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The Time We Have Taken

By Steven Carroll
Series: Glenroy
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3.33 goodreads logo

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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
The Time We Have Taken by Steven Carroll explores the quiet yet profound transformations taking place in a suburban Australian community in the wake of post-war change. As familiar routines are disrupted, various characters confront the evolving landscape and reflect on their lives, relationships, and the essence of belonging. This novel delves into the subtle ways in which time, memory, and progress impact personal and communal identities.
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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?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate beautifully introspective narratives that delve into the passage of time and its impact on suburban life. The story weaves together the lives of ordinary people, capturing the essence of change and continuity in a way that's both profound and relatable. Its lyrical prose and deep understanding of human nature may appeal to those who savour quiet, contemplative fiction.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A luminous exploration of public and private reckoning in a Melbourne suburb during the upheavals of the 1970s. It is a celebration of the rhythms and the intricacies of suburban life, as well as a meditation on its limits.

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

One summer morning in 1970, Peter van Rijn, proprietor of the television and wireless shop, pronounces his Melbourne suburb one hundred years old. That same morning, Rita is awakened by a dream of her husband's snores, yet it is years since Vic moved north. Their son, Michael, has left for the city and is entering the awkward terrain of first love.

As the suburb prepares to celebrate progress, Michael's friend Mulligan is commissioned to paint a mural of the area's history. But what vision of the past will his painting reveal? Meanwhile, Rita's sometime friend Mrs Webster confronts the mystery of her husband's death. And Michael discovers that innocence can only be sustained for so long.

The Time We Have Taken is both a meditation on the rhythms of suburban life and a luminous exploration of public and private reckoning during a time of radical change.

Series: Glenroy

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  • The Time We Have Taken
    One summer morning in 1970, Peter van Rijn, proprietor of the television and wireless shop, pronounces his Melbourne suburb one hundred years old. That same morning, Rita is awakened by a dream of her husband's snores, yet it is years since Vic moved north. Their son, Michael, has left for the city and is entering the awkward terrain of first...
    By Steven Carroll
    Paperback
    Sold Out

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?

The Time We Have Taken by Steven Carroll is lauded for its evocative prose and deep exploration of suburban life, capturing the essence of post-war Australian society. Critics praise the book for its rich character development and the way it intertwines personal reflections with broader historical and cultural themes. This novel is often highlighted for its ability to provide profound insights into both personal and communal transformation, illustrating Carroll's mastery in crafting atmospheric and thought-provoking narratives.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780732278373

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 November 2008

Country: Australia

Imprint: Fourth Estate

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 200.0mm

Weight: 466g

Pages: 416

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Series: Glenroy Steven Carroll

About the Author

Steven Carroll is the multi-award winning author of fifteen novels including A World of Other People (2013), which was the joint winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Award, and The Time We Have Taken (2007), which was the winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize for the SE Asia and Pacific Region and the Miles Franklin Award in 2008. Forever Young (2015) was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award and the Prime Minister's Literary Award in 2016. A New England Affair (2017) was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award in 2018 and The Year of the Beast (2019) was longlisted for the 2020 Voss Literary Prize. His most recent novel, Goodnight, Vivienne, Goodnight was longlisted for the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize and for the 2023 Voss Literary Prize. Steven lives in Melbourne with his partner, the author Fiona Capp, and their son.

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  • Goodnight, Vivienne, Goodnight
    From one of our finest writers—winner of the Miles Franklin, the Commonwealth Writers Prize, and the Prime Minister's Literary Award—comes a wistful and emotional story that imagines a happier ending for the mercurial and complicated Vivienne Haigh-Wood, the first wife of the great poet, TS Eliot. London, June 1940. Vivienne Haigh-Wood, the mercurial wife of celebrated poet T.S. Eliot, is...
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  • Death of a Foreign Gentleman
    From award-winning writer Steven Carroll comes the first book in a series of post-war literary crime novels featuring Detective Sergeant Stephen Minter. Cambridge, UK, 1947. Martin Friedrich, a German philosopher, is cycling through an intersection on his way to give a lecture when a speeding car strikes and kills him. Shortly afterwards, Detective Sergeant Stephen Minter, an Austrian-born cockney Jew...
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  • The Afterlife of Harry Playford
    From acclaimed writer Steven Carroll comes the second in his new series of post-war literary crime novels featuring Detective Sergeant Stephen Minter. Queenscliff, Victoria, winter, 1951 It's a cold, Monday morning. Mid-winter. No swimmers in sight. A deserted beach. And there on the sand, a neat pile of clothes. Almost like a coded message waiting to be deciphered. Detective Sergeant...
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