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Silence
Silence is an exquisite, poignant collection of ‘fictions’ by one of Australia’s finest writers. Each piece has its own startling imagery. This is a book that constantly surprises with its echoes of famous voices, and where the astonishing breadth of material – historical, personal, imagined – is held together by its central theme and by a web of subtle connections.Rodney Hall is one of Australia’s finest writers. He has won the Miles Franklin Award twice for Just Relations and The Grisly Wife and many of his novels and poems have been published internationally. His acclaimed memoir popeye never told you was published in 2010. He lives in Melbourne.
91 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2011
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About the author
Rodney Hall
63 books21 followersBorn in Solihull, Warwickshire, England, Hall came to Australia as a child after World War II and studied at the University of Queensland. Between 1967 and 1978 he was the Poetry Editor of The Australian. After a period living in Shanghai in the 1980s, Hall returned to Australia, and took up residence in Victoria.
Hall has twice won the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal, and has received seven nominations for the prestigious Miles Franklin Award, for which he has twice won ("Just Relations" in 1982 and "The Grisly Wife" in 1994).
Hall has twice won the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal, and has received seven nominations for the prestigious Miles Franklin Award, for which he has twice won ("Just Relations" in 1982 and "The Grisly Wife" in 1994).
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 24, 2014
Another cross-fertilisation from the books I chose for Kim Forrester's "Triple Choice Tuesday" blog when "The Railwayman's Wife" was published in the UK. Forrester asks authors for a favourite book, a book that changed their world, and a book they think deserves a wider readership - for the latter, I chose this book by Rodney Hall. This is why ...
"In late 2011, the distinguished Australian novelist Rodney Hall published a book of fictions called Silence, an extraordinary and exquisite suite of short and very short stories that, in Hall’s words, contain “echoes, intonations and structures of reason” borrowed from writers as diverse as Dickens, Beckett and Henry James. They also take inspiration from moments and incidents as diverse as the Myall Creek Massacre, the Japanese invasion of Korea, and the later life of the Australian poet and conservationist Judith Wright.
"I nominated Silence as one of my books of the year for as many places as I could in 2012 — these stories, I said in one selection, formed 'a burnished archeology of various kinds of hush, stillness and pause,' ranging from 'the unexpected quietude of war to the dreams of birds, the end of the Berlin Wall and the death of Captain Cook.' What I wanted to say then, and now, was read these — everyone should read these. They are masterful pieces of writing, rich and complete, and there are images from their 29 different parts that I still carry at the forefront of my imagination, two years after I first met them on the page."
You can read the full post for the "Triple Choice Tuesday" blog here: http://kimbofo.typepad.com/readingmat...
"In late 2011, the distinguished Australian novelist Rodney Hall published a book of fictions called Silence, an extraordinary and exquisite suite of short and very short stories that, in Hall’s words, contain “echoes, intonations and structures of reason” borrowed from writers as diverse as Dickens, Beckett and Henry James. They also take inspiration from moments and incidents as diverse as the Myall Creek Massacre, the Japanese invasion of Korea, and the later life of the Australian poet and conservationist Judith Wright.
"I nominated Silence as one of my books of the year for as many places as I could in 2012 — these stories, I said in one selection, formed 'a burnished archeology of various kinds of hush, stillness and pause,' ranging from 'the unexpected quietude of war to the dreams of birds, the end of the Berlin Wall and the death of Captain Cook.' What I wanted to say then, and now, was read these — everyone should read these. They are masterful pieces of writing, rich and complete, and there are images from their 29 different parts that I still carry at the forefront of my imagination, two years after I first met them on the page."
You can read the full post for the "Triple Choice Tuesday" blog here: http://kimbofo.typepad.com/readingmat...
June 18, 2016
Silence
Author: Rodney Hall
Genre: Anthology, Short Stories, Fiction
First Published: November 2011
I took my time reading ‘Silence’. As it is an anthology, I opted to read 1 – 2 short stories between other novels. I must admit, ‘Silence’ was a bit of a challenge to read, but at the same time it is a fascinating work of beautiful imagery and soul-stirring stories. If a good book can unfurl as a movie in ones’ mind, then a short story is a captivating photograph taken at just the right moment. Rodney Halls’ writing style is complex and deeply imaginative, capturing finite detail and emphasizing even the most simple human emotion.
I found myself scribbling down many words that weren’t in my vocabulary – and a few words that weren’t even English at all. Some stories I didn’t quite take to but the ones I did, I absolutely love.
The stories are all unrelated, yet within each one lies a unifying component that ties them together effortlessly: Silence.
