So much underrating

November 16, 2014

Last week my book, A wrong turn at the Office of Unmade Lists, won Small Press Network’s ‘Most Underrated Book Award’ – you can read about it here if such a thing takes your fancy.

It’s a funny award, but also important. Loads of good books are completely overlooked by reviewers and readers, not because they’re not worth reading but because there are millions of books out there and only a few of them have enough marketing money thrown at them for them to be noticed. Books that don’t get marketed generally just disappear. I’m amazed by how much difference even a little thing like this award makes – twice as many people on Goodreads now reckon they want to read my book, for example.

So I thought I’d pass on a little of the love, for that brief second while people are paying attention to me. Here are some books published by Australian small presses over the last few years, each incredibly brilliant, and each largely overlooked. If you want to read something extraordinary, have a go at one of these (blurbs are taken from my sadly incoherent Goodreads reviews):

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Gone, by Jennifer Mills, published by UQP.  With his made-up name and a quest for a house that exists only in a photo he found at the bottom of someone else’s backpack, with his ‘memories’ which seem entirely stolen from other people he meets along the way, ‘Frank’ is the ultimate unreliable narrator. Even as he hitchikes his way towards his ‘home’ and as Mills reveals bits and pieces of his mental illness, his fantasies, we never get to a point where we actually know what has happened to him or who he is. Gone is full of bone-chilling dread, and its study of Australia’s people and landscape mean it is a book we should all read to better understand ourselves. Buy it here.

Come Inside, by GL Osborne, published by Clouds of Magellan. This mysterious, elliptical, eerie story of a shipwreck, a museum, an unknown girl, a missing girl is creepy and strange and impossible to figure out. Your brain may have no idea what’s going on, but your subconscious will be deeply satisfied. Buy it here.

Letters to the end of love, by Yvette Walker, published by UQP. Utterly heartbreaking. The most beautiful sustained piece of writing I’ve read in years. A miraculous understanding of the depths of sweet, old, taken-for-granted ground-in love. You’ll cry on the peak-hour train. OK, I did. Buy it here.

Truck Song, by Andrew Macrae, published by Twelfth Planet Press. Trucksong – a dystopian outback tale of AI trucks and a boy who longs to tame them – riffs off Russell Hoban’s ingenious Riddley Walker in a tangily Australian way. The language is brilliant: completely ocker without ever feeling like a smug latte-sipping parody. The descriptions of this dry, desperate and weirdly sexy techy world are grouse. Buy it here.

Tarcutta Wake, by Josephine Rowe, published by UQP. This collection of tiny stories is a brilliant read-out-loud book, and if you’re going to read it i recommend doing it that way, even if just to yourself. Your mouth will thank you; it will feel special and profound as it reads these beautiful, miraculous words and sentences. I adored these stories’ shard-like, unfathomable nature.  Buy it here.

Las Vegas for Vegans, by AS Patric, published by Transit Lounge. Each little piece in this short story collection is pure, clear poetry. Some of it is frightfully sad; some weird in just the way I like, full of people’s imaginings of how things might be, and the way those imaginings take over from the real world. A glorious read. If you don’t like short stories, try Patric’s equally brilliant novella, Bruno Kramzer, published by Finlay Lloyd. Buy it here.

A late addition (thanks to Paddy O’Reilly for reminding me): Anguli Ma, by Chi Vu, published by Giramondo. Vietnamese refugees in 1980s Footscray are stalked by a demon, who may or may not be an abattoir worker. There aren’t enough stories about the non-Anglo experience of living in Australia; particularly not enough stories that aren’t memoirs of growing up non-Anglo here. I want to read more fiction like this, that reveals an Australia I’ve been oblivious to my whole life.This book made me look at the neighbourhood where I live in a whole other way. It made me look at Australia and the people around me in a whole other way. I felt like I had new eyes while reading this. Buy it here.

I’m obviously a little fixated on unconventional story lines, strange language and unresolved endings, so if you’d like something a little more traditional, I also recommend:

Who we were, by Lucy Neave, published by Text. This is elegant, clean, professional writing. The story of two biologists confronted with the random cruelty of 1950s anti-Communist America is gripping. Their different responses to it create heartbreaking complications for their marriage. And I loved that Lake George featured: is this the first time it’s ever been in a novel? Buy it here.

