A&R Classics
3 total works
The Miles Franklin award-winning classic. 'One of the greatest books written this century' - The Illustrated London News 'the thing I am trying to get at is what made Jack different from me. Different all through our lives, I mean, and in a special sense, not just older or nobler or braver or less clever.' David and Jack Meredith grow up in a patriotic suburban Melbourne household during the First World War, and go on to lead lives that could not be more different. through the story of the two brothers, George Johnston created an enduring exploration of two Australian myths: that of the man who loses his soul as he gains worldly success, and that of the tough, honest Aussie battler, whose greatest ambition is to serve his country during the war. Acknowledged as one of the true Australian classics, My Brother Jack is a deeply satisfying, complex and moving literary masterpiece. David Meredith's story continues in the sequels Clean Straw for Nothing and A Cartload of Clay. 'Enthralling ...entertaining ...vividly original - the Age
Clean Straw for Nothing traces the journey of successful war correspondent and journalist David Meredith as he abandons his career to live in exile on a Greek island with his beautiful wife Cressida. Johnston focuses on the developing relationship between David and Cressida and David emerges as a complex and reflective character, unable to find the freedom and answers he craves. A Cartload of Clay brings David back to Australia. He rediscovers his deep affection for his native land after having been so long in exile. It is an affection however which encompasses the country's deep faults and failings as well as its virtues. Here he reviews his life, and finds it wanting. Unable to arrive at any conclusions, he philosophically accepts that the meaning of life is the journey, and is not a prize to be given at the end.