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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Erica Marsden’s son, an artist, has been imprisoned for homicidal negligence. In a state of grief, Erica cuts off all ties to family and friends, and retreats to a quiet hamlet on the south-east coast near the prison where he is serving his sentence.
'There, in a rundown shack, she obsesses over creating a labyrinth by the ocean. To build it—to find a way out of her quandary—Erica will need the help of strangers. And that will require her to trust, and to reckon with her past.
'The Labyrinth is a hypnotic story of guilt and denial, of the fraught relationship between parents and children, that is also a meditation on how art can both be ruthlessly destructive and restore sanity. It shows Amanda Lohrey to be at the peak of her powers.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Epigraph: The cure for many ills, noted Jung, is to build something.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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In The Garden with Amanda Lohrey
Oliver Mol
(interviewer),
2021
single work
interview
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , November 2021;'Every so often, and usually when the novice writer needs them most, a writer of immense stature, a writer who has written and published and continued to write and publish, impressively, joyfully, doggedly, over the course of forty years and seven books, a writer whose work has been long listed for the Miles Franklin three times and shortlisted twice before finally and deservedly winning the 2021 award for The Labyrinth, very occasionally, a writer like this, a writer named Amanda Lohrey will reach out to the inexperienced writer at the beginning of their career and say something kind. They will say that they like the work or they will recommend places to submit writing or books to read. More than anything, however, they will tell a writer to hold their nerve. They will tell them that writing is hard, that it takes discipline, that writing, true writing, is a practice. And though, I suspect, Amanda will frown, or perhaps laugh, at this backstory – for I know, at least in the literature she writes and reads, Amanda frowns, and sometimes laughs, at backstories – it cannot be underestimated how important these words have been.' (Introduction)
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Amanda Lohrey : The Labyrinth : A Pastoral
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , September 2021;
— Review of The Labyrinth 2020 single work novel'Amanda Lohrey’s Miles Franklin-winnning novel explores notions of impermanence and healing in a small coastal town.'
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The Labyrinth Clinches 2021 Miles Franklin Award for Amanda Lohrey
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: Neos Kosmos , July 2021; -
Miles Franklin Literary Award Won by Tasmanian Author Amanda Lohrey for 'The Labyrinth'
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , July 2021; 'Tasmanian author Amanda Lohrey has won the $60,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her seventh novel, The Labyrinth — praised by the judges as "a beautifully written reflection on the conflicts between parents and children, men and women, and the value and purpose of creative work".' (Introduction) -
Tasmanian Author Amanda Lohrey Wins Prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award for The Labyrinth
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 15 July 2021;
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The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey Review – A Meditative and Sprawling Novel to Lose Yourself in
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 28 August 2020;
— Review of The Labyrinth 2020 single work novel'The Patrick White literary award-winner’s latest book is poetic, sharply tuned and compelling – and ideal for the meandering uncertainties of 2020'
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No Strings Attached
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 15 August 2020; (p. 16)
— Review of The Labyrinth 2020 single work novel'Amanda Lohrey might be described as a writer’s writer: proficient in short and long form fiction and a veteran of the essay. Her writing is the literature of ideas.' (Introduction)
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A Mad Resistance
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , September 2020;
— Review of The Labyrinth 2020 single work novel'Across her seven novels, Amanda Lohrey has been interested in the role that reading plays in our lives. In her work, reading is always situated: we know where her characters read, how it shapes and is shaped by their circumstances. We follow 1950s Hobart communists from their reading groups to the docks to the courtroom. In a near-future Australia, characters read to find some guidance about how to act meaningfully in the face of political crisis. A woman’s reading of Jane Eyre in a dark Leichhardt terrace scaffolds her life and decisions. Another character reads Madame Bovary on a canal boat, freezing, miserable and surrounded by rowdy teenagers, and finds herself oddly reflected. A city man moves to the bush and reads travel writing about another land stolen, fought over and decimated.' (Introduction)
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Amanda Lohrey : The Labyrinth : A Pastoral
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , September 2021;
— Review of The Labyrinth 2020 single work novel'Amanda Lohrey’s Miles Franklin-winnning novel explores notions of impermanence and healing in a small coastal town.'
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Back to Basics
2020
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19 December 2020; (p. 14) -
The Saddest of Stories, Beautifully Told : Your Guide to the Miles Franklin 2021 Shortlist
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 15 July 2021; The Guardian Australia , 15 July 2021; -
Tasmanian Author Amanda Lohrey Wins Prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award for The Labyrinth
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 15 July 2021; -
Miles Franklin Literary Award Won by Tasmanian Author Amanda Lohrey for 'The Labyrinth'
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , July 2021; 'Tasmanian author Amanda Lohrey has won the $60,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her seventh novel, The Labyrinth — praised by the judges as "a beautifully written reflection on the conflicts between parents and children, men and women, and the value and purpose of creative work".' (Introduction) -
The Labyrinth Clinches 2021 Miles Franklin Award for Amanda Lohrey
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: Neos Kosmos , July 2021;
Awards
- 2021 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Fiction
- 2021 shortlisted Voss Literary Prize
- 2021 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — Fiction Book Award
- 2021 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award — Book of the Year
- 2021 winner Miles Franklin Literary Award