Christina Stead and the Matter of America

Christina Stead and the Matter of America PDF Author: Fiona Morrison
Publisher: Sydney University Press
ISBN: 1743324502
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Although Christina Stead is best known for the mid-century masterpiece set in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, The Man Who Loved Children, it was not her only work about the America. Five of Christina Stead’s mid-career novels deal with the United States, capturing and critiquing American life with characteristic sharpness and originality. In this examination of Stead’s American work, Fiona Morrison explores Stead’s profound engagement with American politics and culture and their influence on her “restlessly experimental” style. Through the turbulent political and artistic debates of the 1930s, the Second World War, and the emergence of McCarthyism, the “matter” of America provoked Stead to continue to create new ways of writing about politics, gender and modernity. This is the first critical study to focus on Stead’s time in America and its influence on her writing. Morrison argues compellingly that Stead’s American novels “reveal the work of the greatest political woman writer of the mid twentieth century”, and that Stead’s account of American ideology and national identity remains extraordinarily prescient, even today.

Christina Stead and the Matter of America

Christina Stead and the Matter of America PDF Author: Fiona Morrison
Publisher: Sydney University Press
ISBN: 1743324502
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 286

Get Book Here

Book Description
Although Christina Stead is best known for the mid-century masterpiece set in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, The Man Who Loved Children, it was not her only work about the America. Five of Christina Stead’s mid-career novels deal with the United States, capturing and critiquing American life with characteristic sharpness and originality. In this examination of Stead’s American work, Fiona Morrison explores Stead’s profound engagement with American politics and culture and their influence on her “restlessly experimental” style. Through the turbulent political and artistic debates of the 1930s, the Second World War, and the emergence of McCarthyism, the “matter” of America provoked Stead to continue to create new ways of writing about politics, gender and modernity. This is the first critical study to focus on Stead’s time in America and its influence on her writing. Morrison argues compellingly that Stead’s American novels “reveal the work of the greatest political woman writer of the mid twentieth century”, and that Stead’s account of American ideology and national identity remains extraordinarily prescient, even today.

The Man Who Loved Children

The Man Who Loved Children PDF Author: Christina Stead
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1453265252
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 733

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Book Description
“This crazy, gorgeous family novel” written at the end of the Great Depression “is one of the great literary achievements of the twentieth century” (Jonathan Franzen, The New York Times). First published in 1940, The Man Who Loved Children was rediscovered in 1965 thanks to the poet Randall Jarrell’s eloquent introduction (included in this ebook edition), which compares Christina Stead to Leo Tolstoy. Today, it stands as a masterpiece of dysfunctional family life. In a country crippled by the Great Depression, Sam and Henny Pollit have too much—too much contempt for one another, too many children, too much strain under endless obligation. Flush with ego and chilling charisma, Sam torments and manipulates his children in an esoteric world of his own imagining. Henny looks on desperately, all too aware of the madness at the root of her husband’s behavior. And Louie, the damaged, precocious adolescent girl at the center of their clashes, is the “ugly duckling” whose struggle will transfix contemporary readers. Named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by Newsweek, Stead’s semiautobiographical work reads like a Depression-era The Glass Castle. In the New York Times, Jonathan Franzen wrote of this classic, “I carry it in my head the way I carry childhood memories; the scenes are of such precise horror and comedy that I feel I didn’t read the book so much as live it.”

Eliza Hamilton Dunlop

Eliza Hamilton Dunlop PDF Author: Katie Hansord
Publisher: Sydney University Press
ISBN: 1743327498
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Eliza Hamilton Dunlop (1796–1880) arrived in Sydney in 1838 and became almost immediately notorious for her poem “The Aboriginal Mother,” written in response to the infamous Myall Creek massacre. She published more poetry in colonial newspapers during her lifetime, but for the century following her death her work was largely neglected. In recent years, however, critical interest in Dunlop has increased, in Australia and internationally and in a range of fields, including literary studies; settler, postcolonial and imperial studies; and Indigenous studies. This stimulating collection of essays by leading scholars considers Dunlop's work from a range of perspectives and includes a new selection of her poetry.

House of All Nations

House of All Nations PDF Author: Christina Stead
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1453265201
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1137

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Book Description
The devious world of international finance comes alive in Christina Stead’s enthralling epic about a ruthless bank director in 1930s Paris Praised as “a work of extraordinary talent” by the New York Times, Christina Stead’s ambitiously layered House of All Nations is an engrossing satire of wealth and manipulation. Set in an elite European bank in the 1930s, Stead’s epic spans the interwar years of a money-hungry Paris. Jules Bertillon, the distrustful and unpredictable bank director, sees every national disaster—including war—as an opportunity for riches. Adored by his clients for his ability to rake in staggering profits, Bertillon leaves no opening wasted—even if it means dealing with unsavory speculators or ruthless gamblers while his clients suffer the consequences. A stunning page-turner, House of All Nations is as significant and resonant today as it was upon its publication in 1938.

