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Pink Mountain on Locust Island
An unpredictable and innovative debut novel from a provocative new voice in Australian fiction. Embracing the noir tradition and featuring a prose style quite unlike any before, with references that will go both over your head and under your feet, Pink Mountain on Locust Island will flip readers upside down and turn your understanding of the world around around.
Modernity, art, family, gender, drugs, music, adolescence, business, religion, internet cafes, food, strangers, aesthetics, vacations, fashion, desires, dreams, expectations, brown couches.
• The debut novel of 20-year-old polymath Jamie Marina Lau
• Set in Chinatown as well as across inner suburbia
• A hyperreal depiction of our modern transcultural world
Blurb:
Monk lives in Chinatown with her washed-up painter father. When Santa Coy—possible boyfriend, potential accomplice—enters their lives, an intoxicating hunger consumes their home. So begins a heady descent into art, casino resorts, drugs, vacant swimming pools, religion, pixelated tutorial videos, and senseless violence.
In bursts of fizzing, staccato and claustrophobic prose, this modern Australian take on the classic hard-boiled novel bounces you between pulverised English, elastic Cantonese and the new dialect of a digitised world.
Tip over into a subterranean noir of the most electronic generation.
Modernity, art, family, gender, drugs, music, adolescence, business, religion, internet cafes, food, strangers, aesthetics, vacations, fashion, desires, dreams, expectations, brown couches.
• The debut novel of 20-year-old polymath Jamie Marina Lau
• Set in Chinatown as well as across inner suburbia
• A hyperreal depiction of our modern transcultural world
Blurb:
Monk lives in Chinatown with her washed-up painter father. When Santa Coy—possible boyfriend, potential accomplice—enters their lives, an intoxicating hunger consumes their home. So begins a heady descent into art, casino resorts, drugs, vacant swimming pools, religion, pixelated tutorial videos, and senseless violence.
In bursts of fizzing, staccato and claustrophobic prose, this modern Australian take on the classic hard-boiled novel bounces you between pulverised English, elastic Cantonese and the new dialect of a digitised world.
Tip over into a subterranean noir of the most electronic generation.
244 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2018
39 people are currently reading
1407 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
July 8, 2020
Absolutely "out there". This book was like reading something written in bright neon font. It's bright, it's brash, it's young.
We follow the daily musings of a 15 year old girl, Monk. The chapters are short and sharp, like her thoughts, jumping from one to the next.
3.5★s for being weirdly fascinating.
Short listed for The Stella Prize 2019.
"Make or Break City flashing across the train's window. Everybody in here is a faulty battery; black coat slumps. The sky is a purple haze of lights from buildings, and white birds circle public soccer grounds."
April 20, 2019
So young! So modern! So full of strained metaphors and painful similes!
Confusing and borderline plotless. Tragically hip. I am an old granny who's not cool enough for this book.
Or, you know, it's actually kind of stupid.
Confusing and borderline plotless. Tragically hip. I am an old granny who's not cool enough for this book.
Or, you know, it's actually kind of stupid.
April 9, 2019
”She says that her ma said that she could never be understood in this city. That she was always the lioness or the tiger mummy or the dragon lady. Never a serious business, just a herbal healer. She always wanted to have the power of fixing people because she needed to prove herself, because she wasn’t enough as a woman, especially an Eastern woman. That’s how this city made her feel.”
So this was inventive and weirdly engrossing, I really liked it. Told in short snippets, we get to know the teenaged Chinese narrator, familiarising ourselves with the details of her lonely life in a less than functional family set-up. We are privy to the daily goings-on in Chinatown where she lives, ?in the city of Melbourne (mango pudding!). She meets a young guy one day and quickly clings on to him, but he becomes close with her father instead, embarking on unwise, dangerous choices. Despite the short, snappy chapters, it’s not short on tension. A narrative emerges through her sensory experiences, about art, food, loss, family, about the daily life of a young girl of an ethnic minority growing up in a big city.
