Sydney has always been the sexiest and brashest of our cities, but perhaps the most misunderstood. In this new edition of Sydney, Delia Falconer conjures up its sandstone, humidity and jacarandas, its fireworks, glitz and magic. But she discards lazy stereotypes to reveal a complex city: beautiful, violent, half-wild, and at times deeply spiritual.
Beginning with her childhood in a decaying ’70s Sydney, caught between a faded Art Deco age and mega development, Falconer intertwines her own stories with the wellsprings of the city’s history and its literary past. Melancholic, moving and funny, Sydney is intensely atmospheric and seductive.
In a new afterward, Falconer ponders the city’s twenty-first century transformations – might it have become a softer, nicer place? Will it be able to withstand the real presence of climate change?
DELIA FALCONER is the author of three books: two novels and one work of nonfiction. Her first novel, the bestselling The Service of Clouds, was shortlisted for major Australian literary awards including the Miles Franklin. Her second, The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers (republished as The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers and Selected Stories), was shortlisted among other awards for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Asia Pacific Division). Sydney was shortlisted for seven national awards in history, biography and nonfiction, and won the 2011 ‘Nib’ CAL/Waverley Library Award. A Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Technology Sydney, she was awarded the Walkley-Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism in 2018.
‘Falconer writes beautifully and evocatively in what is a long love letter to her home town, as she delves deep into its essence.’ — The Age
‘Delia Falconer’s Sydney … is like its harbour, brimful with tones, vivid with contemplation.’ — Australian Book Review
‘This is a brilliant book. If I were to recommend a book about Sydney to anyone, it would be this one.’ — Louis Nowra, The Australian
Title: Delia Falconer ‘Sydney’
Publisher: Newsouth Books
ISBN: 9781742237084
Recommended Retail Price: $29.95
http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au
Featured image: Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge at Sunset. (c) Alan Streets