Gerald Murnane

"A man can know his place and yet never try to reach it. "

Gerald Murnane was born in Melbourne in 1939. He has been a primary teacher, an editor and a university lecturer. His debut novel, Tamarisk Row (1974), was followed by ten other works of fiction, including The Plains and most recently Border Districts. In 1999 Murnane won the Patrick White Award and in 2009 he won the Melbourne Prize for Literature. He lives in western Victoria.

‘Reading Murnane, one cares less about what is happening in the story and more about what one is thinking about as one reads. The effect of his writing is to induce images in the reader’s own mind, and to hold the reader inside a world in which the reader is at every turn encouraged to turn his or her attention to those fast flocking images.’ New York Times

What genres and forms does Gerald Murnane write in?

Murnane is primarily a writer of literary fiction with a distinctive, image-driven and introspective style. He has also published poetry, memoir and nonfiction on books and reading.

Which book is a good place to start reading Murnane?

Good entry points are Tamarisk Row (his debut novel) and The Plains (one of his best-known novels). Border Districts is a recent work that shows his later concerns; Inland is another commonly recommended novel.

Are his books part of a series or meant to be read in order?

Most of Murnane's works are standalone novels, short story collections or essays. They can be read in any order; there is no required series sequence.

What themes and stylistic features should I expect in his work?

Expect concentrated attention to images and memory, a strong sense of landscape and interiority, and prose that encourages the reader to dwell on perception and imagination.