Bondi Literary Salon Christmas Edition: Prima Facie by Suzie Miller

Join the Bondi Literary Salon for this special Christmas Edition Book Club, hosted by Jane Turner! 

To make sure we squeeze in a festive event before the end of the year - we have given our last BOOK CLUB of 2023 a merry makeover. 

In our gathering, we will be discussing Suzie Miller's novel Prima Facie, based on her award-winning play. 

This Xmas Edition of The Bondi Literary Salon will include a 45-minute book club discussion, followed by a Book Swap ( please bring along one of your favourite books that you have read this year and make sure it is wrapped in Xmas paper to put under the tree). You will then get to pick a new one to take home that has been gifted by a fellow book clubber. 

Straight after the Book Club we will have Xmas drinks and share some food and YES Kate will be making her famous ham and Jordan will be making EGGNOG.  Come in your festive finery with a wrapped book ready for a book swap, and mingle with fellow book lovers as we enjoy food, wine and some Christmassy book chat.    

LIMITED CAPACITY AVAILABLE - BOOK A TICKET NOW TO SECURE YOUR PLACE

WHEN: Wednesday 29th November, 2023, at Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore, this event will be hosted in-store, please arrive at 6:30 pm for a prompt start. This event runs until 9.30pm.

TICKETS: Admission; $75.00 (excluding external fees). Your ticket includes book club, drinks on the evening and Christmas Party food. 

More about the Book Swap:

Our Christmas Book Swap is a Bondi Literary Salon tradition. Get in the festive spirit - bring a gift-wrapped book you have loved this year to give to another book club attendee. Everyone will give and receive a book as part of the book swap. 

About Prima Facie

Tessa is a thoroughbred. A young, brilliant barrister.

She has worked her way up from a working-class background to be at the top of her game: defending, cross-examining and lighting up the shadows of doubt in any case. Her masterful line of questioning in the courtroom has netted Tessa win after win, freeing men accused of rape and sexual assault. As controversial as it is, this is her job - it's just about the facts and who can game the system.

Working late one night, Tessa falls into a casual relationship with Julian, a coworker, an attorney who comes from an elite, wealthy family. A light-hearted affair, with a man she admires. She begins to wonder if perhaps there is a future for the two of them.

One sickening night, though, Julian makes a choice and Tessa finds herself in a position countless women - one in three - have before her. And she's faced with a gut-wrenching, life-changing decision: will she take the stand to testify about her rape, with the full awareness that the system has not been built to protect her?

Drawn from the internationally acclaimed play, Prima Facie is a propulsive, raw look at the price victims pay for speaking out and the system that sets them up to fail. With breakneck prose and a devastating emotional intensity. this is a novel for our times, by one of Australia's most important writers.

About the Host

Jane Turner is the owner and founder of Gertrude & Alice:

"As the owner of this wonderful little family bookstore for the last 23 years and co-founder of The Bondi Literary Salon in 2018, my life has been enriched beyond measure. Books have become my lifelong friends and my TBR pile grows daily as I continually find inspiration in the overflowing shelves of the store. I just love being surrounded by the smell of new and old books mixed with coffee. The authors I have met, the connections I have made through books – I wouldn’t change a thing.  I still love reading as much as I did when I was a little girl and I hope that never changes."

About Bondi Literary Salon

Bondi Literary Salon was established in 2018, it is the in-house book club of beloved Bondi institution, Gertrude & Alice. The Bondi Literary Salon endeavors to explore the vast world of literature each month, with a selection that reflects a focus on diverse writers and stories; delving into both classic and contemporary fiction, as well as non-fiction. Our philosophy has always been to use language and literature not only as a tool for connection and community, but as an insight to worlds we have not had the pleasure of visiting ourselves. We welcome all - young and old, those with a life-long love of literature, or whose relationship may be only beginning. Join us in the unmatched comfort of an after-hours bookstore, accompanied by wine and cheese, for an evening spent discussing books and building community.

About Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore

Rated as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic, Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore is an oasis for writers, readers, and coffee lovers. Books overflow from the shelves of their store, featuring a mix of new, second-hand, antiquarian and rare books. Stay a while & enjoy some home made chai, and amazing coffee, and unearth a book treasure or two. Read more about the bookstore's story here, and about the real Gertrude & Alice here.