Almost 120 years ago, the Australian writer Henry Lawson offered some counsel to those who came after him, writing that his
advice to any young Australian writer whose talents have been recognised would be to go steerage, stow away, swim and seek London, Yankeeland or Timbucktoo rather than stay in Australia till his genius turn to gall or beer. Or failing this — and still in the interests of human nature and literature — to study elementary anatomy, especially as applies to the cranium, and then shoot himself carefully with the aid of a looking-glass.
Lawson’s words don’t provide the epigraph to Ryan O’Neill’s blackly hilarious and structurally audacious debut novel, Their Brilliant Careers, although his bleak assessment of the prospects for anyone foolish enough to try to eke out a literary career in Australia certainly informs it at almost every level.
The Winner of Australia’s Prime Minister’s award for fiction, Their Brilliant Careers is composed of 16 capsule biographies of Australian writers, together with a foreword and an extended afterword by the book’s author.
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