AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'On a hot summer's night in the 1950s, the old and the new, diesel and steam, town and country all collide - and nobody will be left unaffected.
'As a passenger train leaves Spencer Street Station on its haul to Sydney, a family of three - Vic, Rita and their son Michael - are off to a party. George Bedser has invited the whole neighbourhood to celebrate the engagement of his daughter. Vic is an engine driver, with dreams of being like his hero Paddy Ryan and becoming the master of the smooth ride. As the neighbours walk to the party, we are drawn into the lives of a bully, a drunk, a restless girl and a young boy forced to grow up before he is ready. The Art of the Engine Driver is a luminous and evocative tale of ordinary suburban lives, told with an extraordinary power.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
The View from Above from Below : Novel, Suburb, Cosmos
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , November no. 60 2016; -
Celebrating Suburbia
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Exploring Suburbia: The Suburbs in the Contemporary Australian Novel 2012; (p. 303-334) -
Making the Ordinary Extraordinary
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 21 June 2008; (p. B4) -
Present Tense With Meaning
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 10 March 2007; (p. 13) -
Streets of Your Town
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 17 February 2007; (p. 18) 'Even the most mundane suburbs can be the subject of creative masterpieces' writes Steven Carroll.
-
The Art of Driving Loco
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 25 August 2001; (p. 6)
— Review of The Art of the Engine Driver 2001 single work novel -
In a Fourth Novel, Writers Deliver the Goods
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 1 September 2001; (p. 10)
— Review of Earth 2001 single work novel ; The Art of the Engine Driver 2001 single work novel -
In Short
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15-16 September 2001; (p. 19)
— Review of The Art of the Engine Driver 2001 single work novel ; The Death of Pan 2001 selected work short story -
Summer Night from Which Few Emerge Unchanged
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 20 October 2001; (p. 16)
— Review of The Art of the Engine Driver 2001 single work novel -
A Faint Order
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 236 2001; (p. 27-28)
— Review of The Art of the Engine Driver 2001 single work novel ; Summerland 2000 single work novel -
The Patient Filmmaker
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 14 June 2003; (p. 6) -
Great Game, Lousy Story
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 29 November 2003; (p. 8) Novels involving tennis are usually not successful. This article deals mainly with American books and films, however there is a small section about Australian creative writing. -
Q and A : Steven Carroll
Olivia Hill Douglas
(interviewer),
2007
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Age , 12 January 2007; (p. 3) -
Streets of Your Town
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 17 February 2007; (p. 18) 'Even the most mundane suburbs can be the subject of creative masterpieces' writes Steven Carroll. -
Present Tense With Meaning
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 10 March 2007; (p. 13)
Awards
- 2005 shortlisted Prix Femina (France) — Best Foreign Novel
- 2002 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- Country towns,
- Melbourne, Victoria,