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The Weird Colonial Boy
Nigel is a drongo - a wittering, spot-faced pillock whose only, lonely passions are music (it's 1978 and the Sex Pistols are riding high), sex (unconsummated) and tropical fish.
Then one of his fish finds its way into another dimension (don't ask) and Nigel follows it.
It's still 1978 and he's still in Australia. But in this Australia there's no punk music, no Clearasil. What there is, is prison camps, floggings, public executions and chain gangs. And understanding it all could mean the death penalty for a drongo like Nigel ...
Then one of his fish finds its way into another dimension (don't ask) and Nigel follows it.
It's still 1978 and he's still in Australia. But in this Australia there's no punk music, no Clearasil. What there is, is prison camps, floggings, public executions and chain gangs. And understanding it all could mean the death penalty for a drongo like Nigel ...
302 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
July 1, 2026
Four stars for the prose style alone.
I really enjoyed the imagery but the plot was meandering and hard to follow at times. The setting had heaps of potential but unfortunately it wasn't explored as much as it should have been outside a few allusions to the world at large. And it's pretty interesting. In the world Paul gets sent to, Mohammed was Pope, but what does the author do with it? Not much, unfortunately, which was a bit of a bummer. Yugoslavia is a British commonwealth, which explains the presence of the Serbs, so at least that's something. I think the biggest flaw of the book was how confusing it was at many points, everything's very stream-of-consciousness (which is as much of a strength as it is a weakness) so I lost my bearings 3/4 through and had to skim the last part.
I really enjoyed the imagery but the plot was meandering and hard to follow at times. The setting had heaps of potential but unfortunately it wasn't explored as much as it should have been outside a few allusions to the world at large. And it's pretty interesting. In the world Paul gets sent to, Mohammed was Pope, but what does the author do with it? Not much, unfortunately, which was a bit of a bummer. Yugoslavia is a British commonwealth, which explains the presence of the Serbs, so at least that's something. I think the biggest flaw of the book was how confusing it was at many points, everything's very stream-of-consciousness (which is as much of a strength as it is a weakness) so I lost my bearings 3/4 through and had to skim the last part.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review