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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In prose that is both elegant and lyrical, David Malouf departs from the little-known facts of Ovid's exile beyond the pale of civilization to create a deeply moving novel of extraordinary beauty. An outcast in a vast wasteland at the edge of the Black Sea, Ovid discovers a feral child. As he teaches the boy to speak the language of the civilized world, the child tutors him in his own tongue, the language of nature, and the once barren landscape begins to resonate with meaning.' (Publisher's blurb)
Adaptations
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An Imaginary Life
1986
single work
drama
A stage adaptation of David Malouf's novel about the friendship between the exiled Ovid and a feral child.
Notes
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Dedication: To Christopher.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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The Shifting Margins in David Malouf’s An Imaginary Life
2023
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Marginality in Australian Literature 2023; (p. 85-99) -
Journeying into Australian Literature : A Memoir and Reflection
2023
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: Queensland Review , vol. 30 no. 1 2023; (p. 126-137)'In this memoir, Antonella Riem reflects on her long career in Australian literary studies in Italy and internationally, and the scholars who have inspired her. She then outlines the principles of the partnership model of literary studies that she has developed over many years, and how she applies her approach to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘Kubla Khan’ and David Malouf’s An Imaginary Life.' (Publication abstract)
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‘All You See Is What You Feel’
2023
single work
prose
— Appears in: Queensland Review , vol. 30 no. 1 2023; (p. 118-125)'This article explores themes of place, literature and friendship through an engagement with David Malouf’s novel Johhno. Set in Brisbane and Italy, the article takes the form of a creative non-fiction essay, in six sections. The narrator reflects on her wanderings, bent on renunciation of everything except writing, yet hoping for revelation or union. Whereas for Malouf’s characters, Dante and Johnno, Brisbane offers a canvas to hurl themselves against, the narrator of ‘All You See’ takes the city as a point of arrival and departure. She veers towards and away from family, friends and lovers, crossing cities and continents, eventually returning home, yet still at odds with what she knows and what she has lived.' (Publication abstract)
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“Do Not Shoot, I’m a B–b–British Object!” : Reading David Malouf in Indian Universities
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Postcolonial Writing , vol. 58 no. 1 2022; (p. 80-94)'Since 2009, Australian author David Malouf’s texts have been included and then excluded from key courses in Indian universities. Malouf’s place in the curriculum (particularly that of An Imaginary Life [1978]) relates to pedagogical and intellectual negotiations with postcolonial theory – especially debates about the inclusion of white settler literatures. It also should be seen in the context of the country’s emergent (hyper)nationalist political imagination. Referring to the influential course “New Literatures in English” offered by University of Delhi’s English department, this article argues that the selection of Malouf texts by Indian English departments indicates not only ongoing debates in postcolonial thought, but also a preference for postcolonial texts that can be read through essentializing lenses. It proposes Malouf’s later novel Remembering Babylon (1993) as a productive text through which to discuss the limitations of using deterministic cultural markers in the creation of a postcolonial Indian imaginary.' (Publication abstract)
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Exile’s Return : Change Was in the Air
2019
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 19 no. 1 2019; 'In September 1963 I boarded the ship, the Fairsky, in Port Melbourne, and waved goodbye to my parents and my girlfriend. I was 23 years old and leaving Australia for the first time. The Fairsky was one of many ships that had served in the Second World War and then been repurposed in the immediate post-war years. In this case, she had served for both the USA and Royal navies, firstly as USS Barnes and then as HMS Attacker, before being converted initially for use as a cargo carrier (the Castel Forte), and eventually undergoing another major refit for passenger use in 1957, from which she re-emerged as Fairsky.' (Introduction)
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[Review] An Imaginary Life
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: New Republic , 13 May no. 178 1978; (p. 36)
— Review of An Imaginary Life : A Novel 1978 single work novel -
[Review] An Imaginary Life
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: New Statesman , 15 September no. 96 1978; (p. 338)
— Review of An Imaginary Life : A Novel 1978 single work novel -
[Review] An Imaginary Life
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: Library Journal , 1 March no. 103 1978; (p. 587)
— Review of An Imaginary Life : A Novel 1978 single work novel -
The Parable of the Child and the Nose
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 17 October vol. 99 no. 5131 1978; (p. 75-76)
— Review of An Imaginary Life : A Novel 1978 single work novel -
Printout
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20 May 1978; (p. 17)
— Review of An Imaginary Life : A Novel 1978 single work novel -
Culture and Identity : Politics and Writing in Some Recent Post-Colonial Texts
1992
single work
criticism
— Appears in: From Commonwealth to Post-Colonial 1992; (p. 436-443) -
Problems of Historicity in David Malouf's An Imaginary Life
2000
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Classical & Modern Literature , vol. 20 no. 1 2000; (p. 1-17) -
David Malouf's An Imaginary Life : A Return to the Very Edge of Memory, History and the Multicultural Self
2002
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Narrativa i Historia 2002; (p. 37-59) Explores the relationship between history, autobiography and fiction in Malouf's novel. -
Constructing the Post-Colonial Male Body
1998
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Body in the Library 1998; (p. 207-223)Discusses the representations of the male body and identity in Australian art and literature.
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David Malouf's Language of Reconciliation : Stylistic Patterns in An Imaginary Life
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Literature and Aesthetics , June vol. 14 no. 1 2004; (p. 49-66) Uses a linguistic model to analyse the lexico-grammar of two excerpts from Malouf's novel and to show 'Malouf's brilliance in crafting language to convey the theme of the novel' (65).
