AustLit

'If we do not remember our childhoods do they still exist?

'Shifting is the true story of two children growing up in the aftermath of the Second World War. Attracted like a law of nature, Serge, a boy born in northern Italy and Helen, a girl born in Australia are inextricably drawn to each other in a changing world. A social history of the west of Melbourne in the 1950s-1960s, it is also a unique love story.

'This collaborative autobiography, told from a male and female perspective, explores the dynamics of family life, the importance of place and cultural dislocation in shaping identity. Understated and simply told, this is an evocative narrative about the emotional, social and psychological changes of two individuals maturing into adulthood. A fine and impressive work. It is accomplished at a high literary standard, with an acute understanding of the way fictive-literary stratagems can be incorporated in an autobiographical work to achieve an engaging and richly rewarding text for the reader.' - Kevin Brophy The vivid and detailed recreation of the texture of the decades through which the characters live is one of the strengths of the novel. - Jeri Kroll Shifting skilfully weaves and patterns two distinct voices and cultures ... to create a tapestry full of evocative detail and memorable characters struggling with loss, new beginnings and love. - Tom Petsinis' (Publication summary)

'Michael Hyde spent the sixties opposing Australian and US involvement in the Vietnam War - a conflict at the heart of that turbulent decade. As opposition to the war grew exponentially, tens of thousands of young people took up the fight against it and the social ills of racism, poverty and inequality.

Michael's personal journey from Christian pacifist to student revolutionary was as wild as the sixties itself. Trips to the Cultural Revolution in China and to Cambodia to meet the Viet Cong, breaking the law, demonstrations, arrests, living on the run, communal houses, music, drugs and sexual liberation were all part of the rollercoaster of rebellion.' Source: www.vulgar.com.au/ (Sighted 22/12/2010).

'Eric Judd is 39 and his girlfriend wants him to give up playing football. Eric (aka Mr Cleansheets) is a goalkeeping legend at his amateur Sydney club because in his youth he received a letter inviting him to trial with Manchester United. The letter said to "come when you're ready" - and six days before his 40th birthday, Eric is finally ready.

Inspired by the dying wish of his Uncle Jimmy, Eric travels to England, but does not quite receive the welcome he had hoped for. Instead, he encounters all manner of villains: murderous football hooligans, Irish mafia, dodgy football agents, beautiful pop stars, international terrorists and a range of supporting players with any number of overt and hidden agendas.

He also plays football.' (From the publisher's website.)

'A novel based on the true story of a sixteen-year-old schoolboy who ran away from home with four dollars and hitchhiked around Australia. Daniel's exploits are a roller-coaster ride through a wild summer 'off the leash', the madness of share-house living, outback mustering of feral cattle, and nightclub excess. Told with driving energy, blunt honesty and dry humour, Feral Tracks shows why survival on the road means growing up fast. Feral Tracks captivated teenagers when first released in 1998, including reluctant male readers. It was short-listed for a readers' choice award and optioned for a feature film. The screenplay was created in 2002 and, although not produced as a movie, inspired this newly rewritten version of the story. Feral Tracks: the novel adapted from the screenplay has transformed the travelogue style of the first publication into a more tightly structured story format for a fresh readership.' (Publication summary)

'Sandy Jeffs grew up and went to school in Ballarat. She has lived with schizophrenia and all its moods for 33 years. She has published many articles and five volumes of poetry, concerned with the disparate topics of madness, domestic violence, the trials and tribulations of playing midweek ladies' tennis and the mad world in which we live - and some of these have inspired other artists to compose music, libretto and dance. Sandy has also become a community educator who speaks to school kids, university students, community groups and clinicians about what it is like to live with a mental illness. Her home, with friends human and animal, is at Christmas Hills, in the country near Melbourne, 'where it's Christmas every day'.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Bruising is the story of Merz's long love affair with the art of boxing - from throwing and receiving her first punches - to competing in an Australian amateur title fight and beyond.

'Boxing opens her to new ideas about what it means to be a woman, it tests her courage as well as her physical limitations and connects her with others in unexpected ways. It provides her with the thrilling and often hilarious background against which to examine myths about feminine virtue and physical weakness.

'Bruising ... was short listed for the Dobbie Award in 2001, and this latest [2009] edition is updated with new material based on a trip to New York where Merz spent time training with the women at one of America's oldest and most famous boxing gyms.' (From Vulgar Press's website.)

'Like Geoff's life, this collection twists and turns towards an acceptance that time is not on your side. So, if the obvious injuries of class, the broken ribs and racing hearts, get you down, try reading a couple from up the back. The focus there is still as sharp as the language, the beat of the lines no less insistent, but the framing is larger, and not just because he is travelling the world. The screws, after all, are everywhere. From start to finish, one point sticks out: the truth is a question of who is allowed to know what. What's more, Geoff shows that it's never too late to learn at least that much.' (Publication summary)