Reviews

what the critics have said ...

about Geoffrey Dean's previous books

A haunting and poetic quality... [Geoffrey Dean] writes very, very well.
– Thea Astley

Dean's descriptions of the landscape... are fearfully vivid.
– Peter Conrad

There was Anton Tchekov, and then there was Katherine Mansfield, and some would add Somerset Maugham and A.E. Coppard. I feel that in Geoffrey Dean we may have an heir to these distinguished masters...What we have not had before is this author’s muscular and yet poetic power of description...he writes a singing prose out of which highly unusual and vivid phrases come flashing to the attention. Definitely a man to watch.
– Patricia Thompson in The Weekend Australian Magazine

The secret of Dean’s power is very simple, he knows how to write. ...These tales are poetic. The author dips into the heart of things and tells in unpretentious language what he sees there.
– The Age, Melbourne

He’s a marvellous story-teller and deservedly a multi-award winner. The sense of mystery, the undercurrents of horror and the high emotional pitch of these stories compel attention. Dean’s passionate response to the wilderness, expressed with clarity and freshness and a naturalist’s eye for detail is a delight.
– Mary Rose Liverani, The Weekend Australian

Delicate stories, thought-provoking and rich in ideas. At times they are profoundly disturbing. The stories are sweet on the tongue but are worthy of lengthy digestion.
– Juliette Wansbrough, The West Australian

A writer of quiet stature... superbly crafted short stories which reflect wry humour and an accute interest in human complexities... Underneath this sunny exterior beats the maverick heart of a wry anarchist, laughing and gently mocking the instinctive– but unthinking – morality and moralising of middle Australia. Dean’s humanity and humour are illuminating.
– Giles Hugo, The Mercury, Hobart

Almost bitter, almost humorous... touching... subtle... and imaginative.
– Bob Morrow, The Adelaide Advertiser

[Dean’s stories] are more like mini novels... an occasional swipe at the ineffable in the Patrick White tradition.
– Tony Ryan, Feral Gazette, Hobart

A brilliant collection... stories transcribed direct from life, sheer prose lyric... one is mindful of Faulkner, a quality of being, not just being described.
– The Examiner, Launceston