image of person or book cover 359318873481667933.jpg
y separately published work icon Stepper single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 1997... 1997 Stepper
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Tokyo, 1933. Tall, broodingly handsome, Victor Stepper is a consummate ladies' man, a brilliant journalist... and spy. As the world descends into war, Stepper collects information and sends it on to Moscow.

'Then he falls in love with Reiko, a Japanese woman. And Victor Stepper begins to fall apart...

'Stepper is a dazzling and haunting novel of espionage and erotic love.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

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 Australia , 1997 .
      image of person or book cover 2882258814030546313.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 309p.
      ISBN: 0091835011
    • Milsons Point, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House , 1997 .
      image of person or book cover 359318873481667933.jpg
      Extent: 309p.
      ISBN: 009183502X
Alternative title: Stepper, oder, Die Kunst der Spionage
Language: German
    • Stuttgart,
      c
      Germany,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Klett-Cotta ,
      1999 .
      image of person or book cover 7727647391545797762.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 336p.
      ISBN: 3608934677, 9783608934670

Other Formats

  • Also braille, sound recording.

Works about this Work

The Wound That Does Not Heal : Brian Castro's Literary Career Shannon Burns , 2022 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , December vol. 81 no. 4 2022; (p. 188-195)

'Brian Castro dramatises and even valorises forms of literary and artistic failure throughout his fiction, but his body of work is a raging success by mortal standards. None of his novels disappoint on close inspection. Double-Wolf and Shanghai Dancing are endlessly rewarding; The Swan Book is gorgeously written and deeply moving; After China is conceptually neat, seductive and stylish. Others, such as Drift and The Bath Fugues, appeal to select readers but are dazzlingly rich and structurally brilliant. Even Stepper—which Castro sees as a relatively conventional spy novel—is a satisfying and affecting Nabokovian game. Every novel is stamped by a talent that induces envy as much as gratitude. You want to know what it feels like to write that way.' (Publication abstract)

"Grammars of Creation” : An Interview with Brian Castro : 24 November 2008 Marilyne Brun (interviewer), 2011 single work interview
— Appears in: Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia , vol. 2 no. 1 2011;
'This interview with contemporary Australian writer Brian Castro addresses a number of themes and concepts that are central to his critical work and fiction. In the interview, Castro discusses his oeuvre as a whole, providing insights into the starting point for his first eight novels. He comments on the concepts of transgression, hybridity, polyphonia, cosmopolitanism and play, underlining the central significance of grammar, ethics and aesthetics in his work. The interview also includes reflections on the development of Asian Australian studies and the importance of translating novels. In the final sections of the interview, Castro discusses the relation between his critical work and his novels and reflects on the common conflation of the novelist and the theorist in much literary criticism.' Source: Marilyne Brun.
In the Shadows: The Spy in Australian Literary and Cultural History Bruce Bennett , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 20 no. 1 2006; (p. 28-37)
Examines espionage in Australian history, and discusses the influence of espionage on Australian writers and literature.
Castro and the Friction of Fiction Jane Sullivan , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 22 March 2003; (p. 3)
Stepper (1997) Paul Sheehan , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 11-12 January 2003; (p. 6)

— Review of Stepper Brian Castro , 1997 single work novel
Stepper (1997) Paul Sheehan , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 11-12 January 2003; (p. 6)

— Review of Stepper Brian Castro , 1997 single work novel
Interest in the Amoral Foong Ling Kong , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 151 1998; (p. 106-107)

— Review of Welcome to Tangier Morris Lurie , 1997 selected work short story ; Stepper Brian Castro , 1997 single work novel ; Wrack James Bradley , 1997 single work novel ; Red Nights Louis Nowra , 1997 single work novel
Castro at His Best Jack Neate , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 22 March 1997; (p. wkd 7)

— Review of Stepper Brian Castro , 1997 single work novel
Double Trouble Helen Daniel , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 22 March 1997; (p. 12)

— Review of Stepper Brian Castro , 1997 single work novel
Tokyo Secrets Alison Broinowski , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 22 March 1997; (p. 10s)

— Review of Stepper Brian Castro , 1997 single work novel
Castro and the Friction of Fiction Jane Sullivan , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 22 March 2003; (p. 3)
In the Shadows: The Spy in Australian Literary and Cultural History Bruce Bennett , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 20 no. 1 2006; (p. 28-37)
Examines espionage in Australian history, and discusses the influence of espionage on Australian writers and literature.
"Grammars of Creation” : An Interview with Brian Castro : 24 November 2008 Marilyne Brun (interviewer), 2011 single work interview
— Appears in: Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia , vol. 2 no. 1 2011;
'This interview with contemporary Australian writer Brian Castro addresses a number of themes and concepts that are central to his critical work and fiction. In the interview, Castro discusses his oeuvre as a whole, providing insights into the starting point for his first eight novels. He comments on the concepts of transgression, hybridity, polyphonia, cosmopolitanism and play, underlining the central significance of grammar, ethics and aesthetics in his work. The interview also includes reflections on the development of Asian Australian studies and the importance of translating novels. In the final sections of the interview, Castro discusses the relation between his critical work and his novels and reflects on the common conflation of the novelist and the theorist in much literary criticism.' Source: Marilyne Brun.
Ramona Koval Interviews Brian Castro About His New Novel, Stepper Ramona Koval (interviewer), 1997 single work biography interview
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 190 1997; (p. 8-10)
Author Takes Big Step in the Right Direction Andrew Clark , 1997 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 26 September 1997; (p. A8)
Last amended 21 Oct 2019 13:47:59
Settings:
  • Tokyo, Honshu,
    c
    Japan,
    c
    East Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • 1930s
  • 1940s
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