All I maintain is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it's up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences. (Tarrou) and ... to state quite simply what we learn in a time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men … Continue reading Albert Camus, The plague (orig. La peste)
20th century literature
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Albert Camus on the sun
As I'm an Australian litblogger, I intend my Delicious Descriptions from Down Under to be primarily of Down Under. However, as we in the southern hemisphere come to the end of summer, as my first two Delicious Descriptions were on the sun and, as I am re-reading Albert Camus' The plague, I can't resist sharing a … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Albert Camus on the sun
Monday musings on Australian literature: The triumvirate
I've mentioned Marjorie Barnard in a couple of posts recently, but I suspect few Australians and even fewer readers from overseas (except of course Tony of Tony's Bookworld) have ever heard of her. Rather than write specifically about her, though, I thought I'd talk a little about the Australian literary scene of the 1920s to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The triumvirate
Helene Hanff, 84 Charing Cross Road
Before you all (well, those of you of a certain age at least) gasp and wonder how it could be that I haven't read this delightful little tome before, I assure you that I have. However, on our drive home today from our week at the coast, we listened to an unabridged audiobook version, and … Continue reading Helene Hanff, 84 Charing Cross Road
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Marjorie Barnard on the sun and heat
My first Delicious descriptions post was from Barbara Hanrahan on the sun in Adelaide, so I thought we might travel to Sydney for this one. As it's still in summer in our neck of the woods, here is Marjorie Barnard in The persimmon tree and other stories (1943), also on the sun - and its enervating effect: In … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Marjorie Barnard on the sun and heat
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Barbara Hanrahan on the sun
When you read do you come across passages that you just want to hang onto forever - but (if you're a blogger) when you go to write your blog review you can't quite make them fit? I do, and have been pondering for some time what to do about it. Then, suddenly, it came to … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Barbara Hanrahan on the sun
Madeleine St John, The women in black
One thing mystified me as I started reading Madeleine St John's The women in black and that is why she would write a book in 1993 about 1950s? It seemed an odd choice. And then, as I read further, it started to become clear. The time period represents one of those cultural watersheds that nations … Continue reading Madeleine St John, The women in black
Barbara Hanrahan, The scent of eucalyptus
Writer-artist Barbara Hanrahan was born half a generation before I was and in the city of Adelaide not a country town in Queensland, but the childhood she depicts in her first novel, The scent of eucalyptus, could almost have been mine. Almost, but not quite, as I was brought up in a standard nuclear family … Continue reading Barbara Hanrahan, The scent of eucalyptus
Katharine Susannah Prichard, The pioneers
Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883-1969) is probably not as well-known in Australia, let alone internationally, as she should be. She was born in Fiji, but grew up in Tasmania and Melbourne, travelled overseas and in other parts of Australia, before settling in Western Australia in 1919. She was a founding member of the Australian Communist … Continue reading Katharine Susannah Prichard, The pioneers
Vale Ruth Park
"Harp in the South silenced: author Ruth Park dead at 93" confronted me this morning on page 3 of our daily newspaper. I guess it had to happen, but it is nonetheless sad to see such a grand dame of Australian literature leave us. I have referred to her several times on this blog, three … Continue reading Vale Ruth Park
Whispering Gums 