by David Malouf
First published 2014
David Malouf turns eighty and looks back across the landscape of his life and nation. He examines the physical terrain that shaped him, from Brisbane's lush abundance to the distinctive architecture of Queenslander houses. He considers Australia's political moments, its referendums and constitutional debates, the ceremonies that mark national identity. Family stories emerge, tales of parents and grandparents finding love in a young country. Malouf explores what it means to leave home and what home truly represents. He questions Australia's place among nations and how Australians see themselves in relation to the wider world. Through these personal meditations, he traces his own development as both writer and Australian, offering readers his perspective on the forces that create identity in a multicultural society seeking to understand itself.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, australia, 20th-century, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, personal-reflection
Setting: Australia, Brisbane
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
368 pages · Hardcover · Knopf: Random House Australia