FICTION-GENERAL

In Helen Hodgman’s dazzlingly written debut a young woman is trapped in a small city on an island at the end of the world—by motherhood and an absent husband, by busybody in-laws and neighbours, by a drab society yet to throw off the shackles of its colonial past. A darkly funny tale of a crack-up in stultifying suburbia, Blue Skies marked the emergence of a unique, acerbic voice in Australian fiction. This edition includes an introduction by the acclaimed Tasmanian author Danielle Wood. The clock always said three in the afternoon, no matter what you did to it...No matter what you tried, the day ran out then, and there was nothing left to fill it with. Helen Hodgman was the author of the novels Blue Skies (1976), Jack and Jill (1978; winner of the Somerset Maugham Award), Broken Words (1988; winner of the Christina Stead Prize), Passing Remarks (1996), Waiting for Matindi (1998) and The Bad Policeman (2001). She died in June, 2022. ‘Singularly searing and merciless prose.’ Sunday Age ‘As fresh, punchy and relevant now as it was on its [first] release...A compelling vision.’ Australian ‘Scarily unforgettable.’ Peter Conrad ‘Strange and memorable.’ Eva Hornung ‘The very essence of Tasmanian gothic.’ Carmel Bird ‘Sensuous...Prickly as a sea urchin.’ Nicholas Shakespeare ‘A convincing study of a woman slowly losing her mind.’ Sunday Herald ‘Elegantly written, atmospheric.’ Brenda Niall, Australian Book Review ‘Has a masterpiece’s power to thrill and discomfort.’ Sunday Tasmanian ‘Stylistically assured...Daring and persuasive in its depiction of a controlled and vengeful anguish.’ Peter Pierce, Sydney Morning Herald

Jill and her dad are happy enough after her mother dies. Theirs is a simple life in the outback, far from the big city where a coathanger is being built across a sparkling harbour. Until Jack arrives at their door. Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, Jack and Jill is a twisted fairytale, set from the Depression to the freewheeling ’60s.

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