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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The Last Thread is Michael Sala's fascinating life in fiction. From his early years in the Netherlands to growing up in Australia during the 1980s, Michael recalls the secret surrounding his estranged Greek father and how scandalous events from the past fractured his family. This is a moving chronicle of a boy's turbulent relationship with his bullying stepfather, aloof older brother and adored mother, whose cheerful apathy has devastating consequences. As his life unfolds, Michael - now a father - must decide if he can free himself from the dark pull of the past.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Autobiographical novel.
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Dedication: For Kimiko
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Confession and Third Party Revelation in Memoir : The Narrator, The Confessant, and Textual Strategies for Decentring the Memoirist’s Authority
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 17 no. 2 2013; 'This paper explores the mechanisms of first and third party confession, and compares the different confessional approaches deployed in a range of memoirs including Vivian Gornick’s Fierce Attachments, Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions, Dave Egger’s Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and my own book, The Last Thread. My paper examines the use of both implicit and explicit self-reflexive confessional gestures regarding the ethical boundaries of the texts that memoirists have written and argues that, despite the transparency that such gestures appear to offer the reader, it is largely through the separation of the roles of narrator and confessant that occurs through third party revelation – and consequently the disruption of the prescribed roles of writer and reader as the deliverer and receiver of confession – that memoirists can effectively decentre their own authority.' (Author's abstract) -
Well Read
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 25 February 2012; (p. 23)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel -
Off the Shelf : Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 10 March 2012; (p. 34)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel -
Picking at the Loose Threads of an Unravelling Life
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 11-12 February 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel -
Second in Line
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February no. 338 2012; (p. 51)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel
-
Untitled
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , Summer 2011/12 vol. 91 no. 6 2011; (p. 33)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel -
Blood and Bone Humanity
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 February 2012; (p. 24)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel -
In Short : Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 34)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel -
Second in Line
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February no. 338 2012; (p. 51)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel -
Picking at the Loose Threads of an Unravelling Life
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 11-12 February 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of The Last Thread 2012 single work novel -
Confession and Third Party Revelation in Memoir : The Narrator, The Confessant, and Textual Strategies for Decentring the Memoirist’s Authority
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 17 no. 2 2013; 'This paper explores the mechanisms of first and third party confession, and compares the different confessional approaches deployed in a range of memoirs including Vivian Gornick’s Fierce Attachments, Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions, Dave Egger’s Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and my own book, The Last Thread. My paper examines the use of both implicit and explicit self-reflexive confessional gestures regarding the ethical boundaries of the texts that memoirists have written and argues that, despite the transparency that such gestures appear to offer the reader, it is largely through the separation of the roles of narrator and confessant that occurs through third party revelation – and consequently the disruption of the prescribed roles of writer and reader as the deliverer and receiver of confession – that memoirists can effectively decentre their own authority.' (Author's abstract)
Awards
- 2013 recipient Commonwealth Writers Prize
- 2013 joint winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing
- 2013 shortlisted Commonwealth Book Prize
Last amended 15 May 2018 13:08:09
Settings:
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cNetherlands,cWestern Europe, Europe,
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cAustralia,c
- 1980s
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