It’s that time of year again when ‘Best of’ lists begin to dominate across the arts media, and the same names and productions are festooned with awards, leaving other equally deserving titles forgotten and trailing in their wake. Here, hence, is a selection of personally curated underrated books (a couple are even debuts) that have perhaps flown under the radar.
A surreal and dystopian novel, Rhett Davis’ debut is set in fictional Fraser (that bears more than a passing resemblance to Melbourne) where protagonist Alice, an artist, returns home after some time away. Hovering’s narrative is not straightforward. In the age of social media, it employs a number of stylistic tricks – text conversations, computer code, interview transcripts and magazine articles – in its storytelling. Fraser itself starts to shapeshift, with buildings literally moving around overnight. Is that a metaphor for an unstable reality? It’s a challenging read, but worth the effort if you’re up for something experimental.
