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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'On the outskirts of an Australian country town in the 1950s, a lonely farmer trains his binoculars on a family of kookaburras that roost in a tree near his house. Harry observes the kookaburras through a year of feast, famine, birth, death, war, romance and song. As Harry watches the birds, his next door neighbour has her own set of binoculars trained on him.
'Ardent, hard-working Betty has escaped to the country with her two fatherless children. Betty is pleased that her son, Michael, wants to spend time with the gentle farmer next door. But when Harry decides to teach Michael about the opposite sex, perilous boundaries are crossed.
'Mateship with Birds is a novel about young lust and mature love. It is a hymn to the rhythm of country life - to vicious birds, virginal cows, adored dogs and ill-used sheep. On one small farm in a vast, ancient landscape, a collection of misfits question the nature of what a family can be.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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The title for this novel comes from Alec Chisholm's 1922 prose collection Mateship with Birds.
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Dedication: For Peter
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
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The New Historical Novel : Putting Mid-twentieth-century Australia into Perspective
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Commonwealth : Essays and Studies , Autumn vol. 41 no. 1 2018; (p. 7-18)'This article argues that, since 2004 or so, a new kind of Australian historical novel has emerged among practitioners of literary fiction, one concerned with the mid-twentieth century. This new historical fiction has been characterized by an aesthetic stringency and self-consciousness. Though Steven Carroll and Ashley Hay will be the principal twenty-first-century writers examined, reference will also be made to several other writers including Carrie Tiffany, Charlotte Wood, Sofie Laguna, and to the later work of Peter Carey. In all these contemporary books, technology plays a major role in defining the twentieth century as seen historically.' (Publication abstract)
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Tiffany's Stella Effort Recognised
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 15 May 2013; (p. 72) -
Stella Award Women Writers Line up for Prize
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 21 March 2013; (p. 34) -
Book win rebuts the critics
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 17 April 2013; (p. 23) -
Tiffany First to Take Home Stella
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 17 April 2013; (p. 7)
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Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , Summer 2011/12 vol. 91 no. 6 2011; (p. 33)
— Review of Mateship with Birds 2012 single work novel -
Small Is Beautiful
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 28 January 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of Mateship with Birds 2012 single work novel -
In Search of Things Past
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 24-25)
— Review of Currawalli Street 2012 single work novel ; Mateship with Birds 2012 single work novel -
Books
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Mail , 5 February 2012; (p. 37)
— Review of Mateship with Birds 2012 single work novel -
Dubious Lessons
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February no. 338 2012; (p. 27)
— Review of Mateship with Birds 2012 single work novel -
Carrie Tiffany
2012
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 30-31) The Saturday Age , 11 February 2012; (p. 28-29) -
Undercover
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 31) A column canvassing current literary news including a report on Carrie Tiffany's choice of book cover for her 2012 novel Mateship with Birds. The cover reproduces a painting by Sydney artist Sophie Gralton titled Boy in Hand Me Downs. Susan Wyndham also notes the 24-25 March 2012 open house at the former abode of Dorothea Mackellar and current home of Susan Duncan, 'Tarrangaua'. -
Missing the Point
2012
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 340 2012; (p. 3) Michael Jorgensen disagrees with the views expressed in Bronwyn Lea's review ('Dubious Lessons') of Carrie Tiffany's Mateship with Birds. -
Bronwyn Lea Replies:
2012
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 340 2012; (p. 3) Bronwyn Lea responds to the views put by Michael Jorgensen in his criticism of her review of Carrie Tiffany's Mateship with Birds. -
Fifty Shades of Great
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28-29 December 2012; (p. 3) So many books, so little time - literary editor Susan Wyndham rounds up the years best.
Awards
- 2014 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- 2013 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Fiction
- 2013 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
- 2013 longlisted Kibble Literary Awards — Nita Kibble Literary Award
- 2013 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- Victoria,
- Rural,
- 1950s