AustLit logo

AustLit

Atlantic Books Atlantic Books i(A68672 works by) (Organisation) assertion
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
2 10 y separately published work icon The Rain Heron Robbie Arnott , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2020 17948922 2020 single work novel

'Soldiers have come to the village.
Ren looked up, avoiding Barlow’s words, resting her eyes on the pines that crowded the sky, swamp-green, thick, heavy with resin that stuck to skin and cleared throats, nostrils, eyes.
Barlow was sitting on a large rock. When she didn’t answer, he kept talking.
They’re after something—they won’t say what. But it’s up here. On the mountain.

'REN lives alone on the remote frontier of a country devastated by a coup. High on the forested slopes, she survives by hunting and trading—and forgetting. But when a young soldier comes to the mountains in search of a local myth, Ren is inexorably drawn into her impossible mission.

'As their lives entwine, unravel and erupt—as myths merge with reality—both Ren and the soldier are forced to confront what they regret, what they love, and what they fear.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 14 y separately published work icon Damascus Christos Tsiolkas , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2019 17060761 2019 single work novel historical fiction

'They kill us, they crucify us, they throw us to beasts in the arena, they sew our lips together and watch us starve. They bugger children in front of fathers and violate men before the eyes of their wives. The temple priests flay us openly in the streets and the Judeans stone us. We are hunted everywhere and we are hunted by everyone. We are despised, yet we grow. We are tortured and crucified and yet we flourish. We are hated and still we multiply. Why is that? You must wonder, how is it we survive?

'Christos Tsiolkas' stunning new novel Damascus is a work of soaring ambition and achievement, of immense power and epic scope, taking as its subject nothing less than events surrounding the birth and establishment of the Christian church. Based around the gospels and letters of St Paul, and focusing on characters one and two generations on from the death of Christ, as well as Paul (Saul) himself, Damascus nevertheless explores the themes that have always obsessed Tsiolkas as a writer: class, religion, masculinity, patriarchy, colonisation, refugees; the ways in which nations, societies, communities, families and individuals are united and divided—it's all here, the contemporary and urgent questions, perennial concerns made vivid and visceral.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 y separately published work icon Eddie Jones : Rugby Maverick Mike Colman , Sydney : Allen and Unwin , 2018 14229833 2018 single work biography

'The first biography of the enigmatic super coach whose career has taken him from the Wallabies to England. From his Sydney school days playing alongside the legendary Ella brothers, to his years as Wallabies' coach, including losing the 2003 World Cup Final by the narrowest of margins, to his masterminding of Japan's jawdropping victory over South Africa in the 2015 World Cup, to his revitalisation of English rugby, Eddie Jones has always been a polarising figure. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with former teammates, players and colleagues, veteran rugby writer Mike Colman brings a rare level of insight to his biography of this singular man whose longevity and success across different teams and different hemispheres mark him out as one of the world's coaching greats.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2 7 y separately published work icon Flames Robbie Arnott , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2018 12263652 2018 single work novel

'FROM its opening sentence Robbie Arnott’s debut novel reveals a world as old as storytelling itself.

'A young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his twenty-three-year-old sister, Charlotte— who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman named Karl hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire.

'The answers to these riddles are to be found in this tale of grief and love and the bonds of family, tracing a journey across the southern island that takes us full circle.

'Flames sings out with joy and sadness. Utterly original in conception, beguiling in its descriptions of nature and its celebration of the power of language, it announces the arrival of a thrilling new voice in contemporary fiction. (Publication summary)

4 36 y separately published work icon Autumn Laing Alex Miller , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2011 Z1793016 2011 single work novel

'Autumn Laing has long outlived the legendary circle of artists she cultivated in the 1930s. Now "old and skeleton gaunt", she reflects on her tumultuous relationship with the abundantly talented Pat Donlon and the effect it had on her husband, on Pat's wife and the body of work which launched Pat's career. A brilliantly alive and insistently energetic story of love, loyalty and creativity.

Autumn Laing seduces Pat Donlon with her pearly thighs and her lust for life and art. In doing so she not only compromises the trusting love she has with her husband, Arthur, she also steals the future from Pat's young and beautiful wife, Edith, and their unborn child. Fifty-three years later, cantankerous, engaging, unrestrainable 85-year-old Autumn is shocked to find within herself a powerful need for redemption. As she begins to tell her story, she writes, "They are all dead and I am old and skeleton-gaunt. This is where it began..."

'Written with compassion and intelligence, this energetic, funny and wise novel peels back the layers of storytelling and asks what truth has to do with it. Autumn Laing is an unflinchingly intimate portrait of a woman and her time - she is unforgettable.

