Slow Natives
Set in suburban Queensland, the novel traces middle-aged boredom, teenage rebellion, religious pressure, and family estrangement through the breakdown of one household.
Work Information
The cracks in an ordinary family gradually come into view through the dissonance between adolescence and middle age.
Winner of the 1965 Miles Franklin Award, this representative novel by Thea Astley was first published by Angus and Robertson. It portrays the pressures and desires inside a suburban middle-class family with sharp observation and driving dialogue, and stands as one of her key early works.
Review Summaries
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Critics value the sharp metaphors and close observation that bring loneliness and domestic tension to the surface. The book is read as a work where humor and bitterness coexist to reveal the deep cracks beneath shallow everyday life.
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Reader response centers on how the dialogue and family tensions make the characters feel fully dimensional. It is not a flashy novel, but many readers value the strong lingering aftertaste it leaves by the end.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Putnam Adult
- Published
- 1993-09-15
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 50.8 x 50.8 x 50.8 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780399138751
- ISBN-10
- 0399138757
- Price
- 5904 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Contemporary
Torn apart by conflict, the Leversons--music teacher Bernard, bored with his marriage and career; his unfaithful wife, Iris; and their rebellious teenage son, Keith--rediscover new meaning in their lives and relationships through tragedy.