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'I never met anyone whose interest in racing matched my own. Both on and off the course, so to speak, I've enjoyed the company of many a racing acquaintance...I've read books, or parts of books, by persons who might have come close to being true racing friends of mine if ever we had met. For most of my long life, however, my enjoyment of racing has been a solitary thing: something I could never wholly explain to anyone else.
'As a boy, Gerald Murnane became obsessed with horse racing. He had never ridden a horse, nor seen a race. Yet he was fascinated by photos of horse races in the Sporting Globe, and by the incantation of horses' names in radio broadcasts of races. Murnane discovered in these races more than he could find in religion or philosophy: they were the gateway to a world of imagination.
'Gerald Murnane is like no other writer, and Something for the Pain is like no other Murnane book. In this unique and spellbinding memoir, he tells the story of his life through the lens of horse racing. It is candid, droll and moving—a treat for lovers of literature and of the turf. ' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The New Historical Novel : Putting Mid-twentieth-century Australia into Perspective
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Commonwealth : Essays and Studies , Autumn vol. 41 no. 1 2018; (p. 7-18)'This article argues that, since 2004 or so, a new kind of Australian historical novel has emerged among practitioners of literary fiction, one concerned with the mid-twentieth century. This new historical fiction has been characterized by an aesthetic stringency and self-consciousness. Though Steven Carroll and Ashley Hay will be the principal twenty-first-century writers examined, reference will also be made to several other writers including Carrie Tiffany, Charlotte Wood, Sofie Laguna, and to the later work of Peter Carey. In all these contemporary books, technology plays a major role in defining the twentieth century as seen historically.' (Publication abstract)
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Review : Something for the Pain
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , March 2016;
— Review of Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography -
The Course of Life
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , March vol. 60 no. 3 2016; (p. 74-75)
— Review of Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography -
Gerald Murnane : Something for the Pain: A Memoir of the Turf.
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , February 2016;
— Review of Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography -
Books 2015 #2
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 19 December 2015;
— Review of Small Acts of Disappearance : Essays on Hunger 2015 selected work essay ; Hot Little Hands 2015 selected work short story ; Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography
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Mugged by Nostalgia on the Racetrack
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 26-27 September 2015; (p. 30)
— Review of Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography -
Racing Memoir for a New Audience
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 4 October 2015; (p. 13)
— Review of Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography -
A Punt at the Slings and Arrows of Life
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10-11 October 2015; (p. 24-25)
— Review of Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography -
A Punt at the Slings and Arrows of Life
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10-11 October 2015; (p. 24-25) The Saturday Age , 10-11 October 2015; (p. 24)
— Review of Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography -
Money Moon
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 375 2015; (p. 60)
— Review of Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf 2015 single work autobiography -
Horses for Courses
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19-20 September 2015; (p. 6-7) 'Gerald Murnane has always run his own race, but at 76 the acclaimed author has decided it’s time to broadcast it, writes Stephen Romei.' -
The New Historical Novel : Putting Mid-twentieth-century Australia into Perspective
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Commonwealth : Essays and Studies , Autumn vol. 41 no. 1 2018; (p. 7-18)'This article argues that, since 2004 or so, a new kind of Australian historical novel has emerged among practitioners of literary fiction, one concerned with the mid-twentieth century. This new historical fiction has been characterized by an aesthetic stringency and self-consciousness. Though Steven Carroll and Ashley Hay will be the principal twenty-first-century writers examined, reference will also be made to several other writers including Carrie Tiffany, Charlotte Wood, Sofie Laguna, and to the later work of Peter Carey. In all these contemporary books, technology plays a major role in defining the twentieth century as seen historically.' (Publication abstract)
