Snake Talk: How the world’s ancient serpent stories can guide us
By Tyson Yunkaporta and Megan Kelleher
Snake Talk is not just a book about myths—it is a journey through cultures and time. Tyson Yunkaporta and Megan Kelleher follow serpent stories from around the world, showing the serpent as a guide between the past and the present, the seen and the unseen.
For me, the book felt very close to home. It mentions Naga, Garuda, and places in Indonesia. As someone from Indonesia, reading those parts touched me deeply. I grew up hearing these names in stories and seeing them in temples, but I never thought about how they connect to other serpent stories, like Quetzalcoatl in Mexico or dragons in China. This book helped me realise these are not just legends—they are lessons and connections that link people everywhere.
With deep respect for Indigenous knowledge, the authors show how old stories can guide us in today’s world. Snake Talk made me appreciate the stories I grew up with and reminded me how powerful stories can be in bringing us together.
Always Home, Always Homesick
By Hannah Kent
Reading Always Home, Always Homesick made me feel like I was in Iceland. Through Hannah Kent’s writing, I could almost feel the cold winter air and see the beauty of the land—its mountains, skies, and old stories.
Hannah Kent shares how she first came to Iceland as a young exchange student, not knowing that one day she would write Burial Rites, a book that has been loved all over the world.
This new book is more than her story—it is her love letter to Iceland and to the power of storytelling. Her words are honest and full of wonder. For me, it felt like walking beside her, seeing the mystery of Iceland, and also discovering how a writer finds her voice.
Reviews by Aryani Siti
THE DIRECTOR
By Daniel Kehlmann
$34.99
Fans of vaudevillian grandeur will remember Daniel Kehlmann’s 2017 novel Tyll, a surreal account of the Thirty Years’ War translated from German by Ross Benjamin. The Director marks the return of Kehlmann and Benjamin to the world of historical fiction, a return foreshadowed last year in Christian Kracht’s Eurotrash, which sees the fictionalised Kracht mistaken for Kehlmann in a series of absurd encounters.
The Director follows the life and career of famed Weimar-era filmmaker G. W. Pabst in his professional struggles against the Nazi establishment. There is a peculiar kind of German fairytale grimace which flickers up in times of despair, and Kehlmann’s latest novel evokes the bitter farce of the Third Reich in a manner both ruthless and chillingly comic.
Pabst’s ill-fated return to Ostmark sees him quickly swept into a Faustian bargain with ‘Herr Doktor’ Joseph Goebbels, who promises him “Deep films for deep people”. Pabst’s prospects are grim. Will his legacy be forever tarnished? Or will the nightmare of the Reich be one day forgotten?
OCEANFORGED: THE WICKED SHIP
By Amelia Mellor
$16.99
From the author of The Grandest Bookshop in the World comes a new fantasy series. Amelia Mellor’s new book Oceanforged: Wicked Ship is the first instalment of a swashbuckling adventure set in the realm of Aquinta. The story follows Cori, a thirteen-year-old girl struggling to survive on a grisly pirate ship filled with treacherous crewmates. However, when Cori finds the legendary Oceanforged Gauntlet, with the power to restore glory to Aquinta, the race is on to find the rest of the Oceanforged armour. This is a perfect, well-paced quest of readers 7+, with some dramatic illustrations peppered through the book. Our protagonist Cori must navigate some difficult trials, especially as her captain has more nefarious plans for the gauntlet. But with her wits and new friends, Cori fearlessly tackles trouble on the high seas. We are very excited to see what Amelia Mellor has in store for us in the next Oceanforged book.
Reviews from the Sun Bookshop – sunbookshop.com
