''You Can't See 'Round Corners'' is a 1947 novel by Australian author
Jon Cleary
Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...
. It was his first published novel.
Plot
Frankie McCoy, a
bookie from
Paddington, Sydney, is drafted into the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
during World War II. He ends up
deserting
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...
and going on the run. His girlfriend Margie breaks up with him so he seeks solace in the arms of a more sexually experienced woman, Myra. He incurs gambling debts and robs a store, accidentally killing Myra. As the military police close in he is killed by a car.
History
The novel took Cleary over eight months to write. He began it during his war service in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
and finished it on a boat trip from Sydney to England after World War II, the same voyage on which he met his wife Joy.
Cleary based the book on incidents and people he witnessed when he worked in the Sydney suburb of
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...
at age 18:
Frankie McCoy, the hero of the novel, is a composite of types I met, and who for all their faults I admire. When first I went to Paddington as a boy I tended to be snobbish about the people I met there. It.was not long before I learned to admire their pluck in the face of poverty, their generosity, and their dogged refusal to accept defeat – they battle on and don't whine. I always remember the case of one girl – she was not what nice people call nice, she was immoral and she swore. But one Christmas Eve, out of her week's earnings of 55/ she gave 20/ to a boy who was the eldest of a family of five in the poorest circumstances, and who was earning only 15/ a week. I never forgot that."
Cleary originally wrote the book in first person perspective but later rewrote it in the third person. He says he wrote the novel on instinct. "You really can't sit down and plan it; you do it and there it is."
His editor for the UK edition was
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
.
[Jon Cleary interview with Stephen Vagg](_blank)
at the National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...
Reception
''You Can't See 'Round Corners'' was well-received critically, winning second prize in ''
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 ...
s novel contest, losing to
Ruth Park
Rosina Ruth Lucia Park AM (24 August 191714 December 2010) was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels ''The Harp in the South'' (1948) and ''Playing Beatie Bow'' (1980), and the children's radio serial ''Th ...
's ''
The Harp in the South
''The Harp in the South'' is the debut novel by Australian author Ruth Park. Published in 1948, it portrays the life of a Catholic Irish Australian family living in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, which was at that time an inner city slum.
...
''. It was praised by such writers as
Dymphna Cusack
Ellen Dymphna Cusack AM (21 September 1902 – 19 October 1981) was an Australian writer and playwright.
Personal life
Born in Wyalong, New South Wales, Cusack was educated at Saint Ursula's College, Armidale, New South Wales and graduated f ...
. However, Cleary was not able to support himself full time with his writing until the publication of ''
The Sundowners'' a few years later.
Malcolm Brown, 'Storytelling Success Made Him One of Australia's Great Writers', The Age, 28 July 2010.
/ref>
Adaptations
The film rights were sold almost immediately to Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
as a possible vehicle for Alan Ladd
Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...
. However the US government were having trouble with deserters in Europe at the time and this fell through. The novel was adapted into a TV series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
in 1967, where the action was updated to the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. This series in turn was adapted into a film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 1969.
References
External links
*The novel was serialised in ''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 ...
'' â€
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine
Part Ten
Part Eleven
Part Twelve
Part Thirteen
Part Fourteen
Part Fifteen
Part Sixteen
Part Seventeen
Part Eighteen
Complete novel at 'Book Reading' ''Radio National'' 5 March-30 March 2012
"You Can't See 'Round Corners'"
at AustLit
AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...
(subscription required)
{{Jon Cleary
1947 Australian novels
Novels set during World War II
Novels set in Sydney
Novels first published in serial form
Charles Scribner's Sons books
Novels by Jon Cleary
1947 debut novels