Pushing Back

by John Kinsella

'The tall trees nearby called them up and red-tailed black cockatoos carried messages to them that they told no one else about.'

Pushing Back is John Kinsella's most haunting and timely fiction to date. It is populated with eccentric, compelling characters, drifters, unlikely friendships, the silences of dissolving relationships, haunted dwellings and lonely highways, the ghosts of cleared bushland and the threats of right-wing nationalists and senseless destruction.

A couple make love in an abandoned asbestos house, a desperate carpet cleaner beholden to the gig economy begs a financially distressed client not to cancel his booking, an addict cannot bear to see his partner without the watch he once gave her, a mother casts her shearer son's ashes on the property on which he worked, fascists pile into a little red car with the intent of terrorising tourists on the Nullarbor, a man more at home with machinery than people rescues a drowning kitten.

Yet throughout this assured distillation of contemporary Australian life, empathy rises like the red- tailed black cockatoos that appear and reappear, nature coalescing with the human spirit, the animals, the trees, the land, the people pushing back. These stories are at once disturbing, tender and hopeful.

Genres: Short Stories

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2021

About the author

John Kinsella is the author of more than twenty collections of poetry. The recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award, he has taught at Cambridge University and Kenyon College. He lives in Western Australia.

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of 35 short stories mostly set in Western Australia. This was a hard read, I needed to take a break as I found the mostly bleak atmosphere overwhelming. The stories are mostly about people on the edges, outsiders, the bullied (there’s quite a few bullied schoolkid stories), drug addicts, and the generally alienated. The characters are closely observed as is the environment whether country town or city. The standout stories for me were “A Taste of Blood”, “Echolocation” and “Electioneering”.

[Marles Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Through age of the short stories there seem to be a character who was pushing against the mould and challenging the status quo. Some stories seemed to be tipped in revenge and some stories seem to relish in justice. There seemed to be a backstory in every short story in "Pushing Back", one that seemed to stir the need for resilience and action. Some of these stories are relatable and some of these stories seem farcical but the element that brings in together is that there is adversity to overcome and challenge. And where is was not at a point to be challenged, it was recognised that something needed to be done. It took a while to get through each of these short stories; possibly because they were so rich in character and depth of emotion. I perservered and I got through them all, and I ponder now in reflection on the resilience of others.

[Luka]

A 2. Another short story book. Mostly all set in WA I thought the stories would be really nice and would be able to connect with it but was not really the case. Stories were maybe to short and felt a little pointless. Favourite story was Night-train - Patras to Athens

[Richard Gray]

Read for work. Full review after work one is published.

[Kerren Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glum and hard to read. Of course some were better than others but overall not enough pleasure for the pain

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing enjoyable, uplifting or inspiring for me in this short story collection. Thankfully this dark vista was not the only experience of growing up in Western Australia.