If Anna Funder wishes to attack George Orwell, as she does for page after page in Wifedom, that is, of course, her right. The sad truth, though, is that her efforts to present Eileen Blair as the genius behind Animal Farm are ludicrous. This book is the work of a fact-mangling crank, unworthy of a major publisher's imprint

Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living. I would say the unexamined life is not worth reading about, either. Although Helen Garner expends much ink and paper in How to End a Story: Diaries Volume III there’s a difference between recording everything that happens in your life and everything that flits through your mind

The judges’ report for Helen Garner’s Melbourne Prize for Literature […]