Liar & Spy

Liar & Spy PDF Author: Rebecca Stead
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
ISBN: 0375899537
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
The instant New York Times bestseller from the author of the Newbery Medal winner When You Reach Me: a story about spies, games, and friendship. The first day Georges (the S is silent) moves into a new Brooklyn apartment, he sees a sign taped to a door in the basement: SPY CLUB MEETING—TODAY! That’s how he meets his twelve-year-old neigh­bor Safer. He and Georges quickly become allies—and fellow spies. Their assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer’s requests become more and more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: how far is too far to go for your only friend? “Will touch the hearts of kids and adults alike.” —NPR Winner of the Guardian Prize for Children’s Fiction Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more!

A Little Tea, a Little Chat

A Little Tea, a Little Chat PDF Author: Christina Stead
Publisher: Text Publishing
ISBN: 1925410153
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 505

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Book Description
New York, on the cusp of World War II. Robert Grant, a middle-aged businessman, lives life by his own rules. His chief hobbies are moneymaking and seduction; he is always on the hunt for the next woman to beguile and betray. That is, until he meets his match: Barbara, the ‘blondine’, a woman he cannot best. A sardonic commentary on sexual relations and war as potent as when it was first published in 1948, A Little Tea, a Little Chat holds up a mirror to the corruption and cravenness of our late-capitalist moment. Christina Stead was born in 1902 in Sydney. Stead’s first books, The Salzburg Tales and Seven Poor Men of Sydney, were published in 1934 to positive reviews in England and the United States. Her fourth work, The Man Who Loved Children, has been hailed as a ‘masterpiece’ by Jonathan Franzen, among others. In total, Stead wrote almost twenty novels and short-story collections. Stead returned to Australia in 1969 after forty years abroad for a fellowship at the Australian National University. She resettled permanently in Australia in 1974 and was the first recipient of the Patrick White Award that year. Christina Stead died in Sydney in 1983, aged eighty. She is widely considered to be one of the most influential Australian authors of the twentieth century. ‘[Christina Stead] is really marvellous.’ Saul Bellow ‘A sprawling character study...Callous, comical, loathsome, and tiresome, Grant also, as the David Malouf introduction notes, can sometimes stir sympathy thanks to Stead’s artistry.’ Kirkus reviews, starred review

Moral Hazard

Moral Hazard PDF Author: Kate Jennings
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0007154623
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
Savage and heartbreaking, "Moral Hazard" is a wry look at greed and alienation in the workplace, "a love story about the saddest way for love to end" ("Newsday"), and a timely, exquisitely written novel about failure and human resilience.

The Salzburg Tales

The Salzburg Tales PDF Author: Christina Stead
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 0522869556
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 451

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Book Description
A group of visitors to the Salzburg Festival, brought together by chance, decides to mark time by telling tales. Their fantasies, legends, tragedies, jokes and parodies come together as The Salzburg Tales. Dazzling in their richness and vitality, the tales are grounded in Christina Stead's belief that 'the story is magical . what is best about the short story [is] it is real life for everyone; and everyone can tell one'. Originally published eighty years ago, these are thoroughly modern stories that invite comparison with Boccaccio's Decameron and Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The Salzburg Tales are published here with a new introduction by Margaret Harris, Challis Professor of English Literature Emerita at the University of Sydney, and literary executor for Christina Stead.

