AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
"A provocative book by Petru Popescu. The Last Wave, an Australian mystery drama from 1977 is about a white solicitor (Burton) in Sydney--whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case and discovers that he shares a strange, mystical connection with a small group of local Australian Aborigines accused of a murder. Plagued by bizarre dreams, Burton senses an otherworldly connection to one of the accused. He also feels connected to the increasingly strange weather phenomena besetting the city, his dreams intensify along with his obsession with the murder case, which he comes to believe is an Aboriginal tribal killing by curse, in which the victim believed. Learning more about Aboriginal practices and the concept of Dreamtime as a parallel world of existence, Burton comes to believe the strange weather bodes of a coming apocalypse."
SourceNotes
-
Based on an original idea by Peter Weir.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Related Works
-
form
y
The Last Wave
( dir. Peter Weir
)
Australia
:
McElroy and McElroy
Ayr Productions
,
1977
Z971052
1977
single work
film/TV
horror
fantasy
(taught in 1 units)
Based on an original idea by Peter Weir, The Last Wave concerns a young Sydney lawyer who, while defending four Aboriginal men against a murder charge, becomes troubled by dreams. He soon begins to feel the pull of magic forces beneath the surface of civilisation. A series of apparently random occurences assume a disturbing pattern and the city becomes a facade for a place of ancient ritual.
Works about this Work
-
The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127) According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii)
-
The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127) According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii)
