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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Cave’s debut novel takes on the southern gothic in this bizarre baroque tale. Born mute to a drunken mother and a demented father, tortured Euchrid Eucrow finds more compassion in the family mule than in his fellow men. But he alone will grasp the cruel fate of Cosey Mo, the beautiful young prostitute in the pink caravan on Hooper’s Hill. And it is Euchrid, spiraling ever deeper into his mad angelic vision, who will ultimately redeem both the town and its people.
Source: publisher's blurb
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also published as a sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Untitled
single work
review
— Review of And the Ass Saw the Angel 1989 single work novel -
Down by the River : Nick Cave’s Boyhood in Wangaratta (1959-70)
2019
single work
essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , August 2019;'‘One of the many things I regret about writing And the Ass Saw the Angel (1989) was that I didn’t set it in Australia. It could just as easily be set in Wangaratta rather than an imaginary part of the American South. I don’t know why I didn’t do that. I wish I had. For sure that book comes from growing up in the country, from living a life in country Australia. It’s not from listening to murder ballads. The river was the sacred place of my childhood and everything happened down there.' (Introduction)
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The Total Depravity of Nick Cave’s Literary World
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Literature and Theology , September vol. 25 no. 3 2011; (p. 312-328) 'The article argues that Nick Cave's literary (as opposed to his musical) world is characterised by the Calvinist doctrine of total depravity. In both outlining this world and seeking the moment of redemption, I simultaneously construct the framework of that world—in terms of the deranged house of incest, substance abuse, the spread of depravity to nature itself and the way the Bible is woven into that world—and fill in its content, with a specific focus on his novels. As that world gains some body, its dialectical relation to redemption begins to emerge, although with a problematic twist (Author's abstract). -
Elvis Down Under : Simulations of a US Pop Icon in Australian Fiction
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Reading Across the Pacific : Australia-United States Intellectual Histories 2010; (p. 177-193) 'This paper will examine a selection of Australian fiction which features Elvis Presley, or a Presley manqué, as a character. This will include novels and short fiction by Debra Adelaide (A Household Guide to Dying), Julie Capaldo (Weather), Nick Cave (And the Ass Saw the Angel), Gail Jones ('Heartbreak Hotel') and Dorian Mode (A Cafe in Venice). The paper will investigate the capacity of a ubiquitous pop icon such as Presley to absorb and reflect socio-cultural meanings that transcend national boundaries while at the same time affirming elements of national character. In doing so it will consider the meaning and function of trans-national celebrity in a globalised world, and explore why it is that Australian authors—and readers—find a resonance in the figure of Elvis Presley that is seemingly missing from the pop-iconography of their own country.' (Author's abstract) -
The Good Son
2009
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Monthly , August no. 48 2009; (p. 28-37) Conrad examines whether there is 'a mission in the vindictive madness Cave unleashes in his songs and novels'.
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Cave's Words Sing in Cursed Valley
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 10-11 March 1990; (p. 8)
— Review of And the Ass Saw the Angel 1989 single work novel -
A Gothic Grab Bag
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 10 February 1990; (p. 11)
— Review of And the Ass Saw the Angel 1989 single work novel -
Untitled
single work
review
— Review of And the Ass Saw the Angel 1989 single work novel -
Nick Cave : Le Sud Imaginaire
2001
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Magazine-Litteraire , December no. 404 2001; (p. 43-44) -
Nick Cave : The Complete Lyrics : Introduction
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Complete Lyrics 2007;
— Appears in: The Age , 9 June 2007; (p. 15) The Sydney Morning Herald , 9-10 June 2007; (p. 18-19) -
Yeah, I Walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Beth: Murdering the Muse in Nick Cave's And the Ass Saw the Angel.
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Studies in Australian Weird Fiction , no. 3 2009; (p. 67-78) -
The Good Son
2009
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Monthly , August no. 48 2009; (p. 28-37) Conrad examines whether there is 'a mission in the vindictive madness Cave unleashes in his songs and novels'. -
Elvis Down Under : Simulations of a US Pop Icon in Australian Fiction
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Reading Across the Pacific : Australia-United States Intellectual Histories 2010; (p. 177-193) 'This paper will examine a selection of Australian fiction which features Elvis Presley, or a Presley manqué, as a character. This will include novels and short fiction by Debra Adelaide (A Household Guide to Dying), Julie Capaldo (Weather), Nick Cave (And the Ass Saw the Angel), Gail Jones ('Heartbreak Hotel') and Dorian Mode (A Cafe in Venice). The paper will investigate the capacity of a ubiquitous pop icon such as Presley to absorb and reflect socio-cultural meanings that transcend national boundaries while at the same time affirming elements of national character. In doing so it will consider the meaning and function of trans-national celebrity in a globalised world, and explore why it is that Australian authors—and readers—find a resonance in the figure of Elvis Presley that is seemingly missing from the pop-iconography of their own country.' (Author's abstract)
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cUnited States of America (USA),cAmericas,
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cUnited States of America (USA),cAmericas,
- 1930s