This novel was published by Simon &
Schuster in 1993. (You can still find the odd second hand copy or two of that
First Edition online at times, but the last few new ones are at Abe Books on
the link below).
Review - WHO Magazine (their ‘Best
Of Pages’ 1993)
"This clever book is not what it
appears at first to be... (and)... the first chapter continues with the
deception. Written in the plain, homespun style of a yarn, it introduces
50-year-old Peter Woodley, who has returned to the country town where he was
born, to arrange the funeral of his father Tom. The next chapter, dated 50
years earlier, presents a young woman alone in a house made of tar barrels,
kerosene tins and corrugated iron. The setting, miles from anything, and the
emotion are again what one would expect in a bush yarn.
"From this point, it begins to dawn
on the reader that the book is not a fictionalised memoir but a novel of most
subtle construction. Peter's childhood and adolescence are conveyed in a series
of chapters in which the writing style alters to fit the age of the narrator.
As the novel progresses, it becomes apparent that Peter and Michael Coote - son
of Tom Woodley's best mate - share a secret neither is aware of, thought the
reader is. Tension is maintained as one
waits for them to discover it.
"Though most of it is set in a country
town, this is far from being a typical Australian story. The setting is
scarcely relevant, as the drama rests on character and psychology rather than
on action. It deserves to become one of the classics of Australian literature.
Novels of such intricate structure, perfectly sustained, are few and far
between."
Review - Australian Book Review
“The structure of this novel, its
humour, its stories and characters, and the ear T. R. Edmonds has for
Australian English got me in. The black humour of a section entitled ‘The
Magician Of Molong Bay’ is shocking, fascinating, and repelling at the same
time.”
Review - The Sunday Age
“The deceptively simple, laconic delivery
belies its cleverness. Any celluloid treatment would have to include the
pantheon of local heroes – John Mellions, Ruth Cracknells, and Chips Raffertys
adorn every page.”
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DIRECT LINKS.....
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