Paper Nautilus

by Nicholas Jose

When Penny Tregenza marries at nineteen, her uncle Jack thinks back on their relationship and her family

Genres: Australia, Fiction

134 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Born Robert Nicholas Jose in London, England, to Australian parents, Nicholas Jose grew up mostly in Adelaide, South Australia. He was educated at the Australian National University and Oxford University. He has traveled extensively, particularly in China, where he worked from 1986 to 1990. He was President of Sydney PEN from 2002 to 2005 and currently holds the Chair of Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide.

(Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a bizarre review of the state of Australasian literature some time ago which stated 'Paper Nautilus' is the only worthwhile book to read. This seemed unusual, as I have greatly enjoyed many Australian and New Zealand novels, but I dutifully kept an eye out for 'Paper Nautilus'. I was delighted to find this book for one dollar at the hospice shop, but delight rapidly turned to dismay as this book is not particularly commendable.
Overall, 'Paper Nautilus' has an overwhelming nostalgia of the type of book dredged up at school for you to study in English class; so old and dated you find your mum's name in the front of the book. It is set in Southern Australia after the second world war. It had some nice imagery and captured the complexity of emotions in seemingly everyday people well. I enjoyed exploration of the shyness and inactivity of some characters and the implications this had for them. The layout was the most interesting feature: each chapter was systemically set further back in time but it did not deliver the 'secrets of the past' as promised in the blurb. The historical context of Australian POWs in Asia was interesting, but if you want an incredible book about that one cannot go past 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North'.
All in all, not a bad quick read but not the pinnacle of Australasian literature! If I were you, I'd get my hands on 'The God Boy', 'The Bone People', 'The Luminaries', 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' or anything by Witi Ihimaera or Maurice Gee if you want a good taste of Australasian books.

[Laura McCormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

We studied this in my VCE English, I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it when I reread it recently as an adult.
The novel starts on Penny's wedding day, and wanders back in time, to Penny coming to live with her Uncle Jack (not spoiling anything that isn't revealed in the first chapter), traces back through her childhood, to the circumstances of Penny's birth, and her father's and uncle's experience in WWII. Very Australian, the prose is simple, the story is simple, but it could not have been told chronologically and kept its magic.
I highly recommend.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable short novel consisting of a series of stories of a family in a rural coastal town in SA, told in reverse chronological order. My second-hand copy which included a school child's (rather basic) annotations also added some humour.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although he’s written numerous novels, I’m not familiar with Jose’s work, except as General Editor of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature. In size and scope alone, that must have been a mammoth undertaking and (despite being mildly miffed about the omission of Ruth Park) I think we owe Jose a debt of gratitude for it. So I’m going to feel a little guilty about being a bit dismissive of his short novel, Paper Nautilus (1987).

I’ve been listening to Paper Nautilus as an audio book en route to work, but it hasn’t really held my attention very much.It seems to me that it’s a symbol in search of a story, and the story is too slight to bear much weight. There are two brothers who go away to war, and only one returns. The surviving brother cares for the child of what might have been a marriage, and has to contend with a battle for custody with the mother. (That’s not a spoiler because that’s revealed right at the start).

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2009/10/12/p...

[Pagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before having read some of the bad classics (the boring ones) like Great Expectations and Emma, I thought this was the most boring book I had ever read. I was pleasantly surprised how much though. I enjoyed discussing the book in literature class and it actually had quite a lot of depth, and was very interesting. It has a lot to offer than even if this isn't your type of book and is a really short book (I think only 120 pages) so you can read it very quickly in a hour or two.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The structure of this book was very interesting, moving back through time, showing the events which shaped different characters and made them who they were. The characters were realistic and likeable and the story flowed well.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pleasant story of small town relationships in rural Australia. The characters are decently drawn and the (reverse) linear plot is sufficiently interesting to keep you going. It does lack a strong drive and I felt it rather lacked climax but this novel is certainly a nice, easy read.