Done reading.
Two books by the Australian crime fiction writer, Peter Temple: The Broken Shore and Truth. Here’s a good review of The Broken Shore and here is one of Truth.
One point to emphasize is Temple’s gift at dialogue. I haven’t read such high-quality and truly authentic exchanges since Lush Life by Richard Price, he of The Wire fame (5th season). And that’s not only because of the ubiquitous use of Australian slang which is entertaining by itself, but also because of some of the dialogue which is subtle and smart, raw and visceral, and steadily dripping with sarcasm. The elliptical story-telling is superb as well and the characters are sublime. Especially Truth has some good story lines of discrimination against aboriginals, father-son conflict, urban planning, etc., all expertly woven into the plots.
Needless to say, the dictionaries of Australian slang in the back of both books come in handy.
A few quotes:
- “He smoked, tapped ash into his plastic cup. He looked away, watched the birds across the street. Sleep, shuffle, shit, fight.”
- “All chip and no shoulder.”
- “There is no firm ground in life. Just crusts of different thickness over ooze.”
- “Don’t get waylaid.”
- “There are no permanent alliances, only permanent interests.”
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