The Finley Confession - George Watt - Bookniverse
The Finley Confession
George Watt
US $17.43
US $21.79
2021/11
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9789888167197
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PDF
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Proverse Hong Kong
copyAbout this book
View more文學 > 英國文學 > 文學作品
In 2010 two septuagenarians reminisce on a balcony overlooking a former town and river valley inundated fifty years before by the damned waters of the massive Snowy Mountain Scheme. One of them, Ralph McDonald, feels compelled to retell dramatic events from his youth, ones related to things hidden in the depths of his conscience and in the waters themselves. An unlikely trio of late teenagers—the scion of Australian landed gentry, the brilliant son of middle-class Canberra academics, and the humble son of the local garage owner—together spend uncomplicated school holidays until the catalytic arrival of two individuals: an intense half Aboriginal boy who inhabits his deceased grandmother’s shack, and a singer from a distant world of glamour appearing for the winter season at the only major ski lodge in the surrounding national park. As the confession reveals, little by little, the trio—seemingly the embodiment of the Australian egalitarian myth of mateship—is poisoned by snobbery, vindictiveness, complex sexualities, deception and, above all, interpersonal exploitation. Working through an amalgam of literary genres (bildungsroman, mystery tale, and the historic novel) The Finley Confession is a critical account of race, class and gender in contemporary Australia, but it also brings into question who owns any story and why.
About the author(s)
View moreGeorge Watt
George Watt is an academic and author. His published works include critical studies such as The Fallen Woman in the 19th Century English Novel recently rereleased by Routledge, and the first full-length study of an influential postcolonial writer in Interlogue Studies in Singapore Literature Volume 5: Robert Yeo. His poetry has appeared in four volumes of Mingled Voices, and his collection, Sandpaper Swimming: going after Burke and Wills, was published by Flying Island Books in 2019. He has held academic posts in Australia, USA, Japan and Macau, including at the Australian National University, several years as Professor Dean in the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Asian Studies at Nagoya Shoka Daigaku, and finally as Founding Master in the recent collegiate restructuring of the University of Macau. The Finley Confession is his first novel.
About the publisher
View moreProverse publishes internationally from Hong Kong mainly high quality literary and general titles (novels, novellas, single author short story and poetry collections, poetry anthologies, biography and autobiography), also some travel, sport, young author, mixed genre, educational and academic works, and edited historical source materials. Proverse authors include local and international authors, native speakers of English as well as non-native speakers. Topics and settings vary between local and international. Publication modes are paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobook. Most books are in the English language, including translations into English. A number are in Chinese, and a couple in Italian, a few are bilingual (English/Chinese; English/Italian). Several titles received publication support from Hong Kong Arts Development Council and other cultural bodies in Hong Kong and elsewhere.In 2008, Proverse established theannual international Proverse Prize for unpublished book-length non-fiction, fiction or poetry submitted in English. In 2016, Proverse launched theannual international Proverse Poetry Prize for a single poem submitted in English. Both prizes open for entries no later than 7 May each year (closing date 30 June). Entries to both prizes are invited from anywhere in the world and are open to all over eighteen years old, whatever their nationality, residence or citizenship. Writers and poets from Hong Kong and many countries in the world participate. Winners have been both local and international.Beginning in 2009 and continuing, Proverse organises in central Hong Kong a Spring and an Autumn literary event, open to the public. In recent years, a parallel event, available internationally, is shown on Youtube.Of the titles published by Proverse, several have attracted a Preface or advance appreciation from figures of international reputation. Two Proverse authors have been best sellers, one (Peter Gregoire) in Hong Kong and the other (Nicholas Binge) in Spain.Further informationWebsite: htt[s://www.proversepublishing.comGillian Bickley, ‘The Proverse Prize, Journal of Postcolonial Writing, Vol 59, 2023 Issue 1. https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/TKVG8HZSZWX6R4CUJUKM/full?target=10.1080/17449855.2022.2101653Proverse titles page:https://cup.cuhk.edu.hk/ProversehkProverse Autumn Reception 2022 video (3rd edit): https://youtu.be/9L0L0AY6NGQProverse Youtube channel: youtube.com/@ProversePublishing
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