'Behind the prosperous, genteel landscape of the inner city lies a very different world of hardship and insecurity – where a roof over your head is never guaranteed.
'Jack van Duyn is a Melbourne taxi-driver in his mid-fifties, living alone in a dingy Brunswick flat. He’s settled into a drab existence, with little money, few friends, and no prospects.
'He’s still recovering from weeks of turmoil triggered by his infatuation with beautiful Somali refugee Farhia, and the bitter conflict with drug dealers, spies, and thugs that ensued — as described in Comfort Zone.
'However, Jack’s return to normality is short-lived. He’s about to be hurtled into a vicious power struggle involving crooked property developers, angry unionists, and a deranged stalker from his past. Before he knows it, his world is starting to unravel, and he’s running for his life …'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Sequel to Comfort Zone.
Comfort Zone
Brunswick
:
Scribe
,
2016
8865436
2016
single work
novel
'An astute novel about inner-city Australian racism - and about humanity emerging in the face of reality.
'Jack van Duyn is in his comfort zone. A pot-bellied, unfit, round-shouldered cabbie in his mid-fifties, he lives on his own and on the edges of society. He has a few mates, who he regards contentedly as losers and nobodies like himself, and lots of opinions about all the bastards out there who get more than they deserve.
'One morning, as he's waiting for a fare, he notices a handful of dark-skinned children romping in the playground, and finds himself muttering Bloody Somalis. Why can't they stay in their own shithole of a country?
'Jack can't know it, but his world is about to be turned upside down. After reluctantly breaking up a fight between the children, Jack finds himself transfixed by the mother of one of them - a beautiful young Somali woman - and feeling compelled to help her. What follows is a bewildering, hair-raising descent into a world of drug-dealing, ASIO harassment, criminal thuggery, and Somali payback.
'If Jack is to rise to the challenge, redemption might involve him leaving his comfort zone behind - forever.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'Melburnians have a peculiar fondness for their grunge, an affection (or possibly affectation) that is perhaps unmatched in our other capitals.' (Introduction)
'The plethora of crime stories is such that, in order to succeed, they must either follow a well-trodden narrative path and do so extremely well, or run with a high concept and hope for the best. Having the word ‘girl’ in the title doesn’t hurt. Readers are familiar with genre tropes, to the point of being high-functioning literary detectives, ready to sniff out lapses in logic and to scream at the page (or at a screen) when a plot goes haywire. Treat aficionados of crime fiction with contempt, and you’re dead in the water.' (Introduction)
'Melburnians have a peculiar fondness for their grunge, an affection (or possibly affectation) that is perhaps unmatched in our other capitals.' (Introduction)
'The plethora of crime stories is such that, in order to succeed, they must either follow a well-trodden narrative path and do so extremely well, or run with a high concept and hope for the best. Having the word ‘girl’ in the title doesn’t hurt. Readers are familiar with genre tropes, to the point of being high-functioning literary detectives, ready to sniff out lapses in logic and to scream at the page (or at a screen) when a plot goes haywire. Treat aficionados of crime fiction with contempt, and you’re dead in the water.' (Introduction)
