Nicolas Rothwell Nicolas Rothwell i(A12001 works by)
Born: Established: New York (City), New York (State),
c
United States of America (USA),
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Americas,
;
Gender: Male
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1 4 y separately published work icon Red Heaven Nicolas Rothwell , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2021 21543852 2021 single work novel

'A monumental and gripping story, Red Heaven is a glamorous tale of a child with two fascinating and domineering guardians, inspired by the author's own childhood.

'Red Heaven is the story of a child's journey to adulthood, his loss of those he loves and his fixing of them in memory. It begins in the late 1960s in Switzerland, as the unnamed narrator's ideas about life are being shaped by two compelling rival influences, the architects of his youth.

'These are his so-called aunts-imperious, strong-willed, ambitious-both determined to make the boy into their own heir, a believer in their values. In self-contained episodes, each set in an alpine grand hotel, we see one aunt and then the other seek to educate their protege by imparting their experiences.

'Serghiana, the 'red princess', is the daughter of a Soviet general, a producer of films and worshipper of art, a true believer. Ady, a former actress and singer, is a dilettante and cynic, Viennese, married to a great conductor- in her eyes, life is nothing but an affair of surfaces; truth and beauty are mere illusions.

'The aunts and all those in their orbit are exiles, without a home, at the mercy of outside political events. They strive to see what lies beyond the chance events and intersections of their lives. Their allegiances shift. Their stories deepen- gradually the child comes to understand the shadows in their past.

'Memory and nostalgia-the aunts' gifts to him, gifts of obligation-are the purest expression of love allowed them. These stories stay with the boy, guiding his beliefs and his path in life, until he can grow up and absorb the influences of the world around him, and become himself.

'Red Heaven is about the people who make us what we- how they come into our lives, instruct or affect us, then depart the stage. This fiction, with its affinity for the elusive beauties and sadnesses of the world, is Nicolas Rothwell's finest achievement.'  (Publication summary)

1 Colonial Turbulence in the North Nicolas Rothwell , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: Arena Magazine , June no. 148 2017; (p. 11-17)

'A turbulent decade has gone by since the coming of the Northern Territory 'Emergency Response' (NTER), a policy revolution in the grand style, unveiled in Canberra on 21 June 2007 with high dramatic accents by the prime minister of the day, John Howard, and his keen-eyed aide-de-camp, Indigenous affairs minister Mal Brough. It became known at once as the 'Intervention' - a project to transform the remote communities of the North. It was designed to be at once rescue mission and remedy for a raft of troubles: the cure for alcoholism, child neglect and passive welfare dependency, a scheme for restoring bush Indigenous men and women to their better selves. High ambitions; heroicseeming dreams. In retrospect, it is plain enough that the Intervention failed; it failed absolutely, and it failed on its own terms, although, like most failures in Aboriginal policy, it lingers on, diluted, rebadged and refashioned, its key measures still obdurately in place. The reasons for this failure are multiple, and only some of them are well characterised in the debates still ticking over amidst the bureaucratic and academic circles that make remote Indigenous Australia and its well-being the focus of their professional lives. It is clear that the NTER brought chaos, upset and vastly increased levels of administrative surveillance and control in its wake, but much about the project's long-term impact, during the course of its various incarnations under three successive Commonwealth governments, remains mysterious to its architects. The NTER has gradually taken on the aspect of a colonial endeavour, achieving the precise opposite of its stated aims, for the very reason that colonial endeavours often go astray: they aim to co-opt, and persuade, but the overseers of these efforts at social engineering cannot sense the way they seem to those they aim to change.'  (Publication abstract)

1 The Lonely Places Nicolas Rothwell , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14 January 2017; (p. 14)
'The forgotten Australian author Ion Idriess was a bushman and writer who knew there was more to life than we dream of, writes Nicolas Rothwell.'
1 Undeserved Disdain for an Engaging Writer Nicolas Rothwell , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14 January 2017; (p. 15)
'Despite his popularity and commercial success, Ion Idriess never found acceptance among the critical and literary intelligentsia, either in his time or in our day. To a striking degree, he has been written out of history, despite a resurgence of interest in many of his chosen themes.' (Introduction)
1 5 y separately published work icon Quicksilver Nicolas Rothwell , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2016 9798117 2016 single work prose travel

'Quicksilver begins on a quiet day in contemplation of a lizard deep in the heart of the outback but quickly moves to the Russia of Tolstoy and Gorky, and on to other lands and times, bringing into play universal questions about the essential nature of the human condition.'

