The Butcherbird Stories

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Transit Lounge , Nov 1, 2018 - Fiction - 256 pages
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 Eleven stories. Each like a matchstick struck to illuminate the darkness. Evocations of place ranging from a Bangla jungle to the deep, blue Danube to a winter beach in Melbourne excite and seduce. But what truly draws the reader in are the unexpected landscapes of people's lives, explored with rare sensitivity, grace and a fearless truthfulness.

A lonely St Kilda chef invites a beautiful busker to use his spare room. A father sings a lullaby to comfort his young daughter who has woken from a nightmare. A taxi driver picks up an old-world gentleman who is reluctant to disclose his destination. A young immigrant boy growing up in the western suburbs of Melbourne daydreams of infinite possibility.

Death, loneliness, passion and belief: Patrić takes on the big questions in life and writes about the small people of the world with stylistic verve and deep humanity. 

This collection of stories reveals the author, best known for his award-winning novels, as a true master of the short story form.

‘One of the most interesting and valuable writers working in Australia today.’ — The Australian 

 

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Contents

The Bengal Monkey
Butcherbird
The Rothko
Punctuated
Copyright

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About the author (2018)

A.S. Patric was born in Zemun, Serbia, but has lived in Australia since childhood. He is a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Melbourne, and is a bookseller. His short stories include The Rattler and Other Stories (2011), Las Vegas for Vegans (2012), and Bruno Kramzer: A Long Story (2013). His debut novel is Black Rock White City, for which he won the 2016 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

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