cover image Pure Land

Pure Land

David Foster. Penguin Books, $4.95 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-14-007700-1

This family history begins when Albert Manwaring, a bored, middle-aged photographer whose landscapes grace postcards in Katoomba, Australia, enters an unconventional portrait in a U.S. competition and wins the opportunity to move to New York. He leaves, taking his young daughter, Janet, who had been living with his estranged wife. As Janet grows up, she becomes disenchanted with life in America and passes along her restlessness to her son, Danny. For both of them, Australia becomes paradise, and just as his grandfather had searched for meaning by going to America, Danny emigrates to Australia, the Pure Land, to seek his identity. Foster writes dense but rewarding prose that is filled with odd configurations of language, wordplay and humor. This unusual novel was originally published in Australia in 1974 and shared the first Age award for best Australian book of the year. Foster's other works include Dog Rock and Moonlite (winner of the 1981 National Book Council Award for Australian Literature). December