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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'It's the Bicentennial year and for Gorden - failed writer and bottleshop boy - it seems his life is going nowhere. It's time to escape. From his overcrowded house, from Brisbane, from Expo '88, from everything. He stumbles into Wayne who has connections in Darwin and the promise of work. So the two of them head north towards swamps and crocodiles and sandflies innumerable, in search of inspiration, and of their rightful place in the culture of a nation.' (from back cover)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Related Works
-
y
Praise
North Sydney
:
Allen and Unwin
,
1992
Z563591
1992
single work
novel
(taught in 16 units)
'Praise is an utterly frank and darkly humorous novel about being young in the Australian of the 1990s. A time when the dole was easier to get than a job, when heroin was better known than ecstasy, and when ambition was the dirtiest of words. A time when, for two hopeless souls, sex and dependence were the only lifelines.' (from back cover)
Works about this Work
-
Going for Grunge : Revisiting Andrew McGahan's 1988 and 'Kill the Old'
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Queensland Review , June vol. 23 no. 1 2016; (p. 72-83)'Andrew McGahan's novel 1988 and short story ‘Kill the Old’ are re-evaluated in terms of their responses to the political and cultural needs of mid-1990s Queensland. These neglected and undervalued grunge works question the official celebrations connected with Australia's Bicentenary, especially Expo ’88, and interrogate predominantly white and masculinist notions of Australian identity. In so doing, they contribute to a less insular and ‘fuller version’ of Queensland literature.' (Publication abstract)
-
'To the Island' : Myths of Identity and Belonging in Andrew McGahan's '1988'
1998
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Land and Identity : Proceedings of the 1997 Conference Held at The University of New England Armidale New South Wales 27-30 September 1997 1998; (p. 31-36) -
Untitled
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: Imago : New Writing , Autumn vol. 9 no. 1 1997; (p. 134-137)
— Review of 1988 1995 single work novel -
Australia: Not that Boring
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 23 February 1997; (p. 11)
— Review of 1988 1995 single work novel -
Australia Meets Generation X
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 10 no. 2 1996; (p. 145-146)
— Review of 1988 1995 single work novel
-
Write Up
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 23 September 1995; (p. 14)
— Review of 1988 1995 single work novel -
Escape from Brisbane
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 23 September 1995; (p. wkd 7)
— Review of 1988 1995 single work novel -
Me-Me Overload
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7 October 1995; (p. 12A)
— Review of 1988 1995 single work novel ; The Underwharf 1995 single work novel -
Year of Living Boringly
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 8 October 1995; (p. 10)
— Review of 1988 1995 single work novel -
Untamed and Frankly Shocking
1995
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 14 October 1995; (p. 6)
— Review of 1988 1995 single work novel ; The Sea People 1995 single work novel -
Caught Up in the Personality Push
1995
single work
column
biography
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 September 1995; (p. C13) -
In Praise of Four-Letter Words
1995
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 5 November 1995; (p. 9) -
'To the Island' : Myths of Identity and Belonging in Andrew McGahan's '1988'
1998
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Land and Identity : Proceedings of the 1997 Conference Held at The University of New England Armidale New South Wales 27-30 September 1997 1998; (p. 31-36) -
Smells Like Market Spirit : Grunge Literature, Australia
1996
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 142 1996; (p. 21-26) -
Going for Grunge : Revisiting Andrew McGahan's 1988 and 'Kill the Old'
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Queensland Review , June vol. 23 no. 1 2016; (p. 72-83)'Andrew McGahan's novel 1988 and short story ‘Kill the Old’ are re-evaluated in terms of their responses to the political and cultural needs of mid-1990s Queensland. These neglected and undervalued grunge works question the official celebrations connected with Australia's Bicentenary, especially Expo ’88, and interrogate predominantly white and masculinist notions of Australian identity. In so doing, they contribute to a less insular and ‘fuller version’ of Queensland literature.' (Publication abstract)
Awards
- 1997 joint winner The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
Last amended 20 Sep 2019 11:17:36
Settings:
- Cobourg Peninsula, West Arnhem Land, Arnhem Land, Top End, Northern Territory,
- Brisbane, Queensland,
- Coast,
- New Farm, Fortitude Valley - New Farm area, Brisbane - North East, Brisbane, Queensland,
- Dalby, Dalby - Jandowae - Bowenville area, Darling Downs, Queensland,
- Darwin, Darwin area, Northern Territory,
- 1980s
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