Source: www.allenandunwin.com/ (Sighted 21/07/2011).

1 15 y separately published work icon Watching the Climbers on the Mountain Alex Miller , Sydney : Pan , 1988 Z421737 1988 single work novel ''His beauty and aloofness disturbed the equilibrium of the Rankin family.The stockman for a long time offered a resistance to the efforts of the members of the family to involve him in their lives. He moved about in their familiar world, observing it with unfamiliar eyes; and quietly, industriously he slowly rearranged it.'

'Ward Rankin had not wanted to be tied to the station; he'd imagined a life of travel and experience but there was no-one else. When his mother died, it came to him - owner and manager, now in his fifties, a frustrated man. Ida, his young wife, sees a solution to her own discontent in her growing feelings for the young English stockman Robert Crofts, whose arrival on the station changes their lives forever.

'Set in the remote Central Highlands of Queensland against a backdrop of heat, torrential rain and the strange and lonely landscape, this is a novel of passion, suspense, reinvention and revenge, watched over by the solitary presence of Mt Mooloolong.' (Publication summary)
 
1 15 y separately published work icon The Midnight Watch David Dyer , Melbourne : Penguin , 2016 9188393 2016 single work novel thriller historical fiction

'Sometimes the smallest of human failings can lead to the greatest of disasters

'On a wretchedly cold night in the North Atlantic, a steamer stopped in an icefield sees the glow of another ship on the horizon. Just after midnight the first of eight distress rockets is fired. Why did the Californian look on while the Titanic sank?

'As soon as Boston American reporter John Steadman lays eyes on the man who stood the midnight watch on the Californian, he knows there's another story lurking behind the official one. Herbert Stone must have seen something, and yet his ship did nothing while the calamity took place. Now Stone, under his captain's orders, must carry his secret in silence, while Steadman is determined to find it out.

'So begins a strange dance around the truth by these three men. Haunted by the fifteen hundred who went to their deaths in those icy waters, and by the loss of his own baby son years earlier, Steadman must either find redemption in the Titanic's tragedy or lose himself.

'Based on true events, The Midnight Watch is at once a heart-stopping mystery and a deeply knowing novel – about the frailty of men, the strength of women, the capriciousness of fate and the price of loyalty.' (Publication summary)

2 10 y separately published work icon Our Tiny, Useless Hearts Toni Jordan , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2016 9155811 2016 single work novel

'Henry has ended his marriage to Caroline and headed off to Noosa with Mercedes' grade three teacher, Martha.

'Caroline, having shredded a wardrobe-full of Henry's suits, has gone after them.

'Craig and Lesley have dropped over briefly from next door to catch up on the fallout from Henry and Caroline's all-night row.

'And Janice, Caroline's sister, is staying for the weekend to look after the girls because Janice is the sensible one. A microbiologist with a job she loves, a fervent belief in the beauty of the scientific method and a determination to make a solo life after her divorce from Alec.

'Then Craig returns through the bedroom window expecting a tryst with Caroline and finds Janice in her bed, Lesley storms in with a jealous heart and a mouthful of threats, Henry, Caroline and Martha arrive back from the airport in separate taxis—and let's not even get started on Brayden the pizza guy.

'Janice can cope with all that. But when Alec knocks on the door things suddenly get complicated.

'Harnessing the exquisite timing of the great comedies to the narrative power and emotional intelligence for which she is famous, Toni Jordan brings all her wit, wisdom and flair to this brilliant, hilarious novel.' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Tallowood Bound Karly Lane , Sydney : Allen and Unwin , 2015 9077485 2015 single work novel romance

'When Erin Macalister leaves the city to take care of her beloved grandmother, she's relieved to be escaping the remnants of her broken marriage.

'Arriving in the small rural community she grew up in, Erin finds nothing much has changed - including Jamie McBride, who is still as ridiculously good looking as he was when they were seventeen and madly in love.

'Leafing through old photo albums evokes vivid memories for her grandmother of a soldier she once loved. Erin's curiosity about this mysterious soldier deepens when she finds an engagement ring he once gave her grandmother.

'Meanwhile, Jamie McBride seems intent on rekindling his relationship with Erin, even though she’s not at all sure she wants to risk heartache again.

