What do you think?
Rate this book
Missing
Beautifully written and affecting, this is the true story of a young man caught in a world he can't control and how he finds a way to survive
Hey mate, Pete and Steve have been talking to some people who live around the national park where Mark lives . . . nobody has seen him for months . . . We're about to head into the gorge . . . I'll let you know what we find . . .
In 1972 Mark May is eighteen. He is bright, beautiful and has a scholarship to study law. Ten years later he descends alone into remote gorge country in north-western New South Wales. He lives in rough camps and stays for thirty-five years. Then, on a feeling, his brothers go looking for him.
Missing is a true story of immense emotional force. It tells of a broken life and a ruptured family but is also a spare and eloquent story of survival that carries a deep humanity. It announces a significant new talent in Australia writing.
Hey mate, Pete and Steve have been talking to some people who live around the national park where Mark lives . . . nobody has seen him for months . . . We're about to head into the gorge . . . I'll let you know what we find . . .
In 1972 Mark May is eighteen. He is bright, beautiful and has a scholarship to study law. Ten years later he descends alone into remote gorge country in north-western New South Wales. He lives in rough camps and stays for thirty-five years. Then, on a feeling, his brothers go looking for him.
Missing is a true story of immense emotional force. It tells of a broken life and a ruptured family but is also a spare and eloquent story of survival that carries a deep humanity. It announces a significant new talent in Australia writing.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2022
16 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 14, 2022
This book is personal to me. Mark May was my first teenage crush when I started studying at ANU in 1975. I was a sheltered seventeen year-old and Mark, with his stunning good looks and his worldly manner, was a demi-god in my eyes. That fantasy never prospered but Mark did become my friend in 1976 when we both had rooms in the Corin Dam Huts, which were workers’ huts that had been relocated from Corin Dam to a spot just north of the much more prestigious Bruce Hall, where I started my university years.
The last time I saw Mark was at Sydney’s Macquarie Centre in 1983 and I’ve often wondered what became of him after that. Missing fills in the gaps as well as providing so much backstory about his early life. It has allowed me to put those memories sadly to rest. Along the way I’ve traipsed down memory lane as Mark in his trademark leather coat led me back to favoured haunts on campus and familiar names popped up. I cried so many times as I read this book. It’s gut-wrenching at times, yet I couldn’t help but admire Mark’s spirit as he picked himself up time and time again, learned how to survive in the bush and hopefully found some inner peace before his lonely passing. I pray that his spirit is now at rest.
The last time I saw Mark was at Sydney’s Macquarie Centre in 1983 and I’ve often wondered what became of him after that. Missing fills in the gaps as well as providing so much backstory about his early life. It has allowed me to put those memories sadly to rest. Along the way I’ve traipsed down memory lane as Mark in his trademark leather coat led me back to favoured haunts on campus and familiar names popped up. I cried so many times as I read this book. It’s gut-wrenching at times, yet I couldn’t help but admire Mark’s spirit as he picked himself up time and time again, learned how to survive in the bush and hopefully found some inner peace before his lonely passing. I pray that his spirit is now at rest.
July 23, 2022
This wasn't what I expected at all, so it was pretty disappointing.
What I expected, based on the blurb: Dude decides he's done with the trappings of society so escapes into the bush to live off the land and so learn to appreciate the simplicities of life.
What I got: After years of being a screw-up, drug-addled criminal retreats into woods to grow (and sell?!) weed with less chance of being caught.
The fact that this covered more of Mark's life of drugs than his time in the bush was already a massive drawback, but then to discover that there was no redemption arc, no new outlook on life, no rediscovery of the true joys of life ... it was just so disappointing.
Honestly, there's just not enough to this story to make it a worthy book.
The writing is a giveaway of that, because it is choppy, short sentences that skips over details. Titled paragraphs rather than chapters, and an unclear timeline that jumps all over the place and confuses chronology. The book is separated into different parts which are each labelled with a year, but then that part seems to cover multiple years; Mark goes off into the woods to live off the grid, but then he's showing up at his brother's place so regularly they have to tell him off for it. Then he has a job, and then he's back living off the land? There's just not enough words to tie all these things together neatly with any kind of logic. To be perfectly candid, the writing is terrible. Plenty of descriptions of the bush, though.
There are so many siblings that the lack of description and logical order means they all kind of blend together, meaning I didn't care about who was who. All I got was that Mark was the loser of the family. That sure didn't make me sympathetic to his plight, especially when he didn't seem to grow as a person at all.
This is a true story, and I really expected to be inspired by this person who decided that, instead of being beat down by life, they would retreat into simplicity and learn to appreciate life through nature. Instead, I just found myself feeling sad that this man who was so willing to go to extremes did it all in the name of drugs.
I am sure there are some who will enjoy Mark's story - perhaps even sympathise - but it just doesn't strike me as being note-worthy. There are so many others more worthy of having their story shared.
With thanks to A&U for an uncorrected ARC
What I expected, based on the blurb: Dude decides he's done with the trappings of society so escapes into the bush to live off the land and so learn to appreciate the simplicities of life.
What I got: After years of being a screw-up, drug-addled criminal retreats into woods to grow (and sell?!) weed with less chance of being caught.
The fact that this covered more of Mark's life of drugs than his time in the bush was already a massive drawback, but then to discover that there was no redemption arc, no new outlook on life, no rediscovery of the true joys of life ... it was just so disappointing.
Honestly, there's just not enough to this story to make it a worthy book.
