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Photo: The Weekly Review, taken by Scott McNaughton. Sourced from the author's website.
A. S. Patrić A. S. Patrić i(A122412 works by) (a.k.a. Alec Patric)
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 An Obsidian Mirror : David Malouf's Ransom A. S. Patrić , 2021 single work criticism
— Appears in: Reading Like an Australian Writer 2021;
1 Bruiser A. S. Patrić , 2019 single work short story
— Appears in: New Australian Fiction 2019 2019; (p. 137-146)
1 The Lovers of Pompeii A. S. Patrić , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Split : True Stories of Leaving, Loss and New Beginnings 2019;
1 The Flood A. S. Patrić , 2018 single work short story
— Appears in: The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 187)
1 Memories of Jane Doe A. S. Patrić , 2018 single work short story
— Appears in: The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 135-167)
1 Among the Ruins A. S. Patrić , 2018 single work short story
— Appears in: The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 58-126)
1 Butcherbird A. S. Patrić , 2018 single work short story
— Appears in: The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 41-53)
1 6 y separately published work icon The Butcherbird Stories A. S. Patrić , Yarraville : Transit Lounge , 2018 14399818 2018 selected work short story

"Eleven stories. Each like a matchstick struck to illuminate the darkness. Evocations of place ranging from a Bangla jungle to the deep, blue Danube to a winter beach in Melbourne excite and seduce. But what truly draws the reader in are the unexpected landscapes of people’s lives, explored with rare sensitivity, grace and a fearless truthfulness.

"A lonely St Kilda chef invites a beautiful busker to use his spare room. A father sings a lullaby to comfort his young daughter who has woken from a nightmare. A taxi driver picks up an old-world gentleman who is reluctant to disclose his destination. A young immigrant boy growing up in the western suburbs of Melbourne daydreams of infinite possibility.

"Death, loneliness, passion and belief: Patrić takes on the big questions in life and writes about the small people of the world with stylistic verve and deep humanity.

"This collection of stories reveals the author, best known for his award-winning novels, as a true master of the short story form." (Publishers blurb)

1 7 y separately published work icon Atlantic Black A. S. Patrić , Yarraville : Transit Lounge , 2017 9173136 2017 single work novel historical fiction

In this haunting new novel, Katerina Klova and her mother are crossing the Atlantic by ocean liner. When Anne suffers a psychotic breakdown, Katerina is left alone on a ship full of strangers who span classes and stations, all of whom carry their ambitions, fears and obsessions with them. For a seventeen-year-old girl, the daughter of an ambassador, it’s an exciting, frightening world to navigate.

'Atlantic Black is a psychologically intense and affecting story of unexpected familial betrayal, of a mother and daughter's relationship, of a brother and father whose voices resonate from afar. Personal loneliness, love and loss, are tightly bound to the wider reality of a world set on a fateful course. The legacy of violence, and of how the First World War precipitated the Second World War reverberates as if ‘tolling on the inside of a church bell’. Through the eyes of Katerina and her own family’s place within a fracturing world, we see the way damage, yet also hope, are passed from one generation to another. A.S. Patrić's writing is achingly tender, the tone merciless but heartbreaking in its compassion.

'The story takes place over one day and night, New Year's Eve, 1939. The RMS Aquitania steams across the Atlantic Ocean. On the horizon, the world is about to explode.'  (Publication summary)

1 Helen Garner, Peter Carey and Alexis Wright on What They're Reading in November Beau Donelly , Nick Toscano , Fiona Wright , Garry Disher , Kári Gíslason , Richard Fidler , Alex Miller , Alexis Wright , A. S. Patrić , Peter Carey , Helen Garner , 2017 single work
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 22 November 2017;
1 Avulsion A. S. Patrić , 2017 single work short story
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 76 no. 2 2017; (p. 42-43) The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 13-17)

'Swimming in early summer is a particular pleasure. Sunlight through the high windows lasts past eight in the evening. Not too many people around. I'm going well when I see something drifting along the bottom and it could be a bandaid, yet it is not, and it should be anything else but it's a finger...' (Publication abstract)

1 Punctuated Air A. S. Patrić , 2016 single work short story
— Appears in: Review of Australian Fiction , vol. 19 no. 5 2016; The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 168-186)
2 26 y separately published work icon Black Rock White City A. S. Patrić , Australia : Transit Lounge , 2015 8354709 2015 single work novel

'Black Rock White City is a novel about the damages of war, the limits of choice, and the hope of love. During a hot Melbourne summer Jovan's cleaning work at a bayside hospital is disrupted by acts of graffiti and violence becoming increasingly malevolent. For Jovan the mysterious words that must be cleaned away dislodge the poetry of the past. He and his wife Suzana were forced to flee Sarajevo and the death of their children.

'Intensely human, yet majestic in its moral vision, Black Rock White City is an essential story of Australia's suburbs now, of displacement and immediate threat, and the unexpected responses of two refugees as they try to reclaim their dreams. It is a breathtaking roar of energy that explores the immigrant experience with ferocity, beauty and humour.' (Publication summary)

1 HB A. S. Patrić , 2014 single work prose
— Appears in: Flashing the Square : Microfiction and Prose Poems 2014; (p. 99) The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 132-134)
1 The Rothko A. S. Patrić , 2014 single work short story
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 73 no. 4 2014; (p. 118-119) The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 127-131)
1 [Review] Heat and Light A. S. Patrić , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 364 2014; (p. 48)

— Review of Heat and Light Ellen van Neerven , 2014 selected work short story
1 Dead Sun A. S. Patrić , 2014 single work short story
— Appears in: Review of Australian Fiction , vol. 11 no. 2 2014; The Butcherbird Stories 2018; (p. 18-40)
1 1 y separately published work icon Bruno Kramzer : A Long Story A. S. Patrić , Braidwood : Finlay Lloyd , 2013 6724157 2013 single work novella

'Bruno Kramzer is an intriguing and disturbing story of evasion and betrayal. ' (Publication summary)

1 Growing Like Weeds : Literary Magazines Today A. S. Patrić , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , October 2013;
1 The Rottweiler Runt A. S. Patrić , 2013 single work short story
— Appears in: Seizure : A Journal of New Writing , no. 5 2013; (p. 83)
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