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y separately published work icon The True Colour of the Sea selected work   short story  
Issue Details: First known date: 2018... 2018 The True Colour of the Sea
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The long-awaited new collection of short stories from Australia’s master of the short-story genre.

'An artist marooned on a remote island in the Arafura Sea contemplates his survival chances. He understands his desperate plight and the ocean’s unrelenting power. But what is its true colour?

'A beguiling young woman nurses a baby by a lake while hiding brutal scars. Uneasy descendants of a cannibal victim visit the Pacific island of their ancestor’s murder. A Caribbean cruise of elderly tourists faces life with wicked optimism.

'Witty, clever, ever touching and always inventive, the eleven stories in The True Colour of the Sea take us to many varied coasts: whether a tense Christmas holiday apartment overlooking the Indian Ocean or the shabby glamour of a Cuban resort hotel.

'Relationships might be frayed, savaged, regretted or celebrated, but here there is always the life-force of the ocean – seducing, threatening, inspiring.

'In The True Colour of the Sea, Robert Drewe – Australia’s master of the short story form – makes a gift of stories that tackle the big themes of life: love, loss, desire, family, ageing, humanity and the life of art. '  (Publication summary)

Exhibitions

17217914
17024084

Notes

  • Dedication: For Tray

  • Epigraph:

    To undiscovered waters, undreamed shores.' - William Shakespeare


    'Time is short and the water is rising.' - Raymond Carver

Contents

* Contents derived from the Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,:Hamish Hamilton , 2018 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Dr Pacific, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 1-14)
Another Word for Cannibals, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 15-36)
Black Lake and Sugarcane Road, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 37-46)
Paleface and the Panther, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 47-66)
Varadero, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 67-82)
Lavender Bay Noir, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 83-108)
A View of Mount Warning, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 109-128)
The SeaDream Emails, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 109-129)
Spotting Killer Whales, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 149-160)
Imaginary Islands, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 161-182)
The True Colour of the Sea, Robert Drewe , single work short story (p. 183-210)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Hamish Hamilton , 2018 .
      image of person or book cover 8187633079918081905.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Booktopia
      Extent: 224p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 30th July 2018
      ISBN: 9780143782681

Works about this Work

Ten Great Australian Beach Reads Set at the Beach Liz Ellison , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 28 December 2018;

— Review of Floundering Romy Ash , 2012 single work novel ; Puberty Blues Kathy Lette , Gabrielle Carey , 1979 single work novel ; Time's Long Ruin : A Novel Stephen Orr , 2008 single work novel ; Breath Tim Winton , 2008 single work novel ; The Empty Beach Peter Corris , 1983 single work novel ; The True Colour of the Sea Robert Drewe , 2018 selected work short story ; Atomic City Sally Breen , 2013 single work novel ; Not Meeting Mr Right Anita Heiss , 2007 single work novel ; After January Nick Earls , 1996 single work novel ; Bluebottle Belinda Castles , 2018 single work novel
Portraits Anthony Lynch , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 404 2018; (p. 24-25)

'Robert Drewe’s first short story collection, the widely acclaimed The Bodysurfers (1983), opens with a story of the Lang family – children Annie, David, and Max, taken by their recently widowed father for a Christmas Day lunch at a local hotel, where it becomes apparent that their father is on intimate terms with the hotel manageress.'  (Introduction)

Ten Great Australian Beach Reads Set at the Beach Liz Ellison , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 28 December 2018;

— Review of Floundering Romy Ash , 2012 single work novel ; Puberty Blues Kathy Lette , Gabrielle Carey , 1979 single work novel ; Time's Long Ruin : A Novel Stephen Orr , 2008 single work novel ; Breath Tim Winton , 2008 single work novel ; The Empty Beach Peter Corris , 1983 single work novel ; The True Colour of the Sea Robert Drewe , 2018 selected work short story ; Atomic City Sally Breen , 2013 single work novel ; Not Meeting Mr Right Anita Heiss , 2007 single work novel ; After January Nick Earls , 1996 single work novel ; Bluebottle Belinda Castles , 2018 single work novel
Portraits Anthony Lynch , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 404 2018; (p. 24-25)

'Robert Drewe’s first short story collection, the widely acclaimed The Bodysurfers (1983), opens with a story of the Lang family – children Annie, David, and Max, taken by their recently widowed father for a Christmas Day lunch at a local hotel, where it becomes apparent that their father is on intimate terms with the hotel manageress.'  (Introduction)

Last amended 22 Feb 2020 12:51:08
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