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Notes
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Epigraph: Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon. The Dalai Lama.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Merlinda Bobis's 'Banana Heart Summer' : Recipes to Work through Trauma and Appease the Human Heart's Everlasting Hunger
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Kunapipi , vol. 32 no. 1-2 2010; (p. 194-208) Banana Heart Summer (2005) is a truly original novel. What at first seems to be a collection of exotic recipes turns out to be a touching, funny and elegiac story. The myth of the banana heart inspires twelve-year-old Nenita, who will try to find the perfect balance between love and anger, to appease her family's hunger and, which is even more important, to win her violent mother's love. As she cooks and eats, or dreams of cooking and eating, other love stories unravel in Remedios Street, the street she lives in, significantly placed between an active volcano and a Catholic church. In this paper I analyse the way in which the different symbols that the novel uses, food being one of the most important, contribute to giving it a most original and coherent structure, and also draw the reader's attention towards some of the most outstanding messages that the novel seems to put forward, namely, the need for love and dialogue between different individuals and cultures, and for a multicultural and rather more cohesive model to be advocated in contemporary societies. [from Kunapipi 32,1-2, Abstracts, pp. 242-243] -
The Asian Conspiracy : Deploying Voice/Deploying Story
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , October vol. 25 no. 3 2010; (p. 1-19) 'This essay develops on the premise of imagining, which is the heart of story-making: imagine the physicality of story. Imagine the deployment strategies, the covert 'translations' of difference' that facilitate the entry of the Other story through the gate.
And once inside, imagine how this Otherness is legitimised, packaged and consumed within the Australian nation.' (p. 3) -
'Voice-Niche-Brand' : Marketing Asian-Australianness
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , November no. 45 2008; -
Food, Precious Food : Migrating the Palate.
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Kunapipi , vol. 28 no. 2 2006; (p. 10-17) -
Merlin is a Woman
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Philippine Daily Inquirer , 14 September 2006;
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Untitled
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Bookseller & Publisher , May vol. 84 no. 10 2005; (p. 24)
— Review of Banana Heart Summer : A Novel 2005 single work novel -
Peeling Back the Layers of Love, Life and Food
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 13 August 2005; (p. 12)
— Review of Banana Heart Summer : A Novel 2005 single work novel -
The Hunger to Belong
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 13 August 2005; (p. 8)
— Review of Banana Heart Summer : A Novel 2005 single work novel -
Fiction
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 29 October 2005; (p. 6)
— Review of Banana Heart Summer : A Novel 2005 single work novel -
Balancing Heart and Spleen
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , November-December vol. 15 no. 8 2005; (p. 34-35)
— Review of Banana Heart Summer : A Novel 2005 single work novel -
Peeling Back the Layers
2005
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 13 August 2005; (p. 11-12) -
Merlin is a Woman
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Philippine Daily Inquirer , 14 September 2006; -
Food, Precious Food : Migrating the Palate.
2006
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Kunapipi , vol. 28 no. 2 2006; (p. 10-17) -
'Voice-Niche-Brand' : Marketing Asian-Australianness
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , November no. 45 2008; -
The Asian Conspiracy : Deploying Voice/Deploying Story
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , October vol. 25 no. 3 2010; (p. 1-19) 'This essay develops on the premise of imagining, which is the heart of story-making: imagine the physicality of story. Imagine the deployment strategies, the covert 'translations' of difference' that facilitate the entry of the Other story through the gate.
And once inside, imagine how this Otherness is legitimised, packaged and consumed within the Australian nation.' (p. 3)
Awards
- 2006 shortlisted ASAL Awards — ALS Gold Medal
Last amended 5 Mar 2007 10:10:05
Settings:
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cPhilippines,cSoutheast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
- 1960s
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