Spike Poll: Post Script and Reader Votes
JA
November 20
Now that the official proceedings are at a close, we'd like to throw open the poll to you, dear readers. What do you think is the best Australian fiction of the 21st century so far?
Again, the only rules are that it must be Australian fiction (this can include collections of short stories) and must have been published after 1 January 2000.
Send in your votes (up to five titles), either as comments below or to jjmau@unimelb.edu.au with 'Spike Reader Poll' in the subject line.
Voting will close on 5pm, Monday 30 November, with results to follow.
(And yes we know ABR are also hosting a fan poll, but that doesn't mean you can't double-dip)
Finally, in case you were curious (and perhaps for some new summer reading inspiration), here are the titles that almost made it:
Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee
Dark Palace by Frank Moorhouse
Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman
Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett
The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
Dreams of Speaking by Gail Jones
Things We Didn’t See Coming by Steven Amsterdam
The Spare Room by Helen Garner
A Fraction of the Whole by Steven Toltz
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
The Danger Game by Kalinda Ashton
Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy
The Hamilton Case by Michelle de Kretser
And here are some others that were also voted for:
The Good Parents by Joan London
Carry Me Down by MJ Hyland
Little White Slips by Karen Hitchcock
Isobel on the Way to the Corner Shop by Amy Witting
Three Dog Night by Peter Goldsworthy
Every Move You Make David Malouf
The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser
The Children by Charlotte Wood
Prochownik’s Dream by Alex Miller
Rohypnol by Andrew Hutchinson
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Moral Hazard by Kate Jennings
The Rip by Robert Drewe
Transactions by Neil Boyack
Under the Skin by Michel Faber
Black Juice by Margo Lanagan
Dirt Music by Tim Winton
Company by Max Barry
Cold Water by Mardi McConnochie
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers by Delia Falconer
Vernon God Little by D.B.C. Pierre
The Resurrectionist by James Bradley
The Virtuoso by Sonia Orchard
Vertigo by Amanda Lohrey
The Time We Have Taken by Steven Carroll
Callisto by Torsten Krol
The Broken Book by Susan Johnson
Reunion by Andrea Goldsmith
The Sleepers Almanac No. 5 edited by Zoe Dattner and Louise Swinn
Disquiet by Julia Leigh
Underground by Andrew McGahan
Diary of a Bad Year by J.M. Coetzee
Gilgamesh by Joan London
Burning In by Mireille Juchau
Our Friends
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- Andrew McDonald
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- Bookshow blog
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- City of Tongues
- Crikey
- darkly wise, rudely great
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- Elmo Keep Does Stuff
- The Ember
- Fly the Falcon blog
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- Griffith Review
- Hackpacker
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- Literary Minded
- Lorraine Crescent
- Lynden Barber
- Mandy Ord
- Marcus Westbury
- Matilda
- Meanland
- Melbourne University Publishing
- Mel Campbell
- The Monthly
- Musings of an Inappropriate Woman
- Oslo Davis
- Paul Callaghan
- Read, Think, Write
- Sleepers Publishing
- Sorrow at Sills Bend
- SPLOG
- Tom Cho
- Virgule
- Wet Ink
- Wheeler Centre
Comments
20 Nov 09 at 6:16
It's Amy Witting
...20 Nov 09 at 6:16
... and Gilgamesh
...20 Nov 09 at 12:28
Only unfortunately Amy Witting's title was published in 1999 by Penguin - does someone in there have a second edition, or is that a sympathy inclusion? for of course had it been published later, it would be a shoo-in. (sorry to be PICKY.)
...22 Nov 09 at 12:22
Elizabeth Jolley's An Innocent Gentleman was published in 2001 - it definitely deserves a mention. Can't believe it's been overlooked so far.
...23 Nov 09 at 13:08
That Witting ed. of mine is a paperback BTW.
...23 Nov 09 at 13:10
Jonathan - I've fixed. Genevieve, for the purposes of this excercise, it can't be included as it's 1999. And yes, Maree, the absence of Elizabeth Jolley is very surprising.
...23 Nov 09 at 13:23
This task is very tall, but my picks: 1. The Hamilton Case by Michelle de Kretser. To me, this is the best example of sustained great writing amongst the eligible books. Completely satisfying - unlike (for me) the more acclaimed but less pungent and cohesive The Lost Dog. 2. The Boat by Nam Le. There is a large gap between the impact of the best stories (the first and the last) and the less successful offerings (eg Halflead Bay), but his strongest pieces inspire awe. 3. Truth by Peter Temple. A judgement made without the luxury of time to reflect and reconsider, but at first blush this is the best Australian crime novel I have read, and the finest of Temple's books to date. Three other novels that have left indelible memories: The Spare Room; Vernon God Little; Three Dog Night.
...24 Nov 09 at 18:09
Excuse me, Sophie - I did not include Ms Witting - your intern did. I was pointing out the error, not making a recommendation.
...24 Nov 09 at 18:19
...all I was trying to do was ask you nicely to check that entry in your list.
...24 Nov 09 at 20:02
Sorry Genevieve, my mistake. My intention was not to be offensive - you seem to think it was.
...25 Nov 09 at 6:48
No, no - just concerned that it looks as though I put it up there! thanks for clarifying.
...