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Let's. Take a look. To take a look inside the book. Take a look.
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Hello and welcome to hear this. I'm Frances Keyland, and you're listening to the Vision Australia library show, where we talk about books in the Vision Australia collection. It's a brand new year. And let's go ahead with some really interesting books this week. Here we are in 2025. And happy New Year to people listening. I hope you had enough good books to get you over what might have been a quiet time for you. So we have a selection of books today. A little bit of non-fiction and fiction. The first one is a memoir by the very recently died. Michael Leunig and for so many years it was a routine to buy the weekend papers and turn to the back where there'd be a leunig cartoon with Mr. Curley in it, maybe, or another one of Leunig's, um, fantastic characters. In later years, he did, um, court controversy for a number of reasons, but I think his body of work lives on and if not outright laughter, some of his cartoons would resonate with the inner self. And the good news is we do have Michael Leunig's memoir. It's called The Lot in Words. There are few aspects of existence to which Michael Leunig has not turned his Renaissance mind as a bemused and committed member of the human plight. From his cartoonists sensibilities comes a peculiar journalism, made of parable, memoir and soliloquy on subjects ranging from the sublime to the subhuman, Human, from the fragile ecosystem of the spirit to the brutalization of the modern world. The violence we unwittingly commit against each other and our deeper selves each day to hypocrisy and despair in the political order, military madness and the media. To violins, artists and newborn foals, the value of the mundane emotional mysteries in the night sky, light and darkness in the national character. The wisdom of the innocent, the sadness of the brain ridden, humanity's redeeming pathos, and our exquisite inseparability from the natural world. The lot. Even in the smallest, simplest things, Leunig finds the eternal key, and no matter how confronting the topic, he awakens and upholds the funny side, the uplifting side, the side you'd forgotten about or didn't realize was there. Let's hear a sample of The Lot in Words by Michael Leunig. It's narrated by Ian Bliss.
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How to be a cartoonist. Take a blank piece of paper and sit there staring at it for years and years. Eventually, a cartoon will appear and you will sign it and send it to a man who will publish it in a newspaper and send you some money. Someone will tell you they couldn't understand it, and a bit of hate mail will trickle in. But another person will write you a letter using four different colored inks and with many words underlined. And this person will tell you they love what you do. Then you will be asked to give a talk about your work. You give the talk and people sit there looking blankly at you. When you finish, they file out of the room and the night is over. Next thing you know, you're publishing a whole book of cartoons and you do an author tour. Radio announcers ask you if your father was yucky and whether your childhood was happy. And just as you start to answer, the interview is over and you're in a speeding taxi with a broken seat. You arrive at a huge headache where you were staying for the night from your five star headache. You do a telephone interview with somebody who wants to know why your work is so weird and melancholy, which later causes you to open a packet of peanuts from the minibar. One thing leads to another. The next morning, you notice 30 years have passed. More hate mail arrives and somebody tells you you're a bit of a disappointment. Suddenly, you get an idea for a new cartoon, so you draw it, but it doesn't really work on paper. The deadline looms. You throw down a glass of wine and draw a man with a dog's tail, and he's chasing it in the moonlight. You have captured the meaning of life. For this, you receive an honorary doctorate and a tortured to within an inch of your life. Success follows success. Praise pours in and before long you are getting bashed up wherever you go. Somebody tells you that you can't draw. Fiction writers crossed the street. When you approach, a greeting card arrives from someone who says they are praying for you.
