The novel follows journalist, George Brewster, who moves from city to city, from empty love affair to empty love affair, until he dies. He is married, but faithless to his wife...and is ultimately a "pathetic figure".[3]
Themesedit
The themes of this novel are common to Astley's novels: "the hurts inflicted inadvertently and deliberately on others, the terrible shallowness underlying the inability to identify imaginatively with others, and the destruction of others and of the self by wrongly conceived actions."[3]
Critical receptionedit
In The Canberra Times "M.D." noted: "The book is the portrait of one of the most unforgettable characters in Australian fiction, George Brewster. His life is traced from his boyhood in Queensland to his death as a leading journalist in Sydney. He is seen from every angle — from the inner workings of his petty, selfish mind to his social, sexual and religious relations." And concluded: "For all the surface brilliance of the prose, for all the psychological validity of the portrait, one feels that this is only another slice of life and hasn't one the right to demand from the novelist some assessment of the significance of her creation?"[4]
Lisa Hill on the ANZLitLovers Litblog commented: "The extensive use of complex metaphor can be taxing sometimes, but is offset by her wit; her passion for exposing petty corruption, injustice and human stupidity; and her brilliant observations of people at their most banal. All these are superbly in evidence in her third novel The Well-dressed Explorer, but if you don’t like to have your brain circuits stretched by imagery used in new and challenging ways; if you’re put off by lush poetic descriptions or if you just like a what-happened-next kind of a story, then Thea Astley may not be for you."[5]
Taylor, Cheryl and Perkins, Elizabeth (2007) "Warm words: North Queensland writing" in Patrick Buckridge and Elizabeth McKay (ed.) By the Book: A Literary History of Queensland, St Lucia, University of Queensland Press
Referencesedit
^"Austlit - The Well Dressed Explorer". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^""The Miles Franklin Award"". The Canberra Times, 20 April 1963, p22. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^""Just how good is the award winner?"". The Canberra Times, 27 April 1963, p18. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^"The Well-dressed Explorer by Thea Astley". ANZLitLovers Litblog. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
January 01, 1970
well, dressed, explorer, 1962, miles, franklin, award, winning, novel, australian, author, thea, astley, this, novel, shared, award, with, cupboard, under, stairs, george, turner, first, editionauthorthea, astleycountryaustralialanguageenglishpublisherangus, r. The Well Dressed Explorer 1962 is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author Thea Astley 1 This novel shared the award with The Cupboard Under the Stairs by George Turner 2 The Well Dressed ExplorerFirst editionAuthorThea AstleyCountryAustraliaLanguageEnglishPublisherAngus and RobertsonPublication date1962Media typePrint Hardback amp Paperback Pages254Preceded byA Descant for Gossips Followed byThe Slow Natives Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Themes 3 Critical reception 4 See also 5 ReferencesPlot summary editThe novel follows journalist George Brewster who moves from city to city from empty love affair to empty love affair until he dies He is married but faithless to his wife and is ultimately a pathetic figure 3 Themes editThe themes of this novel are common to Astley s novels the hurts inflicted inadvertently and deliberately on others the terrible shallowness underlying the inability to identify imaginatively with others and the destruction of others and of the self by wrongly conceived actions 3 Critical reception editIn The Canberra Times M D noted The book is the portrait of one of the most unforgettable characters in Australian fiction George Brewster His life is traced from his boyhood in Queensland to his death as a leading journalist in Sydney He is seen from every angle from the inner workings of his petty selfish mind to his social sexual and religious relations And concluded For all the surface brilliance of the prose for all the psychological validity of the portrait one feels that this is only another slice of life and hasn t one the right to demand from the novelist some assessment of the significance of her creation 4 Lisa Hill on the ANZLitLovers Litblog commented The extensive use of complex metaphor can be taxing sometimes but is offset by her wit her passion for exposing petty corruption injustice and human stupidity and her brilliant observations of people at their most banal All these are superbly in evidence in her third novel The Well dressed Explorer but if you don t like to have your brain circuits stretched by imagery used in new and challenging ways if you re put off by lush poetic descriptions or if you just like a what happened next kind of a story then Thea Astley may not be for you 5 See also edit1962 in Australian literature Middlemiss org Taylor Cheryl and Perkins Elizabeth 2007 Warm words North Queensland writing in Patrick Buckridge and Elizabeth McKay ed By the Book A Literary History of Queensland St Lucia University of Queensland PressReferences edit Austlit The Well Dressed Explorer Austlit Retrieved 10 July 2023 The Miles Franklin Award The Canberra Times 20 April 1963 p22 Retrieved 10 July 2023 a b Taylor and Perkins 2007 p 246 Just how good is the award winner The Canberra Times 27 April 1963 p18 Retrieved 10 July 2023 The Well dressed Explorer by Thea Astley ANZLitLovers Litblog Retrieved 10 July 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Well Dressed Explorer amp oldid 1218803633, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,