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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Politics of Possession in Paddy O’Reilly’s The Factory
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 30 no. 1 2016; (p. 17-29)'In the first chapter of The Factory (2005) the Australian protagonist Hilda, writing from a Japanese prison, says,
I remember someone saying to me when I first came to this country, "You may speak perfect Japanese. You may live like the Japanese, sound like the Japanese, believe what the Japanese believe. But you will never be Japanese:" (2).
'This statement provides the spur for the novel's sustained engagement with the nature of national, cultural, and racial identity. This essay highlights the way the novel both problematizes and reproduces the borders that govern who is Japanese and who is Australian and, by extension, who is not Japanese and who is not Australian. The above extract presents Japanese identity as incommensurable with Australian identity, and in turn sees Australia as distinct from Asia:
The label "Australian" [. . .] separates Australia from its place in the Asia-Pacific region and from the plethora of its connections with and interests in other parts of the world; one of the effects of this is to assimilate it to a model of white and settled Australianness that does little justice to its internal heterogeneity. (Frow 60)
'Suvendrini Pemra characterizes the imaginary bottlers between Australia and Asia as not simply territorial or national but defined by racial identities as well: "the geographical differentiation of the island-body, Australia, from the islands of Asia is paralleled by a process of racial differentiation' (3). (Introduction)
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Arts Uncooperative
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Space: New Writing , no. 3 2006; (p. 156-160)
— Review of The Factory 2005 single work novel -
A Tightly Woven Narrative of Intrigue
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 20 no. 1 2006; (p. 102-103)
— Review of The Factory 2005 single work novel -
On the Cusp
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 279 2006; (p. 61)
— Review of The Factory 2005 single work novel ; Cusp 2005 single work novel -
Take Three
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Canberra Sunday Times , 18 December 2005; (p. 14)
— Review of The Factory 2005 single work novel ; Summer at Mount Hope 2005 single work novel ; The Accidental Renovator : A Paris Story 2005 single work autobiography
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In Short : Fiction
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19-20 November 2005; (p. 22)
— Review of Summer at Mount Hope 2005 single work novel ; Beyond Lucas Heights 2005 single work novel ; The Factory 2005 single work novel -
A Novel Approach, Short and Sweet
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 November 2005; (p. 30)
— Review of The Factory 2005 single work novel ; The Poet : A Novella 2005 single work novella -
Take Three
2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Canberra Sunday Times , 18 December 2005; (p. 14)
— Review of The Factory 2005 single work novel ; Summer at Mount Hope 2005 single work novel ; The Accidental Renovator : A Paris Story 2005 single work autobiography -
On the Cusp
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 279 2006; (p. 61)
— Review of The Factory 2005 single work novel ; Cusp 2005 single work novel -
A Tightly Woven Narrative of Intrigue
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 20 no. 1 2006; (p. 102-103)
— Review of The Factory 2005 single work novel -
The Politics of Possession in Paddy O’Reilly’s The Factory
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 30 no. 1 2016; (p. 17-29)'In the first chapter of The Factory (2005) the Australian protagonist Hilda, writing from a Japanese prison, says,
I remember someone saying to me when I first came to this country, "You may speak perfect Japanese. You may live like the Japanese, sound like the Japanese, believe what the Japanese believe. But you will never be Japanese:" (2).
'This statement provides the spur for the novel's sustained engagement with the nature of national, cultural, and racial identity. This essay highlights the way the novel both problematizes and reproduces the borders that govern who is Japanese and who is Australian and, by extension, who is not Japanese and who is not Australian. The above extract presents Japanese identity as incommensurable with Australian identity, and in turn sees Australia as distinct from Asia:
The label "Australian" [. . .] separates Australia from its place in the Asia-Pacific region and from the plethora of its connections with and interests in other parts of the world; one of the effects of this is to assimilate it to a model of white and settled Australianness that does little justice to its internal heterogeneity. (Frow 60)
'Suvendrini Pemra characterizes the imaginary bottlers between Australia and Asia as not simply territorial or national but defined by racial identities as well: "the geographical differentiation of the island-body, Australia, from the islands of Asia is paralleled by a process of racial differentiation' (3). (Introduction)
Awards
- 2005 highly commended FAW Melbourne University Publishing Award
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cJapan,cEast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
- ca. 2000-2005