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And that was a sample of the Lot in Words by Michael Leunig. There's a couple of other books by Michael Leunig in the collection. Michael is spelt m I c h a e l m I c h a l and leunig is l e u n I g l e n I g. And that book goes for 7.5 hours. And as I mentioned, there's been quite a bit of controversy about him, including allegations made by his sister Mary, who's also a wonderful cartoonist, and different cancellations, including his stance on Covid 19 vaccination requirement in Victoria and which ended his contribution to the age. There you have it, Mike. His memoir, The Lot in Words. Now I know we're past Christmas and send Christmas books should be a thing of the past. Well, maybe, but I have a book here, which is, um. Everybody, this Christmas has a secret. It's by Benjamin Stevenson, and we have his two earlier books in the collection as well, which is everyone in my family has killed someone and everyone on this train is a suspect. So in everyone, this Christmas has a secret, a festive mystery. Benjamin Stevenson writes, um, Benjamin Stevens character is Benjamin Stevenson. The main character says, my name's Earnest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries until I found myself with a haphazard career, getting stuck in the middle of real life ones I'd hoped this Christmas that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong. So here I am backstage at the show of world famous magician Ryan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters. Masters of the art of misdirection. The magician, the assistant. The executive. The hypnotist. The twin. The counsellor. The tech. My clues are even more abstract. Our suspect covered in blood without a memory of how it got there. A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because you know it's Christmas. If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it. After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn't it? Benjamin is Benjamin. Benjamin Stephenson is s t e v e n s o n s t e v e n s o n. The book goes for five hours. Nice. Short one. And that's number three in the Ernest Cunningham murder mystery series. It comes under detective and mystery and wit and humour. Fiction Benjamin Stephen is an award winning stand up comedian and USA today bestseller author. Everyone in My Family, part one. In the series, which is in the library. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, is currently being adapted to a major HBO TV series. He's an author on the rise. He's become incredibly popular just over the last couple of years. That's Benjamin Stephenson. Now to a fairly grisly murder book. It's called The Fourth Monkey. It does have bad language in it, so just be aware of that. And it's by JD Barker. For over five years, the four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message. One which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive. As the lead investigator, Detective Sam Porter knows, even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl. All the while struggling with personal demons of his own. With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer's identity remains a mystery. Time is running out, and the full monkey killer taunts from beyond the grave. Let's hear a sample of The Fourth Monkey by JD Barker. It's narrated by Edoardo Ballerini.
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When his fingers found the phone, he wrestled the device from the charging cable and brought it to his face, squinting at the small, bright screen. Call me 911. A text from Nash. Porter looked over at his wife's side of the bed. Empty except for a note. Went to get milk. Be back soon. Xoxo, Heather. Baths. He grunted and again glanced at his phone. 6:15 a.m.. So much for a quiet morning. Porter sat up and dialed his partner. He answered on the second ring. Sam? Hey, Nash. The other man fell silent for a moment. I'm sorry. Porter. I debated whether or not to contact you. Must have dialed your number a dozen times and couldn't bring myself to actually place the call. I finally decided it'd be best just to text you. Give you a chance to ignore me, you know. It's fine. Nash. What have you got? Another pause. You'll want to see for yourself. See what? There's been an accident. Porter rubbed his temple. An accident? We're homicide. Why would we respond to an accident? You got to trust me on this. You'll want to see it. Nash told him again. There was an edge to his voice. Porter sighed. Where? Near Hyde Park, off 55th. I just texted you the address. His phone pinged loudly in his ear and he jerked it away from his head. He looked down at the screen, noted the address, and went back to the call. I can be there in about 30 minutes. Will that work? Yeah, Nash replied. We're not going anywhere soon. Porter disconnected the call and eased his legs off the side of the bed, listening to the various pops and creaks his tired 52 year old body made in protest.
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And that was a sample of The Fourth Monkey by JD Barker. Um, JD are simply the initials J and D, and then. Barker. Barker. Barker. And that's part one in the four MK series. So the number four letter M and the letter K, part one. And there's no others in the series as yet in the In the Library collection. Judy Barker or Jonathan Dylan Barker was born in 1971. He's an international American, um, bestselling author of suspense thrillers. He often incorporates elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural. The Fourth Monkey was published in 20 1717. At the age of 22, Barker was diagnosed with autism, and he often refers to autism as his superpower, and he credits the condition with giving him the ability to string together complex plots with exceptional attention to detail, which are hallmarks of his writing. He's also a vocal advocate for autism awareness and acceptance, and he uses his platform to challenge stereotypes and promote a deeper understanding of autism. Now to a couple of nonfiction Australian books. The first one is The Killing Streets, Uncovering Australia's first serial murderer. This is by Tanya Bretherton. The story of a series of horrific murders that began in 1930s Sydney, and a killer who remained at large for for over two decades. In December 1932, as the depression tightened its grip, the body of a woman was found in Queens Park, Sydney. It was a popular park. There were houses in plain view. Yet this woman had been violently murdered without anyone noticing. Other equally brutal and shocking murders of women in public places were to follow. Australia's first serial killer was at large. Police failed to notice the similarities between the victims until the death of one young woman. An aspiring Olympic swimmer made the whole city take notice on scant evidence. The unassuming Eric Craig was arrested, but the killings didn't stop. This compelling story of a city crippled by fear and a failing economy of a killer at large, as panic abounds, is also the story of what happens when victims aren't perfect and neither are suspects. And when a rush to judgment replaces the call of reason. Let's hear a sample of the killing murder's Uncovering Australia's first serial murder by Tanya Bretherton. It's narrated by Rachel Tidd. It was early morning on Saturday, the 10th of December, 1932, when a forest green dress was spotted hooked in a spiky thicket of lantana in Queen's Park.
