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Not long ago, Booker Prize winner, Peter Carey was at Oxford Bookstore, Kolkata to promote Australian literature and culture in the city. In an initiative to encourage this growing interest among readers, Asialink Literature Touring Programme and the Australian High Commission conducted a literary tour with Peter Goldsworthy, Kate Grenville and Tim Winton this November. Once more, Oxford Bookstore welcomed these award-winning writers for booklovers not just in Kolkata but in Mumbai and New Delhi as well.
Peter Goldsworthy, Kate Grenville and Tim Winton launched their critically acclaimed books at our stores and interacted with Indian readers on the rich literary tradition in Australia. The books, being reprinted by Penguin India, are: Goldsworthy's Three Dog Night which won Christina Stead Award for Fiction in 2003, Grenville's The Idea of Perfection which was awarded the Orange Prize in 2001 and Winton's Cloudstreet that won Miles Franklin literary Award in 1992. As natural storytellers, the authors have opened up the several vistas of Australian life to the world audience.
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A doctor by profession, Peter Goldsworthy read excerpts from his latest novel, Three Dog Night, an unpredictable and richly sexual page-turner, which triggers the darkest of journeys of the three main characters, through the treacherous terrain of their own feelings. Goldsworthy made the listeners hang on to every word, with lyrical ease. The maestro also spoke of his favourite Indian poet, Dom Moraes, and author, R. K. Narayan, whose Malgudi seemed so much like Penola, the town where he spent his youth. |
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Orange Prize-winner Kate Grenville, was relishing each moment of her visit to the heritage hub, after two decades. “We are finally leaving the British stranglehold,” she said, referring to the growing influence of Asia in Australia’s economy and culture. A little critical of the imposed bizarre element in Indian and Australian-English writings, she expressed her admiration for Arundhati Roy and for the subtle ways in which she has infused those little idiosyncrasies in her works. |
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Her most recent novel, The Idea of Perfection is about two individuals who mutually dislike each other and harbour conflicting aims. The novel traces the unexpected twists of this uncompromising relationship, which is perhaps beyond perfection. The bridge they fight over is a deep metaphor that points to our efforts in filling the near-absurd gaps of our personal relationships |
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With sparkling, azure eyes, and a childish smile, Tim Winton is, no wonder, loved by the old and the young alike. Launching his award winning novel Cloudstreet, he comments that the novel follows the fortunes of two families forced to share the same house for 20 years, with hilarious and often moving consequences. He voiced his desire to believe that Kolkata is definitely a more exciting city than some of the other destinations they had touch-based with. |
He opined, “Kolkata has a distinct life of its own, its own world, and its own pace”. Winton was all praises for Ray’s films, Amit Chaudhuri’s finesse and the rich history, which the city flaunts with an obvious élan. |
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The authors spent valuable time with littérateurs at the Oxford Bookstores in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, delving deep into the ties that bind the two geographically distant nations.
The most striking feature of this assemblage of art was the discovery of the strand that binds Australia with India – colonialism. As Winton, rightly pointed out that there is an undercurrent of rebellion in the works of both the countries – a spirit to break free from British influence and assert a respectable identity of its own.
Devapriya Banerjee
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Books |
Three Dog Night
by Peter Goldsworthy |
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Our Price:
Rs 315.00
USD 6.62
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Peter Goldsworthy recommends |
Memories of Malgudi
by R.K.Narayan |
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Our Price:
Rs 495.00
USD 10.40
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Cloudstreet
by Tim Winton |
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Our Price:
Rs 355.50
USD 7.47
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Tim Winton
recommends |
Our Films, Their Films
by Satyajit Ray |
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Our Price:
Rs 165.00
USD 3.47
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville |
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Our Price:
Rs 355.50
USD 7.47
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Kate Grenville
recommends |
The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Ray |
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Our Price:
Rs 295.00
USD 6.20
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