She imagined the reporter meeting important people, bantering with them as though they were her equals, and then surprising them with tricky questions. Lena's existence could not have been more distinct from the TV star's life. But coincidentally, and it had to be said, strangely, they shared a name.
Jana Wendt, the much-loved Gold Logie superstar of TV journalism for nearly three decades, feature writer, role model for young career women and author of two books of non-fiction, has now turned her hand to fiction. A polished writer and a natural storyteller with genuine affection for her characters, Wendt interrogates their experiences with the same intense curiosity, rigour, intelligence and generosity as she brought to her interviews.
Reminiscent of the fiction of Lorrie Moore or Jhumpa Lahiri, many of these stories are about individuals from different backgrounds, grappling with fortune or misfortune, in need of connection.
In 'Fame and Nothingness', a homebody called Lena intersects with a once-famous journalist...As they try to find order in their lives, eccentric yet endearing couples dream, bicker, love and suffer, are betrayed or redeemed. Heart-stopping monologues by artists alternate with the witty dialogue and wicked humour of friendships and rivalries, with unexpected acts of kindness, and with the poignant unveiling of tragedies and enduring love.
Jana Wendt's revealing character studies in The Far Side of the Moon bear witness to the hidden lives of people we come to know in an intimate way.
Jana Wendt is a journalist and writer. Her feature writing has appeared in a broad range of publications and she has worked for every Australian television network as a senior reporter and presenter, and as a contributing correspondent for the American CBS Network's 60 Minutes. Wendt has interviewed many key newsmakers, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Muammar Gaddafi, Henry Kissinger, Rupert Murdoch, Conrad Black, Benazir Bhutto, Binyamin Netanyahu, and Yasser Arafat. In the arts, her subjects have included pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim; opera star Cecilia Bartoli; writer Norman Mailer and jazz diva Cleo Laine. Jana Wendt has published two books of non-fiction. The Far Side of the Moon is her first book of fiction.
