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y separately published work icon The Idealist single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 The Idealist
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Set in Australia, East Timor and Washington in the lead up to the independence referendum in East Timor in 1999, The Idealist is a novel which explores the entanglement of private and public life. It is a political mystery, the portrait of a marriage, a reflection on friendship, and a study of a personality as it breaks down under pressure. Jake, an Australian defence analyst, is torn between his support for the people of East Timor, whose commitment to independence in the face of mounting violence, he has experienced personally, and his sense of responsibility for, and complicity in, the actions of his government. When he is found dead in the garage of his Washington home, after passing secret intelligence to his American counterpart, his wife Anne wants justice. The narrative is told from changing perspectives, moving through time and memory, in search of what really happened. It is a story, above all, about the formation, necessity and human cost of idealism.' 

(Publication summary)

Notes

  • Epigraph: 

    Arise, O God, and judge thou the earth. 

    Psalm 82

    Let my golden life be full

    Like the barley field of the southern peninsula

    - Ko Un

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Artarmon, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Giramondo Publishing , 2023 .
      image of person or book cover 6440379236573808867.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 320p.
      Note/s:

      • Published September 2023

      ISBN: 9781922725783
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

The Extractive Nation : A Novel of Troubled Manners Paul Giles , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 459 2023; (p. 26)
— Review of The Idealist Nicholas Jose , 2023 single work novel

'One striking feature of Nicholas Jose’s fine new novel is its principled versatility. Set in multiple locations – Adelaide, Washington, DC, East Timor – and introducing alternative narrative voices, Jose evokes a world of complex intersections comprising many different angles and viewpoints. As a former diplomat himself, he writes with expert knowledge of a variety of professional and personal environments. His novel ranges across the ‘loyalties and long memories’ of lives rooted in Adelaide, along with some of the city’s ‘dunderhead complacencies’, while also presenting an insider’s view of diplomatic exchanges in Washington, DC and Canberra.' (Introduction)          

A Classical Espionage Novel with Shades of Le Carré, The Idealist Explores the Tumultuous Path to East Timorese Independence Tony Hughes-d'Aeth , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 23 October 2023;
— Review of The Idealist Nicholas Jose , 2023 single work novel

'The Idealist is the eighth novel by respected Australian writer and academic Nick Jose. Set in the turbulent period leading up to the referendum for East Timorese self-determination in 1999, the novel has the form of a political thriller, albeit one that remains restrained and meditative.' (Introduction)          

A Classical Espionage Novel with Shades of Le Carré, The Idealist Explores the Tumultuous Path to East Timorese Independence Tony Hughes-d'Aeth , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 23 October 2023;
— Review of The Idealist Nicholas Jose , 2023 single work novel

'The Idealist is the eighth novel by respected Australian writer and academic Nick Jose. Set in the turbulent period leading up to the referendum for East Timorese self-determination in 1999, the novel has the form of a political thriller, albeit one that remains restrained and meditative.' (Introduction)          

The Extractive Nation : A Novel of Troubled Manners Paul Giles , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 459 2023; (p. 26)
— Review of The Idealist Nicholas Jose , 2023 single work novel

'One striking feature of Nicholas Jose’s fine new novel is its principled versatility. Set in multiple locations – Adelaide, Washington, DC, East Timor – and introducing alternative narrative voices, Jose evokes a world of complex intersections comprising many different angles and viewpoints. As a former diplomat himself, he writes with expert knowledge of a variety of professional and personal environments. His novel ranges across the ‘loyalties and long memories’ of lives rooted in Adelaide, along with some of the city’s ‘dunderhead complacencies’, while also presenting an insider’s view of diplomatic exchanges in Washington, DC and Canberra.' (Introduction)          

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Awards

VIEW ALL AWARDS (1)
Last amended 31 Oct 2023 11:57:04
Subjects:
Settings:
  • c
    Australia,
    c
  • c
    Timor-Leste,
    c
    Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • Washington DC,
    c
    United States of America (USA),
    c
    Americas,
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