NP - Alexis Wright's Carpantaria

[Robert Mahnke]

Hi all,

I am about to re-read Carpentaria <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpentaria_(novel)>, a 2006 novel by an Australian aborigine author, Alexis Wright, for which she won the Miles Franklin Award. She won the prize again last year for her novel, Praiseworthy. Both are now published in the US by New Directions, which is cool and makes it much easier to get a copy than ordering one from a bookstore in Australia, which is what I did back in the day. I’m reading in March with an on-line book group, and am poking around for resources and perspectives on the book. I found this essay by Wright <https://giramondopublishing.com/heat/archive/alexis-wright-on-writing-carpentaria/>, which is tremendous. Pynchon and Wright are not the most similar of authors, but this is a widely read and erudite group, so I thought I’d see if anyone has anything to share.

TIA,

RPM