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Nearby was a naked woman lying face down on a bed of overgrown brambles and weeds beneath a coral tree. When local teenager Bernard Green saw the body, he did not at first believe his eyes. The air was still cool and an unseasonal, dreamlike mist hung in the valleys of the residential suburb of Waverley. As he walked south away from Bondi and towards Randwick. He'd taken this journey. Countless times before and he was very familiar with the shortcuts through back lanes, vacant lots and public parks. Coming down a steep hill towards Randwick, he always cut through the grove of coral trees in Queen's Park because it was a little quicker and usually a little more pleasant than walking along the road. The teenager didn't see the body up close and from a distance the skin seemed to glow eerily in the morning light. When he realized with horror what he was looking at, he stopped dead in his tracks. He ran from the scene, heading towards the nearest household he knew had a telephone. David Frame, the foreman of Centennial Park, was the next person to see the dead woman. He, too, had spied the body from some distance away, and as he approached, he had time to consider the woman's exposed back Her petite frame, and the stark white tone of her skin made her seem fragile, like bone China. As he approached, he noticed details.
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And that was the Killing streets, uncovering Australia's first serial murderer by Tanya Bretherton. Tanya is Tanya. Tanya Bretherton is b r e t h e r t o n b r e t h e r t o n. And that book goes for 9.5 hours. Tanya Bretherton has a PhD in sociology and she has a special interest in narrative life, history and social history. She's published in the academic and public sphere for 20 years, and worked as a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney for 15 years, and in 2020 she won the Danger Prize for Killing the Killing Streets. She has written other books that we don't have in the collection. More Australian true crime books The Suicide Bride. The Suitcase baby and the husband poisoner. All historical true crime. The Killing Streets was published in 2020, and there's a great review in Good Reading Magazine, so just Good Reading magazine. Com.au and there's other other reviews as well that give it a really good rating. They say it's a compelling story of a city crippled by fear, and what happens when victims are blamed and suspects are presumed guilty. This is from March 2020. The way Tanya weaves this story together is nothing short of intoxicating. She does a fantastic job of establishing the context in which the crimes happened, how the Great Depression affected the city, how cars forever changed sex work industry. To give you a greater idea of how and why these crimes occurred. Everything comes across in a slow burn, making each twist and turn so impactful. The police corruption, the behaviour of the media and society's attitudes towards women, and particularly sex workers at the time, is appalling and more frightening than the murders is the fact that things really haven't changed that much to the next Australian non-fiction book, This is Daddy Cool Finding My Father, the singer who swapped Hollywood fame for home in Australia. This is by Darlene Bungey, who can ever truly know their parents. He was a glamorous heartthrob, a famous American singer performing in front of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable and other stars at the Academy Awards in the 1930s. His recording of Hawaiian Paradise outsold those of Bing Crosby and Guy Lombardo. So how did he become an Australian infantryman, fighting alongside and performing for his fellow Diggers in Palestine, Beirut, Egypt and New Guinea? Why did he leave Hollywood and the Ritziest hotels in America for a modest Californian bungalow in suburban Sydney. And what caused him to cease his endless drifting from one woman to another, one marriage to another, and settle with the love of his life. She was a strong Aussie woman, a talented radio broadcaster and publicity agent. Why did she take a chance on this reckless vagabond and a notorious womaniser? Seeking answers, Darlene Bungy returns her biographical skills on her own family, exploring her father's multi-layered and at times tempestuous life with the truthful, truthful I and loving heart. Let's hear a sample of Daddy Cool Finding My Father, the singer who swapped Hollywood fame for home in Australia. It's narrated by Nonie Casey in.
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An early photograph, black and white and stamp sized. I am six months old. I sit in a pram looking towards my father who, shirtless and wearing an old pair of trousers, sweats in the sun as he rakes grass sage into a small patch of soil bordering the front of a just built two bedroom semi-detached red brick bungalow in Marrickville. I am watching the man who, in that year of 1948, had just been written up in tempo magazine as a suave, sophisticated heartthrob famous for his love songs. The writer declared that if Laurie Brooks were to go to England, he would be a greater singer than England has ever produced. I have looked at that picture throughout my life and admired my father's labour, wondering at the high old wicker pram I sit in and imagining my mother proudly pressing the button on the box. Brownie camera. But now, with the tempo clipping in one hand and this photo in my other, I ask myself, why on God's earth wasn't he in England showing the Brits how it's done instead of labouring over his mortgaged Tablecloth sized lawn. There are other images I carried from that house. The circular lampshade hanging above my cot with a red train travelling around. It was comforting, but another memory was disturbing. It announced itself long before it appeared like distant thunder. The fearful noise grew until it was above my head. A plane descending, coming in to land at the neighbouring suburb of mascot. It would send me into terrified tears and a toddling run like a story of Chicken Little afraid of the sky falling in. I believed the great grey shadows across the sun were destined to come crashing down on top of me while I was researching this book. An earlier image of another powerful shadow revealed itself.
