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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The brilliant title story Camouflage tells the story of Eric Banerjee, an Adelaide piano-tuner sent north to defend Australia in 1942. Accompanying it is one of Bail’s masterly pieces of short fiction, The Seduction of My Sister, a weird and compelling account of sibling rivalry and love.'
Source: Text Publishing.
Contents
- Camouflage, single work short story (p. 1-39)
- The Seduction of My Sister, single work short story (p. 43-85)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Twisting the Australian Realist Short Story : Murray Bail’s “Camouflage”
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Postcolonial Writing , vol. 54 no. 1 2017; (p. 83-94)'Although the short story is regarded as a minor genre in many literary traditions, it is arguably a major one in Australian literature, which, more specifically, was long dominated by the realist short story. Deriving from the colonial “yarns”, the so-called “hard-luck stories” were indeed felt to be characterized by a realism that was in turn seen to result from the archetypal dryness of Australia itself. While the contemporary Australian writer Murray Bail has repeatedly questioned the realistic quality of his homeland’s literature, he has also sought to broaden the subgenre to which it has often been reduced, namely bush realism. With “Camouflage” (1998), Bail appropriates the hard-luck story to convey a marginal perspective. This article shows how this strategy of revision allows him to contest both the archetypality of bush realism and the stereotypical perceptions of the Australian landscape, thereby problematizing the highly controversial relationship between place and literature.' (Publication abstract)
-
Beneath the Camouflage : Mimicry and Settler False Consciousness in the Fiction of Murray Bail
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies , Fall vol. 17 no. 2 2011; (p. 72-89) -
The Surreal Thing
2002
single work
review
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 4 August vol. 107 no. 31 2002; (p. 16)
— Review of Camouflage 2000 selected work short story -
Magic in the Suburbs
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 7 December no. 5149 2001;
— Review of Camouflage 2000 selected work short story -
Slim and Dry, Never Creaky
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 30 December 2000; (p. 8)
— Review of Camouflage 2000 selected work short story
-
In Short : New Releases
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 11 November 2000; (p. 14)
— Review of Another Man's Office 2000 single work novel ; Camouflage 2000 selected work short story -
CoverNotes
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 26 November 2000; (p. 11)
— Review of Monsieur Frog 2000 single work novel ; Camouflage 2000 selected work short story ; Holtermann's Nugget 2000 single work novel ; Nude 2000 single work children's fiction -
Slim and Dry, Never Creaky
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 30 December 2000; (p. 8)
— Review of Camouflage 2000 selected work short story -
Magic in the Suburbs
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 7 December no. 5149 2001;
— Review of Camouflage 2000 selected work short story -
The Surreal Thing
2002
single work
review
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 4 August vol. 107 no. 31 2002; (p. 16)
— Review of Camouflage 2000 selected work short story -
Beneath the Camouflage : Mimicry and Settler False Consciousness in the Fiction of Murray Bail
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies , Fall vol. 17 no. 2 2011; (p. 72-89) -
Twisting the Australian Realist Short Story : Murray Bail’s “Camouflage”
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Postcolonial Writing , vol. 54 no. 1 2017; (p. 83-94)'Although the short story is regarded as a minor genre in many literary traditions, it is arguably a major one in Australian literature, which, more specifically, was long dominated by the realist short story. Deriving from the colonial “yarns”, the so-called “hard-luck stories” were indeed felt to be characterized by a realism that was in turn seen to result from the archetypal dryness of Australia itself. While the contemporary Australian writer Murray Bail has repeatedly questioned the realistic quality of his homeland’s literature, he has also sought to broaden the subgenre to which it has often been reduced, namely bush realism. With “Camouflage” (1998), Bail appropriates the hard-luck story to convey a marginal perspective. This article shows how this strategy of revision allows him to contest both the archetypality of bush realism and the stereotypical perceptions of the Australian landscape, thereby problematizing the highly controversial relationship between place and literature.' (Publication abstract)
