Australians love reading, and the country’s literary scene has changed dramatically in the last few years. Novels have now become more diverse and experimental. Here are Australia’s top 5 Fiction Books of 2020
The Dictionary of Lost Words
The Dictionary of Lost Words, written by Pip Williams, is a fascinating book about a girl, Esme, who, in 1901, stole the missing word “Bondmaid” from the Oxford English Dictionary.
Esme realized that some words relating to women’s experiences are sometimes left unrecorded. She collected discarded, misplaced, or neglected terms from the Scriptorium relating to women’s experiences. Esme dedicated her life to the Oxford English dictionary but secretly collected words for her: The Dictionary of Lost Words.
The story was set at the height of the women’s suffrage movement and the looming “great war.” The Dictionary of Lost Words is a thought-provoking story of language and its power to change the world.
Honey Bee
Honey Bee, written by Craig Silvey, is a life-affirming and heartbreaking novel that exposes its readers to the dark world of extortion plots, petty thefts, daring rescues, botched bank robberies, and a drag show. This book was recommended by Finn Short from newcastle cabinet makers.
The story revolves around Sam Watson, a resilient but solitary young person who is battling to navigate the world and discover his true self. A loyal son to his troubled mother and disrupted by a domineering step-father.
The honeybee is a moving novel full of strong characters. It’s about the lives of two people who are forever changed by a chance encounter.
Shuggie Bain
Shuggie Bain, written by Douglas Stuart, is a novel that exposes the grim reality of poverty, helplessness, and abuse. It reveals the disheartening relationship between a parent who has a problem with substance abuse and her neglected children. Agnes Bain, their mother, was abandoned. by their womanizing father and turned to uncontrollable drinking. Soon they found themselves in a mining town wasteland.
Shuggie Bains has an older sister, Catherine, who married at an early age to get away from their mother and moved to South Africa. Shuggie has a brother Alexander “Leek’ Bains, a gifted artist trying his best to teach his younger brother how to act naturally. It’s Shuggie who is holding to hope the longest. Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain exposes the cruelty of poverty and the effects of addiction and abuse.
The Midnight library
The Midnight Library is an intriguing novel written by Matt Haig about all the choices a well-lived life has to go through.
The novel opens the door into a fascinating library with an infinite number of books found beyond the edge of the Universe. Each book tells the story of another reality. One book is about the life you lived while the other tells of the life you could have lived.
In the novel, Nora Seed is faced with a dilemma as she goes through the Midnight Library. Will she change her life, undo old break-ups or choose a different career? She has to seek within herself and make the ultimate decision.
All Our Shimmering Skies
All Our Shimmering Skies is a novel written by Trent Dalton that is set amidst the backdrop of World War 2, where bombs are raining down on an orphaned Molly Hook. She embarks on a quest to find Longcoat Bob, a deep-country sorcerer. She is accompanied by an odd mix of characters, Greta and Yukio.
It’s a story of gifts falling from the sky, curses we dig from the earth, and buried secrets inside ourselves. This novel is heading towards becoming an Australian Classic.