So this was inventive and weirdly engrossing, I really liked it. Told in short snippets, we get to know the teenaged Chinese narrator, familiarising ourselves with the details of her lonely life in a less than functional family set-up. We are privy to the daily goings-on in Chinatown where she lives, ?in the city of Melbourne (mango pudding!). She meets a young guy one day and quickly clings on to him, but he becomes close with her father instead, embarking on unwise, dangerous choices. Despite the short, snappy chapters, it’s not short on tension. A narrative emerges through her sensory experiences, about art, food, loss, family, about the daily life of a young girl of an ethnic minority growing up in a big city.
March 21, 2019
In the nineties, I had a flat mate who worked for an arts festival. She was an excellent flat mate to have because we were both on tight just-moved-out-of-home budgets and one of the perks of her job was tickets to all kinds of concerts and performances - and I was often her 'plus one'. However, I soon realised that she was wasting a ticket by taking me to any kind of interpretive dance. I appreciated the skill and athleticism of these performances but I simply didn’t enjoy it.
I’m afraid Pink Mountain on Locust Island by Jamie Marina Lau was the reading equivalent of interpretative dance for me.
The story is told through short, punchy vignettes that constitute chapters (some are just a sentence or a paragraph long). A story emerges - teenage girl, Monk, lives in Chinatown with her washed-up painter father. She meets Santa Coy, who may be her boyfriend. Santa Coy inserts himself into Monk and her father's lives, impressing them with his own brand of artwork. As Monk tries to find her place in the world, her relationships take various turns.
I understand why readers are excited by Lau - her writing is expressive and commanding, with bizarre descriptions that have you re-reading and imagining -
And while 'imagining' is nice, Lau's writing is also relentless. There's a lot of language that's tricked up. In fact so much of it, that it begins to wash over you and, when you do pause to consider the meaning of what she has written, it's hard to ignore the nonsensical -
And the use of similes quickly feels overdone -
Did I mention relentless? Descriptions of people's voices are over-the-top (I longed for a simple 'She said...') -
What do these things actually mean? What is a 'nine-o'clock couch show'? When are lungs like bombs? Does her voice sound like softly whisking eggs or is it the actual whisk? From this chaos, a plot emerges, as does a distinct style but unfortunately not a style that appealed to me.
A ‘challenging’ book can be enjoyable or a trial. In this case, I didn’t enjoy this challenging book.
2/5 Score based on my enjoyment of a book (as opposed to the skill of the author).
I’m afraid Pink Mountain on Locust Island by Jamie Marina Lau was the reading equivalent of interpretative dance for me.
The story is told through short, punchy vignettes that constitute chapters (some are just a sentence or a paragraph long). A story emerges - teenage girl, Monk, lives in Chinatown with her washed-up painter father. She meets Santa Coy, who may be her boyfriend. Santa Coy inserts himself into Monk and her father's lives, impressing them with his own brand of artwork. As Monk tries to find her place in the world, her relationships take various turns.
I understand why readers are excited by Lau - her writing is expressive and commanding, with bizarre descriptions that have you re-reading and imagining -
He rises and bubbles like dough in Grandma’s microwave oven.
Zig opens the door and inside is an oversized T-shirt mania.
Cardigan metropolis and a hushed-voice millennia.
And while 'imagining' is nice, Lau's writing is also relentless. There's a lot of language that's tricked up. In fact so much of it, that it begins to wash over you and, when you do pause to consider the meaning of what she has written, it's hard to ignore the nonsensical -
Before bed we watch a television show about the hazards of motorbike riding. It's a PG-rated nine-o'clock couch show.
Everybody here is a new clam shell and fresh juicy shrimps on the island bench from Costco.
He's a packed lunch with a suitcase and Raf cufflinks and Dad is a grumpy brown couch again.
And the use of similes quickly feels overdone -
We are in a big white space like an angel's hot tub.
His apartment is like petrol station and coconut butter.
A big bald man with huge lungs like bombs...
...her lips like a fancy woman's pregnancy.
Did I mention relentless? Descriptions of people's voices are over-the-top (I longed for a simple 'She said...') -
...she has a voice like plump cushions.
This voice I'm doing is an ancient valley.
...my voice a big puff instead.
Her voice is a soft egg whisk.
What do these things actually mean? What is a 'nine-o'clock couch show'? When are lungs like bombs? Does her voice sound like softly whisking eggs or is it the actual whisk? From this chaos, a plot emerges, as does a distinct style but unfortunately not a style that appealed to me.
