runs into Rose Arbuthnot at her ladies' club, she notices she is reading an advertisement for a place to be let, an exotic castle in rural Italy. The furnished castle is on offer for the month of April, its owner the Englishman Thomas Briggs. The two ladies, who are shy of each other, boldly decide to lease the castle and leave their husbands behind (the devout Mrs Arbuthnot is married to Frederick, who to her displeasure writes racey biographies for quick bucks.) They both feel they need a break from their emotionally exhausting work as devoted wives.

To minimise expenses, the women decide to advertise for two more ladies to join their group. Lady Caroline, a twenty-eight year old heiress with zero interest in men, or anything in particular, signs on for the April holiday. And lastly there is Mrs Fisher, an older, imperious woman, whose claim to fame is a long list of important literary connections.

Upon arrival, all goes to plan. Lotty and Rose find themselves transformed, just as they'd wished, by the beauty of the castle, with its fragrant gardens and sensuously warm weather. The disinterested Lady Caroline mostly keeps to herself, observing the company from afar and making ironic observations. Mrs Fisher remains a hard nut to crack, reserved and difficult, until nearing the end of her stay when events cause her to drop her stony exterior.

British writer Elizabeth von Arnim (she was born in Sydney, Australia, moving to England aged three) wrote The Enchanted April (1922) while staying at Castello Brown, a medieval castle located in northern Italy. The book is rich with atmospheric descriptions, of flowers in bloom and delicious, balmy warm weather. Indeed, the castle works like a spell – on the women and reader alike. One longs to stay at the castle, to be also transformed, and feels envious of von Arnim's characters. 

Despite the text's light, hazy, hallucinatory quality, The Enchanted April is essentially a comedy. It pokes gentle fun at the unfulfilled women, Rose and Lotty, who are divorced from reality, but also gives them a sort of feminist triumph as they manage to subordinate their husbands to their wishes. The impenetrable Lady Caroline and Mrs Fisher, who seem determined to remain unaffected by their surroundings, eventually succumb to the castle's magic too. If there's a writer that comes close to being Jane Austen “light” it's von Arnim. She creates a hypnotically feminine place in the castle and traps everyone within it, passing gentle commentary on her characters with a light, yet sly humour. And like all Jane Austen novels, it ends with happy romantic couplings.
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A strange yet satisfying mix of comedy and escapism.

The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth von Arnim. Published by Penguin. $22.99

Review by Chris Saliba

Two experts explain what the Voice to Parliament will and won't do. With cartoons by Cathy Wilcox.

Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and former ABC journalist Kerry O'Brien have come together to write this short “handbook” to the Voice to Parliament. They have kept its length short, the idea being to make it easily posted or shared.

What do you get inside? It's a mix of personal stories, some history of previous referendums, a calling out of the misrepresentations about the Voice (it won't be a third chamber of parliament) and a section devoted to FAQs. A closing essay from Marcia Langton and Fiona Stanley explains how the Voice will help close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage. The final section provides some good tips for spreading the Yes message.

What do we learn? The Voice will be a representative body loosely similar to ATSIC (The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission) set up by the Labor Hawke government in 1990, and dismantled by the Liberal Howard government in 2005. The world “loosely” should be stressed. If the Yes vote is successful, then the model could take any form, and change over time, according to legislation. The vexed issue of the Voice's form is really more of a procedural one. The key point is that if the Yes vote is successful, the Voice will be enshrined in the constitution. No government will be able to dismantle the Voice, ensuring continued representation from First Nations people.
An accessible explainer and impassioned call to vote Yes.

The Voice to Parliament Handbook, by Thomas Mayo and Kerry O'Brien. Published by Hardie Grant. $16.99

Review by Chris Saliba

How tiny germs made the world as we know it

According to Jonathan Kennedy, a teacher in global health, pathogens have played a bigger role in historical events than we give credit for. History's narrative arc is usually described as one of great men and superior civilisations, the world mere putty awaiting the hands of god. But what if it was pathogens – smallpox and malaria for example – that have really given conquering armies their competitive edge? Jonathan Kennedy argues that this is very much the case. From the fate of Neanderthals to the American Civil War, pathogens have played a major role in aiding one side against the other.  Societies with no immunity to introduced diseases didn't have a hope. The most famous historical example is the Spanish conquest of the Mexica and Inka Empires. The population was brutally swathed by smallpox, allowing the Spanish victory with only a few hundred soldiers. The mosquito-borne virus yellow fever allowed immune Haitian rebels to win independence from Napoleon's France. French soldiers didn't stand a chance against the virus.

Pathogenesis provides example after example of killer diseases changing the course of history. Kennedy even argues the Medieval plague helped kick start the capitalist revolution. By drastically reducing the number of farmers, it gave them more bargaining power and the incentive to maximise profits.

Written in lively and engaging prose, and weaving in amusing literary allusions from Genesis to Tolkein, this is a compelling history that will appeal to readers of Sapiens and Guns, Germs and Steel.

Pathogenesis, Jonathan Kennedy. Published by Random House. $35

Review by Chris Saliba