The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

I don't think I have told you about David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet yet, have I? It's an epic story of 1799 Japan and Dejima, the section that the foreigners are confined to stay in while trading with, or living in, Japan. And Mitchell creates such a beautiful, intimate, almost longing, portrait of Jacob de Zoet, the Dutch clerk sent out with the Dutch East India Trading Company, that after over 600 pages later, I found myself almost weeping over the last three pages of the novel. Mostly love story, this historical fiction includes a huge array of secondary characters from samurai to slaves, midwives to Masters, Lords and limping, gout ridden Captains. The novel is an extraordinary piece of work by Mitchell. I can't recommend it highly enough.

The Mary Smokes Boys

Now that I am not blogging for Readings anymore, I thought I would stop blogging. The pressure, the pressure, the constant pressure to think of new things to write each week was one of the drawbacks of committing to writing a non-marketing blog for them. But, then I read The Mary Smokes Boys by Patrick Holland and, apart from colleagues and customers, had no one to really share the joy with. And what joy. It is sad and desperate but a touch mythical and lyrical and he writes with such confidence and (clearly) knowledge of small town-ness. New Australian Gothic. A real diamond of the year for me. I really couldn't wait to read more from him.

So, I went fishing for him online and found a few of his stories for the Griffith Review here. Yes, he is one to watch. A slow burn of a writer who obviously has a clear eyed approach to story. Read The Mary Smokes Boys. It's great.

Fun in the City

On Thursday we headed into the city to see the Ricky Swallow show Bricoleur at the Ian Potter NGV Gallery in Federation Square. On the way up the stairs at the gallery we wandered through the 2009 Clemenger Art Award and came across Destiny Deacon's latest piece. She is always super cool and precise in her gaze. I was also overcome with joy when I realised that by participating in Julie Gough's Forcefield 2, I could help erase the text of Keith Windschuttle's book, The Fabrication of Aboriginal History. It cheered me up immensely and I stepped on every page glued to the floor. Language, symbols and words have significance and power and change the way people think. They need to be addressed with energy and thought and that is precisely what Deacon and Gough ensure we do. Go and dance on Windschuttle's lies in the knowledge that some white Australians are still trying to deny our black history while you grin at the bravado and cheekiness of Deacon's Miss Diss Graces and Jacky Of All Trades and the stereotypes and perceptions they are aiming to subvert.

And Swallow's work? Amazing. Detailed and powerful wood sculptures because of the detail.