Anson Cameron’s new novel The Last Pulse is a beauty.
It’s Noah meets Ned Kelly meets The Odyssey meets Bob Katter meets Jesus Christ meets Bud Tingwell. The reviews have been excellent.
But you’re better off reading it for yourself. Hopefully before Feb 26 when Anson is the guest at our literary dinner. It’s going to be Book Club with the author there. He’ll talk about the book, the themes it explores and about the writing process in relation to this novel and generally.
Thursday, 26 February at 7pm
Clyde Hotel, 385 Cardigan St, Carlton (we will have our own self-contained area)
$50 (two courses)
Bookings essential: [email protected]
Books available on the night.
We have two copies of The Last Pulse to give away NOW. They will go to the first two people to become Almanac members AND sign on for the Anson Cameron dinner.
About John Harms
JTH is a writer, publisher, speaker, historian. He is publisher and contributing editor of The Footy Almanac and footyalmanac.com.au. He has written columns and features for numerous publications. His books include Confessions of a Thirteenth Man, Memoirs of a Mug Punter, Loose Men Everywhere, Play On, The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story and Life As I Know It (with Michelle Payne). He appears (appeared?) on ABCTV's Offsiders. He can be contacted [email protected] He is married to The Handicapper and has three school-age kids - Theo, Anna, Evie. He might not be the worst putter in the world but he's in the worst four. His ambition was to lunch for Australia but it clashed with his other ambition - to shoot his age.
John – I just posted something on the Almanac’s Facebook about reading the book. He has a weird and wonderful way with words. I’m really interested in finding out how he came up with concept. As a Queenslander yourself, does the QLD bashing get under the skin? I know it’s all in good humour…
Thanks Emma, no it doesn’t. Queensland is very Queensland. I look forward to that discussion on the night. As I do the Six Nations discussion, and the self-interest discussion.
The man Cameron is an obvious trouble-maker and subversive. He will doubtless soon fall foul of one of the ever-expanding suite of laws deemed necessary to protect us from our own thoughts.
This might be one final chance to view said author out in the wild before the cuffs are applied. Those who remember him launching the Almanac some years ago should already have signed up.
And the book’s not too shabby either.
Pity about the Thursday night for us out-of-towners.
Emma
I heard a rumour he was imprisoned in QLD and suffered sexual predations at the hands of a netball team comprised of Amazons. So one must either cut the guy some slack or help pay for his counselling. I met him once, a strange encounter during which he grabbed my face and babbled about changing his ways and apologised for letting me down. Letting me down!!
Depending on the moon you’ll either meet a Mister Hyde or… nah, probably just that one.
Bruce Davidson once wrote that irrigation farming in Australia had not inspired any decent literature, unlike pastoralism and other aspects of our agriculture. So this book is a first in at least one respect. His views on Queensland attitudes to irrigation are not that wide of the mark although some would also want to include many people from his native Goulburn Valley amongst the irrigation troglodytes and notable hydraulic dunces. For those who don’t know, Bruce Davidson is to insights about Australia’s water resources, land management and agricultural development as Polly Farmer is to football! That is to say, not just talented but highly original in his approach.
Brilliant.
Looking forward to it.
I would like to attend, but Queensland is a long way away, it’s very wet here, and I have to wash the mould off the VJs. So as an out-of-towner, like other correspondents here, I wish Anson Cameron a good night.
His short stories are worth a look – at the very least. I look forward to reading this novel.