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Vortex
we only need to tease out the first stray thread, such as the lingering wake left by a white ship forging through grey light to where a thousand seabirds disappear from the collapsing sky . . . and we've begun
It is 1954, but not the same way the history books would have it. Events and characters swirl in a vortex of fragments and chance connections.
Brisbane celebrates the young Queen Elizabeth II's arrival on her first royal tour of the commonwealth. Meanwhile the future is being shaped behind closed doors, laying the foundations for the 21st century . . .
A magisterial novel resonant with contemporary concerns, by one of Australia's foremost authors writing at the height of his ambition.
Praise for Vortex
'Everything about Rodney Hall's work is the beauty of the writing, the dark and vibrant imagination, and the enormous pleasure it gives the reader. Michael Herr
'Rodney Hall writes the world as if it were lit by stormlight, a genius that recognises each facet for its singularity as well as its inherent interconnectedness.' Josephine Rowe
'Vortex is many mighty things. Above all, it is generous.' Beejay Silcox
It is 1954, but not the same way the history books would have it. Events and characters swirl in a vortex of fragments and chance connections.
Brisbane celebrates the young Queen Elizabeth II's arrival on her first royal tour of the commonwealth. Meanwhile the future is being shaped behind closed doors, laying the foundations for the 21st century . . .
A magisterial novel resonant with contemporary concerns, by one of Australia's foremost authors writing at the height of his ambition.
Praise for Vortex
'Everything about Rodney Hall's work is the beauty of the writing, the dark and vibrant imagination, and the enormous pleasure it gives the reader. Michael Herr
'Rodney Hall writes the world as if it were lit by stormlight, a genius that recognises each facet for its singularity as well as its inherent interconnectedness.' Josephine Rowe
'Vortex is many mighty things. Above all, it is generous.' Beejay Silcox
- GenresFiction
424 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 27, 2024
About the author
Rodney Hall
66 books19 followersBorn in Solihull, Warwickshire, England, Hall came to Australia as a child after World War II and studied at the University of Queensland. Between 1967 and 1978 he was the Poetry Editor of The Australian. After a period living in Shanghai in the 1980s, Hall returned to Australia, and took up residence in Victoria.
Hall has twice won the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal, and has received seven nominations for the prestigious Miles Franklin Award, for which he has twice won ("Just Relations" in 1982 and "The Grisly Wife" in 1994).
Hall has twice won the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal, and has received seven nominations for the prestigious Miles Franklin Award, for which he has twice won ("Just Relations" in 1982 and "The Grisly Wife" in 1994).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 10, 2024
didn’t follow a word of it.
and often it became
Maybe it was some kind of elaborate practical joke. I toiled through to 25% in hope of discovering just one investable character before collapsing into the steadily-pressing, almost mocking, logic of “continue why?”
Even if the “novel”’s purpose, to evoke the year 1954 through 100 slice-of-life strands, was honourable, the purpose itself is thwarted by the subjective and non-consequential nature of the strands. It’s just one person’s imaginings. Further muddied by a stream-of-consciousness feel.
So you’d have to be interested not just in getting a broader perspective of the year 1954 but also of one person’s guess of what 1954 not actually was, but felt like. There are more intriguing things for me to ponder in what’s left of my days.
This waving the white flag released me to read the last page. Which was indistinguishable from the first hundred. And as I was about to
and often it became
Maybe it was some kind of elaborate practical joke. I toiled through to 25% in hope of discovering just one investable character before collapsing into the steadily-pressing, almost mocking, logic of “continue why?”
Even if the “novel”’s purpose, to evoke the year 1954 through 100 slice-of-life strands, was honourable, the purpose itself is thwarted by the subjective and non-consequential nature of the strands. It’s just one person’s imaginings. Further muddied by a stream-of-consciousness feel.
So you’d have to be interested not just in getting a broader perspective of the year 1954 but also of one person’s guess of what 1954 not actually was, but felt like. There are more intriguing things for me to ponder in what’s left of my days.
This waving the white flag released me to read the last page. Which was indistinguishable from the first hundred. And as I was about to
September 9, 2024
A vortex of directionless stories.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews