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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'This volume brings together Gerald Murnane’s shorter works of fiction, most of which have been out of print for the past twenty five years. They include such masterpieces as ‘When the Mice Failed to Arrive’, ‘Stream System’, ‘First Love’, ‘Emerald Blue’, and ‘The Interior of Gaaldine’, a story which holds the key to the long break in Murnane’s career, and points the way towards his later works, from Barley Patch to Border Districts. Much is made of Murnane’s distinctive and elaborate style as a writer, but there is no one to match him in his sensitive portraits of family members – parents, uncles and aunts, and particularly children – and in his probing of situations which contain anxiety and embarrassment, shame or delight.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Contents
- When the Mice Failed to Arrive, single work short story (p. 1-24)
- Stream System, single work short story (p. 25-44)
- Land Deal, single work short story (p. 45-49)
- The Only Adam, single work short story (p. 50-57)
- Stone Quarry, single work short story (p. 58-76)
- Precious Bane, single work short story (p. 77-86)
- Cotters Come No More, single work short story (p. 87-98)
- There Were Some Countries, single work short story (p. 99-104)
- Finger-Web, single work short story (p. 105-124)
- First Love, single work short story (p. 125-144)
- Velvet Waters, single work short story (p. 145-196)
- The White Cattle of Uppington, single work short story (p. 197-216)
- In Far Fields, single work short story (p. 217-263)
- Pink Lining, single work short story (p. 262-282)
- Boy Blue, single work short story (p. 283-292)
- Emerald Blue, single work novella (p. 293-387)
- The Interior of Gaaldine, single work short story (p. 388-417)
- The Interior of Gaaldine, single work short story (p. 388-417)
- As It Were a Letter, single work short story (p. 418-445)
- The Boy's Name Was David, single work short story (p. 445-459)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
The Murnane File : A Memoir
2018
single work
biography
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 77 no. 2 2018; (p. 137-147)'When my daughter was a baby I knitted for her a pair of woollen bootees in red, green and yellow stripes. I liked them so much I kept them safely and sentimentally for 40 years. But in the end I was defeated by moths. The bootees are now just a tragic bundle of bright, broken stitches, a cluster of airy spaces held together by scrappy twists of coloured wool. They are perhaps also a kind of description of memory, a flawed tangle of broken threads, having the power to stimulate vivid images and deep emotions that have lain cradled in mystery for years and years, clouded by the wash of daily events, day after day after day.' (Introduction)
-
Most Books Are Crap
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: The New York Times Magazine , 27 March 2018; (p. MM42)'With the publication of two new books, Gerald Murnane might finally find an American audience.'
-
Gerald Murnane : One of Australia's Greatest Writers You May Never Have Heard of
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 April 2018;'The New York Times calls him one of the best English-language writers alive. So why isn’t he a household name?'
-
Feature Letters
2017
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: SF Commentary , December no. 95 2017; (p. 152)
-
Gerald Murnane : One of Australia's Greatest Writers You May Never Have Heard of
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 April 2018;'The New York Times calls him one of the best English-language writers alive. So why isn’t he a household name?'
-
Most Books Are Crap
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: The New York Times Magazine , 27 March 2018; (p. MM42)'With the publication of two new books, Gerald Murnane might finally find an American audience.'
-
The Murnane File : A Memoir
2018
single work
biography
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 77 no. 2 2018; (p. 137-147)'When my daughter was a baby I knitted for her a pair of woollen bootees in red, green and yellow stripes. I liked them so much I kept them safely and sentimentally for 40 years. But in the end I was defeated by moths. The bootees are now just a tragic bundle of bright, broken stitches, a cluster of airy spaces held together by scrappy twists of coloured wool. They are perhaps also a kind of description of memory, a flawed tangle of broken threads, having the power to stimulate vivid images and deep emotions that have lain cradled in mystery for years and years, clouded by the wash of daily events, day after day after day.' (Introduction)
-
Feature Letters
2017
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: SF Commentary , December no. 95 2017; (p. 152)