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'Dennis McIntosh was always determined not to get stuck in a factory like his father, but it's only once he takes a job as a roustabout that he discovers what he really wants to be: a shearer.
'Travelling from station to station, he revels in the smell and feel of the sheds, and the freedom of being answerable to no man except his mates. And it's a thrilling tme to be in this legendary occupation. There's a fight on: the union is defending its workers against scab labourers' use of the wide comb. But while shearing's a fine life for a nineteen-year-old, it's a hard one for a man. As the added weight og adulthood settles on Dennis's shoulders, the sheds take their unforgiving toll.
'Beaten by a Blow shows us the reality behind the romance of the shearer. Most of all, it tells the story of a boy dull of hope crashing headlong into life - into work, into drink, into responsibilities he isn't ready for, which come closer to breaking his back than shearing ever did.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Voted number five by members of the public in the State Library of Victoria's 2008 Summer Read program.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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[Untitled]
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 16 no. 4 2008; (p. 50)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography -
The Men of the Golden Fleece
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 30 August 2008; (p. 25)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography -
Bowed by Fickle Culture of the Shearing Shed
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 16 August 2008; (p. 18)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography -
Pick of the Week
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 26-27 July 2008; (p. 31)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography -
Tall Tales and True
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 26 July 2008; (p. 14)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography ; Goldie : Adventures in a Vanishing Australia 2008 single work biography
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Untitled
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , June vol. 87 no. 9 2008; (p. 52)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography -
The Ringer Looks Around
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , July vol. 3 no. 6 2008; (p. 10)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography -
Tall Tales and True
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 26 July 2008; (p. 14)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography ; Goldie : Adventures in a Vanishing Australia 2008 single work biography -
Pick of the Week
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 26-27 July 2008; (p. 31)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography -
Bowed by Fickle Culture of the Shearing Shed
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 16 August 2008; (p. 18)
— Review of Beaten By a Blow : A Shearer's Story 2008 single work autobiography