AustLit

'Immortal Solitude by Aaron J Clarke is a haunting tale of love, loss, and the human condition. The story follows a man who has become immortal and powerful by uttering a French prayer to the divine creator of the universe. He watches as the sun destroys the Earth and remembers his past life, where he fell in love with a man named Rylan. The man’s prayer for power and immortality is granted, but at a significant cost. He is forced to watch civilisations rise and fall and the people he once knew and loved fade into oblivion. The story explores love, longing, and the consequences of our actions. Clarke’s writing is evocative and poignant, drawing the reader into the man’s world and making us feel his pain and longing. Immortal Solitude is a powerful and moving story that will stay with you long after reading it.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Jalousie, honte, convoitise… Un tourbillon d’émotions s’agite dans cette nouvelle passionnelle d’un jeune garçon dans une petite ville condamné à suivre les traces de son père.

'Trahison sinistre. Affrontement de la mort par amour. Le Bloofer Man ne recule devant rien pour obtenir ce qu’il veut… et parvient toujours à ses fins.' (Supplied by author)

'A beautiful country-side château harbours dark, sinful secrets. God is testing us. An adamantine bond that not even time can weaken forces even the most devout towards hedonism.

'Who is Le Comte, the ominous stranger with the soft, mesmeric eyes – will he be their anodyne? Can their iniquitous deeds be forgiven?

'Love and hate, lust and disgust become inextricably tangled in this Daedalian novella, a tale of passion and devotion – for Christ or the Devil, it is hard to tell.

'Death and decay, vitality and strength; Aaron writes with a fierce fervour that cannot be extinguished, exploring topics that expose the raw and delicate make-up of the human condition.

'vitae necisque potestas'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Taking inspiration from Mozart’s opera, 'Don Giovanni', Clarke recounts in his play, 'The Rake', the final day of Lord Grayson’s hedonistic life–another day of seducing women and general debauchery: breaking into a lady’s bedroom, murder, and enticing a bride on her wedding day. But despite his impressive reputation, Lord Grayson’s fortuity is petering out. Miss Anna has pledged retribution while the spurned Mrs Evelyn is in pursuit. Mason wants his bride back. And Lord Grayson hears a phantom voice, warning of his impending punishment. Flaunting his bravado, Lord Grayson ostentatiously invites the statue of the man whom he has murdered to dinner. Will he attend?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

''Meredith' is a retelling of Euripides’ 'Medea', but with a twist as the drama takes place in nineteenth-century England. Impoverished aristocrat Lord Jason spurns Meredith in favour of Gloria, the daughter of the wealthy businessman, Crane. In the beginning, Meredith acquiesces with Jason’s scheme because she will sacrifice everything, so her sons do not face poverty. Later, Meredith no longer tolerates such insolence passively. Resolute and shrewd, she focuses her formidable energies to realising the grandest, and most shocking, retribution possible on those who have wronged her.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Inside a stylish North Queenslander home, comforted by the calls of native creatures and classical tones, it appears the Baxters are an archetypal family, complete with happy marriage and diligent son. But 1968 is a time rife with religious controversy, political upheaval, and the constant looming threat of conscription. The appearance of conservative family values must be rigidly upheld – but what happens behind closed doors? Aaron J. Clarke’s play, presented in typical eloquent style flourishing with sophisticated language, cracks open the hard exterior of his characters to reveal their innermost desires, secrets… And motives. How far would you push the boundaries for the one you love?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Dans ce nouveau recueil de poèmes, Clarke aborde de nombreux thèmes, dont le racisme, l’amour homosexuel, la mort, ses réflexions sur la vie, le caractère transitoire de la jeunesse et de la beauté ou encore l’immoralité de la guerre. Il s’exprime avec une exquise élégance, de façon novatrice et sensuelle.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'On the verge of committing suicide, Cécile, a middle-aged woman, suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, contemplates her life in Townsville, and with that of her husband, Alain – whom in hindsight she believes to have made a mistake in marrying. Cécile believes her marriage to be flawed because Alain is unsupportive of her artistic ambitions and her dreams of travelling. Compounding their mutual incompatibility is Alain’s authoritarian mother, Eleanor, who stays with them in order to care for Cecile; but in reality, she undermines her son’s marriage with her overpowering religious beliefs. Drawn into this marital melee is Julie, an old friend of Cécile’s but the secret lover of Alain: the duo insidiously plan to profit from Cécile’s death. In 'The Voices of Discontent', Clarke examines the effects of religion, disease, artistic ambition and adultery in an already unstable marriage, discovering that true love overcomes all of these obstacles.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

''Death in Xanadu' is a savage indictment against the movie industry, and in this world of celluloid fantasy, the ultimate power belongs to the studio mogul Carlton Hislop, who can either destroy careers or create them – on the condition that they submit themselves to him. Author Aaron J Clarke turns a jaundiced eye on Xanadu, and the result is a depiction of a chain-smoking, heavy drinking, coke snorting, megalomaniac – not to mention perverse – movie mogul, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants and likewise, prevent his abhorrent desires from being publicized. Drawn into this scandal are the producers Tiffany, Lisa and Tony, in addition to the casting director, Kathy, who nominates child actors Frank and Freddie for roles in an upcoming film. Carlton becomes fixated on the young actors the moment he sees their audition. And so the malevolent man descends down a path of depravity, which ultimately leads to his humiliating escape from America and subsequent punishment in tropical Brazil.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The seven stories in this selection span Clarke's early career, ranging from The Woman in Question, a drug affected man who is unable to let go of the woman he loves that ultimately leads him to the person responsible for her death. In The Wager, an unscrupulous man bets that a black servant won't be accepted into English high society; in The Unyielding Wind, Clarke reimagines the myth of Pan and Syrinx; and in Stabat Mater, an unhappy wife discovers her husband is having an affair with her sister that leads to a chain reaction resulting in murder and moral depravity. The haunting, The Unobtainable Agnes depicts a young man's love for an older woman, who happens to be a nun and the resulting emotional tension that follows. Beautifully drawn, Clarke's stories are as rich and resonant as his novels.' (Publication summary)

'Inspired by a real-life 19th century scandal, Clarke deftly writes about the privileged world of the Victorian upper-class, where Hugh is forced by his overbearing mother, Lady Lillian, to conform to society’s views concerning sex. Hugh’s inquisitive and rebellious nature leads Lady Lillian to send the innocent young man away to Thorndike Academy to be educated according to English etiquette. Instead, his schooldays ignited forbidden desires for an older student, Edmund. However, it would be Hugh’s affair with William, a working-class man, which would cause him so much angst as well as ecstasy. For a time, Hugh and William journey to the French Riviera, the scene of hedonistic delights, but also profound sadness and contempt. Moreover, what Lady Lillian feared – Hugh’s innocence becoming tainted – had come to pass, and this is reflected in his public disgrace and subsequent captivity in Reading Gaol. Rejected and betrayed, Hugh’s life journey ultimately leads him to the dark, dingy rooms of an infamous boarding house, a place of unrestrained drug addiction and sensual pleasures as well as the site for murder.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.