...know. Australians in their heart of hearts hate anything but a bungalow. They feel it's rock bottom, don't you see. None of your stair climbing shams and upstairs importance."

--Kangaroo, Chapter 6

I ASSUME I BOUGHT my copy of the Penguin edition of Kangaroo in 1968 or thereabouts, since 1968 is the final reprint date listed inside. I assume, also, that I intended to read it, although there is an unspoiled feel to the book that comes from unthumbed pages and lingers even after they have turned brown with age. I may at least have made an attempt: the opening scene, in which a Sydney taxi driver patronisingly brushes off an Englishman who wants to haggle about the fare ("If you don't want a taxi, you don't. I suppose you know your own mind"--then a u-turn back into the taxi rank) evokes a pale memory.

A chain reaction to recommendations took me eventually to D.H. Lawrence's 1925 novel about power struggles, political and emotional, set more or less in Australia--less, really, when you see this presented as an option. The first pointer came from Gavin Souter when, the other day, I sought a reference in his stylish 1981 history of John Fairfax Ltd, A Company of Heralds. Writing of John Douglas Pringle, an urbane and charming Scot who edited the Sydney Morning Herald from 1952 to 1957, Souter praised Pringle's Australian Accent as "one of the most perceptive and graceful books ever written by a visitor to Australia". Australian Accent! I'd been intending to read it for, well, some decades but had not got around to it. There was not a moment to lose. I was sure I had a copy somewhere.

Another person's name was inscribed with a misguidedly confident flourish on the fly-leaf of the 1958 Chatto & Windus edition. Doubtless,...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



More articles from Quadrant
Some more short takes.(Literature)(Short story), January 01, 2007
Print the legend?(Movie review), January 01, 2007

Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.

Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication name or publication date.

About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company analysis or best practices in managing your organization, Goliath can help you meet your business needs.

Our extensive business information databases empower business professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible, authoritative information they need to support their business goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting, company research or defining management best practices - Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.