I give it a 4/5
Author: Rodney Hall
Genre: Anthology, Short Stories, Fiction
First Published: November 2011
I took my time reading ‘Silence’. As it is an anthology, I opted to read 1 – 2 short stories between other novels. I must admit, ‘Silence’ was a bit of a challenge to read, but at the same time it is a fascinating work of beautiful imagery and soul-stirring stories. If a good book can unfurl as a movie in ones’ mind, then a short story is a captivating photograph taken at just the right moment. Rodney Halls’ writing style is complex and deeply imaginative, capturing finite detail and emphasizing even the most simple human emotion.
I found myself scribbling down many words that weren’t in my vocabulary – and a few words that weren’t even English at all. Some stories I didn’t quite take to but the ones I did, I absolutely love.
The stories are all unrelated, yet within each one lies a unifying component that ties them together effortlessly: Silence.
I give it a 4/5
September 21, 2025
Silence by Rodney Hall has been on the TBR for far too long, and I owe its 'rediscovery' to my recent reading of
Vortex,
which included a reworking of one of the twenty-nine short fictions. So I had it on my desk for a while, reading one or two of its pieces from time to time, and then I set it aside for #ShortStorySeptember.
The book has a Table of Contents with a most unusual design by Tania Gomes. What might at first glance look like a gimmick takes on a new resonance after reading Vortex...
The ultimate irony of this collection is that Hall uses words to suggest silence and its absence. Sometimes he evokes the silent indifference of the natural world covering man's savagery with snow; sometimes it is the busy work of history which silences some voices while also casting discomfiting events into the void. Though his style shows his versatility both in taut prose and discursive ambiguities, the tone is melancholy.
This is an excerpt from 'James Cook' showing Hall's mastery of 19th century style and mindset:
Today, much of what we read is directed at the effects of colonialism, and the dispossession of Indigenous people. But here, in these two paragraphs, Hall makes us reckon with the ordinary people tasked with the colonial project. He shows us the anxiety of men who have lost their leader in some new peril which they do not understand.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/09/21/s...
The book has a Table of Contents with a most unusual design by Tania Gomes. What might at first glance look like a gimmick takes on a new resonance after reading Vortex...
The ultimate irony of this collection is that Hall uses words to suggest silence and its absence. Sometimes he evokes the silent indifference of the natural world covering man's savagery with snow; sometimes it is the busy work of history which silences some voices while also casting discomfiting events into the void. Though his style shows his versatility both in taut prose and discursive ambiguities, the tone is melancholy.
This is an excerpt from 'James Cook' showing Hall's mastery of 19th century style and mindset:
The wind off the land has dropped alltogether, Resolution's rigging steady as compass-bearings rules upon the sky. The stillness is intense, tho' for myself, memories of yesterday's shots spoil all peace of mind. We can guess who fired them—but at whom? Why did they stop? Why has Mr Cook not yet returned? In our hearts we suspect he has met his death, This is our tremendous reason for idleness, unable to decide what might be done. Moreover, any false action could be construed by the natives as incivility, if, in fact, he is still alive. Having taken a powder-horn from my pouch to be ready, prudently I slip it back out of sight of the crew.
Captn Clerke objects that Mr Cook could surely have come to no harm, it being barely two weeks since he was ceremoniously welcomd here. Indeed, the islanders robed him then in a cape of feathers plucked from rare parrots—little orange and yellow chaps—to receive him off our ship like a god. Notwithstanding which, something is unquestionably gone wrong, something which we fear to speak of. Neither I, nor any man aboard, can doubt it & a sullen silence locks down, the cosmos fixd around us on this glassy lagoon. (p.21)
Today, much of what we read is directed at the effects of colonialism, and the dispossession of Indigenous people. But here, in these two paragraphs, Hall makes us reckon with the ordinary people tasked with the colonial project. He shows us the anxiety of men who have lost their leader in some new peril which they do not understand.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/09/21/s...
November 27, 2021
Silence is a collection of short stories by Rodney Hall. Hall is impressive in his language and imagination. The length varies from just over a page to a couple of pages. There is a vast array of characters and situations so you never know where you will be taken. That is what makes this a really intriguing collection.
October 2, 2025
This is the first book of short stories I've ever read. It's a very interesting and varied collection of stories. It's extremely well written and possibly even too well written because I had trouble following it in places.
August 5, 2022
Interesting collection of short stories which all explore the theme of silence in one facet or another. Hall's writing is gripping with each story leaving the reader longing for more.
September 1, 2011
Rodney Hall's short story anthology, Silence, resonates with tales of loss and ignorance. The focus is primarily on monumental events or figures in history, and most contain some form of powerful social commentary at their essence. The majority of the stories were written to emulate the voices and styles of well-known authors such as James Joyce, Charles Dickens and Henry James.
This is a love project and is the kind of indulgence afforded only to a Miles Franklin Award-winning author. There are moments of brilliance and insight, while at other times it seems as if the author has thrown words at a page to land as they will and reading them merely made my head spin. I was regularly frustrated that I was missing something important because the style of writing made me feel I wasn't enough of an intellectual to comprehend it.
I enjoyed many of the ideas but not so much the execution, finding that the stories I liked the most were those based on autobiographical incidents where the author wrote in his natural voice, rather than those where he has employed the forced style of other authors.
The final pages of the book include explanatory notes from the author that outline which famous voices were used in each story and describing his inspirations. These notes will likely offer the reader further appreciation of 'Silence', although the notes in my proof copy did not match up with the order of the stories.
There's no question that Rodney Hall is a fine writer and those who enjoy high-brow literary endeavours will find much to provoke their thoughts. Sadly, it appears I'm not one of them.
This is a love project and is the kind of indulgence afforded only to a Miles Franklin Award-winning author. There are moments of brilliance and insight, while at other times it seems as if the author has thrown words at a page to land as they will and reading them merely made my head spin. I was regularly frustrated that I was missing something important because the style of writing made me feel I wasn't enough of an intellectual to comprehend it.
I enjoyed many of the ideas but not so much the execution, finding that the stories I liked the most were those based on autobiographical incidents where the author wrote in his natural voice, rather than those where he has employed the forced style of other authors.
The final pages of the book include explanatory notes from the author that outline which famous voices were used in each story and describing his inspirations. These notes will likely offer the reader further appreciation of 'Silence', although the notes in my proof copy did not match up with the order of the stories.
There's no question that Rodney Hall is a fine writer and those who enjoy high-brow literary endeavours will find much to provoke their thoughts. Sadly, it appears I'm not one of them.
Read
February 25, 2012I first heard of this book while reading the Cook biography, and knew I had to read it. The idea of taking silence as a starting point is very novel; Hough's biography of Cook described the hush that fell over the crew when the Hawaiians row out to the ship with the piece of his body they return, but Hall showed me what they felt. Having also visited the replica of Cook's ship, The Endeavour, this week, my imaginative landscape of his world and time has now been greatly expanded.
Every story in this book is completely different, both in content and style. It's like delving into a box of chocolates, with each one a different flavour, that you need to savour only one or two at a time for maximum enjoyment. Every story provides an entrance to other worlds, other authors, histories and writings. I didn't like them all, but there were some favourites. Babak was one, about a 13 year old Afghani boy incarcerated in a South Australian refugee detention center, who sews his lips together in protest. A heart-aching silence that speaks volumes of the pain of people cast adrift in the world. Another was about the haunting silence of Australian desert birds captive in an American university research center, dreaming ancestral memories of songs they have been proven to rehearse in their dreams but have never actually sung.
Every story in this book is completely different, both in content and style. It's like delving into a box of chocolates, with each one a different flavour, that you need to savour only one or two at a time for maximum enjoyment. Every story provides an entrance to other worlds, other authors, histories and writings. I didn't like them all, but there were some favourites. Babak was one, about a 13 year old Afghani boy incarcerated in a South Australian refugee detention center, who sews his lips together in protest. A heart-aching silence that speaks volumes of the pain of people cast adrift in the world. Another was about the haunting silence of Australian desert birds captive in an American university research center, dreaming ancestral memories of songs they have been proven to rehearse in their dreams but have never actually sung.
May 19, 2024
Genuinely excellent collection of stories by one of my favourite writers. Each story should be read at a two-a-day pace - they begin to lose their impact if read too many at a time. Many of these are homages to Hall's influences - Charles Dickens, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, James Joyce, Malcolm Lowry, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Henry Green, Wolfgang Bouchert, King Alfred the Great and others.
They draw on a wide range of influences - real-life incidents, Sir Joseph Banks's journal, Bram Stoker's journalism, fragments from poems and others. Mr. Hall is a very well-read man. His prose, as always, is a delight, and the richness of his language is a great pleasure.
Some of the short stories are a little unsatisfying, but all of them are well-written. Hall takes on the voices of other writers with a master's skill, and the result is brilliant.
They are all concerned in some way or another with silence, and analysis becomes easier once you have considered this.
Rodney Hall is one of Australia's finest writers; and this anthology shows that he is still a cutting-edge craftsman.
They draw on a wide range of influences - real-life incidents, Sir Joseph Banks's journal, Bram Stoker's journalism, fragments from poems and others. Mr. Hall is a very well-read man. His prose, as always, is a delight, and the richness of his language is a great pleasure.
Some of the short stories are a little unsatisfying, but all of them are well-written. Hall takes on the voices of other writers with a master's skill, and the result is brilliant.
They are all concerned in some way or another with silence, and analysis becomes easier once you have considered this.
Rodney Hall is one of Australia's finest writers; and this anthology shows that he is still a cutting-edge craftsman.
November 19, 2019
an eclectic mix of short stories. a pleasure to read. I feel the author may have been showing off.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews