'Grab the popcorn, sit back and let the story of Australian literature roll ...
'From Jean-François Vernay, A Brief Take on the Australian Novel offers a sweeping view of Australian writing since colonialism. Written from an outsider's perspective, this single-authored overview will appeal to readers through its playful, jargon-free and potentially contentious account of the Australian novel. Vernay offers a unique and insightful perspective on Australian literature.
'Like a film narrator, he speaks directly to the reader, offering close-ups on particular works alongside panoramic views of the literary landscape. One can imagine the reader as part of an audience in a darkened cinema, absorbed in exciting action on the silver screen.' (Publication summary)
'When the French edition of my book came out in 2009, Simon Caterson argued "that only an outsider can fully appreciate the big cultural picture". When the Australian edition was released in 2016, Nicholas Jose also observed that “The outside gaze illuminates what the insider cannot see, especially when that gaze focuses on what most distinguishes the inside, what makes it what it is.” There seems to be two distinct assumptions meshed into one observation: that as an outsider I would have a vantage point to discuss Australian fiction, and that my ringside view would be specifically informed by my French background.
'In this article I discuss whether I actually have a French view on Australian novels and whether my outsider’s perspective gives me an unquestioned vantage point to discuss Australian fiction.'
Source: Abstract.
'A Brief Take on the Australian Novel makes a substantial contribution to Australian literary studies, providing readers with a panoramic view of Australian novels – from colonial literature produced in the convict system (including Australia’s first novel, Henry Savery’s 1831 work Quintus Servinton) through to the postmodernists and the practitioners of contemporary Australian fiction.' (Introduction)
'A Brief Take on the Australian Novel makes a substantial contribution to Australian literary studies, providing readers with a panoramic view of Australian novels – from colonial literature produced in the convict system (including Australia’s first novel, Henry Savery’s 1831 work Quintus Servinton) through to the postmodernists and the practitioners of contemporary Australian fiction.' (Introduction)
'When the French edition of my book came out in 2009, Simon Caterson argued "that only an outsider can fully appreciate the big cultural picture". When the Australian edition was released in 2016, Nicholas Jose also observed that “The outside gaze illuminates what the insider cannot see, especially when that gaze focuses on what most distinguishes the inside, what makes it what it is.” There seems to be two distinct assumptions meshed into one observation: that as an outsider I would have a vantage point to discuss Australian fiction, and that my ringside view would be specifically informed by my French background.
'In this article I discuss whether I actually have a French view on Australian novels and whether my outsider’s perspective gives me an unquestioned vantage point to discuss Australian fiction.'
Source: Abstract.
