AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Tokyo, 1933. Tall, broodingly handsome, Victor Stepper is a consummate ladies' man, a brilliant journalist... and spy. As the world descends into war, Stepper collects information and sends it on to Moscow.
'Then he falls in love with Reiko, a Japanese woman. And Victor Stepper begins to fall apart...
'Stepper is a dazzling and haunting novel of espionage and erotic love.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille, sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
The Wound That Does Not Heal : Brian Castro's Literary Career
2022
single work
essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , December vol. 81 no. 4 2022; (p. 188-195)'Brian Castro dramatises and even valorises forms of literary and artistic failure throughout his fiction, but his body of work is a raging success by mortal standards. None of his novels disappoint on close inspection. Double-Wolf and Shanghai Dancing are endlessly rewarding; The Swan Book is gorgeously written and deeply moving; After China is conceptually neat, seductive and stylish. Others, such as Drift and The Bath Fugues, appeal to select readers but are dazzlingly rich and structurally brilliant. Even Stepper—which Castro sees as a relatively conventional spy novel—is a satisfying and affecting Nabokovian game. Every novel is stamped by a talent that induces envy as much as gratitude. You want to know what it feels like to write that way.' (Publication abstract)
-
"Grammars of Creation” : An Interview with Brian Castro : 24 November 2008
Marilyne Brun
(interviewer),
2011
single work
interview
— Appears in: Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia , vol. 2 no. 1 2011; 'This interview with contemporary Australian writer Brian Castro addresses a number of themes and concepts that are central to his critical work and fiction. In the interview, Castro discusses his oeuvre as a whole, providing insights into the starting point for his first eight novels. He comments on the concepts of transgression, hybridity, polyphonia, cosmopolitanism and play, underlining the central significance of grammar, ethics and aesthetics in his work. The interview also includes reflections on the development of Asian Australian studies and the importance of translating novels. In the final sections of the interview, Castro discusses the relation between his critical work and his novels and reflects on the common conflation of the novelist and the theorist in much literary criticism.' Source: Marilyne Brun. -
In the Shadows: The Spy in Australian Literary and Cultural History
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 20 no. 1 2006; (p. 28-37) Examines espionage in Australian history, and discusses the influence of espionage on Australian writers and literature. -
Castro and the Friction of Fiction
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 22 March 2003; (p. 3) -
Stepper (1997)
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 11-12 January 2003; (p. 6)
— Review of Stepper 1997 single work novel
-
Stepper (1997)
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 11-12 January 2003; (p. 6)
— Review of Stepper 1997 single work novel -
Interest in the Amoral
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 151 1998; (p. 106-107)
— Review of Welcome to Tangier 1997 selected work short story ; Stepper 1997 single work novel ; Wrack 1997 single work novel ; Red Nights 1997 single work novel -
Castro at His Best
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 22 March 1997; (p. wkd 7)
— Review of Stepper 1997 single work novel -
Double Trouble
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 22 March 1997; (p. 12)
— Review of Stepper 1997 single work novel -
Tokyo Secrets
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 22 March 1997; (p. 10s)
— Review of Stepper 1997 single work novel -
Castro and the Friction of Fiction
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 22 March 2003; (p. 3) -
In the Shadows: The Spy in Australian Literary and Cultural History
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 20 no. 1 2006; (p. 28-37) Examines espionage in Australian history, and discusses the influence of espionage on Australian writers and literature. -
"Grammars of Creation” : An Interview with Brian Castro : 24 November 2008
Marilyne Brun
(interviewer),
2011
single work
interview
— Appears in: Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia , vol. 2 no. 1 2011; 'This interview with contemporary Australian writer Brian Castro addresses a number of themes and concepts that are central to his critical work and fiction. In the interview, Castro discusses his oeuvre as a whole, providing insights into the starting point for his first eight novels. He comments on the concepts of transgression, hybridity, polyphonia, cosmopolitanism and play, underlining the central significance of grammar, ethics and aesthetics in his work. The interview also includes reflections on the development of Asian Australian studies and the importance of translating novels. In the final sections of the interview, Castro discusses the relation between his critical work and his novels and reflects on the common conflation of the novelist and the theorist in much literary criticism.' Source: Marilyne Brun. -
Ramona Koval Interviews Brian Castro About His New Novel, Stepper
Ramona Koval
(interviewer),
1997
single work
biography
interview
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 190 1997; (p. 8-10) -
Author Takes Big Step in the Right Direction
1997
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 26 September 1997; (p. A8)
Awards
-
Tokyo,
Honshu,
cJapan,cEast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
- 1930s
- 1940s