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'When their father is critically injured, foreign correspondent Mandy and her siblings return home, bringing with them the remnants and patterns of childhood. Mandy has lived away from the country for many years. Her head is filled with images of terror and war, and her homecoming to the quiet country town - not to mention her family and marriage - only heightens her disconnection from ordinary life. Cathy, her younger sister, has stayed in regular contact with her parents, trying also to keep tabs on their brother Stephen who, for reasons nobody understands, has held himself apart from the family for years.
'In the intensive care unit the children sit, trapped between their bewildered mother and one another; between old wounds and forgiveness, struggling to connect with their emotions, their past and each other. But as they wait and watch over their father, there's someone else watching too: a young wardsman, Tony, who's been waiting for Mandy to come home. As he insinuates himself into the family, the pressure, and the threat, intensify and build to a climax of devastating force.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication: For sisters and little brothers, especially mine and always, for Sean.
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Epigraph: Who said Happiness is the light shining on the water. The water is cold and dark and deep... - William Maxwell, 'Over by the River', All the Days and Nights.
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Stephen, a character from The Children is the main character in Wood's Animal People.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
West Steps up to Secure Winton Portmanteau
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 18 July 2012; (p. 15) -
Aborigines, Sharks and Australian Accents : On Australian Writing
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings , July no. 6 2011; (p. 41-51)'Jo Case talks to influential writers, publishers and critics about that often frustrating definition of 'Australia' literature.' (Editor's abstract)
-
Forgive Me, Forgive Me : The Ethics of Using Other People's Lives in Fiction
2009
single work
essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 68 no. 4 2009; (p. 66-83) -
Family on the Edge
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Mail , 28 October 2007; (p. 18)
— Review of The Children 2007 single work novel -
Family Matters
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 1 December 2007; (p. 13)
-
[Review] The Children
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , August vol. 87 no. 2 2007; (p. 33)
— Review of The Children 2007 single work novel -
Demons of Childhood
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 6 October 2007; (p. 22)
— Review of The Children 2007 single work novel -
Cutting to the Quick
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 295 2007; (p. 29)
— Review of The Children 2007 single work novel -
Fragile Ties that Bind
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 13 October 2007; (p. 12)
— Review of The Children 2007 single work novel ; Lilia's Secret 2007 single work novel -
Every Witness Tells a Different Story
2007
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 13-14 October 2007; (p. 39)
— Review of The Children 2007 single work novel -
Family Fortunes
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 24 November 2007; (p. 26-27) -
Family Matters
2007
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 1 December 2007; (p. 13) -
Forgive Me, Forgive Me : The Ethics of Using Other People's Lives in Fiction
2009
single work
essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 68 no. 4 2009; (p. 66-83) -
Aborigines, Sharks and Australian Accents : On Australian Writing
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings , July no. 6 2011; (p. 41-51)'Jo Case talks to influential writers, publishers and critics about that often frustrating definition of 'Australia' literature.' (Editor's abstract)
-
West Steps up to Secure Winton Portmanteau
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 18 July 2012; (p. 15)
Awards
- Far West NSW, New South Wales,
- Country towns,
- 2006