Reviews

The Waiting Room

The Australian Book Review of The Waiting Room 

“Which is more ferocious, love or terror?… Kaminsky’s book throws up some tough questions.” – Anne Susskind – The Sydney Morning Herald/The Age

“Compelling, moving and memorable” – Graeme Simsion, Bestselling author of The Rosie Project

 

“The Waiting Room is both haunted and haunting” – Geraldine Brooks, Bestselling author of People of the Book 

 

‘There’s so much that’s noteworthy about this book…I urge you to read it.’ – Erika Dreifus – Read the full review here 

 

“Ackland and Kaminsky have given us first novels that reshape familiar historical material with originality and dash; sustain their strange tales with assurance; move confidently between countries and eras, intimate and national histories; offer two more indications of the present and future health of Australian fiction.” – Peter Pierce – The Australian

 

“Beautifully written and heartbreaking, this book will stay with you long after you’ve closed it.” – Joanne Fedler – Read the full review on Amazon

 

“The Waiting Room is a debut novel of the highest order by an inventive and accomplished writer.” – Lynette Washington – Read the full review on The Clothesline

 

“A powerful new addition to the canon of Australian Holocaust literature” – Alice Nelson – Sydney Review of Books

 

“A beautifully rendered, deeply considered exploration of the contemporary Jewish experience played out in my favourite Israeli city, Haifa…Kaminsky’s debut is a brave and compassionate novel that wrestles with some very difficult demons without ever taking the easy way out.” 5 of 5 stars – Bram Presser 

 

“The novel is wise, imaginative and insightful, and is populated by a cast of characters who leap off the page… The book is relatable, moving and emotionally honest. I highly recommend it.” – Robyn Bavati

 

BOOK OF THE WEEK AT CULTURE STREET: “The Waiting Room is a remarkable debut from a new voice in fiction…Kaminsky’s memorable novel weaves the past and present together and peers briefly into the future.” Sophia Whitfield – Read the full review on Culture Street 

 

“The Waiting Room is a short but powerful novel about survival, terror, love and death.” Shelleyrae – Read the full review on Book’d Out

 

“That Kaminsky should have such a nuanced understanding of the intricacies of waiting comes as little surprise. The Waiting Room took her over ten years to complete. Thankfully, the book is all the better for it. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait too long for her next one.” – Bait for Bookworms Blogspot

 

“This novel is haunting and hard to shake! I loved the central character of Dina and felt compelled to keep reading to uncover the truth hidden at the heart of the narrative. The ending emerges organically and is deeply satisfying.” – Michele Seminara 

 

“The world the main character Dina lives in is completely alive on the page (I can see it, smell it, hear it), I feel for her and like her sooo much (she’s juggling work as a doctor, family, memories, the stress of being in a dangerous place), and I’m fascinated by the story. The writing is poetic, compelling, enormously empathetic and kind. And for anyone who wrestles with their past, this will strike a chord… It’s beautiful, truly.” – Kirsten Alexander

 

“Leah Kaminsky‘s novel is a tough book, not to read – her prose rolls off the page in swirls of telling text – but in the sense that it demands the reader’s attention to every aspect of her protagonist[‘s] life… this book will provide a window into a a world that is strange, haunting and compelling… This is a book about choices: between love and hate; life and death, forgetfulness and the price of memory… This book is unputdownable and its ghosts may well find their way into the present lives of the readers it confronts” – Yvonne Fein 

 

“This narrative is intelligently written, haunting, evocative, explosive …unforgettable. There are lessons for us all to learn, for our politicians to hear and to note.” – Carol – Reading Writing and Riesling

 

The Waiting Room is a unique novel—gutsy and arresting. It’s a penetrating study of the effects of trauma—encountered personally and passed on. Its strength comes from Kaminsky’s empathetic understanding of human nature and her unflinching portrayals of her characters. Deep work has yielded a powerful story—that shows how fearing terror at every turn is no way to live life. It’s a tale for our times and I’d urge you to read it.- Marjorie Lewis-Jones – A Bigger Brighter World