Hunting the Wild Pineapple by Thea Astley My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a marvelous collection, and I cannot believe I’ve lived in Australia for nearly a decade now but not read Thea Astley. I have been missing out. She’s an astonishing writer, in all ways. This set of short stories was published over thirty years ago, but it is fresh and snappy and poignant. I laughed aloud at some parts and got a bit weepy in others. I cannot seriously recommend any of the stories as better than others, but I do have my favourites: “The Curate Breaker”, “A Northern Belle”, “Ladies Need Only Apply”, and “Write Me, Son, Write Me”. But the other four stories are as beautiful,…