Overview

Twenty years ago, when I first arrived on the plains, I kept my eyes open. I looked for anything in the landscape that seemed to hint at some elaborate meaning behind appearances. There is no book in Australian literature like The Plains. In the two decades since its first publication, this haunting novel has earned its status as a classic. A nameless young man arrives on the plains and begins to document the strange and rich culture of the plains families. As his story unfolds, the novel becomes, in the words of Murray Bail, ‘a mirage of landscape, memory, love and literature itself’.

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9781930974289

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The Plains are a vast place inhabited by wealthy landowners whose prime obsession seems to be preserving history by shaping from uneventful days in a flat landscape the substance of myth. A film-maker arrives to record aspects of their heritage, discovering symbols, stories and parables that transcend spiritual, political or cultural purposes; even the rugged patriarchy of their world is somehow illusory. Deeply mysterious yet grounded in familiar, everyday detail, this novel is an alchemical miracle, converting vision into pure narrative. A stunning achievement . . . Debra Adelaide, <i><b>Sydney Morning Herald</b></i>

The Plains are a vast place inhabited by wealthy landowners whose prime obsession seems to be preserving history by 'shaping from uneventful days in a flat landscape the substance of myth.' A film-maker arrives to record aspects of their heritage, discovering symbols, stories and parables that transcend spiritual, political or cultural purposes; even the rugged patriarchy of their world is somehow illusory. Deeply mysterious yet grounded in familiar, everyday detail, this novel is an alchemical miracle, converting vision into pure narrative. A stunning achievement . . . --Debra Adelaide Sydney Morning Herald -The Plains are a vast place inhabited by wealthy landowners whose prime obsession seems to be preserving history by 'shaping from uneventful days in a flat landscape the substance of myth.' A film-maker arrives to record aspects of their heritage, discovering symbols, stories and parables that transcend spiritual, political or cultural purposes; even the rugged patriarchy of their world is somehow illusory. Deeply mysterious yet grounded in familiar, everyday detail, this novel is an alchemical miracle, converting vision into pure narrative. A stunning achievement . . .---Debra Adelaide, Sydney Morning Herald The Plains are a vast place inhabited by wealthy landowners whose prime obsession seems to be preserving history by shaping from uneventful days in a flat landscape the substance of myth. A film-maker arrives to record aspects of their heritage, discovering symbols, stories and parables that transcend spiritual, political or cultural purposes; even the rugged patriarchy of their world is somehow illusory. Deeply mysterious yet grounded in familiar, everyday detail, this novel is an alchemical miracle, converting vision into pure narrative. A stunning achievement . . . Debra Adelaide, Sydney Morning Herald

-The Plains are a vast place inhabited by wealthy landowners whose prime obsession seems to be preserving history by 'shaping from uneventful days in a flat landscape the substance of myth.' A film-maker arrives to record aspects of their heritage, discovering symbols, stories and parables that transcend spiritual, political or cultural purposes; even the rugged patriarchy of their world is somehow illusory. Deeply mysterious yet grounded in familiar, everyday detail, this novel is an alchemical miracle, converting vision into pure narrative. A stunning achievement . . .---Debra Adelaide, Sydney Morning Herald

Author Information

GERALD MURNANE was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1939. He spent part of his childhood in country districts in the State of Victoria but returned to Melbourne in 1949 and has never since left. During his working life he was at various times an editor and a teacher, and at his retirement he was senior lecturer in fiction writing at Deakin University. He is the author of seven highly praised books of fiction, and in 1999 he received the prestigious Patrick White Literary Award.

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