Richard King Richard King i(A4501 works by)
Born: Established: 1968 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Male
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1 7 y separately published work icon Carrion Colony Richard King , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2002 Z971483 2002 single work novel historical fiction humour satire

'With a nod of his head to Peter Carey's Jack Maggs, Richard King, winner of the 1995 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award, writes with tongue-in-cheek to give us a boisterous novel of just one of the beginnings of white Australia.

'In the fine and funny tradition of absurdist writing, Carrion Colony is the exciting new novel from the winner of the 1995 Australian/Vogel Literary Award.

'Set in a broken-down penal colony, Old + New Bridgeford, in Australia in the early 19th century, Richard King writes an extraordinarily compelling, somewhat autobiographical and tongue-in-cheek view on just one of the beginnings of white Australia.

'There's mayhem, violence and generally very odd behaviour exhibited by the soldiers and the convicts dumped in what feels like the middle of nowhere.

'There's a doctor who's too preoccupied in razing the native flora to practise medicine, a madman stranded on a rocky outcrop engraving a tiny map of Great Britain in the stone, a cartographer whose pencils are blunt and the Spanish Girl, the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, with a mean knack for Red Ace.

'Every man and woman in this colony is being stretched beyond belief just to survive, but there's humour too in the surviving.

'Carrion Colony is a boisterous novel, full of verve, that interprets history with a wickedly satirical lens.' [publisher's summary]

1 Richard King: 'Kindling Does For Firewood' Richard King , 2000 extract novel (Kindling Does for Firewood)
— Appears in: Mixed Grain: Celebrating 20 Years of 'The Australian' Vogel Literary Award 2000; (p. 179-187)
1 Explosive Finale Richard King , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 214 1999; (p. 35-36)

— Review of Glue Leonie Stevens , 1999 single work novel
1 Night on Gore Street Richard King , 1997 single work short story
— Appears in: Pub Fiction 1997; (p. 177-193)
2 19 y separately published work icon Kindling Does for Firewood Richard King , St Leonards : Allen and Unwin , 1996 Z202373 1996 single work novel

'MARGARET: 'He is sweet, and earnest, as I say, and he generously and with great endeavour (but hopelessly) performed oral sex upon me for some twenty - twenty-five minutes, which I contentedly received, and feigned appreciation with crocodile moans and crocodile groans. His heart is in the right place, even if his tongue never was.'

'WILLIAM:'Margaret ad I have been going out for about six weeks. They have been blissful. We cannot find fault. I think we absolutely delight each other. And one wonders how long such exquisite perfection can last. One watches for the trigger, for the germ, for the bug or bruise that will spread the infection that will turn cancerous that will kill the relationship. It happens in every relationship. The outbreak of the hateful telling.'

'Kindling Does For Firewood tells the story of the headstrong Margaret and her hapless boyfriend William as they fall in and out of love. From their first date this boy meets girl novel takes on new life as we hear both sides of the story. William and Margaret work their way through the familiar territories of frustrated love, earnest politics, sexual temptations and fear of impending boredom. This is a novel about delight and joy, anger and sex, humour and bad behaviour. This is a world where people stuff up - spectacularly and often. But more importantly, it's a world where people do give a stuff.' (Publication summary)

1 Why I Liked Wednesday Richard King , 1996 single work prose humour
— Appears in: The Big Issue , 4-17 November no. 10 1996; (p. 4)
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