image of person or book cover 3043220661330627529.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon The City of Sealions single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2002... 2002 The City of Sealions
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Lian is a stranger in a strange land, fighting her mother, Phi-Van, from afar. Haunted by her mother's story, Lian has run to the other side of the world, only to discover the true nature of what it means to be an outsider. As she loses herself in the confusing life of Yemen, her new foster mother country, she cannot see that the tyranny of Phi-Van's greater suffering is also her lifeline. But she must break too before she can grow.

'This is a rich and strange journey under the sea to the place that defines and limits us all.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Notes

  • Dedication: For Roger, face to the salt spray and a wild sea

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2002 .
      image of person or book cover 3043220661330627529.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 230p.
      ISBN: 1865086177

Works about this Work

Is Cosmopolitan the New Australian? Flexible Identities in Eva Sallis’s Fiction Salhia Ben-Messahel , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia , vol. 9 no. 2 2018;

'This paper examines the way in which Eva Sallis fictionalises encounters with Europe, Asia and The Middle-East in her three books, Hiam (1998), City of Sealions (2002) and Mahjar (2003). In her narratives, Sallis depicts the migrant experience in Australia and in foreign places to deconstruct definitions of “home”, of being in the world, and construct the space of the cosmopolitan subject that meanders through historical settings and transnational contexts. Thus, Sallis seems to suggest that the relationship between history and literature is intimate, that narrative and history are multiform and bound, respectively acting upon one another, redefining the boundaries of nations and identities. Looking at how Sallis engages with the political realities and tackles the problems of being different to the mainstream, this paper examines the various meanings derived from intercultural encounters, whether such encounters subvert Australia’s settler-history but also its multicultural and post-colonial nature. The novelist’s use of geographic space and displacement as major components of contemporary identity-making, conveys an inclusive approach to otherness and constructs flexible identities out of global and cosmopolitan experiences.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Transitions : Rites of Passage as Border Crossings in Contemporary Australian Women's Fiction Rachel Slater , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Rites of Passage in Postcolonial Women's Writing 2010; (p. 207-223)
The novels examined in this criticism focus on Asian-Australian women in contemporary Australia. Examples of the difficulties and identity-threatening tranisitions the characters undergo in their efforts to move across the borders of two cultures are given particular attention. Both authors share a dynamic engagement with notions of female subjectivity which provide insight into ways of belonging in Australia and the world.
Eva Sallis : Creativity in Literature and Politics Raghid Nahhas , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Kalimat : An International Periodical of English and Arabic Creative Writing , June no. 18 (Arabic) 2004; (p. 31-40)
Untitled Sue Thomas , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Feminist Studies , November vol. 18 no. 42 2003; (p. 329-331)

— Review of The City of Sealions Eva Sallis , 2002 single work novel
Possibilities for Australia Lisa Slater , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 62 no. 3 2002; (p. 197-200)

— Review of The City of Sealions Eva Sallis , 2002 single work novel
On the Crossroads of Cultures Jasna Novakovic , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Women's Book Review , vol. 14 no. 2 2002;

— Review of The City of Sealions Eva Sallis , 2002 single work novel
Possibilities for Australia Lisa Slater , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 62 no. 3 2002; (p. 197-200)

— Review of The City of Sealions Eva Sallis , 2002 single work novel
Untitled Sue Thomas , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Feminist Studies , November vol. 18 no. 42 2003; (p. 329-331)

— Review of The City of Sealions Eva Sallis , 2002 single work novel
Sallis's Sea of Migrant Metaphors Thuy On , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 239 2002; (p. 49)

— Review of The City of Sealions Eva Sallis , 2002 single work novel
Arab Society in Down-Under Mode Michael Sharkey , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 23-24 March 2002; (p. 10-11)

— Review of The City of Sealions Eva Sallis , 2002 single work novel
Eva Sallis : Creativity in Literature and Politics Raghid Nahhas , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Kalimat : An International Periodical of English and Arabic Creative Writing , June no. 18 (Arabic) 2004; (p. 31-40)
Transitions : Rites of Passage as Border Crossings in Contemporary Australian Women's Fiction Rachel Slater , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Rites of Passage in Postcolonial Women's Writing 2010; (p. 207-223)
The novels examined in this criticism focus on Asian-Australian women in contemporary Australia. Examples of the difficulties and identity-threatening tranisitions the characters undergo in their efforts to move across the borders of two cultures are given particular attention. Both authors share a dynamic engagement with notions of female subjectivity which provide insight into ways of belonging in Australia and the world.
City of Sealions by Eva Sallis Mario La Marca , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Winter vol. 10 no. 2 2002; (p. 17)
Is Cosmopolitan the New Australian? Flexible Identities in Eva Sallis’s Fiction Salhia Ben-Messahel , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia , vol. 9 no. 2 2018;

'This paper examines the way in which Eva Sallis fictionalises encounters with Europe, Asia and The Middle-East in her three books, Hiam (1998), City of Sealions (2002) and Mahjar (2003). In her narratives, Sallis depicts the migrant experience in Australia and in foreign places to deconstruct definitions of “home”, of being in the world, and construct the space of the cosmopolitan subject that meanders through historical settings and transnational contexts. Thus, Sallis seems to suggest that the relationship between history and literature is intimate, that narrative and history are multiform and bound, respectively acting upon one another, redefining the boundaries of nations and identities. Looking at how Sallis engages with the political realities and tackles the problems of being different to the mainstream, this paper examines the various meanings derived from intercultural encounters, whether such encounters subvert Australia’s settler-history but also its multicultural and post-colonial nature. The novelist’s use of geographic space and displacement as major components of contemporary identity-making, conveys an inclusive approach to otherness and constructs flexible identities out of global and cosmopolitan experiences.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Last amended 13 Apr 2015 11:50:23
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