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Richard Flanagan

リチャード・フラナガン

Richard Flanagan

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1961-01-01 （Longford, Tasmania, Australia）
Nationality
Australia
Languages
English
Residence History
Rosebery, Tasmania (western coast) → Hobart, Tasmania → Oxford (period of study)

Career

Occupations
novelist, non-fiction writer, screenwriter, film director, journalist
Active Years
1985-2025
Influenced By
William Faulkner (often cited as an influence in style/concern with history and place)
Influenced
Contemporary Australian writers (has influenced a generation of Australian novelists)

Education

University of Tasmania
Degree: Bachelor of Arts (First-Class Honours)
Period: 在学 - 1979–1984（中断と復学を含む）
Year of Graduation: 1984
Country: Australia
Served as president of the Tasmania University Union.
Worcester College, University of Oxford
History
Degree: Master of Letters (M.Litt.)
Period: 1984–1986
Year of Graduation: 1986
Country: United Kingdom
Attended as a Rhodes Scholar.

Awards

Man Booker Prize
2014
Work: The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Category: フィクション
Organization: The Booker Prize Foundation
Result: 受賞
Baillie Gifford Prize
2024
Work: Question 7
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Baillie Gifford
Result: 受賞（賞金受領を保留）
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
2002
Work: Gould's Book of Fish
Category: フィクション
Organization: Commonwealth Writers
Result: 受賞
Australian Prime Minister's Literary Prize
2014
Work: The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Category: フィクション
Organization: Australian Government
Result: 受賞
Tasmania Book Prize
2011
Work: Wanting
Organization: Tasmania Book Prizes
Result: 受賞
John Curtin Prize for Journalism
2008
Work: Essay "Gunns. Out of Control"
Category: ジャーナリズム
Organization: The Monthly
Result: 受賞
Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
2019
Organization: Australian Academy of the Humanities
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Death of a River Guide

1994 Literary fiction

Tells the story of a river guide, Aljaz Cosini, as he lies dying and recalls his life and family history.

memoryfamily historyTasmanian landscape

The Sound of One Hand Clapping

1997 Novel (immigrant/family)

A story of Slovenian immigrants in Australia; became a major bestseller there.

immigrant experiencefamilysocial isolation
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Sound of One Hand Clapping (film) / Richard Flanagan (1998)

Gould's Book of Fish

2001 Historical fiction

A fictionalized account based on the convict artist William Buelow Gould; formally inventive historical novel.

colonial historyartidentity

The Unknown Terrorist

2006 Political/social novel

A novel addressing surveillance, media and paranoia in the post-9/11 world.

surveillancemediapolitics of fear

Wanting

2008 Historical novel / dual narrative

Interweaves two narratives: Charles Dickens in England and the story of Mathinna in colonial Van Diemen's Land.

colonialismdesire and powerintersecting histories

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

2013 War novel / literary fiction

Follows a Tasmanian doctor who becomes a Japanese POW on the Burma Death Railway; explores memory and guilt. Winner of the 2014 Booker Prize.

war and traumamemoryatonement

First Person

2017 Novel (about writing, ghostwriting)

Loosely based on Flanagan's experience ghostwriting; an enigmatic novel about memory and narrative voice.

reliability of narrationthe writer's craftmemory and creation

The Living Sea of Waking Dreams

2020 Literary fiction

About a woman caring for her dying mother against the backdrop of Australia's Black Summer wildfires; explores grief and memory.

lossclimate changefamily

Question 7

2023 Non-fiction / essay

A work of non-fiction addressing environment, politics and ethics; won the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

environmental issuesethicsindustry and society

Bibliography

  • A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country (1985)
  • The Rest of the World Is Watching: Tasmania and the Greens (1990, co-edited)
  • Codename Iago: The Story of John Friedrich (1991, co-writer)
  • Death of a River Guide (1994)
  • The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1997)
  • Gould's Book of Fish (2001)
  • The Unknown Terrorist (2006)
  • Wanting (2008)
  • The Narrow Road to the Deep North (2013)
  • First Person (2017)
  • The Living Sea of Waking Dreams (2020)
  • Toxic: The Rotting Underbelly of the Tasmania Salmon Industry (2021)
  • Question 7 (2023)

Adaptations

  • The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1998 film, dir./screenwriter: Richard Flanagan)
  • The Narrow Road to the Deep North (TV miniseries directed by Justin Kurzel, screened at festivals 2025; acquired by BBC)

Translations of Works

  • Gould's Book of Fish and other works have been translated into multiple languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, detailed descriptionweaving history with personal memorydirect treatment of moral and political issues
Recurring Motifs
memory and forgettingwar and traumaTasmanian nature and riverscolonial history and treatment of Indigenous peoplesfamily and atonement

Health

  • Severe hearing impairment (childhood)
    出生〜6歳頃
    Corrected around age six. Childhood hearing impairment affected early development and schooling.

Legacy

Considered one of contemporary Australia's leading writers, noted for international prizes and public engagement on social and environmental issues. His work on war, colonial history and the environment is highly regarded.

Museums

  • Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (exhibition inspired by Flanagan's novels) Hobart, Tasmania Opened in 2024

Academic Societies

  • Australian Academy of the Humanities (Honorary Fellow)

Archives

  • Papers and related materials held by Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and other Australian institutions

In Popular Culture

  • Subject of the BAFTA-winning BBC documentary 'Life After Death'
  • Adaptations of his work into film and television (e.g. The Narrow Road to the Deep North miniseries)

Quotes

  • “one of our greatest living novelists”
    Source: The Washington Post (2021)
  • “Considered by many to be the finest Australian novelist of his generation”
    Source: The Economist (2014)

Trivia

  • Donated his 2014 prize money to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and has donated other award funds.
  • Brother is journalist Martin Flanagan.
  • Directed and wrote the film adaptation of The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1998), which was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
  • Made an Honorary Citizen of Oxford, Mississippi in 2014.
  • Upon winning the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize he said he would not accept the prize money until the sponsor published plans to reduce fossil fuel investments.