A ‘challenging’ book can be enjoyable or a trial. In this case, I didn’t enjoy this challenging book.
2/5 Score based on my enjoyment of a book (as opposed to the skill of the author).
August 11, 2019
Unusual writing style, short sentences and chapters. Metaphors abound, then a bit of the story, a bit of imagery, some more metaphors and some more story.
Monk is a 15 yo girl living in an unnamed city with her failed artist father. A young man Santa Coy comes on the scene and with Monk’s dad they launch a dodgy art scam. Monk is also involved in a scheme revolving around some dodgy drug dealers. Monk is one different person who queries the motivations of others.
This is a book to celebrate the language and skills of the author. The plot is secondary.
Monk is a 15 yo girl living in an unnamed city with her failed artist father. A young man Santa Coy comes on the scene and with Monk’s dad they launch a dodgy art scam. Monk is also involved in a scheme revolving around some dodgy drug dealers. Monk is one different person who queries the motivations of others.
This is a book to celebrate the language and skills of the author. The plot is secondary.
February 8, 2019
A difficult book to rate as it is not a book that you instantly fall in love with, it is more like you are sitting on a train in Melbourne as the light is low and you are blinded by the light flickering between scenes, each scene glows, and Lau is adept in capturing the scenes you see between the blinding light, no matter how small and shaping them all into a story.
The story is set from the point of view of a fifteen year old Australian who comes from an Asian background. It is set in the dark underbelly of the Melbourne drug and art culture., but it is not gritty or horrific, there is too much dislocation for that, it is a child's view after all. This is her normal.
The short sections that Lau has written that are sort of like chapters and then nothing at all like chapters. Each is a beautiful work that could stand alone. It is dense and rich in so many ways and I would love to read more of her work.
The story is set from the point of view of a fifteen year old Australian who comes from an Asian background. It is set in the dark underbelly of the Melbourne drug and art culture., but it is not gritty or horrific, there is too much dislocation for that, it is a child's view after all. This is her normal.
The short sections that Lau has written that are sort of like chapters and then nothing at all like chapters. Each is a beautiful work that could stand alone. It is dense and rich in so many ways and I would love to read more of her work.
September 8, 2018
Bold and original - Lau's use of language is constantly surprising (if occasionally a little over the top). This is a hugely impressive debut filled with vivid imagery and memorable characters.
April 14, 2019
Wow, just wow. I shouldn't even be reviewing this now, I have a queue of books I haven't reviewed yet and instead I'm writing about one I just finished and I don't have anything to say except Wow. All I know is that it is worth capturing this feeling before I fades and I have to try to write something very analytical about a head trip of a book.
So I read quite a few reviews before I read this, and most of the descriptions led me to very different expectations. The book fizzes like soda water fizzes - it's bright and bubbly. Monk feels and experiences her world more than she analyses it (its a matter of degree) and the book bounces with her through a barrage of analogies and visceral descriptions. But it also has a clear narrative and story - the rising tension in the latter part of the book is a driver to get through in the best tradition of plot-driven suspense.
I wouldn't describe it as violent. While it can be very visceral, this is less so around the isolated incidents of violence which serve the plot. I am pretty squeamish around violence in books, and this was tamer than Jane Harper.
The book is set in Melbourne. I mean, it is never mentioned by name. And it is Monk's Melbourne. It could be a standin for any multicultural city with a Chinatown, and a Big Brother TV show and an intense arts scene. But Monk's experience is specific, not generic. And if all that seems confusing, well, it is in the best, most fun, way.
The writing is outstanding.
*the rest of this review is not plot spoilery, but part of the joy of the book is how surprising it is. So if you are convinced, go read the book, and come back when you have :) *
Lau structures her sentences so the verb is almost always the second word, getting straight to the point with no mucking about. Sentences are short, chapters are short - hell, the book is short. Not a word is wasted. But within this terseness is a remarkable non linearity. Monk makes sense of her world through a lens of cultural references and experiences: "Everything is a step-by-step exercise machine guide for my dad. Or recipes from the cooking channel. Otherwise he will not listen. He smiles."
