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y separately published work icon Del-Del single work   novel   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 1991... 1991 Del-Del
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Beth, 18, looks back on the events of the past four years, beginning with the anniversary of her sister's death from leukemia. Sam, a stoic seven-year-old genius, suddenly changes from a docile brother to an uncontrollable child he calls Del-Del (from the constellation Delphinus). Convinced that the boy is possessed by the devil, his distraught family consults an exorcist, whose work temporarily mitigates the ravings. But it is Beth who ultimately risks her life to uncover the psychological foundation of Del-Del's genesis.'

Source: Publishers Weekly.

Notes

  • Dedication: For Ann and Joe

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Milsons Point, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House , 1991 .
      image of person or book cover 8128761522614965750.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 194p.
      ISBN: 0091826063
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Julia MacRae Books ,       1991 .
      image of person or book cover 8116916182529377586.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online
      Extent: 194p.
      ISBN: 1856810720
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,      :       Walker and Company ,       1992 .
      image of person or book cover 5267138776770156125.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online
      Extent: 180p.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 0802781543
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Random House ,       1992 .
      image of person or book cover 2681248118968860081.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online
      Extent: 194p.
      Edition info: Red Fox ed.
      ISBN: 0099182718 (pbk.)
    • Milsons Point, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House , 2000 .
      image of person or book cover 3762373060585184816.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online
      Extent: 193p.
      Edition info: New ed.
      Description: illus., port.
      ISBN: 1740517172
Alternative title: Als Laura nicht mehr bei uns war
Language: German
    • Aarau,
      c
      Switzerland,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Frankfurt am Main,
      c
      Germany,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Salzburg,
      c
      Austria,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Sauerländer ,       1995 .
      image of person or book cover 7422417077579498565.jpeg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 283p.p.
      ISBN: 9783794138364, 3794138368
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Works about this Work

The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950 James Doig , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127) According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii)
Untitled May Johnston , 2001 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 15 no. 2 2001; (p. 82)
— Review of Del-Del Victor Kelleher , 1991 single work novel
The Lost and Possessed Child in Henry James's 'The Turn of the Screw', William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty's 'The Excorcist' and Victor Kelleher's 'Del-Del' Adrian Schober , 1999 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , August vol. 9 no. 2 1999; (p. 40-48) Schober examines a range of texts, including Del-Del by Victor Kelleher, in relation to possible contradictory readings of the lost and possessed child. He argues that 'the relationship between childhood innocence and corruption is problematized by the fact that sometimes the lost-possessed child is complicit in the possession' (40). Particularly in Kelleher's text, where the tensions between 'opposing ideologies of childhood' are overt and the lost-possessed child may be read as 'a vessel of good or evil, innocence and corruption ignorance and knowledge, or both' (40). Schober sees the main site of these tensions as residing in a clash between Calvinist and Romantic traditions, whereby the former perceives the mind of the child as particularly susceptible to possession, while the Romatic ideal of the child is one of pure innocence. To this end, he argues that 'it is necessary...to incorporate the notion of a dialectic, where the ideas of the one influence, emphasize, inform and define our thinking of the other' (47).
Crazy Boys with Voices in Their Heads : Psychosis in Young Adult Literature Cathrine Harboe-Ree , 1996 single work criticism
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 4 no. 4 1996; (p. 5-7)
An Interview with Victor Kelleher Steven Paulsen (interviewer), 1994 single work interview
— Appears in: Sirius , February no. 4 1994; (p. 24-29)
Untitled Margot Nelmes , 1992 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 36 no. 1 1992; (p. 30)
— Review of Del-Del Victor Kelleher , 1991 single work novel
Untitled Joan Zahnleiter , 1992 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 7 no. 2 1992; (p. 33)
— Review of Del-Del Victor Kelleher , 1991 single work novel
Untitled 1993 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 7 no. 3 1993; (p. 32)
— Review of Del-Del Victor Kelleher , 1991 single work novel
From the Word Go : books for younger readers Meg Sorensen , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 136 1991; (p. 53-55)
— Review of No Such Country : A Book of Antipodean Hours Gary Crew , 1991 single work novel ; Del-Del Victor Kelleher , 1991 single work novel
Tale of Young Burglars Has a Twist Laurie Copping , 1992 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 25 July 1992; (p. C11)
— Review of Peter Kate Walker , 1991 single work novel ; Del-Del Victor Kelleher , 1991 single work novel ; The House Guest Eleanor Nilsson , 1991 single work novel ; Change the Locks Simon French , 1991 single work novel
An Interview with Victor Kelleher Steven Paulsen (interviewer), 1994 single work interview
— Appears in: Sirius , February no. 4 1994; (p. 24-29)
The Australian Horror Novel Since 1950 James Doig , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Sold by the Millions : Australia's Bestsellers 2012; (p. 112-127) According to James Doig the horror genre 'was overlooked by the popular circulating libraries in Australia.' In this chapter he observes that this 'marginalization of horror reflects both the trepidation felt by the conservative library system towards 'penny dreadfuls,' and the fact that horror had limited popular appeal with the British (and Australian) reading public.' Doig concludes that there is 'no Australian author of horror novels with the same commercial cachet' as authors of fantasy or science fiction. He proposes that if Australian horror fiction wants to compete successfully 'in the long-term it needs to develop a flourishing and vibrant small press contingent prepared to nurture new talent' like the USA and UK small presses.' (Editor's foreword xii)
Deep Into the Fuggy Realm of the Physical Katharine England , 1992 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 145 1992; (p. 13-14)
Crazy Boys with Voices in Their Heads : Psychosis in Young Adult Literature Cathrine Harboe-Ree , 1996 single work criticism
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 4 no. 4 1996; (p. 5-7)
The Lost and Possessed Child in Henry James's 'The Turn of the Screw', William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty's 'The Excorcist' and Victor Kelleher's 'Del-Del' Adrian Schober , 1999 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , August vol. 9 no. 2 1999; (p. 40-48) Schober examines a range of texts, including Del-Del by Victor Kelleher, in relation to possible contradictory readings of the lost and possessed child. He argues that 'the relationship between childhood innocence and corruption is problematized by the fact that sometimes the lost-possessed child is complicit in the possession' (40). Particularly in Kelleher's text, where the tensions between 'opposing ideologies of childhood' are overt and the lost-possessed child may be read as 'a vessel of good or evil, innocence and corruption ignorance and knowledge, or both' (40). Schober sees the main site of these tensions as residing in a clash between Calvinist and Romantic traditions, whereby the former perceives the mind of the child as particularly susceptible to possession, while the Romatic ideal of the child is one of pure innocence. To this end, he argues that 'it is necessary...to incorporate the notion of a dialectic, where the ideas of the one influence, emphasize, inform and define our thinking of the other' (47).
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Last amended 25 Jul 2017 16:33:02
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