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Absolutely Revolting

June 2013, no. 352

Welcome to the June issue of ABR – another highly varied one. Emma McEwin – Douglas Mawson’s great-granddaughter – writes about Mawson’s ‘iron gut’ and his fellow Antarctic explorers’ dietary habits, including a queasy penchant for ‘penguins on horseback’. Miriam Cosic reviews the Coetzee–Auster correspondence, and Pascall Prize-winner Kerryn Goldsworthy reviews Lionel Shriver’s new novel. Brian McFarlane is underwhelmed by Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. Opera is a major theme this month. World-renowned conductor Jeffrey Tate is intrigued by the controversial new biography of Benjamin Britten, and Peter Rose writes about three productions in Melbourne.

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Contents Category: Commentary
Custom Article Title: Simon Caterson reviews 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' by John le Carré
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Article Title: John le Carré's spy at fifty
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In describing the enduring cultural impact of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – published fifty years ago and often nominated as the best spy novel ever written – a good place to start, strange though it may sound, is James Bond. John le Carré’s squalid yet subtle world of Cold War spies may appear antithetical to the glamorous fantasy of Bond. But it is clear from the last three Bond films, and especially the latest, Skyfall (2012), which of the two visions of espionage, Fleming’s or le Carré’s, is the more mature and compelling.
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In describing the enduring cultural impact of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – published fifty years ago and often nominated as the best spy novel ever written – a good place to start, strange though it may sound, is James Bond. John le Carré’s squalid yet subtle world of Cold War spies may appear antithetical to the glamorous fantasy of Bond. But it is clear from the last three Bond films, and especially the latest, Skyfall (2012), which of the two visions of espionage, Fleming’s or le Carré’s, is the more mature and compelling.

The middle-aged, double-crossed, burnt-out Bond seen in Skyfall could well be the Ian Fleming character edited by John le Carré. As portrayed on screen by Daniel Craig, Bond is the blockbuster counterpart to Alec Leamas, the seedy, world-weary yet still-capable hero of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.

Read more: Simon Caterson reviews 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' by John le Carre

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Benjamin Chandler reviews A Very Unusual Pursuit: City of Orphans, Book One by Catherine Jinks and Julius and the Watchmaker by Tim Hehir
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Contents Category: Children's Fiction
Custom Article Title: Benjamin Chandler on 'A Very Unusual Pursuit: City of Orphans'
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Article Title: Bogling
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The Victorian era has gripped the collective imagination of speculative fiction writers in much the same way the medieval period influenced our forebears. The nineteenth century gave us the Penny Dreadful, Dracula, and Frankenstein, and the melding in fiction of fantasy and reality, superstition and science. A spike in child labour was followed by its marked decline as society began associating childhood with innocence.
Book 1 Title: A Very Unusual Pursuit
Book 1 Subtitle: City of Orphans, Book One
Book Author: Catherine Jinks
Book 1 Biblio: Allen & Unwin, $14.99 pb, 324 pp, 9781743313060
Book 2 Title: Julius and the Watchmaker
Book 2 Author: Tim Hehir
Book 2 Biblio: Text Publishing, $19.95 pb, 384 pp, 9781922079732
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Book 2 Cover Path (no longer required): images/stories/issues/352_June_2013/9781922079732.jpg
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The Victorian era has gripped the collective imagination of speculative fiction writers in much the same way the medieval period influenced our forebears. The nineteenth century gave us the Penny Dreadful, Dracula, and Frankenstein, and the melding in fiction of fantasy and reality, superstition and science. A spike in child labour was followed by its marked decline as society began associating childhood with innocence.

Read more: Benjamin Chandler reviews 'A Very Unusual Pursuit: City of Orphans, Book One' by Catherine Jinks...

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Jay Daniel Thompson reviews Flower Between the Cracks by Helen Sage
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Contents Category: Memoir
Custom Article Title: Jay Daniel Thompson reviews 'A Flower Between the Cracks' by Helen Sage
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Article Title: Helen Sage: a flower between the cracks
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A Flower Between the Cracks, South Australian writer Helen Sage’s first book, chronicles her experience of caring for a disabled child over a period of several years. Sage’s busy but comfortable life was changed irrevocably when her daughter, Jayne, was involved in a horrific car accident. Prior to this, Jayne had been a psychology honours student who loved ‘rock, blues, playing the piano’ and was ‘a real nature buff’. Jayne survived her accident, but emerged with an acquired brain injury. 
Book 1 Title: A Flower Between the Cracks
Book 1 Subtitle: A Memoir of Love, Hope and Disability
Book Author: Helen Sage
Book 1 Biblio: Affirm Press, $29.95 pb, 302 pp, 9780987377395
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A Flower Between the Cracks, South Australian writer Helen Sage’s first book, chronicles her experience of caring for a disabled child over a period of several years. Sage’s busy but comfortable life was changed irrevocably when her daughter, Jayne, was involved in a horrific car accident. Prior to this, Jayne had been a psychology honours student who loved ‘rock, blues, playing the piano’ and was ‘a real nature buff’. Jayne survived her accident, but emerged with an acquired brain injury. 

