Synopsis
"Is she your girlfriend? Wolfi asked.
I'm not sure, I say.
But you sleep with her?
No. Yes, once.
How many women have you slept with?
God, Wolfi, what sort of question is that?"
To an Australian writer visiting Heidelberg, the brilliant young philosophy student Wolfi is a compelling character. From the start, the details of Wolfi's life are curious - from his inquisitorial father and passionate mother to the grandmother who pays for his sexual initiation with a prostitute and to his connections with the outlandish rogue Karl.
As we are lured by Wolfi's obsession into the mysterious and erotic maze of this novel, we find nothing is as it appears.
What in fact is fact and what in fiction is fiction?
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About the Author
Mark Henshaw has lived in France, Germany, Yugoslavia and the United States. He currently lives in Canberra. OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE won the FAW Barbara Ramsden Award and the NBC New Writers Award on first publication in 1988. It was also shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Age Book of the Year Award. It was one of the biggest selling Australian literary novels of the decade, and is being republished in the Text Classics series.
In 1989 Mark was awarded a Commonwealth Literary Fellowship, and in 1994 he won the ACT Literary Award. Under the pseudonym J. M. Calder, in collaboration with John Clanchy, he has written two crime novels, If God Sleeps (1996) and And Hope to Die (2007). His work has been widely translated. For many years he was a Curator of International Art at the National Gallery of Australia. He recently returned to writing fiction full-time. His most recent book is THE SNOW KIMONO.
Stephen Romei is a journalist, writer and critic. He is literary editor of The Australian newspaper, and former editor of the Australian Literary Review.
Review
"A remarkable and brainy work of metafiction." Kirkus (starred review)
"A remarkable and brainy work of metafiction."―Kirkus (starred review)
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Out of the Line of Fire
Seller: Bookbot, Prague, Czech Republic
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Softcover. Condition: Fair. Spuren von Feuchtigkeit / Nässe; Leichte Kratzer / Abnutzungen / Druckstellen; Gebrochener Buchrücken; Farbtonänderung. "Is she your girlfriend? Wolfi asked.I'm not sure, I say.But you sleep with her?No. Yes, once.How many women have you slept with?God, Wolfi, what sort of question is that?"To an Australian writer visiting Heidelberg, the brilliant young philosophy student Wolfi is a compelling character. From the start, the details of Wolfi's life are curious - from his inquisitorial father and passionate mother to the grandmother who pays for his sexual initiation with a prostitute and to his connections with the outlandish rogue Karl.As we are lured by Wolfi's obsession into the mysterious and erotic maze of this novel, we find nothing is as it appears. What in fact is fact and what in fiction is fiction? Seller Inventory # 9eda9e2f-6e22-4a42-b942-7f8d706b9225
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Out of the Line of Fire
Seller: Book Grocer, Tullamarine, VIC, Australia
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Secondhand, Paperback. , . NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand books is not always available. Please contact us if you have a question about this title.Author: UnknownFormat: Paperback Number of Pages: 216THIS BOOK IS SET IN HEIDELBERG, GERMANY, AND CONCERNS THE LIFE OF WOLFI, A PRIDIGY AND A STUDENT OF PHILOSOPHY. WHEN WOLFI BEGINS RELATING DETAILS ABOUT HIS FAMILY THINGS ARE A LITTLE STRANGE FROM THE START - FROM HIS FTHER WHO IS PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GRAZ IN AUSTRIA TO HIS GRANDMOTHER WHO PAYS FOR HIS FIRST SEXUAL INITIATION WITH THE PROSTITUTE ANDREA. ALL, HOWEVER, IS NOT AS IT APPEARS AND GRADUALLY, AS THE NOVEL UNFOLDS, ONE BEGINS TO WONDER WHAT IN FACT IS FACT AND WHAT IN FICTION IS FICTION. THE READER IS LED THROUGH A STRANGE AND EROTIC MAZE, A MAZE WHICH QUESTIONS THE VERY NATURE OF HOW WE READ AND WHAT OUR CONCEPTIONS OF THE LITERARY IMAGINATION ARE ALL ABOUT UNTIL WE ARRIVE AT THE FINAL CATASTROPHIC TRUTH. IF EVER SUSAN SONTAG'S PLEA FOR AN EROTICS OF LITERATURE NEEDED AN ANSWER, THEN THIS IS IT. Secondhand, Paperback. Seller Inventory # 9780140110258-SECONDHAND
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OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE.
Published by
Penguin, Melbourne. 1988., 1988
ISBN 10: 0140110259
ISBN 13: 9780140110258
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Softcover
Seller: Sainsbury's Books Pty. Ltd., Camberwell, VIC, Australia
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8vo, 208pp. A very good paperback copy in scuffed paper wraps. . Uncorrected proof copy. Seller Inventory # 64811
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Out Of The Line Of Fire [Inscribed and Signed by the Author]
Published by
Penguin Books Australia, Ringwood. Victoria. AUST, 1988
ISBN 10: 0140110259
ISBN 13: 9780140110258
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Soft cover
First Edition
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Seller: Gleebooks, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 208pp. Inscribed, signed and dated [Paris 14 Mar 1990] by the author on the title page. Age toned text block. Browned edges. Lightly rubbed covers.(BH) 7/2025. Inscribed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # ABE-1751593209678
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