History as ‘Precarious Gift’: Harland’s Half-Acre and The Great World as Malouf’s Not-So-Historical Novels

Authors

  • Nicholas Birns Eugene Lang College, the New School

Keywords:

Malouf, historical novel, ekphrasis, art

Abstract

Harland’s Half-Acre (1985) and The Great World (1991) were composed at a time of increasing worldwide interest in the historical novel, and both works do have potentially historical settings, yet Malouf is more interested in a lyrical treatment of history, which will underscore the risks, the precariousness, of the past rather than just honoring or revering it. These novels, in their affirmation of lived provisionality, are finally not-so-historical.

Author Biography

  • Nicholas Birns, Eugene Lang College, the New School
    Professor, Literature and Humanities

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Published

2014-04-23

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2014): David Malouf

Section

Articles

License

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How to Cite

History as ‘Precarious Gift’: Harland’s Half-Acre and The Great World as Malouf’s Not-So-Historical Novels. (2014). Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, 14(2). https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/JASAL/article/view/9891