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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A topical, contemporary novel set in Timor, No-Name Bird is the heart-warming and extraordinary story of a small boy, Jose, and how he sees and reacts to the unfolding tragedy of the Indonesian invasion of Portuguese Timor in 1975. With the increasing violence, Jose finds solace in the wisdom and guidance of his uncle Adolfo and No-Name Bird, the fighting cock they train.
Interspersed within the story are details of the events of the time - the struggle between newly formed political parties, total withdrawal of Portuguese forces, the short but vicious civil war and finally the Indonesian invasion with its enormous loss of life'.(Source: cbonline.org.au. Sighted 04/08/2011)
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has an Asian setting.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Writing East Timor for Children : Mobilizing Sympathy
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: New Review of Children's Literature and Librarianship , September vol. 22 no. 2 2016; (p. 108-123) 'Novels about East Timor in English and Portuguese for children have been scarce. Despite a contemporary background of revisionist approaches to history, the nationalist focus of such material means that certain stories are handled rarely, even those that interpellate the nation in some way. This article examines ways in which support for East Timor is underwritten in the few novels for children and young adults that deal with East Timor in English and Portuguese, concluding with a brief assessment of the extent to which they realize Herbert Kohl’s suggestions of appropriate strategies for what he terms “Radical Children’s Literature.”' -
History and Shame : East Timor in Australian Fictions
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Interventions : International Journal of Postcolonial Studies , November vol. 12 no. 3 2010; (p. 401-414) This essay examines a series of Australian texts in an attempt to perceive the ways in which East Timor has functioned as a test of the operation of Australian memory and the processing of national shame over the failure of the nation to aid a neighbouring people who had aided Australia at great cost during the Second World War. After introducing the notion of shame and the contrast between official Australian policy and public sentiment over the issue of East Timor from the date of the Indonesian invasion in 1975, a contrast rooted in the nation's sense of itself as being a sponsor of freedom, democracy and the fair go, the essay examines a series of fictional texts dealing with East Timor in some way, and then returns to the concept of shame and its relevance in this context. The texts dealt with include fiction for adults and children: Tony Maniaty's The Children Must Dance (1984), Gail Jones's Other Places (1992), Bill Green's Cleaning Up (1993), Kerry Collison's The Timor Man (1998), Libby Gleeson's Refuge (1998) and Josef Vondra's No-name Bird (2000), along with the Australian-Canadian miniseries Answered by Fire (2006) and the Australian film Balibo (Robert Connolly, 2009). As expected, concerned observers share many features of their reaction to events in East Timor, but inevitably, as they read East Timor they are also reading Australia and its relation to an ethics of conviction that might have dealt more honourably with the invasion and oppression on its doorstep. The analysis draws on the work of Jeffrey Olick, Avishai Margalit and Michael Morgan in its approach to regret, shame and memory. -
Untitled
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 14 no. 2 2000; (p. 57-58)
— Review of No-Name Bird 2000 single work novel -
Untitled
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 15 no. 1 2000; (p. 40)
— Review of No-Name Bird 2000 single work novel -
Josef Vondra With Story of East Timor
2000
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 44 no. 3 2000; (p. 12-14)
-
Untitled
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , May vol. 44 no. 2 2000; (p. 29)
— Review of No-Name Bird 2000 single work novel -
Untitled
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 15 no. 1 2000; (p. 40)
— Review of No-Name Bird 2000 single work novel -
Untitled
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 14 no. 2 2000; (p. 57-58)
— Review of No-Name Bird 2000 single work novel -
Little Tension in Timor Tale
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 26 February 2000; (p. 23)
— Review of No-Name Bird 2000 single work novel -
Timorese Timing
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 219 2000; (p. 55)
— Review of No-Name Bird 2000 single work novel -
Josef Vondra With Story of East Timor
2000
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 44 no. 3 2000; (p. 12-14) -
History and Shame : East Timor in Australian Fictions
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Interventions : International Journal of Postcolonial Studies , November vol. 12 no. 3 2010; (p. 401-414) This essay examines a series of Australian texts in an attempt to perceive the ways in which East Timor has functioned as a test of the operation of Australian memory and the processing of national shame over the failure of the nation to aid a neighbouring people who had aided Australia at great cost during the Second World War. After introducing the notion of shame and the contrast between official Australian policy and public sentiment over the issue of East Timor from the date of the Indonesian invasion in 1975, a contrast rooted in the nation's sense of itself as being a sponsor of freedom, democracy and the fair go, the essay examines a series of fictional texts dealing with East Timor in some way, and then returns to the concept of shame and its relevance in this context. The texts dealt with include fiction for adults and children: Tony Maniaty's The Children Must Dance (1984), Gail Jones's Other Places (1992), Bill Green's Cleaning Up (1993), Kerry Collison's The Timor Man (1998), Libby Gleeson's Refuge (1998) and Josef Vondra's No-name Bird (2000), along with the Australian-Canadian miniseries Answered by Fire (2006) and the Australian film Balibo (Robert Connolly, 2009). As expected, concerned observers share many features of their reaction to events in East Timor, but inevitably, as they read East Timor they are also reading Australia and its relation to an ethics of conviction that might have dealt more honourably with the invasion and oppression on its doorstep. The analysis draws on the work of Jeffrey Olick, Avishai Margalit and Michael Morgan in its approach to regret, shame and memory. -
Writing East Timor for Children : Mobilizing Sympathy
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: New Review of Children's Literature and Librarianship , September vol. 22 no. 2 2016; (p. 108-123) 'Novels about East Timor in English and Portuguese for children have been scarce. Despite a contemporary background of revisionist approaches to history, the nationalist focus of such material means that certain stories are handled rarely, even those that interpellate the nation in some way. This article examines ways in which support for East Timor is underwritten in the few novels for children and young adults that deal with East Timor in English and Portuguese, concluding with a brief assessment of the extent to which they realize Herbert Kohl’s suggestions of appropriate strategies for what he terms “Radical Children’s Literature.”'
Last amended 9 Sep 2011 14:47:49
Subjects:
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cTimor-Leste,cSoutheast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
Settings:
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cTimor-Leste,cSoutheast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
- 1970s
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