'Rothwell’s chief subject is always the inland: the mystic Kurangara cult that flourished in the Kimberley; the story of the Western Desert artists, their works and their eventual fate; the tracks across the wilderness of Colonel Warburton and George Grey; the bush dreams and intuitions of D. H. Lawrence and the landscape word-portraits by the great biographer of nature Eric Rolls.'

'In Quicksilver Rothwell masterfully takes us in search of the sacred through place and time, in an enchanting reverie of calm wondering.' (Source: Text Publishing website)

1 Humbled by History Nicolas Rothwell , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 June 2016; (p. 16)

— Review of The Art of Time Travel : Historians and Their Craft Tom Griffiths , 2016 multi chapter work criticism biography
1 Truth Speaks in Brutal Ways Nicolas Rothwell , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7-8 May 2016; (p. 16)

— Review of The World Repair Video Game David Ireland , 2015 single work novel
1 Field of Western Dreams Nicolas Rothwell , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16-17 April 2016; (p. 20)

— Review of Experiments in Self Determination Histories of the Outstation Movement in Australia 2015 single work criticism
1 Blood and Other Bonds Nicolas Rothwell , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 15 March 2016; (p. 15)
1 After a Brief Look Round Nicolas Rothwell , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 13-14 February 2016; (p. 18)

— Review of Terra Nullius : En Resa Genom Ingens Land Sven Lindqvist , 2005 single work prose
1 Rebel Yell Nicolas Rothwell , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 1-2 October 2016; (p. 16)

— Review of Making Headlines Chris Mitchell , 2016 single work single work autobiography
1 Lore of the Desert Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 9 December 2015; (p. 16)

— Review of Putuparri and the Rainmakers Nicole Ma , 2015 single work film/TV
1 The Northern Wilds Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 single work essay
— Appears in: The Best Australian Essays 2015 2015;
1 Red, Red Rose Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 10-11 October 2015; (p. 18-19)

— Review of Red Professor : The Cold War Life of Fred Rose Peter Monteath , Valerie Munt , 2015 single work biography
'Anthropologist, communist, informer. Fred Rose made his own choices, as a new biography makes clear, writes Nicolas Rothwell'
1 Gold, but Not Water Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 22-23 August 2015; (p. 16-17)

— Review of The Girl Green as Elderflower Randolph Stow , 1980 single work novel ; The Suburbs of Hell : A Novel Randolph Stow , 1984 single work novel ; To the Islands Randolph Stow , 1958 single work novel ; Tourmaline Randolph Stow , 1963 single work novel ; Visitants Randolph Stow , 1979 single work novel
1 So We Could Be Here in the Future Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 August 2015; (p. 16)

— Review of Between Two Worlds : Essays in Honour of the Visionary Aboriginal Elder, David Burrumarra Ian Mcintosh , 2015 selected work essay
1 How Sweet the Sound Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 2 July 2015; (p. 15)
'Gurrumul’s new album testifies to the enduring legacy of Christian missions.'
1 Yesterday's Hero Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 June 2015; (p. 16-17)
1 Forbidding Treasure Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7-8 March 2015; (p. 6-8)

Western fascination with the north Kimberley coastline has endured since seafarers encountered it in the 17th century, writes Nicholas Rothwell.

1 Different Game Nicolas Rothwell , 2015 extract criticism (The Refuge : A Confession)
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 January 2015; (p. 16-17)
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