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Blue Skies

Text Classics
Series: Text Classics
3.48 goodreads logo

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( 84 ratings, 14 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Blue Skies by Helen Hodgman explores the seemingly idyllic life of a woman living in a tranquil coastal town. Beneath the surface of her sunny existence, she grapples with isolation and disconnection from her surroundings. The narrative delves into her inner world, offering a poignant reflection on the complexities of perceived perfection and hidden struggles.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$1799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate stories that delve into the contrasts between mundane reality and the desire for escape and freedom. It's a compelling read that explores themes of isolation and the complex layers of suburban life, offering a sharp and insightful perspective.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In Helen Hodgman's dazzlingly written debut, a young woman is trapped in a small city on an island at the end of the world—by motherhood and an absent husband, by busybody in-laws and neighbours, by a drab society yet to throw off the shackles of its colonial past.

A darkly funny tale of a crack-up in stultifying suburbia, Blue Skies marked the emergence of a unique, acerbic voice in Australian fiction. This edition includes an introduction by the acclaimed Tasmanian author Danielle Wood.

Series: Text Classics

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  • A Fence Around the Cuckoo
    This first volume of Ruth Park’s autobiography is an account of her isolated childhood in the rainforests of New Zealand, her convent education which encouraged her love of words and writing, and the bitter years of the Depression. She then entered the rough-and-tumble world of journalism and began a reluctant correspondence with a young Australian writer. In 1942, Park moved...
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  • Time without Clocks
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  • An Iron Rose
    The pain seemed to dissolve. Cold and rough tarmac against the face, chill wind down here at ground level, smell of French perfume on my shirt, delicious. I registered that but all I felt was sad. This is a stupid way to go, I thought. Careless. When Mac Faraday's best friend is found hanging, the assumption is suicide. But Mac...
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  • Lilian's Story
    Listen, I told myself, and heard the waves against the harbour-wall, a gull being peevish, the white tapping stick of a blind man against the stones. Listen, I told myself, this is history. Loosely inspired by the legendary Sydney bohemian Bea Miles, Kate Grenville’s much-loved debut novel recounts the life of the irrepressible Lilian Una Singer: from wealthy middle-class girlhood...
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  • Blue Skies
    In Helen Hodgman's dazzlingly written debut, a young woman is trapped in a small city on an island at the end of the world—by motherhood and an absent husband, by busybody in-laws and neighbours, by a drab society yet to throw off the shackles of its colonial past. A darkly funny tale of a crack-up in stultifying suburbia, Blue Skies...
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  • Homesickness
    It could almost have been their own country: these sections with the gums briefly framed like a traditional oil painting by the slowly passing window. The colours were as brown and parched; that chaff-coloured grass, Ah, this dun-coloured realism. Any minute now the cry of the crow or a cockatoo; but no. Thirteen men and women travel the world on...
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Blue Skies by Helen Hodgman is often described as unforgettable and strange, with a distinctive style that captures the essence of Tasmanian gothic. Reviewers praise its searing and merciless prose and its atmospheric elegance, offering a gripping study of a woman's mental unraveling. The novel is regarded as powerful and discomforting, maintaining its relevance and impact since its initial release.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781925498370

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 29 May 2017

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Danielle Wood

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Helen Hodgman is the author of the novels Blue Skies (1976), Jack and Jill (1978; winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), Broken Words (1988; winner of the Christina Stead Prize), Passing Remarks (1996), Waiting for Matindi (1998) and The Bad Policeman (2001).

Also by Helen Hodgman

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    Jack and Jill by Helen Hodgman is a captivating story beginning with Jill and her father living a simple life in the outback, content enough after her mother passes away. Their tranquil existence is a far cry from life in the big city, where a coat hanger is being constructed across a sparkling harbour. Everything changes when Jack arrives at...
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