7

I like bulk over winter – in food, wine,

but especially books. Fat ones to fill

those shorter, darker days when spirits

can lag, if you let them, which is why my

first choice isPachinkoby Min Jin Lee

($22.99, Head of Zeus). A sweeping

multi-generational saga, it came out last

year at a time I just wasn’t up for close to

500 pages on the tough lives of Korean

immigrants in Japan and so, like a small

animal incubating an especially large

egg, I tucked my copy under a blanket.

Its moment has come.

I’m still in the early chapters,

which confirm all the rave reviews.

It starts more than 100 years ago

when an unlikely couple – he carrying

deformities, she just 15 – are paired by

a village matchmaker. After early griefs,

they produce just one glorious daughter,

Sunja – clearly around whom the rest of

the book will spin, exploring themes like

how to find love in a country where you

are despised. And what is home anyway:

a place or a family? It's a classic story told

at a cracking pace – with lots of gossip

and cabbage thrown in.

My other hoarded treasure is Meg

Wolitzer’s new novel,The Female

Persuasion($32.99, Penguin Books

Australia), which I bought partly on the

strength of her last,The Interestings,

but mainly because I’d heard it explores

the lively subject of fractious relations

between feminists.

Feted 60-something Faith Frank

is a pillar of the second wave, in the

glammy-but-swotty Gloria Steinem mould;

Greer Kadetsky is the conscientious but

aimless college freshman who falls

under her spell. There’s also a slighted

boyfriend, and a sceptical lesbian bestie.

I’m expecting Wolitzer to take a knife to

them all, but I’m anticipating a lively ride.

Wintertime page-turners

ByJENNIFER BYRNE

Curl up with a multi-generational saga or a feminist awakening.

From left: Maison Francis

Kurkdjian Les Tamaris Scented

Candle, $122, mecca.com.au;

Byredo Woods candle, $95, mecca.

com.au; Jo Malone Pomegranate

Noir Scented Candle,

$260, jomalone.com.au.

By candlelight

Set the mood with our pick

of seasonal scents.

LIS

TEN•LIS

TE

N

L•

NETSI

HS

OP

-^

SHOP^ • (^) S
HO
P
1
JANELLE MONÁE, Dirty Computer
Janelle Monáe once tried to
convince us she was an android,
but this brilliant, overachieving
album proves she is a superhuman.
2
MIDDLE KIDS, Lost Friends
Like classic AM radio given the
best kind of update. “Edge of
Town” is still one of the greatest
Australian songs in years.
3
KALI UCHIS, Isolation
Feeling sluggish? Put this on.
Uchis’s genre-flirting approach
(R&B, doo-wop, indie pop) is as
diverse as her guest list (Tyler, the
Creator; Bootsy Collins).
4
WILD ONES, Mirror Touch
Massive electro-pop ambition driven
through a dreamy, indie-pop filter.
This is one of the best (and most
underrated) albums of the last year.
5
COURTNEY BARNETT,
Tell Me How You Really Feel
Barnett has been on Barack Obama’s
playlist and won The Australian Music
Prize. Her second album has sunny
melodies, but plenty of shade, too.
5
ALBUMS TO
COMPLEMENT
THE CLIMATE
By LEE TRAN LAM
68 GOURMET TRAVELLER