Later this week I’ll be interviewing Annabel Smith about her new novel, The Ark: this is a book which deserves to be seriously rated and to never appear on a list like this.

Some other coverage of the MUBA win:


No Comments

  1. Nathan Hobby

    November 16, 2014 at 10:57 am

    Congratulations! And I applaud your generosity in talking about other underrated books. Bring on the second life of Office of Unmade Lists.

    Reply
  2. Adam Ford

    November 16, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    yay jane! just in time for christmas, too. The AGE! Woot! And thanks for this great list of books to chase down. I’ve been slack on the australian authors front of late. this will help immensely.

    Reply
  3. whisperinggums

    November 16, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    Congrats Jane, as I’ve said elsewhere. It is an odd award in a way but a good one nonetheless.

    This is a lovely post. I have Gone and Tarcutta Wake in my actual TBR piles so am glad of your added recommendation, and have heard of Come inside. But all your recommendations sound great.

    Reply
    • Jane Bryony Rawson

      November 16, 2014 at 8:46 pm

      I hope you like them. So many overlooked Australian books out there, so little time…

      Reply
  4. peteranyard

    November 16, 2014 at 8:17 pm

    congrats Jane. Both Tiff and I have read it and I gave details to my journo friend in NYC while I was there. As Oscar Wilde said the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

    Reply
    • Jane Bryony Rawson

      November 16, 2014 at 8:45 pm

      There’s nothing I like better than friends with friends in NYC. Love to both you and Tiff xxx

      Reply
  5. Jenny Ackland

    November 16, 2014 at 10:42 pm

    You show a big heart by passing on some of the attention that the award has brought you, Jane. Good on you. (And congrats again!)

    Reply
  6. leatherboundpounds

    November 17, 2014 at 12:10 pm

    Congratulations Jane! I knew it all along.

    And great post. I reserve a special kind of frustration for watching the really great, original novels fly under the radar while beige uninspired ones with huge marketing dollars thrown at them are the talk of the town. If there’s something we should be celebrating it’s story tellers who are brave and not afraid to be different.

    I read an article recently about First Tuesday Book Club which apparently had only reviewed ONE Australian book all year! The article was claiming the ABC should give positive reviews to Australian books (which I don’t necessarily agree with) but it is disappointing to see the national broadcaster overlook such a wealth of talent.

    Reply
  7. Pete Rohen

    November 17, 2014 at 10:04 pm

    Congrats Jane! Just found your site through the Guardian site’s article covering the award and see that Pete Ranyard was here too, small world. Fortunate timing by the way – Alex and I can buy extra copies and combine evangelism with xmas giving.

    And I’d like to second the earlier thanks for your graceful use of the attention to list other good books.

    Reply
    • Jane Bryony Rawson

      November 22, 2014 at 7:01 am

      Thanks Pete – yep, all Canberra all the time on here. Enjoy your Christmas shopping, and hi to Alex x

      Reply
  8. nike sulway

    November 18, 2014 at 9:57 am

    Jane – I’m a little late to the celebration, but enormous congratulations on your new award. You deserve many more.

    And, thank you for sharing this great list of other works to look out for – some great titles to check out 🙂

    Reply
    • Jane Bryony Rawson

      November 22, 2014 at 7:00 am

      Rupetta would have totally been on this list (everyone, read Nike’s ‘Rupetta’) except that winning the Tiptree makes it impossible to say ‘underrated’.

      Reply
  9. nicci h

    November 18, 2014 at 10:11 am

    Janer. Big congratulations, and ditto the comment about your generosity re. the overlooked, the unheard, the unmade. In fact, for all the uns.

    Reply
  10. whisperinggums

    November 22, 2014 at 12:47 am

    Caught up with your interview from the Bank Vault. Delightful, you came across really nicely, BUT he should have spent a little more time on YOUR book. And reiterated your name at the end, which I don’t think he did.

    Reply
    • Jane Bryony Rawson

      November 22, 2014 at 6:59 am

      *shakes fist at Cathcart*. Maybe I should have done a sign off – ‘this is Jane Rawson, author, Abbotsford’.

      Reply
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    December 28, 2014 at 3:01 pm

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