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Notes
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Dedication: For Iain and Alison.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille, sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Late Retrospectives on Twentieth-Century Catastrophes–the Novels of Ronald McKie
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 5 2014;'This essay examines the representation of early twentieth-century Australia in three novels, The Mango Tree, The Crushing, and Bitter Bread, which were published in the1970s by the well-known journalist Ronald McKie. The novels make the catastrophes of World War I and the Great Depression, and the frenzies of the intervening Jazz Age palatable and engaging for a later, comparatively comfortable Australian readership. They seek further to reconcile readers with the pain of living by promoting ethics of courage, kindness and decency. The novels assume and defend a central Anglo-Celtic identity for Australians. While they reject English cultural and political control, they value the input of Continental European and Asian immigrants. Living Aboriginal people are a notable absence from all three novels, but The Mango Tree seeks to appropriate Aboriginal feeling for country for the native-born descendants of settlers. Through comic-satiric depictions of life in rural Queensland communities McKie’s fiction warns of the dangers of insularity for the nation as a whole.' (Publication abstract)
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The View From Here : Readers and Australian Literature
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , Special Issue 2009; -
Untitled
1979
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9 June 1979; (p. 19)
— Review of The Crushing 1977 single work novel -
Disappointment
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: Quadrant , February vol. 22 no. 2 1978; (p. 74-77)
— Review of The Crushing 1977 single work novel ; The Misery of Beauty : The Loves of Frogman 1976 single work novel -
Quartet For Three Horns and the Virginal
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: The National Times , 12-17 September 1977; (p. 19-20)
— Review of The Crushing 1977 single work novel
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Untitled
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: British Book News 1977; (p. 564)
— Review of The Crushing 1977 single work novel -
A Sugar Town That Lives and Breathes
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28 May 1977; (p. 17)
— Review of The Crushing 1977 single work novel -
Central Theme Is the Sugar Town
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 18 June 1977;
— Review of The Crushing 1977 single work novel -
Book Two With the Book One Scenario a Lingering Melody
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 16 July 1977; (p. 20)
— Review of The Crushing 1977 single work novel -
Only a Moment of True Insight
1977
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 23 July 1977; (p. 24)
— Review of The Crushing 1977 single work novel -
The View From Here : Readers and Australian Literature
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , Special Issue 2009; -
Late Retrospectives on Twentieth-Century Catastrophes–the Novels of Ronald McKie
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 5 2014;'This essay examines the representation of early twentieth-century Australia in three novels, The Mango Tree, The Crushing, and Bitter Bread, which were published in the1970s by the well-known journalist Ronald McKie. The novels make the catastrophes of World War I and the Great Depression, and the frenzies of the intervening Jazz Age palatable and engaging for a later, comparatively comfortable Australian readership. They seek further to reconcile readers with the pain of living by promoting ethics of courage, kindness and decency. The novels assume and defend a central Anglo-Celtic identity for Australians. While they reject English cultural and political control, they value the input of Continental European and Asian immigrants. Living Aboriginal people are a notable absence from all three novels, but The Mango Tree seeks to appropriate Aboriginal feeling for country for the native-born descendants of settlers. Through comic-satiric depictions of life in rural Queensland communities McKie’s fiction warns of the dangers of insularity for the nation as a whole.' (Publication abstract)
- Queensland,
- Bush,
- 1920s