The Important Things

The Important Things is the tale of Christopher, who lives with his mother. Christopher’s mother does everything, as his father has faded from their lives. When they give away a box of his father’s old things, a series of events takes place that reveal the different ways in which Christopher and his mother deal with the absent father.

Peter Carnavas always been fascinated by the stories behind things, the reasons particular things are important to us. An old typewriter might not work anymore but it may have once belonged to a favourite author, or was passed down through generations in the family. The importance of things, and why they are important, is what led me to write this story.

It’s about remembering. It’s about parents. It’s about absence. It’s about the joy of understanding between a mother and a son.

And, most importantly, it’s about slippers.

About the Author

Peter Carnavas was born in Brisbane in 1980. As a small boy he enjoyed copying out his favourite picture books and occasionally typed a small newspaper about the goings-on of his household. At age ten, Peter’s family moved to the Sunshine Coast, where he gave up the violin, took up the guitar and learned to fish.

Like most children his age, Peter was an enormous fan of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake. He spent most of his teenage years playing the guitar and drawing characters all over his school books, often wishing he could draw as well as his brother.

Peter initially studied Media Studies before becoming a primary school teacher. He has conducted cartooning workshops with children, painted school murals and developed an online travel buddy with students, which was awarded an Education Queensland Showcase Award. If it was all up to Peter, he would spend most of his time reading books with his daughter, trying to play the mandolin and drawing little pictures of people.