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Cassandra Atherton reviews Antipodes: A Global Journal of Australian/New Zealand Literature, Vol. 26, No. 2 edited by Nicholas Birns
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Custom Article Title: Cassandra Atherton reviews 'Antipodes: A Global Journal of Australian/New Zealand Literature, Vol. 26, No. 2' edited by Nicholas Birns
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Article Title: Nicholas Birns (ed.), Antipodes
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A polyphony of voices in Antipodes offers readers a textured view of literature from Australia and New Zealand. Contributors to this biannual journal are Australianists from all over the world. This globalisation is perhaps best evidenced by the inclusion of critics from Portugal, Slovenia, Lebanon, and Austria, writing incisively about Gail Jones, Indigenous poetry, Australian Lebanese writers, and German translations of Aboriginal literature. Stephen Mansfield’s melismatic double feature on fathers and masculinity in John Hughes’s The Idea of Home (2004) is a highlight, but his interview with Hughes suffers from being conducted via email, while Jean-François Vernay’s interview with Sallie Muirden is a fascinating and unconstrained discussion of writing. Mark Larrimore’s essay on teaching ‘Aboriginal Australian Religion in an American Liberal Arts College’ is another example of the way Antipodes offers more than standard critiques on literature.
Book 1 Title: Antipodes
Book 1 Subtitle: A Global Journal of Australian/New Zealand Literature, Vol. 26, No. 2
Book Author: Nicholas Birns
Book 1 Biblio: American Association of Australasian Literary Studies, $US18 pb, 284 pp, 08935580
Book 1 Author Type: Editor
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A polyphony of voices in Antipodes offers readers a textured view of literature from Australia and New Zealand. Contributors to this biannual journal are Australianists from all over the world. This globalisation is perhaps best evidenced by the inclusion of critics from Portugal, Slovenia, Lebanon, and Austria, writing incisively about Gail Jones, Indigenous poetry, Australian Lebanese writers, and German translations of Aboriginal literature. Stephen Mansfield’s melismatic double feature on fathers and masculinity in John Hughes’s The Idea of Home (2004) is a highlight, but his interview with Hughes suffers from being conducted via email, while Jean-François Vernay’s interview with Sallie Muirden is a fascinating and unconstrained discussion of writing. Mark Larrimore’s essay on teaching ‘Aboriginal Australian Religion in an American Liberal Arts College’ is another example of the way Antipodes offers more than standard critiques on literature.

Read more: Cassandra Atherton reviews 'Antipodes: A Global Journal of Australian/New Zealand Literature, Vol....

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Andrew Fuhrmann reviews Mateship with Birds by A.H. Chisholm
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Contents Category: Ornithology
Custom Article Title: Andrew Fuhrmann reviews 'Mateship with Birds' by A.H. Chisholm
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Article Title: Call me Ishmaelitish
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Alec Hugh Chisholm, born in 1890 at Maryborough, is a legendary figure among Australian birders. He was a pioneering member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, later known as Birds Australia, now BirdLife Australia, and worked tirelessly to facilitate and promote ornithological research. He was a prolific author of journal articles, field notes, prefaces, reflective essays, and popular books on birding.
Book 1 Title: Mateship with Birds
Book Author: A.H. Chisholm
Book 1 Biblio: Scribe, $24.95 pb, 199 pp, 9781922070326
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Alec Hugh Chisholm, born in 1890 at Maryborough, is a legendary figure among Australian birders. He was a pioneering member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, later known as Birds Australia, now BirdLife Australia, and worked tirelessly to facilitate and promote ornithological research. He was a prolific author of journal articles, field notes, prefaces, reflective essays, and popular books on birding.

Read more: Andrew Fuhrmann reviews 'Mateship with Birds' by A.H. Chisholm

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