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Les Norton #12
Mud Crab Boogie
Les Norton catches the extreme water polo semi-final on TV and is amazed to see that the man behind the game is his old mate Neville Nizegy Nixon. So when Neville calls and asks Les to drive the Murrumbidgee Mud Crabs to the final, Les takes him on. But things are never as simple as they appear.
295 pages, Paperback
First published March 12, 1998
5 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Robert G. Barrett
47 books67 followersG’day.
You’ve no doubt read a lot of things about me and my books over the years written by other people. Well, this is the truth. I grew up in Bondi in Sydney, Australia. I went to Bondi Beach Public School then on to Randwick Boys High. I left school at 14, did a few odd jobs then a trade as a butcher, mainly in the Eastern suburbs before finally working as a boner in various meatworks around the inner city with two trips to Ross River meatworks at Townsville, Queensland thrown in. I gave up boning after a hindquarter fell on me tearing the tendons in my right arm. I always liked writing letters and reading, so while I was on worker’s compensation I did three writing courses at the WEA, Worker’s Education Authority.
Robert died of cancer at his home in Terrigal, New South Wales.
You’ve no doubt read a lot of things about me and my books over the years written by other people. Well, this is the truth. I grew up in Bondi in Sydney, Australia. I went to Bondi Beach Public School then on to Randwick Boys High. I left school at 14, did a few odd jobs then a trade as a butcher, mainly in the Eastern suburbs before finally working as a boner in various meatworks around the inner city with two trips to Ross River meatworks at Townsville, Queensland thrown in. I gave up boning after a hindquarter fell on me tearing the tendons in my right arm. I always liked writing letters and reading, so while I was on worker’s compensation I did three writing courses at the WEA, Worker’s Education Authority.
Robert died of cancer at his home in Terrigal, New South Wales.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 10, 2015
An easy read. I have read about Les Norton before. I was looking forward to this and was disappointed. Racist bullshit in the middle uncomfortable but true to character. The Mud Crabs were unbelievable in the context and that was annoying. There are better R.G. Barrett books.
August 24, 2019
Thought I'd take a crack at my only copy of a Robert Barrett/Les Norton novel as I've been watching the current ABC TV series and enjoying that immensely. Now I know there has been some criticism of the series due either to its subject matter or how it has not been as entirely faithful to Barrett's work, so it's hard to make an informed decision one way or the other without actually reading a Les Norton story. Plus, I bought my copy at a book launch years ago and my memories of that night and of the author are mostly of a big, gregarious character, and it's been ages since I've looked at the book. It seemed opportune to read 'Mud Crab Boogie' and try and make some decisions as to the worth of the novel itself, Barrett's writing and by association the TV series.
The first thing that I noticed as I started reading was the dedication of the book by Barrett to the racist demagogue Pauline Hanson, and this wasn't welcome at all. Whilst it didn't put me off reading the book (and I have engaged with other authors who have arguably far worse political affiliations) it certainly alerted to me that Barrett's prose was not going to be the type to match my left-of-centre opinions.
Thankfully the issue of the author's politics could be (mostly) forgotten as I devoured the text, easily and readily finishing page after page. In effect 'Mud Crab Boogie' is glorious pulp fiction with a huge dose of passe Australian humour, crude prose and no pretensions whatsoever. Whilst I am all for quality novels that extend the imagination and show how a great novelist reinterpret human understanding through stories, sometimes I like a rattling good yarn.
The guts of Barrett's achievement is that he knows who his audience is and he writes his fiction accordingly. At times one is very much aware that the prose is trite, silly, sexist etc. However that doesn't mean that one can't enjoy the story for what it is. It must also be said that Barrett gives his story the kind of authenticity that may escape more critically praised authors. It may be incredibly praiseworthy for a writer to explore and define eternal human truths. However it's also bloody handy if the writer knows what type of plane is on display outside the Forest Hill RAAF Base near Wagga Wagga when he writes a story set in that locale.
There were a few passages and aspects of the book that are a bit naff, including some fairly garish sex scenes. The language would be a bit of a mystery to many outside Australia (and quite a few within). The plot is inconsequential with a blatantly telegraphed contrivance of an ending. Every character is a caricature except possibly Les himself. No matter; this is the literary equivalent of a very tasty fast food meal that can be consumed without too much fuss and goes down pretty well.
