Texts

y separately published work icon The Boat Nam Le , Camberwell : Hamish Hamilton , 2008 Z1495449 2008 selected work short story (taught in 42 units)

'In the magnificent opening story, "Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice," a young writer is urged by his friends to mine his father's experiences in Vietnam - and what seems at first a satire on turning one's life into literary commerce becomes a transcendent exploration of homeland, and the ties between father and son. "Cartagena" provides a visceral glimpse of life in Colombia as it enters the mind of a fourteen-year-old hit man facing the ultimate test. In "Meeting Elise" an ageing New York painter mourns his body's decline as he prepares to meet his daughter on the eve of her Carnegie Hall debut. And with graceful symmetry, the final, title story returns to Vietnam, to a fishing trawler crowded with refugees where a young woman's bond with a mother and her small son forces both women to a shattering decision.' (From the author's website.)

y separately published work icon The Slap Christos Tsiolkas , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2008 Z1739894 2008 single work novel (taught in 40 units)

'At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own.

'This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the event.

'In this remarkable novel, Christos Tsiolkas turns his unflinching and all-seeing eye onto that which connects us all: the modern family and domestic life in the twenty-first century. The Slap is told from the points of view of eight people who were present at the barbecue. The slap and its consequences force them all to question their own families and the way they live, their expectations, beliefs and desires.

'What unfolds is a powerful, haunting novel about love, sex and marriage, parenting and children, and the fury and intensity - all the passions and conflicting beliefs - that family can arouse. In its clear-eyed and forensic dissection of the ever-growing middle class and its aspirations and fears, The Slap is also a poignant, provocative novel about the nature of loyalty and happiness, compromise and truth.' (Publisher's blurb)

y separately published work icon Butterfly Sonya Hartnett , Camberwell : Hamish Hamilton , 2009 Z1554853 2009 single work novel young adult (taught in 5 units)

'Here is Plum Coyle, on the threshold of adolescence, striving to be new. Her fourteenth birthday is approaching: her old life and her old body will fall away, and she will become graceful, powerful, at ease. The strength in the objects she stores in a briefcase under her bed - a crystal lamb, a yoyo, an antique watch, a penny - will make sure of it.

'Over the next couple of weeks, Plum's life will change. Her beautiful neighbour Maureen will begin to show her how she might fly. The older brothers she adores - the charismatic Justin, the enigmatic Cydar - will court catastrophe in worlds that she barely knows exist. And her friends - her worst enemies - will tease and test, smelling weakness. They will try to lead her on and take her down.

'Who ever forgets what happens when you're fourteen?' (Publisher's blurb)

y separately published work icon Into That Forest Louis Nowra , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2012 Z1881708 2012 single work novel young adult (taught in 2 units) 'Me name be Hannah O'Brien and I be seventy-six years old. Me first thing is an apology - me language is bad cos I lost it and had to learn it again. But here's me story and I be glad to tell it before I hop the twig. So begins this extraordinary novel, which will transport you to Australia's wild frontier and stay in your mind long after you've finished reading.' (Publisher's blurb)
y separately published work icon Brisbane Matthew Condon , Sydney : NewSouth Publishing , 2010 Z1714586 2010 single work prose (taught in 2 units) 'In this book, the [second] in a series on Australian cities in which leading Australian authors write about their home city, novelist and journalist Matthew Condon rediscovers the city of his childhood, Brisbane. Having returned there after many years, Condon takes the reader on a unique and personal journey through contemporary Brisbane, unearthing its history — sometimes literally — and painting a portrait of the contemporary transformation of the city.' (From the publisher's website.)
y separately published work icon Every Secret Thing Marie Munkara , 2008 St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2009 Z1523127 2008 selected work short story (taught in 4 units)

'In the Aboriginal missions of far northern Australia, it was a battle between saving souls and saving traditional culture.

'Every Secret Thing is a rough, tough, hilarious portrayal of the Bush Mob and the Mission Mob, and the hapless clergy trying to convert them. In these tales, everyone is fair game.

'At once playful and sharp, Marie Munkara's wonderfully original stories cast a taunting new light on the mission era in Australia.' (From the publisher's website.)

y separately published work icon Metro Alasdair Duncan , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2006 Z1276557 2006 single work novel satire (taught in 5 units) 'Liam Kelly is the very model of the modern male - boys want to be him, girls want to be with him. He and his group of loyal mates spend their days driving around town, drinking beer and very occasionally going to lectures. His good looks compensate, everyone agrees, for his superior attitude and private-school arrogance. Liam and his girlfriend Sara seem to be the perfect couple, but when she leaves for a European trip without him, the facade begins to crumble. He sees six months of freedom ahead, unaware that the consequences of his bad-boy behaviour will threaten the image he has so carefully created. Metro is a satirical tale of morality, masculinity and money from the internationally acclaimed author of Sushi Central.' (Backcover)

Description

RATIONALE:

It is important for you to acquire knowledge of a range of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australian writings.

AIM:

his unit aims to improve your analytical, creative as well as oral and written communication skills.

CONTENT:

This unit provides you with opportunities to read, explore, discuss and critically evaluate a number of Indigenous and non-Indigenous texts written and published in Australia, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Upon completing this unit, you will be able to understand and critically engage with fictional texts pertinent to Australian culture, history and society.

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