Welcome to juliennevanloon.com.au, website for writer Julienne van Loon and her books, short stories and essays on contemporary Australian life. Come on in and browse!
The Books:
“Beneath the Bloodwood Tree” (Allen & Unwin 2008) is a murder story with a difference. Set in the harsh Pilbara area of north-western Australia, the novel follows the story of Pia, a young professional whose accidental discovery of the remnants of a long forgotten acquaintance lead her on her own journey of self discovery. This is a story of intimate violence, in which our everyday assumptions about love, family, trust and ambition all come under scrutiny.
“Van Loon's novel is faithful to the essential spirit of Australia - to its abiding nihilism,” writes Peter Pierce in The Australian Book Review. “The carking call of a crow ends Xavier Herbert's Capricornia (1938). On its much smaller scale, van Loon's book is a vibrant, telling echo." Read more...
Julienne van Loon’s debut novel, “Road Story” (Allen & Unwin 2005) begins with a bang as the young protagonist, Diana, flees from the scene of a road accident, leaving her best friend unconscious and bleeding. But from what does Diana really flee? The reader travels to the red dust and isolation of an outback roadhouse to sit - perhaps uncomfortably - beside the runaway as she confronts new and uncomfortable challenges that ultimately leave the road itself as the only , inevitable, constant.
“A toughly written, insistent novel that leaves us tasting red dust and the bitterness of unfulfilled, damaged lives,” writes Christopher Bantick in The Australian. Read more...