The official comments are up on the Trust website now. See here. The judges say: ‘These shortlisted books have a distinctive, indelible Australian voice. It’s a voice that has nothing to do with reflex nationalism, or jingoism – rather the reverse. The shortlisted books this year are like barometers of the state of our culture: they take the readings, and give them back to us in fiction of extraordinary accomplishment. They force us to look again at ourselves, and to think – hard.’
And here’s some comments on the individual novels:
On Bereft: ‘This is a beautifully written book, spare and compelling. The tragedy and bleakness of the story are, at times, almost unbearable but Womersley’s fine prose and narrative intensity make Bereft unforgettable.’
On That Deadman Dance: ‘That Deadman Dance is alive in the spaces between these two worlds as they collide and collaborate. It tells the story of the rapid destruction of Noongar people and their traditions. At the same time, there is the enchanting possibility of the birth of a new world in the strange song, dance, ceremony and language that are produced by these encounters of very different peoples.’
On When Colts Ran: ‘When Colts Ran, with its cavalcade of flawed, rough cut Australian characters, illustrates poignantly the way the optimism and confidence of rural Australia in the middle of the twentieth century slipped away and how family experience, class and social expectation shaped communities. Roger McDonald evokes that world with an inwardness and poetic verve that is extraordinary.’
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