'Written with the same lyrical intensity and spellbinding prose that has won Robert Drewe's fiction international acclaim, The Shark Net is set in the 1950s in a city haunted by the menace of an elusive serial killer. Drewe's youth in the middle-class seaside suburb of Perth, Australia—often described as the most isolated city in the world—takes a sinister turn when a social outcast (who turns out to be an employee of Drewe's father) embarks on a five-year murder spree. This unusual memoir brilliantly evokes the confluence of adolescent innocence and sexual awakening while a hare-lipped killer who eventually murders eight people, including one of Drewe's friends, lurks in the shadows.' (Publication summary).
The Shark Net
( dir. Graeme Burfoot
)
Perth
:
Taylor Media
,
2003
Z1035075
2003
series - publisher
film/TV
crime
'This is the story of one boy's journey to manhood. Of childhood games, teenage lust and adult sex. Of secrets and lies, fear and evil. Of family ties that bind forever and guilt that lasts a lifetime. And of the need to forgive. This is The Shark Net, a compelling, three-part series based on Robert Drewe's award-winning memoir about his early life growing up during the reign of one of Australia's most notorious serial killers. Though their lives take completely different turns, their paths cross; changing Robert forever.'
Montebello : A Memoir
Hawthorn
:
Hamish Hamilton
,
2012
Z1884113
2012
single work
autobiography
'Montebello continues where Robert Drewe's much-loved memoir The Shark Net left off, taking us into his mature years. In the aftermath of events, both man-made and natural, that have left a permanent mark on the landscape and psyche of Western Australia - the British nuclear tests in the Montebello Islands, the mining boom, and shark attacks along the coast - Drewe examines how comfortable and familiar terrain can quickly become a site of danger, and how regeneration and renewal can emerge from chaos and loss.
'With humility, wit and a clear-eyed view of himself, he intertwines these stories with the events of his own life. His passion for islands - which began with Rottnest Island in his youth and continues to this day - frames the narrative; in the near-solitude of these remote places, he is free to reflect. This is a moving story of what it means to see and survive destruction, to love and to grow old.' (From the publisher's website.)
Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory
New Brunswick
:
Rutgers University Press
,
2010
Z1836606
2010
single work
criticism
'The late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a surge in the publication and popularity of autobiographical writings about childhood. Linking literary and cultural studies, Contesting Childhood draws on a varied selection of works from a diverse range of authors - from first-time to experienced writers. Kate Douglas explores Australian accounts of the Stolen Generation, contemporary American and British narratives of abuse, the bestselling memoirs of Andrea Ashworth, Augusten Burroughs, Robert Drewe, Mary Karr, Frank McCourt, Dave Pelzer, and Lorna Sage, among many others." "Drawing on trauma and memory studies and theories of authorship and readership, Contesting Childhood offers commentary on the triumphs, trials, and tribulations that have shaped this genre. Douglas examines the content of the narratives and the limits of their representations, as well as some of the ways in which autobiographies of youth have become politically important and influential. This study enables readers to discover how stories configure childhood within cultural memory and the public sphere.' (Publisher's blurb)
Robert Drewe's The Shark Net
Insight Text Guides – The Shark Net
Elsternwick
:
Insight Publications
,
2009
6897609
2009
single work
criticism
'Insight Text Guides – The Shark Net is designed to help secondary English students understand and analyse the text. This comprehensive study guide to Robert Drewe's memoir contains detailed character and chapter analysis and explores genre, structure, themes and language. Essay questions and sample answers help to prepare students for creating written responses to the text. ' (Publisher's blurb)