'From the bestselling author of Poppy's Dilemma, this poignant, heartfelt story of old loves and new possibilities is both inspirational and entertaining.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 1 y separately published work icon The Secrets in Silence Nicole Trope , Crows Nest : George Allen and Unwin , 2014 8032958 2014 single work novel

'Tara has lost her voice. She knows there was pain and fear but she cannot remember anything else. Now she can only answer the questions with silence. Minnie has buried her voice for years, losing herself in silence and isolation, keeping her secrets safe and her broken heart concealed. Liam finds refuge in silence; it is a place to go to when he cannot get the words out. Kate cannot speak for herself just yet. People are only separated from each other by moments, by fate and coincidence. One teenage mistake, one shocking choice and one terrible night will lead to courage found, voices raised and the truth finally spoken.' (Publication summary)

1 2 y separately published work icon The Thing About Prague ... The Thing about Prague... : How I Gave It All up for a New Life in Europe's Most Eccentric City Rachael Weiss , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2014 7761573 2014 single work autobiography

''I'd like to say that my decision to move to Prague permanently was based on something grand and noble - a desire to trace my roots, a sense of adventure, my literary heart yearning to burst into flower in the sweet soil of Old Europe - but I can't. The truth is that I had nothing better to do.'

'When Rachael Weiss left a good job, Thelma the cat and a normal life in Sydney for the romantic dream of being a writer in Prague she intended to stay forever. She lasted just three years, exasperated by the eccentricities of her ancestral city and the mind-boggling bureaucracy and customs of a country that values beer and potatoes above everything else.

'In this surprising and generous memoir full of warmth and unstoppable sociability, Rachael attempts to write her great novel, buy an apartment (any apartment!), dodge unscrupulous employers, and perhaps find love. She gets lost in the woods with a Kyrgyzstani software engineer who wants to eat humans, finds herself leading services at the Spanish synagogue with no real idea of what she was doing and spends long nights drinking beer with a colourful cast of crazy, warm and slightly mad locals and expats.

'Rich in absurdities and gentle humour, The Thing About Pragueis rife with insight, culture clashes, friendships and above all charm.' (Publication summary)

1 6 y separately published work icon The Tea Chest Josephine Moon , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2014 6856968 2014 single work novel

'Kate Fullerton, talented tea designer and now co-owner of The Tea Chest, could never have imagined that she'd be flying from Brisbane to London, risking her young family's future, to save the business she loves from the woman who wants to shut it down.

'Meanwhile, Leila Morton has just lost her job; and if Elizabeth Clancy had known today was the day she would appear on the nightly news, she might at least have put on some clothes. Both need to move on.

'When Kate's, Leila's and Elizabeth's paths cross, they throw themselves into realising Kate's vision of the newest and most delectable tea shop in London, The Tea Chest. But with the very real possibility that The Tea Chest may fail, Kate, Leila and Elizabeth are forced to decide what's important to each of them.

'An enchanting, witty novel about the unexpected situations life throws at us, and how love and friendship help us through. Written with heart and infused with the seductive scents of bergamot, Indian spices, lemon, rose and caramel, it's a world you won't want to leave.' (Publisher's blurb)

1 2 y separately published work icon Three Hours Late Nicole Trope , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2013 5971725 2013 single work novel thriller

'Once, so very long ago, she had watched him like this when he came to pick her up from a date...Her stomach fluttered and burned with infatuation and desire. She would watch him walk up the path and think, 'This must be love.'

'But that was so very long ago. Now Liz is wary and afraid. She has made a terrible mistake and it cannot be undone.

'Alex believes that today will be the day she comes back to him. Today will be the day his wife and young son finally come home. Today they will be a family again.

'But Liz knows that some things can never be mended. Some marriages are too broken. Some people are too damaged. Now the most important thing in her life is her son, Luke, and she will do anything in her power to protect him.

'So when Alex is a few minutes late bringing Luke back Liz begins to worry and when he is an hour late her concern grows and when he is later still she can feel her whole life changing because: what if Alex is not just late?

'The terrible secrets of a marriage, the love that can turn to desperation, the refuge and heartbreak of being a parent, the fragile threads that cradle a family...Three Hours Late is a gripping and deeply emotional novel of almost unbearable suspense from a writer of great insight and empathy. ' (Publication summary)

3 20 y separately published work icon The Jesus Man Christos Tsiolkas , Milsons Point : Vintage Australia , 1999 Z27005 1999 single work novel (taught in 1 units)

'The Jesus Man tells the story of one family, trapped between conflicting identities - while the parents were born Greek and Italian, the three sons, Dom, Tommy and Louie, have grown up as Australians. Haunted by their history and increasing inability to relate to each other, Tommy inexorably descends into a cycle of violence, pornography and madness.

'When he commits a terrible crime, his family must try to come to terms with the terrifying stranger he had become, and the hell that living had been for him.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Atlantic 2016 ed.)

