Cirrus@Austlit

'Andrew McGahan's Wonders of a Godless World (2009) explores consciousness, reality and madness through the main viewpoints of two odd and mysterious characters. Set in a psychiatric ward reminiscent of Bentham's panopticon, the story is an eye-opening journey into a transparent society characterized by the singular connections it makes between the visible and the invisible. Dreams and fantasy delineate spaces of otherness that call forth questions of perspective and reliability. The multi-layered narrative combines strategies of invisibility with the staging of the self so that while transparency normally implies openness, communication, and accountability, it can also operate in such a way that it becomes difficult to ascertain the characters' actions.' (Author's abstract)