The technique works on so very many levels. It enables the audience to deeply engage with Monk, to understand her inner world. So many teenage protagonists feel older or younger. Monk never feels like she has a stable grip on what is going on around her. She is profoundly lost, in an almost dystopian way, alone and under threat from the failures of the adults, which in turn have been failed by the world. Her voice feels so true to a fifteen-year-old it almost hurts.
The technique also allows Lau to loop references around and back. The Pink Mountain of the title evokes the brain, and a half eaten pizza. Both real, both ways of looking at things. The same images occur and recur through the book. When I finished, I started reading passages again, looking at things with a different light based on later reading, and just changes in mood and my own receptivity. What felt like throwaway viscerality first time through has extra meaning later.
A third way it works is the understanding of a different generational experience. The litter of cultural references feels specific to a Wikipedia, information-rich world. Monk is scattered, connected to the world and a huge number of cultural references, but also feels very ungrounded. Her father is a devotee of Basquiat, an artist whose work is so located in a community and deep tradition. It felt like a contrast throughout the book to this fragmented world.
There is a savage critique of society here, but it isn't one without hope. Nor is it disrespectful or hankering for a past. The strengths of global culture, of informed teenagers, even of nature shows, is as showcased as the materialism and disposability. In the end, it is the story of one person and the world through her eyes, just a perfect part of a kaleidoscope world.
*2019 reading challenge #3. A book written by a musician*
So I read quite a few reviews before I read this, and most of the descriptions led me to very different expectations. The book fizzes like soda water fizzes - it's bright and bubbly. Monk feels and experiences her world more than she analyses it (its a matter of degree) and the book bounces with her through a barrage of analogies and visceral descriptions. But it also has a clear narrative and story - the rising tension in the latter part of the book is a driver to get through in the best tradition of plot-driven suspense.
I wouldn't describe it as violent. While it can be very visceral, this is less so around the isolated incidents of violence which serve the plot. I am pretty squeamish around violence in books, and this was tamer than Jane Harper.
The book is set in Melbourne. I mean, it is never mentioned by name. And it is Monk's Melbourne. It could be a standin for any multicultural city with a Chinatown, and a Big Brother TV show and an intense arts scene. But Monk's experience is specific, not generic. And if all that seems confusing, well, it is in the best, most fun, way.
The writing is outstanding.
*the rest of this review is not plot spoilery, but part of the joy of the book is how surprising it is. So if you are convinced, go read the book, and come back when you have :) *
Lau structures her sentences so the verb is almost always the second word, getting straight to the point with no mucking about. Sentences are short, chapters are short - hell, the book is short. Not a word is wasted. But within this terseness is a remarkable non linearity. Monk makes sense of her world through a lens of cultural references and experiences: "Everything is a step-by-step exercise machine guide for my dad. Or recipes from the cooking channel. Otherwise he will not listen. He smiles."
The technique works on so very many levels. It enables the audience to deeply engage with Monk, to understand her inner world. So many teenage protagonists feel older or younger. Monk never feels like she has a stable grip on what is going on around her. She is profoundly lost, in an almost dystopian way, alone and under threat from the failures of the adults, which in turn have been failed by the world. Her voice feels so true to a fifteen-year-old it almost hurts.
The technique also allows Lau to loop references around and back. The Pink Mountain of the title evokes the brain, and a half eaten pizza. Both real, both ways of looking at things. The same images occur and recur through the book. When I finished, I started reading passages again, looking at things with a different light based on later reading, and just changes in mood and my own receptivity. What felt like throwaway viscerality first time through has extra meaning later.
A third way it works is the understanding of a different generational experience. The litter of cultural references feels specific to a Wikipedia, information-rich world. Monk is scattered, connected to the world and a huge number of cultural references, but also feels very ungrounded. Her father is a devotee of Basquiat, an artist whose work is so located in a community and deep tradition. It felt like a contrast throughout the book to this fragmented world.
There is a savage critique of society here, but it isn't one without hope. Nor is it disrespectful or hankering for a past. The strengths of global culture, of informed teenagers, even of nature shows, is as showcased as the materialism and disposability. In the end, it is the story of one person and the world through her eyes, just a perfect part of a kaleidoscope world.
