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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A hotel as a work of art in little ol' Mangowak? It was about as unlikely as an indoor creek.'
Robbed of his zest for life by the absurd innovations of his local council, including knocking down the only pub in his beloved home town and roofing over a section of the creek to protect swimmers from the rain, artist Noel Lea exiles himself in the hills above Mangowak, on the southwest Victorian coast. He returns to find an unexpected destiny awaits. At a turning point in the town's history it seems he has a crucial role to play, as the unlikely publican of an even unlikelier hotel.
This is a novel about an Australian pub twenty-first-century style, where the toilets play automated Dadaist recordings, Happy Hour comes with a blessing from the Pope and the patrons' libidos are as voracious as their thirst for the local ale. As events in the hotel take a twist that not even its inventive publican could have imagined, a long-held local mystery begins finally to unravel. Noel and his friends find themselves in uncharted territory, and, to make matters worse, the local authorities are hell-bent on closing them down.
From the award-winning author of The Patron Saint of Eels and Ron McCoy's Sea of Diamonds, Gregory Day's third novel is a witty, earthy and lyrical tour de force that takes some well-aimed swipes at the aspirations and absurdities of contemporary life. (Publisher's blurb)
Robbed of his zest for life by the absurd innovations of his local council, including knocking down the only pub in his beloved home town and roofing over a section of the creek to protect swimmers from the rain, artist Noel Lea exiles himself in the hills above Mangowak, on the southwest Victorian coast. He returns to find an unexpected destiny awaits. At a turning point in the town's history it seems he has a crucial role to play, as the unlikely publican of an even unlikelier hotel.
This is a novel about an Australian pub twenty-first-century style, where the toilets play automated Dadaist recordings, Happy Hour comes with a blessing from the Pope and the patrons' libidos are as voracious as their thirst for the local ale. As events in the hotel take a twist that not even its inventive publican could have imagined, a long-held local mystery begins finally to unravel. Noel and his friends find themselves in uncharted territory, and, to make matters worse, the local authorities are hell-bent on closing them down.
From the award-winning author of The Patron Saint of Eels and Ron McCoy's Sea of Diamonds, Gregory Day's third novel is a witty, earthy and lyrical tour de force that takes some well-aimed swipes at the aspirations and absurdities of contemporary life. (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication: For Jamesie in the future, and Dazza in the past.
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Epigraph: 'I was born very young in a very old world' -Erik Satie
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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The Year's Work in Fiction : 2010-2011
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 56 no. 1 2011; (p. 167-188)
— Review of Equator : A Novel 2010 single work novel ; Rocks in the Belly 2010 single work novel ; Traitor 2010 single work novel ; The Vintage and the Gleaning 2008 single work novel ; The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel ; What Is Left Over, After 2008 single work novel ; The Best Australian Stories 2010 2010 anthology short story extract ; Five Bells 2011 single work novel ; The Mary Smokes Boys 2010 single work novel ; Glissando : A Melodrama 2010 single work novel ; Below the Styx 2010 single work novel ; Indelible Ink 2010 single work novel ; When Colts Ran 2010 single work novel ; Bereft 2010 single work novel ; Time's Long Ruin : A Novel 2008 single work novel ; The Legacy 2010 single work novel ; That Deadman Dance 2010 single work novel -
Bookmarks
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 14 May 2011; (p. 34) A column canvassing current literary news including a report on a 'life imitating art' incident relating to Gregory Day's The Grand Hotel. Jason Steger also notes the forthcoming publication and Jane Clifton's The Address Book. -
Mangowak Refines the Art of Resitance
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 September 2010; (p. 40)
— Review of The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel -
Lost in the Crowd
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , August vol. 5 no. 7 2010; (p. 19)
— Review of The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel ; Speak to Me 2010 single work novel ; Trust 2010 single work novel ; Indelible Ink 2010 single work novel -
Well Read
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 July 2010; (p. 28)
— Review of The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel ; Kindling 2010 single work novel
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Grand Capers
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 26 June 2010; (p. 23)
— Review of The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel -
Cover Notes
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 11 July 2010; (p. 21)
— Review of My Dirty Shiny Life 2010 single work autobiography ; The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel -
Magic in the Grand Hotel
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 323 2010; (p. 38)
— Review of The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel -
[Review] The Grand Hotel
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , July vol. 89 no. 9 2010; (p. 35)
— Review of The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel -
A Round of Drinks and Dada
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 31 July 2010; (p. 23)
— Review of The Grand Hotel : A Novel 2010 single work novel -
Such a Life, an Ode to Australia
2010
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Age , 10 July 2010; (p. 24-25) The Sydney Morning Herald , 31 July - 1 August 2010; (p. 34-35) -
Bookmarks
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 14 May 2011; (p. 34) A column canvassing current literary news including a report on a 'life imitating art' incident relating to Gregory Day's The Grand Hotel. Jason Steger also notes the forthcoming publication and Jane Clifton's The Address Book.
Last amended 2 Jul 2020 13:48:06
Settings:
- Country towns,
- Victoria,
- Coast,
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