Pulse Points

Pulse Points PDF Author: Jennifer Down
Publisher: Text Publishing
ISBN: 192541034X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
‘With precise and beautiful prose, the short stories in Jennifer Down’s Pulse Points carry an emotional clarity and intensity that is truly impressive.’ Books+Publishing The characters in Jennifer Down’s Pulse Points live in small dusty towns, glittering exotic cities and slow droll suburbs; they are mourners, survivors and perpetrators. In the award-winning ‘Aokigahara’, a young woman travels to the sea of trees in Japan to say goodbye. In ‘Coarsegold’, a woman conducts an illicit affair while her recovering girlfriend works the overnight motel shift in the middle of nowhere. In ‘Dogs’, Foggo runs an unruly gang of bored, cruel boys with a scent for fresh meat. In ‘Pressure Okay’ a middle-aged man goes to the theatre, gets a massage, remembers his departed wife, navigates the long game of grief with his adult daughter. Jennifer Down, whose first novel, Our Magic Hour, was commended in the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, is a masterful stylist whose sharp eye has been compared to that of Helen Garner. Pulse Points is a gutting collection that showcases her singular voice, and reminds us once more that this is a writer of great talent. Jennifer Down was born in 1990. Our Magic Hour was highly commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in the Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday Paper, Australian Book Review, Kill Your Darlings, Lifted Brow, Best Australian Stories and Blue Mesa Review. She is one of Sydney Morning Herald’s Young Novelists of the Year, 2017. ‘Jennifer Down is a subtly extraordinary writer, and Pulse Points is one of the best Australian literary offerings we’ll see this year.’ Good Reading ‘Pulse Points is fluid, graceful and shocking. Down serves life up ruthlessly to us, in small, heart-wrenching packages, overturning expectations swiftly from story to story, but leaving us faintly uplifted in the end.’ Overland ‘This is a finely crafted collection that reminds us how sad and beautiful it is simply to be alive. Down’s debut novel, Our Magic Hour, was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Award for New Writing and she was named a 2017 SMH Best Young Australian Novelist. It’s probably insulting to comment upon how young she is, but the emotional depth of her writing displays a gift that will no doubt continue to unfold as her body of work grows.’ Saturday Paper ‘Taking the reader from Melbourne to the USA, each beautifully crafted story is a fascinating escape into someone else’s life.’ Sunday Life ‘Down is exemplary at drawing whole characters and quickly giving them depth. Stories are heavy with atmosphere, and words are chosen with care...She has a knack of talking honestly about the nature of contemporary life, and I look forward to more.’ Sydney Morning Herald ‘Pulse Points is an impressively poised and even collection...Down’s stories are alive with psychological acuity and technical dexterity. They offer thoughtful, sometimes heartbreaking, insights into our anxieties and desires...Readers of her intelligent, subtle, and affecting prose clearly have much to look forward to.’ Australian Book Review ‘[Down’s] back with a collection of stories, cementing her status as one of Australia’s finest literary talents.’ Marie Claire ‘Jennifer Down is going to be a major part of the future of Australian literature. The quality of her writing, as well as her ability to tap into the loves, fears and anxieties many of us experience guarantee this.’ Readings ‘All of the stories in this collection are examples of the extent to which empathy can be employed in fiction—Down looks at human emotion under a microscope in each of these stories, but always does so with care and compassion.’ Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2018, Judges’ comments ‘This young Australian writer was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Australian Novelists of 2017. Here she shows off her impressive skill as a short story writer...Jennifer Down shows great insight into human vulnerability.’ Good Reading, Best Fiction Books of 2017 ‘Jennifer Down’s Pulse Points is full of perfectly crafted miracles of storytelling.’ Kill Your Darlings, Best of 2017 ‘The stories are both paradigms and gentle subversions of the short-story form...Down draws on the ordinary and everyday to deconstruct the myth of class mobility in this haunting and resonant collection.’ Judges’ comments, 2018 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists ‘Down writes about love and friendship with an emotionally resonant sparseness...Rather than offering answers to life's big questions, the stories offer glimpses into people tackling them...A collection pulsing with emotion; a writer crackling with potential.’ Kirkus Reviews

Farther Away

Farther Away PDF Author: Jonathan Franzen
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 0374708762
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Jonathan Franzen's Freedom was the runaway most-discussed novel of 2010, an ambitious and searching engagement with life in America in the twenty-first century. In The New York Times Book Review, Sam Tanenhaus proclaimed it "a masterpiece of American fiction" and lauded its illumination, "through the steady radiance of its author's profound moral intelligence, [of] the world we thought we knew." In Farther Away, which gathers together essays and speeches written mostly in the past five years, Franzen returns with renewed vigor to the themes, both human and literary, that have long preoccupied him. Whether recounting his violent encounter with bird poachers in Cyprus, examining his mixed feelings about the suicide of his friend and rival David Foster Wallace, or offering a moving and witty take on the ways that technology has changed how people express their love, these pieces deliver on Franzen's implicit promise to conceal nothing. On a trip to China to see first-hand the environmental devastation there, he doesn't omit mention of his excitement and awe at the pace of China's economic development; the trip becomes a journey out of his own prejudice and moral condemnation. Taken together, these essays trace the progress of unique and mature mind wrestling with itself, with literature, and with some of the most important issues of our day. Farther Away is remarkable, provocative, and necessary.