Fallen Shadows

Falling shadows. Fallen people. Fallen visions and recollections of artistic idolatry, whether in music, the visual arts, the literary or even of a more political ideological concern are touched upon here in this lively but sadly way too short, novella related to a wild child of rural-country origins from a particularly interesting gold mining town. A wild one with contrarian thoughts and aspirations some might say. Rare is it to have growing up rural stories depart from the conventional literary trope of sentimentality. This passionate devil may care novella does just that. Jimmy Barnes in its similarities, but decidedly not in its literary qualities. Contrarian and full of revelatory ideas and insight it indeed is. Great humor. Great tragedy. Great musical exploration. With a truly great rural identity, the city of Kalgoorlie. Not to mention a 'come hither darling' derived sexuality. Read it. I dare you. "It is bad enough when a literary outsider writes one truly remarkable book as you undoubtedly have with the writing of 'recollections of gold town', to my mind probably the best literary memoir ever at least in the short form, especially coming from one who has simple and quite unremarkable 'growing up rural' origins, but to then write two other revelatory books, I am talking of both the 'sydney hideous' book and of course too this great and revelatory ideas, albeit short book and memoir although entirely fictitious, along with his other short form novella on the life of 'work.' To then write three truly great masterworks all within the space of a few short years is simply far too much, so please spare some thought for all the 'great' published insiders to have to deal with it must be said." - Henry Bloomfield, writer, essayist and noted literary historian/critic. "The old out-back gold town of Kalgoorlie with its early evening ever long falling shadows, and fallen people has never before been so richly-strangely or so poignantly transcribed by way of prose as it undoubtedly deserves to be, and indeed has been so done in this wonderful fictional account of a childhood once lived! " "Being an Englishman with a distinct lack of taste for the general stereotype of your typical sports-loving boorish Australian, I must say I undertook the reading of this book with a certain amount of trepidation. To my surprise it surpasses anything by any other writer I have read so far [at least within the last five or so years]. And written by an 'aussie'. It is a fine thing then to find out that this nation of the sports obsessed buffoon actually has at its core a much richer life behind the ugly stereotype. Your book reveals these hidden depths of a nation far too well known for its sporting achievements at the expense of other more nuanced options. Beautiful." - Owen Etheridge, 5stars