image of person or book cover 6643624407371660398.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Mural single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2024... 2024 Mural
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Mural is a haunting ‘confession’ by a psychopath known only as D. Held in a secure facility, he has been asked by his psychiatrist to write down his thoughts, admissions, anxieties and uncertainties. They are at first revealed through the stories of other people’s lives and obsessions.

'Specifically, D is preoccupied with a British man who spent his early years as a schoolteacher in Australia before becoming a renowned sexologist. D is also consumed by Australia’s most prolific public artist, a man whose highly erotic watercolours are at odds with his stained-glass church windows. D writes of his meeting with a boyhood friend. He recounts the true tale of a Frenchman who went mad because he believed prehistoric stones in Brittany were shifting.

'Downes navigates the real and the imagined, traversing fact and fiction. Mural is daring, acknowledging the influences of European writers such as Thomas Bernhard and W.G. Sebald while moving into new and original territory. It is both provocative and tender, a highly explosive fable about sexuality, religion, art and obsession.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Yarraville, Footscray - Maribyrnong area, Melbourne - West, Melbourne, Victoria,: Transit Lounge , 2024 .
      image of person or book cover 6643624407371660398.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 208p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 1 September 2024
      ISBN: 9781923023185

Works about this Work

Beguiling Rabbit Holes : Forgoing Conventional Plot Jane Sullivan , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 471 2024; (p. 42)

— Review of Mural Stephen Downes , 2024 single work novel

'When you are languishing in a prison cell, you can become intensely creative. John Bunyan, Jean Genet, and Miguel de Cervantes used their time to write classic works of literature. On the eve of his hanging, Louis D’Ascoyne Mazzini wrote a memoir to explain why he set out to murder eight people. Louis is fictional, the anti-hero of the film Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).'  (Introduction)

Horror Story of the Psyche Peter Craven , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19-20 October 2024; (p. 15)

— Review of Mural Stephen Downes , 2024 single work novel
Book Review : Mural, Stephen Downes Erich Mayer , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , September 2024;

— Review of Mural Stephen Downes , 2024 single work novel

'A charming psychopath beguiles with his anecdotes.'

Stephen Downes : Mural Ann Skea , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , September 2024;

— Review of Mural Stephen Downes , 2024 single work novel

'Stephen Downes’ debut The Hands of Pianists was shortlisted for the PM’s Literary Awards. His second ranges across art, violence, folklore and mental illness.'

Stephen Downes : Mural Ann Skea , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , September 2024;

— Review of Mural Stephen Downes , 2024 single work novel

'Stephen Downes’ debut The Hands of Pianists was shortlisted for the PM’s Literary Awards. His second ranges across art, violence, folklore and mental illness.'

Book Review : Mural, Stephen Downes Erich Mayer , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , September 2024;

— Review of Mural Stephen Downes , 2024 single work novel

'A charming psychopath beguiles with his anecdotes.'

Horror Story of the Psyche Peter Craven , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19-20 October 2024; (p. 15)

— Review of Mural Stephen Downes , 2024 single work novel
Beguiling Rabbit Holes : Forgoing Conventional Plot Jane Sullivan , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 471 2024; (p. 42)

— Review of Mural Stephen Downes , 2024 single work novel

'When you are languishing in a prison cell, you can become intensely creative. John Bunyan, Jean Genet, and Miguel de Cervantes used their time to write classic works of literature. On the eve of his hanging, Louis D’Ascoyne Mazzini wrote a memoir to explain why he set out to murder eight people. Louis is fictional, the anti-hero of the film Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).'  (Introduction)

Last amended 29 Apr 2024 13:27:47
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