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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Set among the surf and sandhills of the Australian beach – and the tidal changes of three generations of the Lang family – The Bodysurfers is an Australian classic. A short-story collection which has become a bestseller and been adapted for film, television, radio and the theatre, The Bodysurfers on its first publication marked a major change in Australian literature.'
Source: Publisher's blurb (Penguin 2009 ed.)
Contents
- The Manageress and the Mirage, single work short story (p. 9-14)
- The Silver Medallist, single work short story (p. 15-22)
- Shark Logic, single work short story (p. 23-35)
- Baby Oil, single work short story (p. 37-45)
- Looking for Malibu, single work short story (p. 47-65)
- After Noumea, single work short story (p. 67-83)
- The View from the Sandhills, single work short story (p. 85-92)
- Sweetlip, single work short story (p. 93-108)
-
The Bodysurfers,
single work
short story
'Haunted by the brutal murder of a local couple, David heads to his weekend shack with his new lover, Lydia, and his children from his recently crumbled marriage. Together they find escape, if only briefly, in the ocean and the bush.
'"The Bodysurfers", the title story of Robert Drewe's classic first collection, is a vivid evocation of love, passion, terror and the beauty of the beach.' (From the publisher's website, 2012 Penguin publication.)
- Eighty Per Cent Humidity, single work short story (p. 131-145)
- The Last Explorer, single work short story (p. 147-155)
- Stingray, single work short story (p. 157-165)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Books That Changed Me Greg Growden
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 2 June 2013; (p. 12) -
Robert Drewe and the Business of Writing
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Indigo , Spring no. 4 2009; (p. 8-15) -
Hard Act to Follow
2009
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: The West Australian , 10 October 2009; (p. 22) -
A Beach Somewhere : The Australian Littoral Imagination at Play
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Littoral Zone : Australian Contexts and Their Writers 2007; (p. 31-44) A remarkable array of late twentieth and early twenty-first century Australian novelists and short story writers have presented images of West Australian beaches and coastlines. These authors include Robert Drewe, Jack Davis, Randolph Stow, Peter Cowan, Dorothy Hewett, and Tim Winton. Their human dramas have a peculiar poignancy when played out against the natural elements of these Western coasts. Sexual, emotional, or spiritual crises occur in maritime settings that both enhance their memorability and reveal humanity's fragile hold on the continent. (abstract taken from The Littoral Zone) -
Australia's Cultural Identity Now
2005
single work
essay
— Appears in: New Literatures Review , October no. 44 2005; (p. 23-31) Robert Drewe discusses Australian identity in terms of 'the Myth of Landscape' and 'the Myth of Character', using examples from his fiction to illustrate.
-
[Review] The Bodysurfers
1985
single work
review
— Appears in: Landfall , June vol. 39 no. 2 1985; (p. 213-223)
— Review of Fly Away Peter 1982 single work novella ; The Bodysurfers 1983 selected work short story ; An Item from the Late News 1982 single work novel ; The Cure 1983 single work novel ; White Stag of Exile 1984 single work novel ; The State of the Art : The Mood of Contemporary Australia in Short Stories 1983 anthology short story ; Kewpie Doll 1984 single work novel ; The Bellarmine Jug : A Novel 1984 single work novel ; Harland's Half Acre 1984 single work novel ; Woman in a Lampshade 1983 selected work short story ; Miss Peabody's Inheritance 1983 single work novel -
Recent Fiction
1984
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , May no. 94-95 1984; (p. 78-79)
— Review of West Block : The Hidden World of Canberra's Mandarins 1983 single work novel ; Sticks That Kill : A Novel 1983 single work novel ; Slate and Me and Blanche McBride 1983 single work novel ; The Bodysurfers 1983 selected work short story ; Matilda, My Darling 1983 single work novel -
[Review] Milk : Stories [et al]
1984
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 29 no. 2 1984; (p. 107-109)
— Review of Milk : Stories 1983 selected work short story ; The State of the Art : The Mood of Contemporary Australia in Short Stories 1983 anthology short story ; Uphill Runner 1984 selected work short story ; The Bodysurfers 1983 selected work short story -
Australia's Soul in Body and Surf
1983
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 22 November vol. 103 no. 5392 1983; (p. 86)
— Review of The Bodysurfers 1983 selected work short story -
Drewe on the Crest of His Wave
1983
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 5 November 1983; (p. 12)
— Review of The Bodysurfers 1983 selected work short story -
Julia Taylor on James Fraser
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Publishing Studies , Spring no. 1 1995; (p. 43-46) -
Robert Drewe's Australias - with Particular Reference to The Bodysurfers
1992
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Making of a Pluralist Australia 1950-1990: Selected Papers from the Inaugural EASA Conference 1991 1992; (p. 49-60) -
In the Service of Complex Truths : The Aims and Art of Robert Drewe's Fiction
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 50 no. 2005; (p. 26-41) A discussion of Robert Drewe's repeated questioning in his writings of notions of 'truth'. -
Bringing the Beach to Book : Robert Drewe
1989
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 18 November 1989; (p. 68-72) -
A Beach Somewhere : The Australian Littoral Imagination at Play
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Littoral Zone : Australian Contexts and Their Writers 2007; (p. 31-44) A remarkable array of late twentieth and early twenty-first century Australian novelists and short story writers have presented images of West Australian beaches and coastlines. These authors include Robert Drewe, Jack Davis, Randolph Stow, Peter Cowan, Dorothy Hewett, and Tim Winton. Their human dramas have a peculiar poignancy when played out against the natural elements of these Western coasts. Sexual, emotional, or spiritual crises occur in maritime settings that both enhance their memorability and reveal humanity's fragile hold on the continent. (abstract taken from The Littoral Zone)
Awards
- 1984 shortlisted National Book Council Award for Australian Literature