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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Three brothers are forced to confront the quiet, pervasive violence of their family’s past and the distances to which they have all carried their father’s pain into their own futures. Paul Mitchell’s episodic novel is an unraveling of the twisting threads that tie us to the past.
'We. Are. Family. explores the trauma handed down through generations as folklore and the way we all relate to those closest to us. The damaging idea of Australian masculinity is described with tenderness and dry humour.
'Taking cues from Tim Winton’s The Turning, Paul Mitchell’s We. Are. Family. is a cyclic meditation on the slow turning of life and the interconnectedness of identity and family.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Dedication: In memory of my grandmother, Shirley Trotter (nee Millar). I can still hear your voice.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Perfect. Punctuation
2018
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , vol. 32 no. 1/2 2018; (p. 326-328)
— Review of We. Are. Family. 2016 single work novel'The scorpion needs to cross the river. He watches the boy's eyes as he scurries onto the quivering chest. I need to be brave enough not to sting. The water flows over the boy's chest and touches the scorpion's feet. The fear causes a reaction, and the tail pierces the chest. In this instant, he knows that he will drown, he knows the pain he is causing the boy, but the reaction is familiar; the fear has made him feel there is no other way. In Paul Mitchell's debut novel, We. Are. Family., masculinity is laid bare. Three generations of the Stevenson family are crippled by the pretense of appearing strong. Familiar equilibrium is punctuated by trauma. We see the scorpion's tail pierce the boy's chest to deliver the poison; we feel the father's eyes want his sons to have fun fishing because as males, the challenge of knots and poles and the silence of water has to give us a chance to feel our souls. The bold title is absolutely perfect. In my California surfer dialect, THIS! BOOK! ROCKS!' (Introduction)
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No Fun on the Dance Floor
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 21 no. 2 2017;We. Are. Family. The punctuation immediately calls to mind the Sister Sledge hit of 1979. Those full stops syncopate the disco rhythm. The song, composed by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, features the lyrics:
no we don’t get depressed
Here’s what we call our golden rule
Have faith in you and the things you do
You won’t go wrong
This is our family Jewel(Introduction)
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An Unflinching & Nuanced Portrayal of Australian Masculinity : Daniel Young Reviews ‘We. Are. Family.’ by Paul Mitchell
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October – December no. 20 2016;
— Review of We. Are. Family. 2016 single work novel -
We. Are. Family. Review : Paul Mitchell's Stark Tale of Domestic Violence
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 16 September 2016;
— Review of We. Are. Family. 2016 single work novel 'Paul Mitchell's debut We. Are. Family. is an exploration of the darker side of Australian masculinity, a tale of domestic violence that flows through three generations like a family curse. Mitchell is a terse and observant writer, as alive to the particulars of Aussie idiom and experience as Tim Winton, but less showy. His male characters have an unnerving, archetypal quality to them, and the constraints of gender make them ill-equipped to see or share a legacy of trauma of which Mitchell makes the reader acutely conscious. ...' -
Family Legacy Casts Long Shadow
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 3 September 2016; (p. 36)
— Review of We. Are. Family. 2016 single work novel ; The Science of Appearances 2016 single work novel
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Family Legacy Casts Long Shadow
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 3 September 2016; (p. 36)
— Review of We. Are. Family. 2016 single work novel ; The Science of Appearances 2016 single work novel -
We. Are. Family. Review : Paul Mitchell's Stark Tale of Domestic Violence
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 16 September 2016;
— Review of We. Are. Family. 2016 single work novel 'Paul Mitchell's debut We. Are. Family. is an exploration of the darker side of Australian masculinity, a tale of domestic violence that flows through three generations like a family curse. Mitchell is a terse and observant writer, as alive to the particulars of Aussie idiom and experience as Tim Winton, but less showy. His male characters have an unnerving, archetypal quality to them, and the constraints of gender make them ill-equipped to see or share a legacy of trauma of which Mitchell makes the reader acutely conscious. ...' -
An Unflinching & Nuanced Portrayal of Australian Masculinity : Daniel Young Reviews ‘We. Are. Family.’ by Paul Mitchell
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October – December no. 20 2016;
— Review of We. Are. Family. 2016 single work novel -
Perfect. Punctuation
2018
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , vol. 32 no. 1/2 2018; (p. 326-328)
— Review of We. Are. Family. 2016 single work novel'The scorpion needs to cross the river. He watches the boy's eyes as he scurries onto the quivering chest. I need to be brave enough not to sting. The water flows over the boy's chest and touches the scorpion's feet. The fear causes a reaction, and the tail pierces the chest. In this instant, he knows that he will drown, he knows the pain he is causing the boy, but the reaction is familiar; the fear has made him feel there is no other way. In Paul Mitchell's debut novel, We. Are. Family., masculinity is laid bare. Three generations of the Stevenson family are crippled by the pretense of appearing strong. Familiar equilibrium is punctuated by trauma. We see the scorpion's tail pierce the boy's chest to deliver the poison; we feel the father's eyes want his sons to have fun fishing because as males, the challenge of knots and poles and the silence of water has to give us a chance to feel our souls. The bold title is absolutely perfect. In my California surfer dialect, THIS! BOOK! ROCKS!' (Introduction)
-
No Fun on the Dance Floor
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 21 no. 2 2017;We. Are. Family. The punctuation immediately calls to mind the Sister Sledge hit of 1979. Those full stops syncopate the disco rhythm. The song, composed by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, features the lyrics:
no we don’t get depressed
Here’s what we call our golden rule
Have faith in you and the things you do
You won’t go wrong
This is our family Jewel(Introduction)
