y separately published work icon Stony Heart Country single work   novel   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 1999... 1999 Stony Heart Country
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

"You see, out here in the country." Bernie Tolliver tells Aaron Knott, "things are complicated." Dangerously complicated, Aaron discovers - and that's before he's met Rose, the haunted young woman wandering the wild paddocks. Aaron's father is a city consultant brought in to sack country workers. Aaron Knott is the city kid taken along for the ride. And the ride in Rocky Rises is always rough. (LA)

Notes

  • Included in the 2000 White Ravens Catalogue compiled by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 1999 .
      Extent: 209p.
      ISBN: 0140279083
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Other Formats

  • Also braille, sound recording.
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Works about this Work

Class Matters in Some Recent Australian Children's Fiction Australasian Children's Literature Association for Research (ACLAR) Conference. (3rd.,: Melbourne 1999) Robin Pope (editor), single work criticism Here Pope looks at representations of social class in two Australian novels, The Best Thing (1995, Lanagan) and Stony Heart Country (1999, Metzenthen). She approaches class as 'performative', drawing on Judith Butler's notion of gender performativity to analyse the codes and conventions which signify social status and argues that both texts 'work towards an acceptance of existing class differences through a humanist and universalizing view of people which ignores the limitations class divisions create' (pp.39, 43). Pope's concern is that as tools of socialisation, 'texts position their readers...to occupy particular subject positions' and as such, 'provide oppurtunities to explore different subjectivities, to reinforce or confirm existing ones, or...to subvert them' (p.39). As social class is a crucial factor in influencing how we exist and how we are seen by others, it is extremely important, says Pope, to critique the ideological assumptions which underpin representations of class in children's fiction as the dominant ideologies 'continue to represent the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of their existence' and this ensures the ongoing hegemony of hierarchical class divisions (p.43).
Class Matters in Some Recent Australian Children's Fiction Robin Pope , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , April vol. 11 no. 1 2001; (p. 38-43) Pope looks at two examples of Australian adolescent literature, The Best Thing by Margo Lanagan and Stony Heart Country by David Metzenthen, to address the infrequent attention given to the representation of social class in Australian children's texts. She posits that the conservative approach of Australian politics, particularly the Liberal Government's attitude towards unions and union labour, means that the Marxist definition of social class still has relevance in terms of understanding the effects of industrial and economic power. As Pope points out, 'Social class contributes markedly to our sense of self , our subjectivity. Literary texts can provide opportunities to explore different subjectivites, to reinforce or confirm existing ones, or alternately to subvert them' (39). Pope's analysis concludes that while both texts offer a 'fair representation of the working classes' they both work towards dismantling class difference through a 'humanist and universalizing view of people' which ultimately 'ignores the limitations that class divisions create' (42-43). She argues that both novels essentailly naturalize the class divisions which underpin Australian economic and social structures which positions the reader to accept rather than challenge the notion that social hierarchies are inevitable.
Untitled Jeff Herd , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 14 no. 2 2000; (p. 41)
— Review of Stony Heart Country David Metzenthen , 1999 single work novel
Untitled Margot Nelmes , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , February vol. 44 no. 1 2000; (p. 25-26)
— Review of Stony Heart Country David Metzenthen , 1999 single work novel
2nd. Prize Children's Fiction Pam Harvey , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 224 2000; (p. 58)
— Review of Stony Heart Country David Metzenthen , 1999 single work novel
Untitled Margot Nelmes , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , February vol. 44 no. 1 2000; (p. 25-26)
— Review of Stony Heart Country David Metzenthen , 1999 single work novel
Untitled Kevin Steinberger , 1999 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 14 no. 5 1999; (p. 37)
— Review of Stony Heart Country David Metzenthen , 1999 single work novel
Untitled Jeff Herd , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 14 no. 2 2000; (p. 41)
— Review of Stony Heart Country David Metzenthen , 1999 single work novel
Skate Lingo Needs Straight Talking Rachael Antony , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12 February 2000; (p. 10)
— Review of Stony Heart Country David Metzenthen , 1999 single work novel ; No Other Way Michael Dugan , 1999 single work novel ; Graffiti on the Fence Elaine Forrestal , 1999 single work novel ; Tyro David McRobbie , 1999 single work novel
Future Fantasy Margot Hillel , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February-March no. 218 2000; (p. 52)
— Review of Stony Heart Country David Metzenthen , 1999 single work novel ; Thunderfish Simon Higgins , 1999 single work novel
Class Matters in Some Recent Australian Children's Fiction Robin Pope , 2001 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , April vol. 11 no. 1 2001; (p. 38-43) Pope looks at two examples of Australian adolescent literature, The Best Thing by Margo Lanagan and Stony Heart Country by David Metzenthen, to address the infrequent attention given to the representation of social class in Australian children's texts. She posits that the conservative approach of Australian politics, particularly the Liberal Government's attitude towards unions and union labour, means that the Marxist definition of social class still has relevance in terms of understanding the effects of industrial and economic power. As Pope points out, 'Social class contributes markedly to our sense of self , our subjectivity. Literary texts can provide opportunities to explore different subjectivites, to reinforce or confirm existing ones, or alternately to subvert them' (39). Pope's analysis concludes that while both texts offer a 'fair representation of the working classes' they both work towards dismantling class difference through a 'humanist and universalizing view of people' which ultimately 'ignores the limitations that class divisions create' (42-43). She argues that both novels essentailly naturalize the class divisions which underpin Australian economic and social structures which positions the reader to accept rather than challenge the notion that social hierarchies are inevitable.
Class Matters in Some Recent Australian Children's Fiction Australasian Children's Literature Association for Research (ACLAR) Conference. (3rd.,: Melbourne 1999) Robin Pope (editor), single work criticism Here Pope looks at representations of social class in two Australian novels, The Best Thing (1995, Lanagan) and Stony Heart Country (1999, Metzenthen). She approaches class as 'performative', drawing on Judith Butler's notion of gender performativity to analyse the codes and conventions which signify social status and argues that both texts 'work towards an acceptance of existing class differences through a humanist and universalizing view of people which ignores the limitations class divisions create' (pp.39, 43). Pope's concern is that as tools of socialisation, 'texts position their readers...to occupy particular subject positions' and as such, 'provide oppurtunities to explore different subjectivities, to reinforce or confirm existing ones, or...to subvert them' (p.39). As social class is a crucial factor in influencing how we exist and how we are seen by others, it is extremely important, says Pope, to critique the ideological assumptions which underpin representations of class in children's fiction as the dominant ideologies 'continue to represent the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of their existence' and this ensures the ongoing hegemony of hierarchical class divisions (p.43).
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Last amended 10 Sep 2008 15:47:53
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Country towns,
  • Western District, Victoria,
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