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y separately published work icon A Most Peculiar Act single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2014... 2014 A Most Peculiar Act
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The story follows the trials and tribulations of Sugar, a 16 year-old Aboriginal fringe-camp dweller. Set in Darwin during the Japanese bombing raids, we meet characters such as: Horatio Humphris (Horrid Hump), chief protector of Aboriginals, teetotaller and 42 year old virgin; Ralphie Brown, who has the unedifying honour of being the only public servant to ever be sacked; Drew Hepplewaite, redneck racist and female patrol officer armed with balls of steel; and the Administrator's wife, Penelope, who has a fetish for anything oriental. Then there's Sugar's mate Nig Nog, who teaches Sugar a few useful tricks of the "trade" while they do time at the Half-Caste Compound; Fuel Drum's suspicious death at the hands of his six-month-old granddaughter, Honey; and Horseshoe with his wayward and slutty wife, Brumby. With the Aboriginal Ordinances Act and the 'White Australia' policy set as a backdrop, Sugar's resistance to assimilation and the attempts by Horrid Hump and his henchmen to enforce it becomes a protracted battle that ends at the Christmas party from Hell. Interspersed with illicit affairs, stolen children, leprosy and "fucking foreigners," this story sees Sugar and her oppressors finally meet on a level playing field that none of them ever expected - a Japanese bombing raid.' (Source: newsouthbooks website www.newsouthbooks.com.au)

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Notes

  • Dedication: Dedicated to my sister and best friend Julie.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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Works about this Work

Liminality and Communitas in Literary Representations of Aboriginal and Asian Encounters Xu Daozhi , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 43 no. 4 2018; (p. 475-490)

'The dynamic relationship between Aboriginal groups and ethnic immigrants in Australia remains theoretically unconstructed as it largely falls outside the binaries of race and ethnicity. Historically, Aboriginal people have developed longstanding contacts with Asian groups, traversing national, cultural, sexual and legislative boundaries. Although indigeneity and diaspora embody disparate and even opposite meanings, there are synergies between diasporic identities and Aboriginal people who suffer from dislocation due to the enduring impact of colonisation and migration. The postcolonial adaptation of liminality or threshold may provide an apt framework for theorising the literary representation of a convergence of border-crossing and diasporic experiences of Aboriginal and Asian Australians in the marginal, interstitial and in-between spaces. Due to a shared predicament and a sense of comradeship, AboriginalAsian encounters forge communitas, which does not suggest inherent subversiveness or unproblematic co-option. This paper considers Ubby’s Underdogs (2011, 2013) by Brenton E. McKenna and A Most Peculiar Act (2014) by Marie Munkara to explore AboriginalAsian relations under the White Australia policy. Through the recurrent theme of Japanese and imaginary Chinese invasions, these novels complicate the crossings in the porous and precarious borderlands, remap the intersecting power relations and reroute Aboriginal characters back to the centre.'  (Publication abstract)

Marie Munkara, A Most Peculiar Act Iva Polak , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 7 no. 2 2015;

— Review of A Most Peculiar Act Marie Munkara , 2014 single work novel
Most Perculiar, Mama 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Land Rights News , May vol. 4 no. 1 2014; (p. 28)

— Review of A Most Peculiar Act Marie Munkara , 2014 single work novel

A Most Peculiar Act is a new comic novel from award-winning Indigenous author Marie Munkara...'

Well Read Katharine England , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 5 July 2014; (p. 25)

— Review of After Darkness Christine Piper , 2014 single work novel ; A Most Peculiar Act Marie Munkara , 2014 single work novel
Top End Writers Festival Puts Student and Academic Strength on Show for All to Enjoy 2014 single work column
— Appears in: National Indigenous Times , 18 June vol. 13 no. 363 2014; (p. 19)
'Thirty writers from across the country joined 40 local writers from Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Borroloola as part of this year's program for WordStorm 2014...'
Well Read Katharine England , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 5 July 2014; (p. 25)

— Review of After Darkness Christine Piper , 2014 single work novel ; A Most Peculiar Act Marie Munkara , 2014 single work novel
Marie Munkara, A Most Peculiar Act Iva Polak , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 7 no. 2 2015;

— Review of A Most Peculiar Act Marie Munkara , 2014 single work novel
Most Perculiar, Mama 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Land Rights News , May vol. 4 no. 1 2014; (p. 28)

— Review of A Most Peculiar Act Marie Munkara , 2014 single work novel

A Most Peculiar Act is a new comic novel from award-winning Indigenous author Marie Munkara...'

Author's New Book is Quite Peculiar 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 21 May no. 576 2014; (p. 41)
'Award-winning author Marie Munkara's new novel A Most Peculiar Act takes a comic angle on the Aboriginal Protection Acts of the early 20th century...'
Top End Writers Festival Puts Student and Academic Strength on Show for All to Enjoy 2014 single work column
— Appears in: National Indigenous Times , 18 June vol. 13 no. 363 2014; (p. 19)
'Thirty writers from across the country joined 40 local writers from Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Borroloola as part of this year's program for WordStorm 2014...'
Liminality and Communitas in Literary Representations of Aboriginal and Asian Encounters Xu Daozhi , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 43 no. 4 2018; (p. 475-490)

'The dynamic relationship between Aboriginal groups and ethnic immigrants in Australia remains theoretically unconstructed as it largely falls outside the binaries of race and ethnicity. Historically, Aboriginal people have developed longstanding contacts with Asian groups, traversing national, cultural, sexual and legislative boundaries. Although indigeneity and diaspora embody disparate and even opposite meanings, there are synergies between diasporic identities and Aboriginal people who suffer from dislocation due to the enduring impact of colonisation and migration. The postcolonial adaptation of liminality or threshold may provide an apt framework for theorising the literary representation of a convergence of border-crossing and diasporic experiences of Aboriginal and Asian Australians in the marginal, interstitial and in-between spaces. Due to a shared predicament and a sense of comradeship, AboriginalAsian encounters forge communitas, which does not suggest inherent subversiveness or unproblematic co-option. This paper considers Ubby’s Underdogs (2011, 2013) by Brenton E. McKenna and A Most Peculiar Act (2014) by Marie Munkara to explore AboriginalAsian relations under the White Australia policy. Through the recurrent theme of Japanese and imaginary Chinese invasions, these novels complicate the crossings in the porous and precarious borderlands, remap the intersecting power relations and reroute Aboriginal characters back to the centre.'  (Publication abstract)

Last amended 14 Jul 2020 08:39:09
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