image of person or book cover 1896678469631824294.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Antidote to a Curse single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2018... 2018 Antidote to a Curse
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'It’s the 90s. Silvio Portelli returns to Melbourne after time spent teaching in England and rents a room from the charismatic octogenarian, Nancy Triganza. Nancy is having an elaborate aviary constructed to indulge her passion for birds. At a city sex shop, Silvio meets the mysterious Zlatko, a Bosnian immigrant and, in a previous life, a collector of rare birds. Silvio becomes obsessed with Zlatko, and his own journal and dreams begin to mirror Zlatko’s past, and in time the reality of what happened in Bosnia. Such revelations are counterpointed by Silvio’s own tense wait to learn the result s of his tests for HIV.

'Bold in design, Antidote to a Curse is a story in which the hunter becomes the hunted, the writer the subject, and vice versa. Cristina lovingly captures Stalactites cafe where Zlatko and Silvio often meet, and a city enmeshed with Europe, both physically and in spirit.

'Rich with images and allusions yet grounded in the everyday  Antidote to a Curse is a startling debut. Cristina subtly draws the reader deeper and deeper into a state of psychological obsession where only the truth can provide a way out.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Yarraville, Footscray - Maribyrnong area, Melbourne - West, Melbourne, Victoria,: Transit Lounge , 2018 .
      image of person or book cover 1896678469631824294.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 256p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 1 July 2018.

      ISBN: 9780925760033

Works about this Work

Review of ‘Antidote to a Curse’ by James Cristina Rachel Watts , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Editor's Desk - 2019 2019;

— Review of Antidote to a Curse James Cristina , 2018 single work novel
Review : Antidote To A Curse by James Cristina, Transit Lounge Erich Mayer , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , August 2018;

— Review of Antidote to a Curse James Cristina , 2018 single work novel

'James Cristina’s fluent and vivid writing makes this experimental novel compelling although it challenges easy comprehension.'

James Cristina: Antidote to a Curse KN , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 7-13 July 2018;

'Antidote to a Curse, the first novel of the Maltese–Australian James Cristina, is an ambitious debut. It is excitingly difficult to classify. It is an erotic story and an international mystery. It is a celebration of Melbourne – with references to the Stalactites Greek restaurant on Lonsdale Street and the Arts Centre spire – while also being global. It brings together prose and poetry, writing and music, dream and waking experience. It is also simultaneously a novel and an imaginative reflection of how that novel came to be written.' (Introduction)

Review : Antidote To A Curse by James Cristina, Transit Lounge Erich Mayer , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , August 2018;

— Review of Antidote to a Curse James Cristina , 2018 single work novel

'James Cristina’s fluent and vivid writing makes this experimental novel compelling although it challenges easy comprehension.'

Review of ‘Antidote to a Curse’ by James Cristina Rachel Watts , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Editor's Desk - 2019 2019;

— Review of Antidote to a Curse James Cristina , 2018 single work novel
James Cristina: Antidote to a Curse KN , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 7-13 July 2018;

'Antidote to a Curse, the first novel of the Maltese–Australian James Cristina, is an ambitious debut. It is excitingly difficult to classify. It is an erotic story and an international mystery. It is a celebration of Melbourne – with references to the Stalactites Greek restaurant on Lonsdale Street and the Arts Centre spire – while also being global. It brings together prose and poetry, writing and music, dream and waking experience. It is also simultaneously a novel and an imaginative reflection of how that novel came to be written.' (Introduction)

Last amended 7 Aug 2019 10:00:19
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  • Melbourne, Victoria,
  • 1990s
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