1 y separately published work icon Moontalk Evita Romni , Glebe : Atlantic Books , 2016 9671728 2016 single work children's fiction children's

'A coming-of-age book for girls that broaches the topics of sexuality, womanhood and individual right through storytelling.' (Publication summary)

1 1 y separately published work icon Volcano Street David Rain , London : Atlantic Books , 2015 8333241 2015 single work novel

'In the tradition of great Australian literature Volcano Street is a wonderfully vivid portrayal of small-town life and the uncertainties of childhood.

''What would Germaine do?'

'This is the mantra that Skip and Marlo Wells turn to as they navigate their way through the twists and turns that life brings. Such as the sectioning of their mother Karen Jane.

'Marlo puts her faith in her hero, Germaine Greer, and twelve-year-old Skip trusts her clever big sister to know the right thing to do. But when the sisters are forced to move to their Auntie Noreen and Uncle Doug's home in the backwater city of Crater Lakes even Marlo can't think of a solution.

'At age sixteen, Marlo is forced to quit school and work in the family hardware store. Skip manages to get on her auntie's bad side from the get-go and is an outcast at school as she vehemently declares the injustice of the Vietnam War - not what Noreen wants to hear with her precious son Barry off fighting.

'Against the backdrop of a broken home, the fight for equality and a far off war Volcano Street is a heartfelt tale of acceptance and belonging, and learning what family truly means. ' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Tales from the Streets of Cartel Fred Strassberg , Frenchs Forest : Atlantic Books , 2015 8079396 2015 single work novel crime

'Like all cities, Cartel is filled with good and bad people who enter each other's lives and influence their everyday existence. A son denounces his father, a devoted daughter turns from the good life to a more profitable life, and a family tries to escape their horrific past. On the streets of Cartel, cultures collide and greed consumes, until all paths reach a catastrophic end.' (Publication summary)

2 15 y separately published work icon Merciless Gods Christos Tsiolkas , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2014 7903617 2014 selected work short story

'A collection of thrilling, original and imaginative stories from the award-winning, bestselling author of The Slap and Barracuda - a showcase all of his immense and unique story-telling talents.

'Love, sex, death, family, friendship, betrayal, tenderness, sacrifice and revelation...

'This incendiary collection of stories from acclaimed bestselling international writer Christos Tsiolkas takes you deep into worlds both strange and familiar, and characters that will never let you go.' (Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Half the World in Winter Maggie Joel , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2014 7588193 2014 single work novel historical fiction

'It is London, 1880, and nine-year-old Sofia Jarmyn is dead in a horrific domestic accident in the drawing room of the family home. Six months later a fatal train accident in a provincial town results in the death of another little girl.

'In the days following Alice’s death, her distraught father, Thomas Brinklow, journeys to the capital seeking answers to the terrible accident that has seen his own daughter taken from him. He wants justice or revenge. Amid growing public outcry against the railway he owns, wealthy industrialist, Lucas Jarmyn, struggles to make sense of the cruel death of his beloved youngest daughter. His wife, Aurora, seeks solace in the rigid social routines that rule their lives and attempts to reconnect with a husband who now appears to shun her. Her eldest daughter, eighteen-year old Dinah, searches for meaning in the endless round of social calls and charitable work that once filled her days but now seem futile. Only the housekeeper, the stalwart and estimable Mrs Logan, seems able to carry on – but then she is an expert on tragic and sudden deaths.

'In a house where the cook has a morbid fear of pigeons and both the maids have quit, events hinge on an ill-fated trip to a spiritualist, an errant chicken bone and a broken vase. Half the World in Winter is a captivating and atmospheric story of accidental deaths and changing times.' (Publication summary)

3 21 y separately published work icon Only the Animals Ceridwen Dovey , Melbourne : Penguin , 2014 7149680 2014 selected work short story (taught in 4 units)

'In a trench on the Western Front a cat recalls her owner Colette's theatrical antics in Paris. In Nazi Germany, Himmler's dog seeks enlightenment. A Russian tortoise once owned by the Tolstoys drifts in space during the Cold War. In the siege of Sarajevo, a bear starving to death tells a fairytale; and a dolphin sent to Iraq by the US Navy writes a letter to Sylvia Plath.

'Ten animal souls tell extraordinary stories about their lives and deaths, caught up in human conflicts of the last century and its turnings. Together they form an animal's eye view of humans at both our brutal, violent worst and our creative, imaginative best. Exquisitely written, playful and poignant, Only the Animals is a remarkable literary achievement by one of our brightest young writers. It asks us to find our way back to empathy not only for animals, but for other people, and to believe again in the redemptive power of reading and writing fiction.' (Publication summary)

X