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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A gothic thriller exploring rural Australia’s simultaneous celebration of harsh country and stoic people – a tension that forces its inhabitants to dangerous breaking points.
'On a remote property in western NSW, nine-year-old Parker fears that something is wrong with his brain. His desperate attempts to control this internal chaos spark a series of events that gallop from his control in deadly and devastating ways.
'Years later, Parker, now a father himself, returns to the bushland he grew up in for a camping trip with old friends. When this reunion descends into chaos amid revelations of unresolved fear, guilt and violence, Parker must finally address the consequences of his childhood actions.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Author's note: For Mum, whose unconditional love saved me.
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Selected as one of the Guardian Australia best Australian books of 2022
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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James McKenzie Watson : Denizen
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , May 2023;
— Review of Denizen 2022 single work novel 'James McKenzie Watson’s thriller-like debut brings coherence to a life breaking apart.' -
Show Your Working : James McKenzie Watson
2022
single work
column
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , August 2022; -
His Dark Materials : the Bush Noir That Grapples with Mental Health
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 17 August 2022;
— Review of Denizen 2022 single work novel 'A childhood spent ‘on the brink of self-destruction’ in regional NSW was the catalyst for James McKenzie Watson’s prize-winning thriller Denizen' (Introduction) -
Witty, Poetic, Beautifully Written : The Best Australian Books Out in July
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 4 July 2022;
— Review of We Come With This Place 2022 multi chapter work essay prose ; Denizen 2022 single work novel ; The All of It : A Bogan Rhapsody 2022 single work autobiography ; Jesustown 2021 single work novel ; Holy Woman : A Divine Adventure 2022 single work autobiography
-
Witty, Poetic, Beautifully Written : The Best Australian Books Out in July
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 4 July 2022;
— Review of We Come With This Place 2022 multi chapter work essay prose ; Denizen 2022 single work novel ; The All of It : A Bogan Rhapsody 2022 single work autobiography ; Jesustown 2021 single work novel ; Holy Woman : A Divine Adventure 2022 single work autobiography -
His Dark Materials : the Bush Noir That Grapples with Mental Health
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 17 August 2022;
— Review of Denizen 2022 single work novel 'A childhood spent ‘on the brink of self-destruction’ in regional NSW was the catalyst for James McKenzie Watson’s prize-winning thriller Denizen' (Introduction) -
James McKenzie Watson : Denizen
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , May 2023;
— Review of Denizen 2022 single work novel 'James McKenzie Watson’s thriller-like debut brings coherence to a life breaking apart.' -
Show Your Working : James McKenzie Watson
2022
single work
column
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , August 2022;
Awards
- 2023 shortlisted Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing — Best First Novel
- 2022 finalist Australian Shadows Award — Novel
- 2021 winner PRH Australia Literary Prize
- New South Wales,