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y separately published work icon Alva's Boy single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2008... 2008 Alva's Boy
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'“I weighed up these women in my life and decided that none of them would fill the role of a mother. But then, what did I know about mothers anyway? … The short answer was nothing – bugger-all.”

'Sydney in 1928 and Alva, a young Jewish wife, dies in childbirth. No family member is allowed to care for the baby, so “Alva’s boy” is sent from one children’s home to another. His father weds for the fourth time but young Alan finds his dreams of a real home shattered amid the ruins of this disastrous marriage. He navigates his way through childhood as a street-smart survivor, and not even the archetypal wicked stepmother, her terrible Ma or his own foolish father can rob him of hope. With a keen ear for authentic dialogue and a wry humour, Alan Collins tells a poignant story with vitality and a remarkable lack of sentimentality. The adult author reconstructs his childhood through the memory of vivid sensory experiences and presents a cast of unforgettable characters. He has an unerring sense of time and place, and through his eyes we glimpse Australia, and in particular Jewish-Australian society, as it was in the 1930s and early 1940s. He shows us a community caught up in the Great Depression, anticipating and then experiencing war, coping with poverty, ill-prepared for the ‘reffos’ who were coming from Europe. It is a memoir that is so Jewish and at the same time so Australian.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ormond, Brighton - Moorabbin area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Hybrid , 2008 .
      image of person or book cover 1271166480487766863.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: vii, 180p.p.
      ISBN: 9781876462666 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

Untitled Sophie Caplan , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal , June vol. 19 no. 3 2009; (p. 427-428)

— Review of Alva's Boy Alan Collins , 2008 single work autobiography
To Be Called by Your Name Lee Shrubb , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Quadrant , June vol. 53 no. 6 2009; (p. 122-123)

— Review of Alva's Boy Alan Collins , 2008 single work autobiography
Discrimination in the Book Industry Ros Collins , 2009 single work correspondence
— Appears in: The Age , 12 May 2009; (p. 10)
Boy from Bondi's Colourful Memoir Myrna Kangisser , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Jewish News , vol. 73 no. 54 2008; (p. 10)

— Review of Alva's Boy Alan Collins , 2008 single work autobiography
Lending Rights Wrong Widow Jason Steger , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 22 November 2008; (p. 29)
A column canvassing current literary news including a report on the injustice of the cessation of lending rights payments for Alan Collins's Alva's Boy following his death. Columnist Jason Steger also lists the winners of the 2008 Scarlet Stiletto Awards.
Looking Back on Dark Years Dianne Dempsey , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 1 November 2008; (p. 25)

— Review of Alva's Boy Alan Collins , 2008 single work autobiography
Boy from Bondi's Colourful Memoir Myrna Kangisser , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Jewish News , vol. 73 no. 54 2008; (p. 10)

— Review of Alva's Boy Alan Collins , 2008 single work autobiography
To Be Called by Your Name Lee Shrubb , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Quadrant , June vol. 53 no. 6 2009; (p. 122-123)

— Review of Alva's Boy Alan Collins , 2008 single work autobiography
Untitled Sophie Caplan , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal , June vol. 19 no. 3 2009; (p. 427-428)

— Review of Alva's Boy Alan Collins , 2008 single work autobiography
Lending Rights Wrong Widow Jason Steger , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 22 November 2008; (p. 29)
A column canvassing current literary news including a report on the injustice of the cessation of lending rights payments for Alan Collins's Alva's Boy following his death. Columnist Jason Steger also lists the winners of the 2008 Scarlet Stiletto Awards.
Discrimination in the Book Industry Ros Collins , 2009 single work correspondence
— Appears in: The Age , 12 May 2009; (p. 10)
Last amended 23 Feb 2015 12:42:24
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