*2019 reading challenge #3. A book written by a musician*
November 17, 2018
3.8
I really liked the prose style and mood, kind of like this 8 bit video game (melon journey) I played sometimes- plain and innocent but also a little haunting. A fun send up of the Melbourne art scene and all the kids playing with the aesthetics of poverty but like are low key bankrolled by their parents.
Also it explores Chinese girlhood and womanhood in an interesting way, and really captures the feelings of being both invisible and hypervisible.
Very cool for a debut, I'm keen for more
I really liked the prose style and mood, kind of like this 8 bit video game (melon journey) I played sometimes- plain and innocent but also a little haunting. A fun send up of the Melbourne art scene and all the kids playing with the aesthetics of poverty but like are low key bankrolled by their parents.
Also it explores Chinese girlhood and womanhood in an interesting way, and really captures the feelings of being both invisible and hypervisible.
Very cool for a debut, I'm keen for more
March 8, 2019
Holy flipping heck I loved the shit out of this weird little book. jamie marina lau is a magician. I have no idea how she comes up with such bizarre but perfect descriptions. This book left my brain fizzing 🤯 and I'm not sure if I can actually put together a coherent review. Pink Mountain certainly isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. But this one is going straight to my re-read list. Loved it. ♥️♥️♥️
April 16, 2019
This wasn’t like any other book I’ve read. The fragmented, chaotic writing style was more like poetry than prose. I read it in almost one go, on a sleepless international flight. It was almost a sensory overload in the moment, one that I’m still making sense of. It was full of idiosyncratic descriptions that I didn’t always understand and yet such a clear story emerged.
May 5, 2025
Inexplicably shelved in the crime section at my local library.
So funny, full of great lines. I imagined all of it taking place in Ultimo and Chinatown (Sydney) in the 1990s and early 2000s. Another Australian book that reminded me in a good way of Snail by Eric Dando (that personal cult classic).
Song for the movie soundtrack: sonic youth - little trouble girl
So funny, full of great lines. I imagined all of it taking place in Ultimo and Chinatown (Sydney) in the 1990s and early 2000s. Another Australian book that reminded me in a good way of Snail by Eric Dando (that personal cult classic).
Song for the movie soundtrack: sonic youth - little trouble girl
April 11, 2018
One of the most unique and captivating debut novel I've ever read. Jamie Marina Lau creates a whole world that you never want to leave. Of of the best books I've read in forver.
June 20, 2018
A high dose adrenalin shot strait to the carotid. Thrilling, strange and incredibly refreshing. Get on it.
September 26, 2018
I enjoyed reading this book, which was essentially the story of a teenage girl who wants to be loved & included (by her dad, her boyfriend, her friends) told through an experimental style. I admit did feel a bit misled by the blurb on the back, which made the story sound like a postmodern noir, with an outrageously unconventional writing style and super sinister vibe. While the writing style was a little unusual (told through short flash snippets of prose, and the use of unusual syntax at the level of sentence) it wasn't that out of the ordinary (which is fine of course, except that the novel was marketed differently). Nor was the vibe that sinister - if anything, the tone evoked more the affectless boredom and loneliness that seems heightened in adolescence (which the author conveyed exceedingly well).
I think I would have felt better connected to the characters if the style were either more crazy, or more conventional - because it sort of fell in the middle, it meant that half the time the story felt about the main character and half the time about the prose style. I still liked reading this book though, and I'm so pleased that Brow Books published something a little unconventional, even though some of 'reveals' and resolution toward the end fell a little flat for me. Will still definitely keep an eye on this author, too.
I think I would have felt better connected to the characters if the style were either more crazy, or more conventional - because it sort of fell in the middle, it meant that half the time the story felt about the main character and half the time about the prose style. I still liked reading this book though, and I'm so pleased that Brow Books published something a little unconventional, even though some of 'reveals' and resolution toward the end fell a little flat for me. Will still definitely keep an eye on this author, too.
December 16, 2018
20 year old Lau's debut novel is simultaneously innovative, surreal, disjointed and funny. At her best she writes like a stand up routine, and at her worst though she veers into the bizarre and non nonsensical "cardigan metropolis and a hushed voice millennia"; "he was in a creme brulee mood" - i don't get it either. The chapters are divided into numerous short vignettes and sequences, some only a sentence long and follow a linear timeline. Its a book for the social media and internet age- perhaps written for those just getting used to reading serious prose after the word limits on twitter.
