AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Tom and Jordy have been living with their gran since the day their mother, Loretta, left them on her doorstep and disappeared. Now Loretta's returned, and she wants her boys back.
'Tom and Jordy hit the road with Loretta in her beat-up car. The family of three journeys across the country, squabbling, bonding, searching and reconnecting. But Loretta isn't mother material. She's broke, unreliable, lost. And there's something else that's not quite right with this reunion.
'They reach the west coast and take refuge in a beachside caravan park. Their neighbour, a surly old man, warns the kids to stay away. But when Loretta disappears again the boys have no choice but to ask the old man for help, and now they face new threats and new fears.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
-
Dedication: For my family.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille and sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Ten Great Australian Beach Reads Set at the Beach
2018
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 28 December 2018;
— Review of Floundering 2012 single work novel ; Puberty Blues 1979 single work novel ; Time's Long Ruin : A Novel 2008 single work novel ; Breath 2008 single work novel ; The Empty Beach 1983 single work novel ; The True Colour of the Sea 2018 selected work short story ; Atomic City 2013 single work novel ; Not Meeting Mr Right 2007 single work novel ; After January 1996 single work novel ; Bluebottle 2018 single work novel -
Facing Death on the Australian Beach : Examining Fear and Transcendence
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , October no. 45 2017;'The Australian beach has often been considered in academic approaches as a place of binaries – focusing on either the mythic (Fiske, Hodge and Turner 1987) or the ordinary (Morris 1998). An edge to the Australian continent, the liminal space of the beach is one that has received some attention. Using Edward Soja’s (1996) ‘Thirdspace’ concept allows the beach to challenge the space as a liminality and emerge as a more complex beachspace, both mythic and ordinary and more all at once. The Australian beach is a place of significant beauty, while simultaneously a place of risk and danger. Visitors to the space are immediately warned to only swim between the flags, and many beaches are patrolled for the majority of the day all throughout the year. Technology has been employed to identify risk despite the inherent unpredictability of the beach (such as shark sighting technology, weather predictions, and wave cameras), with an aim to provide a safe, everyday space available to all Australians to use. The potential risks of accidental death are high on the beach; however, many representations of death tend to include homicide or suicide. ‘Facing death’ is interested in examining how Australian writers of the beach portray death. Classic texts like Nevil Shute’s On the Beach (1957) are discussed alongside more contemporary texts, including Fiona Capp’s Night Surfing (1996), Tim Winton’s Dirt Music (2001), and Romy Ash’s Floundering (2012). These writers portray death as an inevitability or a continual threat. Films such as Newcastle (2008) represent accidental death in a tight knit local community; in comparison Blackrock (1997) deals with both murder and suicide. This paper illustrates how examining the beach as a more complex space by interrogating Australian writing on the subject allows for an interesting understanding of how death is represented on the Australian beach.' (Publication abstract)
- y Floundering by Romy Ash : Notes Victoria : Centre for Adult Education , 2013 Z1934994 2013 single work criticism
-
Bookworms on the Web
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 20 April 2013; (p. 30) -
Female Shortlist a Fitting Tribute to an Early Feminist
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19 June 2013; (p. 35)
-
[Review] Floundering
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 339 2012; (p. 44)
— Review of Floundering 2012 single work novel -
[Review] Floundering
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , February/March vol. 91 no. 7 2012; (p. 29)
— Review of Floundering 2012 single work novel -
Looking for the First Light
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 31 March-1 April 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of The Light between Oceans 2012 single work novel ; Floundering 2012 single work novel -
Books of the Week
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Mail , 8 April 2012; (p. 37)
— Review of Floundering 2012 single work novel -
West, to the End of the Line
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 14 April 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of Floundering 2012 single work novel -
Fully Formed
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 - 24 April 2011; (p. 506) To mark the thirtieth anniversary of The Australian / Vogel award, Rosemary Neill surveys the highs and lows of a prize that has launched the careers of many leading writers. -
Beautiful Beginnngs
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 - 24 April 2011; (p. 18-19) Geordie Williamson considers the enduring importance of the literary prize that has become the benchmark for finding new voices in Australian writing. -
Vogel Novel a Study of Human Frailty
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 - 24 April 2011; (p. 3) -
A Pair of Ragged Claws
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 31 March-1 April 2012; (p. 19) -
Bookworms on the Web
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 20 April 2013; (p. 30)
Awards
- 2013 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Fiction
- 2013 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Newcomer of the Year
- 2013 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year
- 2013 shortlisted Kibble Literary Awards — Nita May Dobbie Award
- 2013 shortlisted Commonwealth Book Prize
- Western Australia,
- Coast,