Perth’s weather is finally starting to heat up, so what better way to enjoy it than by spending your time at the beach? This summer, enjoy your time soaking up some rays by enjoying some of Perth’s best books. Here are just a few to get you started:
The Newspaper of Claremont Street written by Elizabeth Jolley follows Weekly, nicknamed ‘The Newspaper’, as she cleans the houses on Claremont St, spreading the neighbourhood gossip as she works. No one knows or cares where Weekly goes in her spare time, or what she dreams of at night – no one, that is, until Nastasya discovers her secret.
The Bodysurfers by Robert Drewe sees David, haunted by the brutal murder of a local couple, heading to his weekend shack with his new lover, Lydia, and his children from his recently crumbled marriage. Together they find escape, if only briefly, in the ocean and the bush.
How to Shame the Devil is Ros Thomas’s latest novella. Art Lambkin, newly confined to a nursing home, is terrified of being erased from the outside world. Determined to remain relevant, he engages in a correspondent’s war on the Letters Page of his daily newspaper, pitting his acerbic wit against a rogue gallery of bigots, windbags and egomaniacs. But when a woman surfaces from Art’s long-ago past, he soon becomes the villain in a scandal that threatens to destroy everything—and everyone—he knows.
These books are perfect to be read by the ocean this summer! If you’re a fan of mystery, suspense or anything nostalgic, these books are for you. Each one contains strong ties to locations around Perth, bringing with it a content feeling of familiarity that would make any Perth-resident feel right at home within these pages!