y separately published work icon The Blue Feather single work   novel   young adult   horror   myth/legend  
Issue Details: First known date: 1997... 1997 The Blue Feather
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Simon, a chillingly cynical sixteen-year-old, who lives on the Western Australian coast near Esperance, joins an expedition to investigate the existence of a mythical bird, and in the process each of the characters involved confront the complex ecosystems of their natural, social and spiritual worlds.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Port Melbourne, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Mammoth , 1997 .
      Extent: 246p.
      Description: ports.
      ISBN: 1863307508 (pbk)
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Sceptre , 2002 .
      Extent: 246p.
      ISBN: 0733610757
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Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.
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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)
The Blue Feather Cameron Woodhead , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 16 February 2002; (p. 8)
— Review of The Blue Feather Gary Crew , Michael O'Hara , 1997 single work novel
The Blue Feather Bernard McKenna , Sharyn Pearce , 1999 single work criticism biography
— Appears in: Strange Journeys : The Works of Gary Crew 1999; (p. 201-230)
Untitled Judith James , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 42 no. 1 1998; (p. 40)
— Review of The Blue Feather Gary Crew , Michael O'Hara , 1997 single work novel
Writing on the Edge: Gary Crew's Fiction Alice Mills , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 8 no. 3 1998; (p. 25-35) Mills gives an overview of Australian author Gary Crew's work, which she describes as 'characterized by doubt' and offering endings which remain unresolved rather than the formulaic 'happy endings' which permeate conventional children's stories (25). Crew has won many literary awards for his children's fiction, however his stories are decidely ambiguous and post-modern in their 'celebration of doubt' (34), which attracts criticism on the grounds that the texts are too 'difficult and demanding for young children' (25). Mills offers a succinct and insightful discussion which explores how Crew's narratives of child-adolescent maturation play with the conventions of the gothic-horror genre by refusing 'the guarantee of a revelation to come' (34). Mills says 'At his strongest, he brings to the reader's notice the human need to make sense of the world. The power of his fiction derives not from him meeting such needs but from playing upon them' (25).
Untitled Judith James , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 42 no. 1 1998; (p. 40)
— Review of The Blue Feather Gary Crew , Michael O'Hara , 1997 single work novel
Cover Book : The Blue Feather Carmel Ballinger , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 12 no. 2 1997; (p. 24)
— Review of The Blue Feather Gary Crew , Michael O'Hara , 1997 single work novel
Towers of Babble Adrian Mitchell , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 31 January 1998; (p. 11)
— Review of Greylands Isobelle Carmody , 1997 single work children's fiction ; The Blue Feather Gary Crew , Michael O'Hara , 1997 single work novel ; Under the Cat's Eye Gillian Rubinstein , 1997 single work novel ; Ziggurat Ivan Southall , 1997 single work novel
Good and Bad Eggs Katharine England , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 195 1997; (p. 60-61)
— Review of Slow Burn Victor Kelleher , 1997 single work novel ; The Blue Feather Gary Crew , Michael O'Hara , 1997 single work novel
Untitled Olivia Craze , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 5 no. 4 1997; (p. 43)
— Review of The Blue Feather Gary Crew , Michael O'Hara , 1997 single work novel
Writers at Work : Collaborating on The Blue Feather Sharyn Pearce , 1997 single work criticism
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 41 no. 4 1997; (p. 16)
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)
The Blue Feather Bernard McKenna , Sharyn Pearce , 1999 single work criticism biography
— Appears in: Strange Journeys : The Works of Gary Crew 1999; (p. 201-230)
Writing on the Edge: Gary Crew's Fiction Alice Mills , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 8 no. 3 1998; (p. 25-35) Mills gives an overview of Australian author Gary Crew's work, which she describes as 'characterized by doubt' and offering endings which remain unresolved rather than the formulaic 'happy endings' which permeate conventional children's stories (25). Crew has won many literary awards for his children's fiction, however his stories are decidely ambiguous and post-modern in their 'celebration of doubt' (34), which attracts criticism on the grounds that the texts are too 'difficult and demanding for young children' (25). Mills offers a succinct and insightful discussion which explores how Crew's narratives of child-adolescent maturation play with the conventions of the gothic-horror genre by refusing 'the guarantee of a revelation to come' (34). Mills says 'At his strongest, he brings to the reader's notice the human need to make sense of the world. The power of his fiction derives not from him meeting such needs but from playing upon them' (25).
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Last amended 28 Sep 2006 11:31:23
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Esperance, Esperance area, Southeast Western Australia, Western Australia,
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