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y separately published work icon The Spotted Skin single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 1998... 1998 The Spotted Skin
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'As the early dragonflies of the Dry chase each other, Cressida catches one. She cannot feel the filaments, although she can see the opalescent legs and wing membranes, cannot feel the body vibrating in her palm, although she can see the whir of the wings as it tries to escape. She cannot feel a thing. Cannot feel the wings on the skin between her fingers as it attempts to escape. There is no escape, she tells it, and crushes it.

When Cressida discovers that she has the curse - leprosy - she is incarcerated on a remote and barren island. In tropical rains and blistering heat, far from home and family, the island's occupants confront appalling conditions and the constant threat of disfigurement and death. And, despite brewing racial tension, they are also redeemed by searing moments of compassion and understanding.'

(Source: GoodReads)

Affiliation Notes

  • Writing Disability in Australia:

    Type of disability Leprosy.
    Type of character Primary and secondary.
    Point of view Third person.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • St Leonards, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 1998 .
      Extent: 315p.
      ISBN: 1864487666 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

'Don't Touch, Don't Leave' : Leprosy and Intimacy in Rowena Ivers' 'The Spotted Skin' Luisa Percopo , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: New Literatures Review , April no. 43 2005; (p. 37-51)
In this essay, Luisa Percoco speculates 'on how notions of intimacy are negotiated and produced in Western and colonial discursive constructions of disease' (39). With regards to The Spotted Skin, she asks: 'How is identity, together with intimate perceptions of who we are, informed, and often distorted by strict racial and gender divisions? What constitutes a leprous body? How is it defined?' (39).
On Loneliness and Exile Cleo Lloyd da Silva , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 13 no. 2 1999; (p. 125)

— Review of Hiam Eva Sallis , 1998 single work novel ; The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel
L-Plate Literati Neil James , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian's Review of Books , September vol. 3 no. 6 1998; (p. 26,30)

— Review of The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel ; Mrs Feather and the Aesthetics of Survival Lisa Merrifield , 1998 single work novel ; Hiam Eva Sallis , 1998 single work novel ; Silences Long Gone Anson Cameron , 1998 single work novel
Strong Women Nigel Krauth , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 203 1998; (p. 20-21)

— Review of The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel ; Hiam Eva Sallis , 1998 single work novel
A Skin of Tragedy Geoffrey Dutton , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 19 September 1998; (p. 7)

— Review of The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel ; Waiting for Matindi Helen Hodgman , 1998 single work novel ; Shark Song Carolin Window , 1998 single work novel
Intriguing Debuts James Bradley , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 July 1998; (p. 11)

— Review of The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel ; Hiam Eva Sallis , 1998 single work novel
A Skin of Tragedy Geoffrey Dutton , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 19 September 1998; (p. 7)

— Review of The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel ; Waiting for Matindi Helen Hodgman , 1998 single work novel ; Shark Song Carolin Window , 1998 single work novel
Strong Women Nigel Krauth , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 203 1998; (p. 20-21)

— Review of The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel ; Hiam Eva Sallis , 1998 single work novel
L-Plate Literati Neil James , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian's Review of Books , September vol. 3 no. 6 1998; (p. 26,30)

— Review of The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel ; Mrs Feather and the Aesthetics of Survival Lisa Merrifield , 1998 single work novel ; Hiam Eva Sallis , 1998 single work novel ; Silences Long Gone Anson Cameron , 1998 single work novel
On Loneliness and Exile Cleo Lloyd da Silva , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 13 no. 2 1999; (p. 125)

— Review of Hiam Eva Sallis , 1998 single work novel ; The Spotted Skin Rowena Ivers , 1998 single work novel
'Don't Touch, Don't Leave' : Leprosy and Intimacy in Rowena Ivers' 'The Spotted Skin' Luisa Percopo , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: New Literatures Review , April no. 43 2005; (p. 37-51)
In this essay, Luisa Percoco speculates 'on how notions of intimacy are negotiated and produced in Western and colonial discursive constructions of disease' (39). With regards to The Spotted Skin, she asks: 'How is identity, together with intimate perceptions of who we are, informed, and often distorted by strict racial and gender divisions? What constitutes a leprous body? How is it defined?' (39).
Last amended 27 Apr 2018 16:04:59
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