Traces the epic life of Holden Shadbolt as he passes through the cities and landscapes of Australia. He encounters a cast of unforgettable characters: from the ebullient ex-Corporal Frank "Bloodnut" McBee who lost his eyelashes in Tobruk to Holden's uncle Vern Hartnett.
Holden's Performance: A Novel
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A work of dazzling imagination."—Independent
"Holden's Performance is a triumph."—The Australian
"Bail is a writer of great talent and extraordinary concentration."—Melbourne Age
"Astonishing in its range . . . superbly written, much of it is like the click of a camera shutter in its sharpness and impassivity . . . extraordinarily wide-ranging and inventive."—Times on Sunday
--This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
"Holden's Performance is a triumph."—The Australian
"Bail is a writer of great talent and extraordinary concentration."—Melbourne Age
"Astonishing in its range . . . superbly written, much of it is like the click of a camera shutter in its sharpness and impassivity . . . extraordinarily wide-ranging and inventive."—Times on Sunday
About the Author
Murray Bail's fiction, which includes Eucalyptus, Homesickness, The Drover's Wife and other Stories and Camouflage, has received many major awards, among them the Miles Franklin Award in Australia and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. He is also the author of two works of non-fiction, Ian Fairweather and Longhand: A Writer's Notebook. He lives in Sydney.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting, but too long.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Holden's Performance (Paperback)
Rampant postmodernism, yet highly unusual, inspiring and deeply intelligent. Murray Bail is weird! He must be! He has taken Australian cultural theory and run away with it. His irreverence towards the whole herd of Australian sacred cows is hilarious and yet written from a well informed historical standpoint. Through humour, he deconstructs the Menzies era and indeed the whole Americanisation of the country from the second World War into the sixtees. Bail also sees the effect that town planning has on its citizens. His description of Canberra is highly informative, downright cynical and yet a real scream. He sees through the sterility of the concentric circles and dead ends of Canberra and associates this strongly with the political mentality of our leaders, who of course, lead us around in circles and up blind alleys! I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in cultural theory, or indeed, anyone interested in an unusually honest and very funny deconstruction of the Menzies era. My only reservation is that the novel is perhaps a little lengthy, given the subject material. Nevertheless, it is well worth a read. John Magee
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First Sentence:
When the last of the city's trams were removed with their poles and bells and the industrial paraphernalia of lines imposed on the mind's eye, it was as though a great net had been lifted clear of the city, letting in light. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
flyscreen door, screened images, mechanical mind Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Epic Theatre, Alex Screech, Sid Hoadley, Magill Road, Stan Still, Colonel Light, Miss Kilmartin, Irving Polaroid, Miss Australia, Vern Hartnett, Southern Hemisphere, Senator Hoadley, Uncle Vern, General Motors, Minister of Commerce, Parliament House, South Australia, Gordon Wheelright, Harbour Bridge, Jimmy Carbon, Kangaroo Street, South Austrylia, Avro Ansons, Black Mountain, Corporal Frank New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
When the last of the city's trams were removed with their poles and bells and the industrial paraphernalia of lines imposed on the mind's eye, it was as though a great net had been lifted clear of the city, letting in light. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
flyscreen door, screened images, mechanical mind Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Epic Theatre, Alex Screech, Sid Hoadley, Magill Road, Stan Still, Colonel Light, Miss Kilmartin, Irving Polaroid, Miss Australia, Vern Hartnett, Southern Hemisphere, Senator Hoadley, Uncle Vern, General Motors, Minister of Commerce, Parliament House, South Australia, Gordon Wheelright, Harbour Bridge, Jimmy Carbon, Kangaroo Street, South Austrylia, Avro Ansons, Black Mountain, Corporal Frank New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 1
book:
8
books
cite this book:
See all 8 books citing this book
- Across The River And Into The Trees by Ernest Hemingway on page 98
- Theories of Play and Postmodern Fiction (Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies) by Brian Edwards on page 248, and Back Matter
- A Dictionary of Writers and Their Works by Michael Cox on page 426
- Eucalyptus: A Novel by Murray Bail in Back Cover
- The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English by Ian Ousby on page 51
- Who's Who of Twentieth Century Novelists (Who's Who) (Who's Who (Routledge)) by Tim Woods on page 24
See all 8 books citing this book
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