Events

Kate Atkinson

Kate Atkinson When will there be good news? The third Jackson Brodie novel by the bestselling author of Case Histories and One Good Turn. In rural Devon, six-year-old Joanna Mason witnesses an appalling crime. Thirty years later the man convicted of the crime is released from prison. In Edinburgh, sixteen-year-old Reggie works as a nanny for a G.P. But Dr Hunter has gone missing and Reggie seems to be the only person who is worried. Across town, Detective Chief Inspector Louise Monroe is also looking for a missing person, unaware that hurtling towards her is an old friend Jackson Brodie himself on a journey that becomes fatally interrupted. Kate Atkinson won the Whitbread Book of the Year for her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, and has been an international bestselling author ever since. Her most recent novels, Case Histories and One Good Turn, both also featured the former police inspector Jackson Brodie. Don't miss seeing Kate Atkinson this September to hear about the latest Jackson Brodie installment, When Will There Be Good News?. Wednesday 3rd September 6pm for 6.30pm start The Irish Club, 175 Elizabeth St Brisbane Tickets: $15 / $12 cons, bulk purchase (6+) $10 each (incGST) Beverages are not included.

Xinran

Xinran China Witness While the West has commonly viewed the last one hundred years in China through the single narrative lens of Mao’s rise and rule, the experience of this same period for the Chinese themselves has been infinitely more complex, and little understood. In 2005 and 2006, Xinran traveled across China seeking out the nation’s grandparents and great-grandparents, the men and women who have experienced change in the modern era firsthand. In cities and remote villages, Xinran spoke with members of these generations from all tiers of society, interviewing them for the first and perhaps last time. And though most of them continue to harbor a fear of repercussions for speaking freely, they spoke to Xinran with stunning candor about their hopes, fears, and struggles, and about what they’ve witnessed: from the Long March to land reform, from Mao to marriage, from revolution to Westernization. In the same way that Studs Terkel’s Working and Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation gave us the essence of very particular times, China Witness gives us the essence of modern China--a portrait more intimate, nuanced, and revelatory than any we have had before. XINRAN was born in Beijing in 1958 and was a successful journalist and radio presenter in China. In 1997 she moved to London, where she began work on her seminal book about Chinese women’s lives, THE GOOD WOMEN OF CHINA. Since then she has written a regular column for the Guardian, appeared frequently on radio and TV and published the acclaimed SKY BURIAL. She lives in London. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear this fascinating author speak about her book China Witness published in the year of the Chinese Olympics. Monday 15th August 6pm for 6.30pm start The Irish Club, 175 Elizabeth St Brisbane Tickets: $15 / $12 cons, bulk purchase (6+) $10 each (incGST) Beverages are not included.