Geraldine Brooks' Nine Parts of Desire, which I reviewed here in December, is included by Eliza Compton in a list of "Five fascinating books that take you to the Middle East". The list appears in the magazine supplement Sunday Life, which comes with the Fairfax paper The Sun-Herald.

It is the only book listed not published this century. This is a testament to the quality of Brooks' work.

Being a Sunday paper, The Sun-Herald is more tabloid than its week-day stablemate The Sydney Morning Herald. And the Sunday Life supplement is generally heavy on lifestyle features.

The appearance here of the list, which also includes The Carpet Wars by Christopher Kremmer, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, Night Draws Near by Anthony Shadid, and Iran Awakening: From Prison to Peace Prize by Shirin Ebadi, demonstrates a shift in mainstream opinion.

That's what I think anyway. I was surprised to find this list, complete with thumbnail pictures of the books' covers, in such a location.