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'In this sweeping epic of friendship, toil, hope and failed promise, multi-award-winning author Roger McDonald follows the story of Kingsley Colts as he chases the ghost of himself through the decades, and in and out of the lives and affections of the citizens of "The Isabel", a slice of Australia scattered with prospectors, artists, no-hopers and visionaries. Against this spacious backdrop of sheep stations, timeless landscapes and the Five Alls pub, men play out their fates, conduct their rivalries and hope for the best.
'Major Dunc Buckler, "misplaced genius and authentic ratbag", scours the country for machinery in a World War that will never find him. Wayne Hovell, slave to "moral duty", carries the physical and emotional scars of Colts's early rebellion, but also finds himself the keeper of his redemption. Normie Powell, son of a rugby-playing minister, finds his own mysticism as a naturalist, while warm-hearted stock dealer Alan Hooke longs for understanding in a house full of women. They are men shaped by the obligations and expectations of a previous generation, all striving to define themselves in their own language, on their own terms.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Epigraph:
Peaseblossom.........Ready.
Cobweb.......................... And I.
Moth ......................................And I
Mustardseed....................................And I.
All..........................................................Where shall we go?
- A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act III, Scene I
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In an author's note, Roger McDonald lists the publications in which 'early parts of this work appeared'. The titles of the earlier parts published in Australia are listed above as related works. An early part was also published in The O. Henry Prize Stories 2008 (New York, 2008).
Source: Author's Note p. 345
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Braille.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
The Realization of Smallness
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 26 no. 1 2012; (p. 105-106)
— Review of When Colts Ran 2010 single work novel -
The Silver Age of Fiction
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 70 no. 4 2011; (p. 110-115)‘In human reckoning, Golden Ages are always already in the past. The Greek poet Hesiod, in Works and Days, posited Five Ages of Mankind: Golden, Silver, Bronze, Heroic and Iron (Ovid made do with four). Writing in the Romantic period, Thomas Love Peacock (author of such now almost forgotten novels as Nightmare Abbey, 1818) defined The Four Ages of Poetry (1820) in which their order was Iron, Gold, Silver and Bronze. To the Golden Age, in their archaic greatness, belonged Homer and Aeschylus. The Silver Age, following it, was less original, but nevertheless 'the age of civilised life'. The main issue of Peacock's thesis was the famous response that he elicited from his friend Shelley - Defence of Poetry (1821).’ (Publication abstract)
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A Transnational Gallipoli?
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , November no. 51 2011; 'Roger Hillman's essay adds a transnational dimension to representations of an historical event that has become the preeminent site of national memorialisation. In A Transnational Gallipoli?, Hillman contrasts the masculinist heroics and celebratory nationalism of Peter Weir's iconic film, Gallipoli, and Roger McDonald's 1915, with more recent novels and films produced outside Australia's borders that provide alternative forms of cultural memory. Louis de Bernières' Birds Without Wings and Tolga Örnek's documentary film Gallipoli: The Front Line Experience are significant as texts that 'situate the Gallipoli legend in a transnational rather than a national framework, while providing a fuller understanding of how cultural memory works in relation to the national imaginary'.' (Source: Editor's introduction)
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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 -
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)
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[Review] When Colts Ran
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , October vol. 90 no. 3 2010; (p. 30)
— Review of When Colts Ran 2010 single work novel -
Made in Australia
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 326 2010; (p. 35-36)
— Review of When Colts Ran 2010 single work novel -
Heroic Take on Manhood
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 13-14 November 2010; (p. 22-23)
— Review of When Colts Ran 2010 single work novel -
Love of an Unforgiving Land
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 13 November 2010; (p. 22)
— Review of When Colts Ran 2010 single work novel -
Fiction Reviews
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 13 - 14 November 2010; (p. 22)
— Review of When Colts Ran 2010 single work novel -
Nature of His Tale
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 13 November 2010; (p. 21-22) -
Roger McDonald
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 13-14 November 2010; (p. 30-31) The Age , 13 November 2010; (p. 20-21) -
Braidwood Author in Line for Prize
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 17 March 2011; (p. 3) -
Literary 'Sausagefest' Raises Female Hackles
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 20 April 2011; (p. 5) -
Triple Treat for the Nation's Best Novel
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 20 April 2011; (p. 17)
Awards
- 2012 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- 2011 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction
- 2011 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Fiction
- 2011 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2011 shortlisted Indie Awards — Fiction