AustLit

'Text’s new edition of Helen Garner’s 1977 novel Monkey Grip is an opportunity to revisit the book’s influence on Melbourne. In addition to being widely considered a classic of Australian fiction, Monkey Grip is frequently referred to as an iconic ‘Melbourne’ novel. Certainly, it is a novel absolutely grounded in and shaped by place. Monkey Grip exhibits an intimacy with place that is built through local knowledge and the regular, routine movement through the spaces of one’s life. The city is much more than a backdrop to action. For Nora, the narrator and protagonist, it is the locus of the social encounter and emotional intensity on which the book’s narrative depends...'  (Introduction)

'Melbourne claims to be the centre of the Australian arts. Certainly the industry is crucial to the city's economy and is a huge draw for visitors. According to Arts Victoria figures, there were more than 1 million international visitors to Victoria in 2011, many of them passing through the state's capital. Of these 1 million visitors, 60 per cent cited cultural motivations for their visit. The domestic market is equally enthusiastic about the city's reputation for the arts. National surveys indicate that Australians view Melbourne as the country's 'cultural capital city', a title earned thanks to the city's many annual large-scale cultural events and arts festivals, its many established and innovative galleries, theatres and concert venues, and the ever-increasing number of bars, cafes and boutique spaces.' (Publication abstract)