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Drylands

By Thea Astley
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3.81 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 525 ratings, 71 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
Drylands by Thea Astley explores life in a small, struggling Outback town in Australia. The novel depicts a community battling economic and social challenges, with its inhabitants feeling isolated and trapped by the harsh environment. Through interconnected stories, Astley portrays the resilience and despair of people clinging to hope in a place where survival seems to be an achievement in itself.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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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?

This novel may appeal to you if you're intrigued by tales of small-town dynamics and human resilience against the harsh backdrop of an unforgiving environment. With its exploration of themes such as isolation, survival, and the intricacies of community life, this book offers a compelling narrative filled with rich character studies. The author's distinctive voice brings a vivid and thoughtful examination of endurance in the face of adversity.

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In the bleak outback town of Drylands, Janet Deakin runs a newsagency and writes a novel for the world's last reader.

First published in 1999, Drylands was Thea Astley's fourth and final Miles Franklin winner.

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

First published in 1999, Drylands was Thea Astley's fourth and final Miles Franklin winner.

In the dying town of Drylands, Janet Deakin sells papers to lonely locals. At night, in her flat above the newsagency, she attempts to write a novel for a world in which no one reads - 'full of people, she envisaged, glaring at a screen that glared glassily back.'

Drylands is the story of the townsfolk's harsh, violent lives. Trenchant and brilliant, Thea Astley's final novel is a dark portrait of outback Australia in decline.

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?

Drylands by Thea Astley is lauded for its compelling energy and passionate narrative, making it a page-turner according to the Herald Sun. The Australian describes it simply as "wonderful," indicating a strong appreciation for the book's merits.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781925603576

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 April 2018

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Emily Maguire

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 272

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Black Friday Sale Black Friday Sale: Books Black Friday Sale: Fiction Fiction General Fiction In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Literary Fiction New Release Fiction Penguin Books Thea Astley

About the Author

Thea Beatrice May Astley was born in Brisbane in 1925. n 1958 Astley's first novel, Girl with a Monkey, was published. Over the next four decades she published a work of fiction every few years. Her novels and short stories are distinguished by vivid imagery and metaphor; a complex, ironic style; and a desire to highlight oppression and social injustice. Astley won the Miles Franklin Literary Award for The Well Dressed Explorer (1962), her third novel. Many notable books followed, among them the groundbreaking A Kindness Cup (1974), which addressed frontier massacres of Indigenous Australians, and It's Raining in Mango (1987). Astley won the 1989 Patrick White Award and became an Officer in the Order of Australia in 1992. Her last novel was Drylands (1999), her fourth Miles Franklin winner and first since 1972. A lifelong chain-smoker famed for her sharp wit, Thea Astley died in 2004. She remains one of the most distinctive and influential Australian novelists of the twentieth century.

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