''Carpentaria'' is the second novel by the

indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

author

Alexis Wright Alexis Wright (born 25 November 1950) is a Waanyi (Aboriginal Australian) writer best known for winning the Miles Franklin Award for her 2006 novel '' Carpentaria'' and the 2018 Stella Prize for her "collective memoir" of Leigh Bruce "Tracker" ...

. It met with widespread critical acclaim when it was published in mid-2006, and went on to win Australia's premier literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award, in mid-2007.

Plot introduction

The novel tells the interconnected stories of several inhabitants of the fictional town of Desperance, situated on the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

in northwest

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. There, the Aboriginal people of the Pricklebush clan are engaged in a number of argumentative conflicts with various enemies in the community, including the white inhabitants of Desperance, the local law enforcement and government officials, and a large multinational mining operation that has been established on their traditional sacred land. The narrative chronicles the interpersonal relationships shared between three men embroiled in these disputes: the wise, pragmatic, and blunt Normal Phantom; the nomadic, overzealous shamanic practitioner of Aboriginal traditional religion, Mozzie Fishman; and Norm's son, Will Phantom, who deserted his father's house to undertake a cross-country spiritual journey with Fishman, but who has now returned home with something of Fishman's character in him.

Publication

At the time of publication the Australian bookstore chain

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

decided to stock books produced by small presses only if the publishers themselves paid a requisite fee. The implication of this decision was that such publishers would be unable to afford these fees, and therefore their publications would be removed from the shelves to make room for books that were likely to achieve higher sales. ''Carpentaria'', after having been rejected by every major Australian publisher, was eventually published by Giramondo, one of the publishing houses targeted in Angus & Robertson's campaign; therefore the most recent winner of Australia's largest literary prize would no longer be stocked in one of Australia's largest bookstore chains.Wyndham, Susan
Bookshop chain puts bite on small publishers
''Undercover'' blog at the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' website. 8 August 2007. This too received considerable media attention, and again boosted sales of the novel.

Reviews

*Dunsford, Cathie (7 March 2007)
"Carpentaria by Alexis Wright, reviewed by Dr Cathie Dunsford"
''Asia and Pacific Writers Network''. * Ferrier, Carole (n.d.
"The Best Australian Novel for Years ..."
''Australian Women's Book Review''. * Davison, Liam (18 September 2006)
"Carpentaria"
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. *Fitzgerald, Michael (25 September 2006)
"Crossing the Gulf"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

''.

External links

Official listing for the novel
at the website of

Giramondo Publishing Giramondo Publishing (Giramondo Publishing Company) is an independent Australian literary small press founded in 1995. It is a publisher of poetry, fiction and non-fiction by Australian and overseas writers, and works in translation from Chinese, ...

.
A Question of Fear
audio of Wright's International PEN address.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpentaria (Novel) 2006 Australian novels 2006 in Australia Australian magic realism novels Miles Franklin Award-winning works Novels set in Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria ALS Gold Medal winning works Indigenous Australian literature Giramondo Publishing books