Its protagonist Monk is 15 and living with her Xanax addicted former Art lecturer Dad after the departure of her mom. It could be set in any urban metropolis with a bustling Chinatown. Along comes the love interest Santa Coy (also a developing artist) and then things get complicated.
There is a narrative though that can be followed and it is cinematic so you can visually follow her discussions around what makes Art and what people will sacrifice for it, the difficulties of human relationships and cross cultural complexities.
Food is another obsession - its preparation , consumption, description of e.g. Yum Cha and some bizarre discussions- what is the difference physically and philosophically between turnips and yams - turnips are lively and yams are brooding. Obviously if you didn't know this you have to visit the same supermarkets as Monk does.
Some plot twists are unbelievable and her non-traditional use of metaphors and language often fall flat. Lau ( who also makes music under the pseudonym ZK King, hence the musical references in the novel) stated in an interview that she often has several browsers open while writing - reading articles, listening to music etc - and this multi media multi-tasking is what comes across in her writing and original use of language.
Lau described Monk as the most sincere female character she had created - and that is what is the strength of this novel - Lau's authentic portrayal of her teenage Monk as a composite of angst, joy, confusion, curiosity and strength. You just need to get through some bizarre distractions to discover this.
Its protagonist Monk is 15 and living with her Xanax addicted former Art lecturer Dad after the departure of her mom. It could be set in any urban metropolis with a bustling Chinatown. Along comes the love interest Santa Coy (also a developing artist) and then things get complicated.
There is a narrative though that can be followed and it is cinematic so you can visually follow her discussions around what makes Art and what people will sacrifice for it, the difficulties of human relationships and cross cultural complexities.
Food is another obsession - its preparation , consumption, description of e.g. Yum Cha and some bizarre discussions- what is the difference physically and philosophically between turnips and yams - turnips are lively and yams are brooding. Obviously if you didn't know this you have to visit the same supermarkets as Monk does.
Some plot twists are unbelievable and her non-traditional use of metaphors and language often fall flat. Lau ( who also makes music under the pseudonym ZK King, hence the musical references in the novel) stated in an interview that she often has several browsers open while writing - reading articles, listening to music etc - and this multi media multi-tasking is what comes across in her writing and original use of language.
Lau described Monk as the most sincere female character she had created - and that is what is the strength of this novel - Lau's authentic portrayal of her teenage Monk as a composite of angst, joy, confusion, curiosity and strength. You just need to get through some bizarre distractions to discover this.
June 27, 2018
I bought this book from the Sydney Writers Festival without knowing any sort of background about the author, the publisher or the book itself. After a couple of months of sitting in my ever growing unread book pile I decided to give it a whirl. It’s an easy read, so I finished it in two days.
First of all, I’m happy about the discovery. Second, I’m astounded that the author is so young, considering the complexity of different themes and characters. Most reviews here focus on the writing, prose, scene description, cultural references, which is all novel, original and seductive, but I was taken by Jamie’s deeper idea of art and spiritualism as a cover for drugs and bullshit. I don’t want to delve too far into the story. Read it yourself. But the bigger picture social critique, and the crafted structure of its subtlety, told through the first person of a fifteen year old girl, seems an unlikely creation of someone only twenty years old.
I look forward to what Jamie has to write next. On a final note I must say that I’m glad to know that Brow Books is publishing these novels. In fact I’m going to read Apple and Knife next. I’ve always wished for books like Pink Mountain On Locust Island. There’s the Australia we all know, and there’s the Australia we don’t. I’ve always wanted to read an urban novel from a so to say “ethnic” background, and I always wondered if that would ever be possible. Of course Pink Mountain has proved it all. Not only does it exist, but it’s also good literature, with detailed scenes and characters, interesting written style and layered critique of human behaviour and human longings.
