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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Written with the same lyrical intensity and spellbinding prose that has won Robert Drewe's fiction international acclaim, The Shark Net is set in the 1950s in a city haunted by the menace of an elusive serial killer. Drewe's youth in the middle-class seaside suburb of Perth, Australia—often described as the most isolated city in the world—takes a sinister turn when a social outcast (who turns out to be an employee of Drewe's father) embarks on a five-year murder spree. This unusual memoir brilliantly evokes the confluence of adolescent innocence and sexual awakening while a hare-lipped killer who eventually murders eight people, including one of Drewe's friends, lurks in the shadows.' (Publication summary).
Adaptations
-
form
y
The Shark Net
( dir. Graeme Burfoot
)
Perth
:
Taylor Media
,
2003
Z1035075
2003
series - publisher
film/TV
crime
'This is the story of one boy's journey to manhood. Of childhood games, teenage lust and adult sex. Of secrets and lies, fear and evil. Of family ties that bind forever and guilt that lasts a lifetime. And of the need to forgive. This is The Shark Net, a compelling, three-part series based on Robert Drewe's award-winning memoir about his early life growing up during the reign of one of Australia's most notorious serial killers. Though their lives take completely different turns, their paths cross; changing Robert forever.'
Source: Australian Television website, http://www.australiantelevision.net/
Sighted: 01/08/2011
Notes
-
One of six books selected for the 2004 Books Alive promotion
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Perth : Intensely Beautiful, Often Overlooked
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: World Literature Today , 1 January vol. 87 no. 1 2013; (p. 5) 'The article reports on the annual Perth International Arts Festival, which is being held by the city of Perth, South Australia in an effort to combat the lack of recognition for Australian literature. Some notable works about Perth have been written such as "In a Sunburned Country," by Bill Bryson and "The Shark Net," by Robert Drewe. Credit is given to author Patrick White and other notable novelists, poets and playwrights who come from Perth.' (Author's abstract) -
y
Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory
New Brunswick
:
Rutgers University Press
,
2010
Z1836606
2010
single work
criticism
'The late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a surge in the publication and popularity of autobiographical writings about childhood. Linking literary and cultural studies, Contesting Childhood draws on a varied selection of works from a diverse range of authors - from first-time to experienced writers. Kate Douglas explores Australian accounts of the Stolen Generation, contemporary American and British narratives of abuse, the bestselling memoirs of Andrea Ashworth, Augusten Burroughs, Robert Drewe, Mary Karr, Frank McCourt, Dave Pelzer, and Lorna Sage, among many others." "Drawing on trauma and memory studies and theories of authorship and readership, Contesting Childhood offers commentary on the triumphs, trials, and tribulations that have shaped this genre. Douglas examines the content of the narratives and the limits of their representations, as well as some of the ways in which autobiographies of youth have become politically important and influential. This study enables readers to discover how stories configure childhood within cultural memory and the public sphere.' (Publisher's blurb)
-
On My Bedside Table
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 5 December 2009; (p. 26)
— Review of The Vintner's Letters 2007 single work novel ; Cafe Scheherazade 2001 single work novel ; The Shark Net : Memories and Murder 2000 single work autobiography -
Local Classics
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 12 September 2009; (p. 12)
— Review of Cloudstreet 1991 single work novel ; Sixty Lights 2004 single work novel ; Gilgamesh : A Novel 2001 single work novel ; The Shark Net : Memories and Murder 2000 single work autobiography ; A Fortunate Life 1980 single work autobiography ; The Well 1986 single work novel ; The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea 1965 single work novel -
y
Robert Drewe's The Shark Net
Insight Text Guides – The Shark Net
Elsternwick
:
Insight Publications
,
2009
6897609
2009
single work
criticism
'Insight Text Guides – The Shark Net is designed to help secondary English students understand and analyse the text. This comprehensive study guide to Robert Drewe's memoir contains detailed character and chapter analysis and explores genre, structure, themes and language. Essay questions and sample answers help to prepare students for creating written responses to the text. ' (Publisher's blurb)
-
Books
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 3 August 2003; (p. 9)
— Review of The Shark Net : Memories and Murder 2000 single work autobiography ; Ned Kelly : A Short Life 1995 single work biography -
Two Sides to the Story : For
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21-22 February 2004; (p. 12)
— Review of The Shark Net : Memories and Murder 2000 single work autobiography -
Two Sides to the Story : Against
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 21-22 February 2004; (p. 12)
— Review of The Shark Net : Memories and Murder 2000 single work autobiography -
The Fatal Shore
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The New York Review of Books , 19 October 2000; The Best Australian Essays 2003 2003; (p. 360-367)
— Review of The Shark Net : Memories and Murder 2000 single work autobiography -
Girls, Murder and Dunlop Rubber
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;
— Review of The Shark Net : Memories and Murder 2000 single work autobiography -
Inside the Shark Net
2002
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 19 December 2002; -
Lunch with Maxine McKew : Robert Drewe
2003
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 12 August vol. 121 no. 6385 2003; (p. 40-42) -
Spread the Word
2004
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 28 July 2004; (p. 21) -
In the Service of Complex Truths : The Aims and Art of Robert Drewe's Fiction
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 50 no. 2005; (p. 26-41) A discussion of Robert Drewe's repeated questioning in his writings of notions of 'truth'. -
Shelf Life
2000
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 28 October 2000; (p. 8)
Awards
- 2000 joint winner Western Australian Premier's Book Awards — Non-Fiction
- 2000 joint winner The Courier-Mail Book of the Year Award
- Inner Perth, Perth, Western Australia,
- 1950s
- 1960s
- Perth, Western Australia,
- ca. 1950-1970