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For a while Lawrence Martin had everything. He was the keyboard player in a successful rock band; he had money, his choice of women. It was a long way from the British boarding school where he met Roly, the charismatic front man who lured him to Australia in the first place, and with whom he shared the song-writing. Only after it all went wrong did Lawrence learn they’d been sharing other things as well. Two decades on, living in the highlands of Scotland, he’s again confronted with those turbulent years, and with the accident that changed everything… Wry, insightful, intelligent, 88 Lines About 44 Women traces the boundaries of shame and how it obstructs the capacity for love. Are all men emotionally diconnected? Does true intimacy bring redemption, or is it the other way round? pitch-perfect... brilliantly humane an excellent novel lucid and precise a powerful example of the strength of Australian fiction Canberra Times Everything about An Accidental Terrorist spoke of a prodigious talent and hinted at a promising career. Lang’s new novel, 88 Lines About 44 Women, has not only lived up to that promise, but extended his reach on the physical terrain as well as on the contours of the human heart. As much as the healing of a faded rock star in the Scottish Highlands may sound like a detour from most reader’s home ground, this novel’s orchestration of memory, landscape, music and human relationships is so pitch-perfect and complete that it feels like first hand experience. This is a brilliantly humane novel. This is an excellent novel; a finely calibrated blend of a carefully paced thriller and a literary exploration of masculinity. Undoubtedly the best book I’ve read all year. [88 Lines] opens with a nail-bitingly taut scene of high drama on the ocean involving a beautiful semi-naked woman, the threat of the open water and some unresolved sexual tension that is bound to end badly. [But] if the opening flags a sexually charged psychological thriller of the Dead Calm variety, be prepared to be surprised. Lang’s ... aspirations lie elsewhere. His best writing arises from his emotional engagement with place and his tender examination of his damaged characters’ capacity for love.
In 1842 the Crown Commissioner for Lands, Stephen Simpson, along with a Lutheran priest, Christoph Eipper, set out from Moreton Bay with the intention of finding a site for a new Aboriginal settlement in the Larger Bunya Country, now Kenilworth. They were accompanied on their journey by twelve soldiers, a team of bullocks and a dray, as well as the two escaped convicts, Bracewell and Davis, both of whom had lived for an extended period amongst the natives. 150 years later Steven Lang followed their route from the source of the Mary River to where it joins the sea. In A Strong Brown God Lang marries his story with that of the earlier men, both Aboriginal and White, weaving a picture of the Mary Valley as it was then, and as it is now, a very personal portrait that becomes a paean for the river and its importance. In this beautifully illustrated book Lang gives an account of his journey down the Mary River, weaving his own story with that of the original inhabitants and the first white settlers. Published by Lang House Press When Kelvin returns to his home town on the southern coast of New South Wales he finds himself drawn to a community back in the hills. He meets Jessica, a would-be writer who has escaped the city, and her enigmatic neighbour, Carl. Both are pursuing new lives inspired by the extraordinary landscape around them. As his relationship with Jessica intensifies Kelvin is caught up by some of the more radical elements in the community. No-one, however, is quite who they seem, and Kelvin makes a decision that will have devastating consequences for all of them. Deep in the southern forests, the story builds to a dramatic climax.
Lang’s first novel presages a strong literary career. Exhibits
the health of Australian fiction in the new millenium. A slow burn thriller engaged with contemporary issues … hypnotically
written and
engaging. Lang
skilfully ratchets up the tension in the second half, leading
to a genuinely thrilling |
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