First of all, I’m happy about the discovery. Second, I’m astounded that the author is so young, considering the complexity of different themes and characters. Most reviews here focus on the writing, prose, scene description, cultural references, which is all novel, original and seductive, but I was taken by Jamie’s deeper idea of art and spiritualism as a cover for drugs and bullshit. I don’t want to delve too far into the story. Read it yourself. But the bigger picture social critique, and the crafted structure of its subtlety, told through the first person of a fifteen year old girl, seems an unlikely creation of someone only twenty years old.
I look forward to what Jamie has to write next. On a final note I must say that I’m glad to know that Brow Books is publishing these novels. In fact I’m going to read Apple and Knife next. I’ve always wished for books like Pink Mountain On Locust Island. There’s the Australia we all know, and there’s the Australia we don’t. I’ve always wanted to read an urban novel from a so to say “ethnic” background, and I always wondered if that would ever be possible. Of course Pink Mountain has proved it all. Not only does it exist, but it’s also good literature, with detailed scenes and characters, interesting written style and layered critique of human behaviour and human longings.
June 22, 2018
A wonderfully experimental debut. Shades of Dorothy Porter's, The Monkey's Mask; elements of Pynchon's fluoro-noir. A dizzying blend of genre. Brilliant. Another Brow Books gem.
July 5, 2020
3.5 stars - Pink Mountain is sometimes a little too much, but it's compulsively readable. Lau has an impressively singular style and is definitely an Australian writer to watch out for.
July 8, 2019
The book is written in a contemporary style of snippets that are almost blog-like. The story progresses but almost without much meaning, as Monk is living with little direction or encouragement, she goes to school, she practises with a band, she watches mindless TV. It is set mainly in the Chinatown of a large city. Monk lives with her father who used to work at the university but her Aunt also moves in to look after her. She likes an older boy called Santa Coy but her father encourages him to paint and they use their apartment as a studio and then a gallery.
It is all a bit surreal and but some of the imagery is magic.
I look forward to seeing how Lau's writing progresses.
It is all a bit surreal and but some of the imagery is magic.
I look forward to seeing how Lau's writing progresses.
September 29, 2020
lau's descriptions and prose are electric and angsty - it was the encapsulation of places and experiences i've always wanted to feel (but have not). her prose was so creative, descriptions that describe situations perfectly but i've never thought= of before.
however, i was a bit detached from the plot. objectively, it's a plot that is relatively exciting, but i wasn't quite convinced.
however, i was a bit detached from the plot. objectively, it's a plot that is relatively exciting, but i wasn't quite convinced.
April 5, 2019
Finished: 05.04.2019
Genre: novel
Rating: B+
#Stella Prize Shortlist 2019
Conclusion:
If you put the 'out-there', wierd, brash, disjointed aside
and read the book to find a few gems of real thought
then you have done justice to this new rising literary
star of the Gen Z generation.
It is not conventional....it may not appeal to everyone
....but Jamie Marina Lau impressed this Baby Boomer!
My Thoughts
Genre: novel
Rating: B+
#Stella Prize Shortlist 2019
Conclusion:
If you put the 'out-there', wierd, brash, disjointed aside
and read the book to find a few gems of real thought
then you have done justice to this new rising literary
star of the Gen Z generation.
It is not conventional....it may not appeal to everyone
....but Jamie Marina Lau impressed this Baby Boomer!
My Thoughts
October 17, 2021
Loved it. It was so fresh and zingy and hilarious. Brilliant deadpan tone with a twisted imagination. I'm in awe of an actual teenager who can write like this. Jamie Marina Lau write some more books pls :)
May 1, 2019
great read
September 9, 2019
You need to read this, immediately.
March 2, 2021
Staccato is the rhythm. The whole world rots as Monk wade through its debris. Unexpectedly unexpected...
January 26, 2024
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May 14, 2025If the Poet X and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous had a baby
April 7, 2019
A fizzing fever dream.
October 16, 2024
complicated feelings about this book. absolutely wacky and wonderful, and I adore the writing style, but when it came to actual plot points the stylistic choices I felt hindered my ability to connect with the actual story. the dreamy haze made moments of heat and intensity too blurry for me to fully appreciate or feel for what was going on - I'm thinking particularly about the last chapter of the book.
overall really fun, and a really unique style that I haven't really found anywhere else.
overall really fun, and a really unique style that I haven't really found anywhere else.
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