shiftyelliott's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
textpublishing's review against another edition
‘Dazzling writing, acutely attentive to simple truths.’
Jonathan Green
‘Beautiful…Finely wrought and tender stories.’
Fiona Wright
‘A Constant Hum is a remarkable work of fiction, producing a suite of stories dealing with the fundamental human concerns of love, grief and recovery. Alice Bishop has the capacity to convey such emotions with tenderness, a lightness of touch and true craft. She is a writer of the highest quality.’
Tony Birch
‘Some pieces are only a sentence or two, but even those snippets pack an emotional punch, and I found the varying story lengths built a sense of collective grief—and hope. A Constant Hum brims with Aussie cultural references, making it hard to imagine the events in any other setting. But it also pokes at bigger questions—how do people change after a life-changing event? how does one rediscover normality?—that many of us are asking these days.’
New York Times
‘In this resonant collection, Bishop gives both scope and startling immediacy to one of Victoria’s darkest days. These are indelible lives, and A Constant Hum is an essential, intimate charting of the farthest reaches of devastation and hope.’
Josephine Rowe
‘We witness the full impact of the fires…and while the characters change, we’re always mindful of their context. A Constant Hum’s other strength is at the sentence level, and Bishop’s descriptions have both an otherworldly and strong, realistic typicalness to them...It’s easy to take a cynical view of the connected short-story collection [but] Bishop’s collection takes a much more successful route, a collection linked together in tone.’
Readings
‘Amazing, beautiful, important.’
Final Draft, 2SER
‘Alice Bishop’s debut collection of stories packs an emotional punch…We step into the lives of those who survived, physically at least, the tragic and calamitous fires…It is refreshing and pleasing that Bishop spends more of her time exploring the impact of the bushfires through the emotionality of her characters and getting at their inner drives and motives.’
Saturday Paper
‘Shows us Australia in all its brutal intensity…The stories portray people in both their complexity and their ordinariness—because they could easily be any of us.’
Herald Sun
‘Extremely well measured…A heartbreakingly beautiful book that is both uncomfortable and essential reading.’
Kill Your Darlings
'Every word counts... While some of the stories in this collection describe astonishing and exhilarating acts of survival, most concern resilience and less dramatic moments that are not usually discussed. How do people survive after a life changing event? How do they find a new normality?'
Sydney Review of Books
Jonathan Green
‘Beautiful…Finely wrought and tender stories.’
Fiona Wright
‘A Constant Hum is a remarkable work of fiction, producing a suite of stories dealing with the fundamental human concerns of love, grief and recovery. Alice Bishop has the capacity to convey such emotions with tenderness, a lightness of touch and true craft. She is a writer of the highest quality.’
Tony Birch
‘Some pieces are only a sentence or two, but even those snippets pack an emotional punch, and I found the varying story lengths built a sense of collective grief—and hope. A Constant Hum brims with Aussie cultural references, making it hard to imagine the events in any other setting. But it also pokes at bigger questions—how do people change after a life-changing event? how does one rediscover normality?—that many of us are asking these days.’
New York Times
‘In this resonant collection, Bishop gives both scope and startling immediacy to one of Victoria’s darkest days. These are indelible lives, and A Constant Hum is an essential, intimate charting of the farthest reaches of devastation and hope.’
Josephine Rowe
‘We witness the full impact of the fires…and while the characters change, we’re always mindful of their context. A Constant Hum’s other strength is at the sentence level, and Bishop’s descriptions have both an otherworldly and strong, realistic typicalness to them...It’s easy to take a cynical view of the connected short-story collection [but] Bishop’s collection takes a much more successful route, a collection linked together in tone.’
Readings
‘Amazing, beautiful, important.’
Final Draft, 2SER
‘Alice Bishop’s debut collection of stories packs an emotional punch…We step into the lives of those who survived, physically at least, the tragic and calamitous fires…It is refreshing and pleasing that Bishop spends more of her time exploring the impact of the bushfires through the emotionality of her characters and getting at their inner drives and motives.’
Saturday Paper
‘Shows us Australia in all its brutal intensity…The stories portray people in both their complexity and their ordinariness—because they could easily be any of us.’
Herald Sun
‘Extremely well measured…A heartbreakingly beautiful book that is both uncomfortable and essential reading.’
Kill Your Darlings
'Every word counts... While some of the stories in this collection describe astonishing and exhilarating acts of survival, most concern resilience and less dramatic moments that are not usually discussed. How do people survive after a life changing event? How do they find a new normality?'
Sydney Review of Books
tegan91kj's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
shelleygrace's review against another edition
5.0
"Alice Bishop is an incredible force of modern Australian storytelling, and I highly recommend this work; it would be the ideal holiday read. Perhaps on a beach in Hawaii, while you avoid all responsibilities."
I couldn't resist calling out our woeful leadership in our time of need, especially given the current state of Australia's environment.
Full review on the Underground Writer's website: https://bit.ly/39RjvDZ
I couldn't resist calling out our woeful leadership in our time of need, especially given the current state of Australia's environment.
Full review on the Underground Writer's website: https://bit.ly/39RjvDZ
rojaed's review against another edition
5.0
A selection of short stories and flash fiction about the impact on individuals who lost people and homes in the Black Saturday fires. Loosely grouped into three themes Prevailing, Southerly and Northerly, they cumulatively gather momentum and grief
lefa's review against another edition
This was a hauntingly beautiful read. I’m still digesting it.
bibliobliss_au's review against another edition
4.0
A Constant Hum is a collection of fictional vignettes and short stories about the lives of people affected by Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
It touches on many aspects of grief, loss and trauma. The stories reveal a varied spectrum of lives impacted by the disaster.
This book is something special. It’s incredibly powerful and the writing is simply exquisite. The small moments are captured beautifully, demonstrating a masterclass in showing, not telling.
I just love this form of writing. It awes and inspires me.
It touches on many aspects of grief, loss and trauma. The stories reveal a varied spectrum of lives impacted by the disaster.
This book is something special. It’s incredibly powerful and the writing is simply exquisite. The small moments are captured beautifully, demonstrating a masterclass in showing, not telling.
I just love this form of writing. It awes and inspires me.
jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review against another edition
5.0
https://youtu.be/_R8139B7pUI
I’ve found Southern brunches and Aussie reads the perfect combination for soothing my Texpat soul
I’ve found Southern brunches and Aussie reads the perfect combination for soothing my Texpat soul