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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Rocks in the Belly tells the story of an eight-year-old boy and the adult he becomes. When he is young his mother fosters boys, despite the jealous turmoil it arouses in her son: jealousy that reaches unmanageable proportions when she fosters Robert, a child she can't help bonding with. As the connection between them grows, the son's envy triggers an event that profoundly changes everyone. Especially Robert.
'At twenty-eight, still haunted by his childhood, the son returns to face his mother, who is now chronically ill. He hasn't forgiven her for what happened to Robert, and yet she isn't the same domineering woman anymore. Now she's the dependent one and he the dominant force - a power he can't help but abuse.
'Written in two startlingly original voices, Rocks in the Belly is about the effortless destruction we wreak on one another in the simple pursuit of our own happiness, and a reminder that we never leave our childhood behind. A fast-paced, powerful, yet often beautiful and funny novel.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Dedication: Carried, but never held.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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From Hagiography to Personal Pain : Stories of Australian Foster Care from the Nineteenth Century to the Twenty-First
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Adoption and Culture , vol. 5 no. 2017; (p. 89-109)'Stories—fictional, biographical, and autobiographical—are one way in which we can imagine what it has been like to experience foster care in Australia. In this paper I look at the trends in stories told about foster care from the nineteenth century, across the twentieth, and into the early twenty-first century. While exploring these trends, I make some observations about the shift from fictional accounts where foster parents and foster children were heroic characters to often searing tales of hurt and trauma inflicted on children in foster care by violent women and men.'
Source: Abstract.
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[Review] Rocks in the Belly
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Winter vol. 20 no. 2 2012; (p. 32)
— Review of Rocks in the Belly 2010 single work novel -
Belly up Again
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 22 April 2012; (p. 19) -
Bookmarks
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 14 April 2012; (p. 33) A column canvassing current literary news including a report on the establishment of the Queensland Literary Awards (in the wake of the suspension of the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards). Jason Steger also notes Jon Bauer's shortlisting for the 2012 Dublin IMPAC award. Bauer is nominated for his novel Rocks in the Belly. -
Bauer in Line for Top Prize
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 13 April 2012; (p. 5)
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[Review] Rocks in the Belly
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , July vol. 89 no. 9 2010; (p. 36)
— Review of Rocks in the Belly 2010 single work novel -
Men on the Mat
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , August vol. 5 no. 7 2010; (p. 18)
— Review of Killing Richard Dawson 2010 single work novel ; Glissando : A Melodrama 2010 single work novel ; The Norseman's Song 2010 single work novel ; Rocks in the Belly 2010 single work novel -
Characters Step into the Badlands
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 7 - 8 August 2010; (p. 23)
— Review of Rocks in the Belly 2010 single work novel -
A Child Foretells the Man
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 7 August 2010; (p. 21, 26)
— Review of Rocks in the Belly 2010 single work novel -
An Unhappy Past Confronted on the Long Road to Redemption
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7-8 August 2010; (p. 32-33)
— Review of Rocks in the Belly 2010 single work novel -
A Study in Sociopathy
B. Owen Baxter
(interviewer),
2010
single work
interview
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , July vol. 89 no. 9 2010; (p. 46) -
A Pair of Ragged Claws
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 12 - 13 March 2011; (p. 19) -
Miles Franklin Longlist Out
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 17 March 2011; (p. 8) -
Bauer in Line for Top Prize
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 13 April 2012; (p. 5) -
Bookmarks
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 14 April 2012; (p. 33) A column canvassing current literary news including a report on the establishment of the Queensland Literary Awards (in the wake of the suspension of the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards). Jason Steger also notes Jon Bauer's shortlisting for the 2012 Dublin IMPAC award. Bauer is nominated for his novel Rocks in the Belly.
Awards
- 2012 shortlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- 2011 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year
- 2011 longlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2011 winner Indie Awards — Debut Fiction