Drylands - Softcover

Astley, Thea

3.82

455 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140283803 ISBN 13: 9780140283808

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 2000

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In her flat above Drylands' newsagency, Janet Deakin is writing a book for the world's last reader. Little has changed in her 50 years, except for the coming of cable TV. Loneliness is almost a religion, and still everyone knows your business. But the town is being outmanoeuvred by drought and begins to empty, pouring itself out like water into sand. Small minds shrink even smaller in the vastness of the land. One man is forced out by council rates and bigotry; another sells his property, risking the lot to build his dream. And all of them are shadowed by violence of some sort these people whose only victory over the town is in leaving it.

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About the Author:

Miles Franklin Award-winning author Thea Astley (1925–2004) was one of Australia's most respected and acclaimed novelists. She won the Miles Franklin Award four times and in 1989 she was awarded the Patrick White Award. Her titles include Hunting the Wild Pineapple and It's Raining in Mango – both are published in audio by Bolinda.

From AudioFile:

Prepare to have your heart broken. Thea Astley and Beverley Dunn bring the dying Australian town of Drylands to life--bleak as it is. Janet Deakins runs a bookstore in a town where no one reads. She's writing a book for the world's last reader about this parched settlement, and the vignettes of its inhabitants are full of racism, sexism, and inexplicable cruelty. Dunn creates multiple voices for characters who range from thoughtful, lonely Janet to abusive husbands. She also skillfully conveys the physical landscape, with its isolation and relentless beating sun. Residents abandon the town one by one, fleeing domestic violence, unaffordable taxes, drought, and dreams turned into ashes. Astley's language is breathtaking, and Dunn's narration is stunning. A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

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