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And that was Daddy Cool finding my father. The singer, who swapped Hollywood fame for home in Australia by Darlene Bungee. Darlene is d a r l w e n d a r l w e n. Bungee is bungee. Bungee e y. That book goes for six hours and 50 minutes. And there is another book by Darlene in the library. It is Arthur Boyd A life, a biography of Arthur Boyd, the artist. On the website Living Arts Canberra. So all one word, Living Arts Canberra. Com.au from 2020. There is an interview with the author that you can hear. The reviewer writes I must admit I was taken by surprise by this book. It is truly a beautiful, deeply personal work by an award winning biographer known for her writing about two of our most beloved artists, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen. This is a search for the unspoken parts of her father a pilgrimage to the secret lives of her parents, and it moved me to tears more than once. Also, this author, Doreen Bungey, is the Sophie, sister of acclaimed author Geraldine Brooks, who writes every family has secrets. Owls also has an award winning biographer. My sister's discoveries astonished me, wrote Geraldine may be a very good, enjoyable book for people who love memoirs and family secrets and that sort of thing. The last book today is by Tash Aw and it is called We the Survivors. Ahok is an ordinary, uneducated man, born in a Malaysian fishing village and now trying to make his way in a country that promises riches and security to everyone but delivers them only to a chosen few. With Asian society changing around him, like many, he remains trapped in a world of poorly paid jobs that just about allow him to keep his head above water, but ultimately lead him to murder a migrant worker from Bangladesh. Let's hear a sample of We the Survivors by Tash. Aw. It's narrated by Jaime Zubiri.
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You want me to talk about life? But all I've talked about is failure. As if they're the same thing, or at least so closely entwined that I can't separate the two. Like the trees you see growing in the half ruined buildings in the old town, roots clinging to the outside of the walls, holding the bricks and stone, and whatever remains of the paint together, branches pushing through holes in the roof. Sometimes there's almost nothing left of the roof, if you can even call it that. Just fragments of clay tiles or rusty tin propped up by the canopy of leaves. A few miles out of town, on the other side of copper, headed towards the coast, you'll find a shophouse with the roots of a jungle fig creeping down the front pillars of the building. The entire structure swallowed up by the tree. The doorway is now just a shadowy space that leads into the heart of a huge tangle of foliage. Where does one end and the other begin. Which one is alive? Which is dead? Still on the ground floor of these houses there'll be a business or a shop, some kind of small operation. An old guy who'll patch up your tires for 20 bucks, or a printing press that makes those cheap leaflets advertising closing down sales at the local mall, or a cake shop with nothing in the chiller cabinets except for two pieces of kueh lapis that have been there for three weeks. Ether. The packets of biscuits on the shelves are covered in the dust that drifts across from the construction sites nearby, where they're building the new railway or shopping mall or God knows what baths. These people haven't made a decent living for 20 years. They're 75, 80 years old, still alive, but their business is being taken over by a tree. Imagine that.
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And that was a sample of We the Survivors by Tash. Aw, Tash is A s h a s h. Or is a w a w. And that book goes for ten hours. Born in Taiwan to Malaysian parents, Tash all grew up in Kuala Lumpur. Moving to England in his teens, he studied law at the University of Cambridge and worked in a number of jobs as a lawyer for four years. While writing his debut novel, which was the Harmony Silk Factory. We the survivors was published in 2019. In The Guardian from 2019, Anthony Cummins writes, A grim picture emerges of the Asian continent's poor and less poor, forced into a conflict shaped by Western whims, but or doesn't rely on tubthumping. His achievement is to make a global story personal. When he finally circles back to our crime, the scene is managed briskly, in keeping with a tale that somehow, however grim, is never solemn or overwrought. It even ends on a gentle note. Still, the novel's horrors can't easily be pushed out of mind. Thank you for joining us on Hear This for our first show for 2025. I'm Frances Keeland, and if you're listening and you have read a book or listened to a book and you would like to recommend it, you can always ring the library on 1300 654 656. That's 1300 654 656. If there are any particular themes of books that you would like to hear about, sometimes if there's an event like, you know, world, I don't know, b day, we've had that in the past. We can look at books that are about bees or have bees as a theme, even, you know, just little things like that. It's always welcome. If you would like to email the library, it is library at Vision Australia. Org that's library at Vision Australia. Org have a lovely week and we'll be back next week with more here this.
