When a Monkey Speaks: And Other Stories from Australia - Hardcover

Sharp, Damian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062585002 ISBN 13: 9780062585004

Publisher: Harpercollins, 1994

Synopsis

Eleven stories set in the Australian bush describe the experiences of men and women struggling with race, desire, family ties, and destiny

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

In this evocative collection of stories, the wildness of the Australian bush country mirrors the harsh terrain of the human psyche. The works in Sharp's first book show the trauma and ecstasy possible in human relationships. In ``A Native Son,'' an aborigine describes employers' branding of employees for his master's wife and son. The wife flees, horrified by the cruelty inherent in her husband's authority; the aborigine hangs himself, ashamed to have shown his vulnerability to a woman. After red ants derail a passenger train at the start of the title story, a woman deserts her lover for a stranger while the couple is stranded between connections. In ``The Quiet Murmur of the River,'' a rebellious young woman struggles against her alcoholic father to gain independence. Sharp's attention to characters' thoughts and inner monologues softens the effect of the stories' explosive events; the tales build and descend gently, without losing any of their natural drama. The untamed outback--where frogs fall from the sky, a woman shakes a kangaroo's hand, and men box on an anthill--provides a surreal backdrop. Sharp writes with energy and vitality, as when he describes the bush country through the eyes of a young boy: ``Beyond the swamp the land rose and fell in low embankments, the grass long and dry and bright between the trees, quivering in the heat waves, the light rushing into his eyes from the gleaming blue sky and the radiant land.'' A haunting gathering of tales that show men and women at war with each other and with the land surrounding them. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Dominated by the dramatic landscape of Australia and the emotional emptiness of outback machismo, the 11 stories in this dark debut collection are full of ominous surprises. Sharp, an Aussie living in San Francisco, favors an introspective, naturalistic approach, blending exposition, internal monologue and intricate description to tell tales that often focus on barely understood family and sexual tensions. The hot, brutal climate and bizarre features and creatures of the land add forbidding atmosphere while placing unique emotional limits on the actions of the characters. Although many of the stories start slowly and the development sometimes gets a bit murky, the explosive action in the better efforts justifies the occasional plodding plot. "Boxing," for example, tells the tale of two brothers who resort to fisticuffs to resolve a difficult relationship with an inarticulate father who's been left by his wife. "Carter's Creek" documents the beginning of a man's attempt to swim the length of the Murray River in order to end a pattern of boredom and infidelity with his lover. And the title story captures the viewpoints of both members of a couple after the women's act of sexual betrayal separates them during a long train journey. Sharp is a significant talent.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0062585002
• ISBN 13: 9780062585004
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 213