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'"House in Gastouri for rent for 2 mths. Occupant travelling. Reasonable rent."
In a village on the island of Corfu, alone in the cottage of a man he's never met, a young Australian actor pieces together the strange life story of the writer whose house he's living in. As he explores his surroundings and makes new friends in Corfu, his own life begins to appear to him like an illuminating shadow-play of his absent host's.
Set in the physical landscapes of the Greek islands, Adelaide and the suburbs of London, Robert Dessaix's second novel is about friendship, love, the ordinary and extraordinary. Yet at its core is a perfectly placed meditation on literary landscapes–Homer, Sappho, Cavafy and Chekhov–and the part art can play in making our lives beautiful' (publisher blurb).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording ( Australian Listening Library, 2001 / Louis Braille Audio, 2002).
- Also e-book (Picador, 2007)
Works about this Work
-
Beauty
2012
single work
essay
— Appears in: As I Was Saying 2012; (p. 116-137) - y Imaging Italy Through the Eyes of Contemporary Australian Travellers (1990-2010) Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars Press , 2011 Z1875994 2011 multi chapter work prose travel Contents: Part 1 Jeffrey Smart and Shirley Hazzard; Part 2 Robert Dessaix; Part 3 Peter Robb
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'Hopelessly Adrift on Dreams of Homer' : Robert Dessaix's Corfu
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Journal of Commonwealth Literature , vol. 42 no. 2 2007; (p. 37-46) 'In Corfu, Robert Dessaix establishes a dialectic between myth and reality, the heroic and the ordinary, through the apt use of allusion: his novel is richly tinctured with Homer and Chekhov, Sappho and C.P. Cavafy' (37). Henrickson in this essay draws out and comments on the multiple layers of allusion through which Dessaix's novel works. -
Tasmanian Seachange
Robert Dessaix
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: State of the Arts , April - June 2003; (p. 107) -
Robert Dessaix's Journey into French
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 63 no. 1 2003; (p. 95-101)
-
Novel of the Heart
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 20 October 2001; (p. 6)
— Review of Corfu : A Novel 2001 single work novel -
Shillyshally Willies
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28-29 July 2001; (p. 13)
— Review of Corfu : A Novel 2001 single work novel -
The Value of Life as Something Lived
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 25 August 2001; (p. 9)
— Review of Corfu : A Novel 2001 single work novel -
The Problem with Beauty
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 8 September 2001; (p. 5)
— Review of Corfu : A Novel 2001 single work novel -
Novel Encounters
2001
single work
review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , October vol. 11 no. 8 2001; (p. 38-39)
— Review of Corfu : A Novel 2001 single work novel -
Robert Dessaix's Journey into French
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 63 no. 1 2003; (p. 95-101) -
Tasmanian Seachange
Robert Dessaix
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: State of the Arts , April - June 2003; (p. 107) -
'Hopelessly Adrift on Dreams of Homer' : Robert Dessaix's Corfu
2007
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Journal of Commonwealth Literature , vol. 42 no. 2 2007; (p. 37-46) 'In Corfu, Robert Dessaix establishes a dialectic between myth and reality, the heroic and the ordinary, through the apt use of allusion: his novel is richly tinctured with Homer and Chekhov, Sappho and C.P. Cavafy' (37). Henrickson in this essay draws out and comments on the multiple layers of allusion through which Dessaix's novel works. -
Beauty
2012
single work
essay
— Appears in: As I Was Saying 2012; (p. 116-137) - y Imaging Italy Through the Eyes of Contemporary Australian Travellers (1990-2010) Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars Press , 2011 Z1875994 2011 multi chapter work prose travel Contents: Part 1 Jeffrey Smart and Shirley Hazzard; Part 2 Robert Dessaix; Part 3 Peter Robb
-
Corfu,
Greek islands,
cGreece,cWestern Europe, Europe,
-
Lesbos,
Greek islands,
cGreece,cWestern Europe, Europe,
- Adelaide, South Australia,
-
London,
cEngland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,