The Mountain (2012) is a novel by Australian author Drusilla Modjeska.[1] It was shortlisted for the 2013 Miles Franklin Award.

The Mountain
First edition
AuthorDrusilla Modjeska
LanguageEnglish
Genrenovel
PublisherVintage
Publication date
2012
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages432 pp
ISBN9781741666502
Preceded byThe Orchard 

Overview

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The novel consists of two parts: "Book One" which features a group of ex-pat Australians and Papuans on a Papua New Guinea university campus in the period shortly before independence; and "Book Two", set after PNG independence and follows one character's journey back to Australia.

Critical response

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Lloyd Jones in The Guardian noted that the novel is "a big and ambitious novel charting new territory in Australian contemporary fiction. There is much to admire."[2] Eleanor Limprecht in The Sydney Morning Herald found the novel "is a complex, multi-layered novel, so that the central story is viewed through different angles, in different lights, and comes to mean many different things.[3]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Ref
2013 ALS Gold Medal Longlisted
Australian Book Industry Awards Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year Shortlisted
Indie Book Awards Fiction Shortlisted [4]
Miles Franklin Award Shortlisted [5]
2014 Barbara Jefferis Award Shortlisted [6]

References

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  1. ^ "The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  2. ^ "The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska - Review by Lloyd Jones", The Guardian, 13 June 2013
  3. ^ "The Mountain" by Eleanor Limprecht, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 2012
  4. ^ ""The 2013 Indie Awards Shortlist Announced"". Readings. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  5. ^ Staff writer (30 April 2013). "The Miles Franklin Literary Award 2013 Shortlist". Miles Franklin Literary Award. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  6. ^ ""Barbara Jefferis Award 2014 shortlist announced"". Books+Publishing. Retrieved 27 March 2024.