Faraway Places is a collection of three novellas that goes to dark and dingy places that the faint-hearted might wish are truly faraway. But are they? Not when you take a crazed trip with an odd-ball who dreams of a faraway place, while all the while he is on a slow-burn to insanity. Maybe he can solve the problem of living in a caravan alongside a garbage tip with a foul-mouthed significant other and a companion dog. That's not an easy ...
When Merryn O'Neill's fiance, Jake Hawkins, an officer with the Pacific Islands Regiment in Port Moresby, breaks off their engagement, so he can marry the daughter of his commanding officer, her world is torn apart.<br /> <br />Arriving reluctantly in Port Moresby to take up a prearranged flying position, Merryn doesn't envisage the magical spell this strange and seductive land, particularly one of its own people, will ...
Mothers-in-law are famous for being difficult but when Nell marries Andy it’s her father-in-law, Hal, who is the problem. A corrosive force in his own family, Hal is a truly ugly Australian who spreads his corruption whenever he gets the chance. Surviving Hal takes place in Sydney and Thailand and is the story of Nell and Andy trying to keep their family together against the influence of a charismatic but ugly soul.<br /> <br />Prais ...
Lindsay, an Aboriginal elder, and Rob, a young white traveller meet in the Outback and make discoveries that may re-write Australia's history. Based on facts this story takes the reader on a journey through inner, personal landscapes and traditional Aboriginal country. Lindsay's challenge is to locate three sacred objects ( tjurunga ) that are needed to revive important ceremonies. They disappeared decades earlier and could be anywhe ...
The Kwinkan is a satirical parable surrounding a mysterious narrator who is part-politician, part Queensland property developer, and the forces at work in the Asia-Pacific region. It deals with international corporatism, political ambitions in an age of decaying colonialism, the clashes of competing mythologies, and the play of the dark, atavistic powers which manifest themselves in sexual disease and violence. These forces act on the characters ...
'Well, I can dream can't I? Dream? – nightmares, more like it. All I have to do is dream, dream, dream, scream… I'm now walking through this posh suburb, walking? – more like slinking. Wildcat on the prowl. Naw, though maybe checking out the streets for a bust. Eyes dart this way, that way, all ways, focus, man, on the main chance. Take it and break it real good; but is there any chances left? Not with my luck!' W ...
This is the story of a man who shot his wife's lover and thus created a memory which wrecked his own life. Arnold Dudley loved his wife and killed the man who stole her from him. Hunted by justice, pursued by bitter remorse, he fled to a stretch of beach on the Australian coast and lived in utter loneliness. When almost driven to madness by the solitude, he meets two women, who strive to re-build his broken life…<br /> <br />Fir ...
From its initial appearance, Wild Cat Falling was recognised as a profoundly important work. Mudrooroo first published it under the name Colin Johnson. And when it was released by Angus & Robertson in 1965, Aboriginals were not considered Australian citizens, did not have the right to vote, and no novel written by an Aboriginal Australian had made it to print.<br /> <br />In telling the story of a symbolically nameless young ...
Floyd McGuinness is a D-grade student with a clear lack of direction. His world is changing – is he ready to change with it?<br /> <br />With Year 12 in the rear view mirror, Floyd throws a party for his graduating class. Hard liquor, inexperience and a testosterone-fueled peer group are seldom a good mix.<br /> <br />What seems funny at the time isn't always funny in the morning. A court case suddenly looms on the h ...
