image of person or book cover 6667093675943624595.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
y separately published work icon Napoleon's Roads selected work   prose  
Issue Details: First known date: 2016... 2016 Napoleon's Roads
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A writer questions the architecture of words, struggling to capture his ideas before they are lost; a husband excavating beneath his house becomes mesmerised by silence and disappears in search of solitude; a lighthouse keeper dreams that he is a man dreaming that he is the keeper of a lighthouse.

'Magnificent in its scope and imagery, David Brooks's mastery of the written word is eclipsed in this thought-provoking collection. Both evocative and experimental, Brooks's stories conjure fragments of memory and time, capturing streetscapes and heartscapes in a mosaic-style splendour.

'Lyrical and perceptive, brave and illuminating, Napoleon's Roads explores the richness of language and the possibilities of expression, while exemplifying some of the most sophisticated, polished and beautiful contemporary literature in Australia today.' (Publication summary)

Contents

* Contents derived from the St Lucia, Indooroopilly - St Lucia area, Brisbane - North West, Brisbane, Queensland,:University of Queensland Press , 2016 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Napoleon's Roads, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 3-15)
The Cellar, David Brooks , single work short story (p. 16-24)
Kabul, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 25-36)
The Crow Theses, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 37-42)
A., David Brooks , single work prose (p. 43-50)
The Lighthouse Keeper's Dream, David Brooks , single work short story (p. 51-55)
The Dead, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 56-66)
Alchemy, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 67)
Ten Short Pieces, David Brooks , sequence prose (p. 67-76)
A Piece of Sheepsongs, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 68)
Process, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 68-69)
A Short Allegory, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 69-70)
A Time of Strangersi"...so it was, anyway, that we entered a time of strangers. It was", David Brooks , single work poetry (p. 70-73)
In the Centre of the World, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 73-74)
Vierge Ouvrante, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 74-75)
The Net, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 75)
A Turkish Head, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 75-76)
We Are Standing at the Low Stone Wall, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 76)
The Wall, David Brooks , single work short story (p. 77-88)
The Seventh Floor, David Brooks , single work prose (p. 89-91)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Other Formats

  • Also large print, sound recording

Works about this Work

A Mosaic Exploration of Grief, Art, and the Ideal/Napoleon's Roads Megan Mericle , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 31 no. 2 2017; (p. 449-450)

— Review of Napoleon's Roads David Brooks , 2016 selected work prose

'The breaks in style and point of view match the author's disjointed search through memory to find the lost epiphany that he failed to record in the middle of the night. The information conveyed in this story lacks the purposefulness of the questions posed in "Lost Pages," and though the gaps between segments can create an interesting tension and resonance, the unusual syntax and the lack of cohesion between sections pull the reader out of the story. [...]Napoleon's Roads is an experiment worth conducting, as the places in which fragments resonate across the gap give new perspective on aspects of the human condition.'  (Publication abstract)

Uniformly Probing at Dark Landscapes Fiona Wright , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 April - 1 June 2016; (p. 21)

— Review of Napoleon's Roads David Brooks , 2016 selected work prose
Elusive Brooks Jane Sullivan , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 379 2016; (p. 38)

— Review of Napoleon's Roads David Brooks , 2016 selected work prose
A Tactile Meandering to Some Strange Places Peter Pierce , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 30-31 January 2016; (p. 25) The Age , 30-31 January 2016; (p. 25)

— Review of Napoleon's Roads David Brooks , 2016 selected work prose
“The Writer-narrator Takes the Reader by the Hand”: Carmel Bird Reviews ‘Napoleon’s Roads’ by David Brooks Carmel Bird , 2016 single work review essay
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October – December no. 20 2016;
'Thirty years ago, I read a most wonderful collection of short fiction. I think I reviewed it. It was The Book of Sei by David Brooks. Since then, I have read most of David’s books. Reading Napoleon’s Roads was a bit like finding that, The Book of Sei had a glorious new compartment, to which I now had access.' (Introduction)
A Tactile Meandering to Some Strange Places Peter Pierce , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 30-31 January 2016; (p. 25) The Age , 30-31 January 2016; (p. 25)

— Review of Napoleon's Roads David Brooks , 2016 selected work prose
Elusive Brooks Jane Sullivan , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 379 2016; (p. 38)

— Review of Napoleon's Roads David Brooks , 2016 selected work prose
Uniformly Probing at Dark Landscapes Fiona Wright , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 April - 1 June 2016; (p. 21)

— Review of Napoleon's Roads David Brooks , 2016 selected work prose
A Mosaic Exploration of Grief, Art, and the Ideal/Napoleon's Roads Megan Mericle , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 31 no. 2 2017; (p. 449-450)

— Review of Napoleon's Roads David Brooks , 2016 selected work prose

'The breaks in style and point of view match the author's disjointed search through memory to find the lost epiphany that he failed to record in the middle of the night. The information conveyed in this story lacks the purposefulness of the questions posed in "Lost Pages," and though the gaps between segments can create an interesting tension and resonance, the unusual syntax and the lack of cohesion between sections pull the reader out of the story. [...]Napoleon's Roads is an experiment worth conducting, as the places in which fragments resonate across the gap give new perspective on aspects of the human condition.'  (Publication abstract)

“The Writer-narrator Takes the Reader by the Hand”: Carmel Bird Reviews ‘Napoleon’s Roads’ by David Brooks Carmel Bird , 2016 single work review essay
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October – December no. 20 2016;
'Thirty years ago, I read a most wonderful collection of short fiction. I think I reviewed it. It was The Book of Sei by David Brooks. Since then, I have read most of David’s books. Reading Napoleon’s Roads was a bit like finding that, The Book of Sei had a glorious new compartment, to which I now had access.' (Introduction)
Last amended 10 Sep 2018 10:08:20
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X