Would I recommend 'Mud Crab Boogie' to anyone; fuck no. However if you want to dip into a story that doesn't demand too much of you and has a bit of fun between the covers then sure...hit up Les now worries.
The first thing that I noticed as I started reading was the dedication of the book by Barrett to the racist demagogue Pauline Hanson, and this wasn't welcome at all. Whilst it didn't put me off reading the book (and I have engaged with other authors who have arguably far worse political affiliations) it certainly alerted to me that Barrett's prose was not going to be the type to match my left-of-centre opinions.
Thankfully the issue of the author's politics could be (mostly) forgotten as I devoured the text, easily and readily finishing page after page. In effect 'Mud Crab Boogie' is glorious pulp fiction with a huge dose of passe Australian humour, crude prose and no pretensions whatsoever. Whilst I am all for quality novels that extend the imagination and show how a great novelist reinterpret human understanding through stories, sometimes I like a rattling good yarn.
The guts of Barrett's achievement is that he knows who his audience is and he writes his fiction accordingly. At times one is very much aware that the prose is trite, silly, sexist etc. However that doesn't mean that one can't enjoy the story for what it is. It must also be said that Barrett gives his story the kind of authenticity that may escape more critically praised authors. It may be incredibly praiseworthy for a writer to explore and define eternal human truths. However it's also bloody handy if the writer knows what type of plane is on display outside the Forest Hill RAAF Base near Wagga Wagga when he writes a story set in that locale.
There were a few passages and aspects of the book that are a bit naff, including some fairly garish sex scenes. The language would be a bit of a mystery to many outside Australia (and quite a few within). The plot is inconsequential with a blatantly telegraphed contrivance of an ending. Every character is a caricature except possibly Les himself. No matter; this is the literary equivalent of a very tasty fast food meal that can be consumed without too much fuss and goes down pretty well.
Would I recommend 'Mud Crab Boogie' to anyone; fuck no. However if you want to dip into a story that doesn't demand too much of you and has a bit of fun between the covers then sure...hit up Les now worries.
January 20, 2013
Slapstick cartoon characters full of Aussie boy stuff.
October 22, 2025
I definitely should have stopped as soon as I found out the book was dedicated to Pauline Hanson (which was a couple of pages before page 1)... But alas, I persevered. What an awful book. So clunky and boring, with a plot that closely resembles the state of Les Norton's rock pool. Les Norton's a racist, gas-lighting, selfish, arrogant arsehole... and that's it. It's not shocking or funny because you're far to bogged down in some of the crappest description and characterisation I've ever read. Maybe this kind of stuff appeals to horny, disillusioned men who are mourning the great losses the patriarchy have suffered, and maybe Barrett hides his terribly constructed everything behind a tirade against political correctness from them (or maybe they don't care). But life's too short for this crap, there's far better pulp out there. Turns out picking books because they sound ridiculous and they're set in Wagga Wagga is not a great way to choose books.
March 22, 2021
Great read from this great Aussie author.
February 14, 2017
Nice fun story!
Was my introduction to the character Les Norton. My biggest problem is I couldn't figure out the bloke's age! At some points I thought he was mid 20's, while at others he seemed like an old man.
The story with Nice Guy and the Mud Crabs had me laughing out loud quite a bit. I felt the middle of the story got a bit long winded and boring at parts, like it was just being stretched out. But the it bounced back well towards the end. Absolutely loved the scene where the boys were out and about with the "crabettes" and the way shit went down with the drunks. Almost laughed myself to tears at that point!
Was my introduction to the character Les Norton. My biggest problem is I couldn't figure out the bloke's age! At some points I thought he was mid 20's, while at others he seemed like an old man.
The story with Nice Guy and the Mud Crabs had me laughing out loud quite a bit. I felt the middle of the story got a bit long winded and boring at parts, like it was just being stretched out. But the it bounced back well towards the end. Absolutely loved the scene where the boys were out and about with the "crabettes" and the way shit went down with the drunks. Almost laughed myself to tears at that point!
May 7, 2011
Corny entertainment for blokes, where the all conquering hero, Les Norton, can do no wrong. A bit of light reading fun
November 15, 2016
The violence scenes made me grimace. I thought it was unnecessarily gruesome.
But I loved the Aussie vernacular. And the Aussie accent on the audio book was great to hear.
But I loved the Aussie vernacular. And the Aussie accent on the audio book was great to hear.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews