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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
If you had little money and fewer prospects, they said the army gave a man a start. And it did, in the 1950s, when Graham Falconer joined up. Travel too, they said. And he found himself part of the Australian forces assisting the British in their atomic tests at Maralinga. But a young wife left at home cannot know about the savage beauty of the desert nor the bonds that form between men. And even the Australian government couldn't fathom the mess the British left behind. (Source: back cover)
Notes
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Dedication: For my children, Kim and Helen
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Epigraph: A British officer tried to stop a group of Australian soldiers from observing the atomic tests. One of the soldiers told the officer: 'If you want to stuff up our country, we'd like to see you doing it.' Canberra Times, 19 August 1984
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Epigraph: 'You taught me language; and my profit on't / Is, I know how to curse.' The Tempest, William Shakespeare
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Author's note comprises brief factual data relating to the Maralinga and Emu Field test sites: 'During the 1950s and 60s Australia became a testing ground for British nuclear weapons. Altogether there were nine major explosions on land, as well as several at sea...'
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Novel contains brief references to the presence of Aborigines at the test sites and subsequent health problems. (Source: AIATSIS Collections Catalogue)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Human's Changing Relationship to the Non-Human World
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Climate Change Narratives in Australian Fiction 2014; (p. 41-55) 'The environmental crises the human species faces are urgent. When the climate change literary critics Adam Trexler and Adeline John-Putra argue that climate change calls for a fundamental re-valuation of ourselves, even while it challenges us to put to use the critical cultural tools we have, 77 they are right. A fundamental re-evaluation is needed in face of the urgency, seriousness, complexity, immediacy, duration and global scope of the problems facing the human species. In the previous pages we have looked albeit briefly at some of the key novels addressing climate change scenarios which we can identify in Australian writing. Can the critics help us refine our concepts a little further?' (41) -
Untitled
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: The Good Reading Guide 1989; (p. 133-134)
— Review of Maralinga, My Love : A Novel 1988 single work novel -
Reviews
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 34 no. 2 1989; (p. 110-112)
— Review of Maralinga, My Love : A Novel 1988 single work novel -
A Question of Placing Women in Books
1989
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 24 January 1989; (p. 14) -
A Knowledgeable Obsession
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Society , December-January (1988-1989) 1988; (p. 56-57)
— Review of Maralinga, My Love : A Novel 1988 single work novel
-
An Eerie Australian Landscape
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 107 1988; (p. 34-35)
— Review of Maralinga, My Love : A Novel 1988 single work novel -
Fictional Fallout
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 November 1988; (p. 23)
— Review of Maralinga, My Love : A Novel 1988 single work novel -
Untitled
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 December 1988; (p. 6)
— Review of Em's Story : A Novel 1988 single work novel ; Maralinga, My Love : A Novel 1988 single work novel -
A Knowledgeable Obsession
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Society , December-January (1988-1989) 1988; (p. 56-57)
— Review of Maralinga, My Love : A Novel 1988 single work novel -
Reviews
1989
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , June vol. 34 no. 2 1989; (p. 110-112)
— Review of Maralinga, My Love : A Novel 1988 single work novel -
A Question of Placing Women in Books
1989
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 24 January 1989; (p. 14) -
The Shame of Maralinga Makes Compelling Reading
1988
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Saturday Mercury , 10 December 1988; (p. 24) -
Human's Changing Relationship to the Non-Human World
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Climate Change Narratives in Australian Fiction 2014; (p. 41-55) 'The environmental crises the human species faces are urgent. When the climate change literary critics Adam Trexler and Adeline John-Putra argue that climate change calls for a fundamental re-valuation of ourselves, even while it challenges us to put to use the critical cultural tools we have, 77 they are right. A fundamental re-evaluation is needed in face of the urgency, seriousness, complexity, immediacy, duration and global scope of the problems facing the human species. In the previous pages we have looked albeit briefly at some of the key novels addressing climate change scenarios which we can identify in Australian writing. Can the critics help us refine our concepts a little further?' (41)
Awards
- 1988 highly commended ABC / ABA Bicentennial Literary Award For the Fiction award
Last amended 16 Dec 2014 16:53:38
Subjects:
- Maralinga, North West South Australia, Far North South Australia, South Australia,
- Country towns,
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cUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,
Settings:
- 1950s
- 1960s
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