The writing is a giveaway of that, because it is choppy, short sentences that skips over details. Titled paragraphs rather than chapters, and an unclear timeline that jumps all over the place and confuses chronology. The book is separated into different parts which are each labelled with a year, but then that part seems to cover multiple years; Mark goes off into the woods to live off the grid, but then he's showing up at his brother's place so regularly they have to tell him off for it. Then he has a job, and then he's back living off the land? There's just not enough words to tie all these things together neatly with any kind of logic. To be perfectly candid, the writing is terrible. Plenty of descriptions of the bush, though.
There are so many siblings that the lack of description and logical order means they all kind of blend together, meaning I didn't care about who was who. All I got was that Mark was the loser of the family. That sure didn't make me sympathetic to his plight, especially when he didn't seem to grow as a person at all.
This is a true story, and I really expected to be inspired by this person who decided that, instead of being beat down by life, they would retreat into simplicity and learn to appreciate life through nature. Instead, I just found myself feeling sad that this man who was so willing to go to extremes did it all in the name of drugs.
I am sure there are some who will enjoy Mark's story - perhaps even sympathise - but it just doesn't strike me as being note-worthy. There are so many others more worthy of having their story shared.
With thanks to A&U for an uncorrected ARC
February 2, 2022
MISSING by Tom Patterson
Wow, what a powerful absorbing read from a new author. Just how some of his descriptions evolved could surely only be from personal or close friends’ experience but this tale of a family gone wrong and one of its sons ending up in the gorge country east of Armidale I found rivetting and, at times, harrowing.
It’s hard not to want to reach out and help the main subject, Mark May, as he goes through a life that gets heavily involved in drug use to the point where he becomes a supplier when he’s attending university in Canberra. Despite, or because of, his high intelligence, life steadily goes downhill. While two of his brothers make the grade in medical fields Mark eventually ends up becoming a recluse in the gorges out from Hillgrove, an historic mining settlement 35 kms from Armidale. Only he’s not there for the mining but lives mostly in the bush for the next 35 years, distancing himself from his family and a son that he fathered but wasn’t aware of for some time. He blames the mother for getting pregnant to try and trap him and disowns them both.
He grows marijuana down there and brings it up from time to time to sell, make some money to garner supplies and then head down into the wilderness again where only the occasional cattle herder run across him. That leads to a farcical scene when his crop is reported and a huge amount of resources are used to get Mark and the crop out of the gorge so they can make a case against him.
He lives on fish, lizards and the like, as well as knowing what greens you can eat.
That his father’s strict disciplinary ways and strong church affiliations aided in bringing about his seclusion there can be no doubt and it all ends in tragedy as two of his brothers react to Mark’s non-appearance for some time and go searching.
Knowing the country, as I do, probably meant it had a little more impact for me but I can wholeheartedly recommend this compelling true story.
Wow, what a powerful absorbing read from a new author. Just how some of his descriptions evolved could surely only be from personal or close friends’ experience but this tale of a family gone wrong and one of its sons ending up in the gorge country east of Armidale I found rivetting and, at times, harrowing.
It’s hard not to want to reach out and help the main subject, Mark May, as he goes through a life that gets heavily involved in drug use to the point where he becomes a supplier when he’s attending university in Canberra. Despite, or because of, his high intelligence, life steadily goes downhill. While two of his brothers make the grade in medical fields Mark eventually ends up becoming a recluse in the gorges out from Hillgrove, an historic mining settlement 35 kms from Armidale. Only he’s not there for the mining but lives mostly in the bush for the next 35 years, distancing himself from his family and a son that he fathered but wasn’t aware of for some time. He blames the mother for getting pregnant to try and trap him and disowns them both.
He grows marijuana down there and brings it up from time to time to sell, make some money to garner supplies and then head down into the wilderness again where only the occasional cattle herder run across him. That leads to a farcical scene when his crop is reported and a huge amount of resources are used to get Mark and the crop out of the gorge so they can make a case against him.
He lives on fish, lizards and the like, as well as knowing what greens you can eat.
That his father’s strict disciplinary ways and strong church affiliations aided in bringing about his seclusion there can be no doubt and it all ends in tragedy as two of his brothers react to Mark’s non-appearance for some time and go searching.
Knowing the country, as I do, probably meant it had a little more impact for me but I can wholeheartedly recommend this compelling true story.
February 7, 2022
Great storytelling, is a true story but it reads like a novel. Very sad at times. I'm looking forward to having a conversation with the author at Tamworth Library in the near future.
March 20, 2022
A book based on a true series of events which commanded my attention. Set in northern New South Wales an area I have visited many times. The lead character Mark May lives over 35 years in the wild country near Armidale.
It draws you in and you soon care about many in the May family. It was particularly involving as I also have a brother who is Missing. I'd definitely read more from Tom Patterson.
It draws you in and you soon care about many in the May family. It was particularly involving as I also have a brother who is Missing. I'd definitely read more from Tom Patterson.
December 10, 2021
The true story of a man who just can’t seem to settle in mainstream Australian life, and instead lives off grid in the wilderness for decades, with irregular communications left for family.
February 19, 2022
Deeply moving story of a troubled soul trying to make his way in a world where he’s a round peg try to squeeze into a square hole. It’s seems escape to solitude and the Australian bush was his answer, not perfect but kept him alive longer than “regular” living would have. He was lucky to have had many understanding and helpful people around him, and I wish his family well.
February 11, 2022
I thought this book was really well presented and very easy to read. It wasn't really what I was expecting going into it, as it focused on Marks life before he moved into the remote country and not the 30 years after, but it definitely sets the scene for what follows. A very interesting book.
October 11, 2023
A very well-written story about a man who clearly was not for the world he was in but was a man dedicated to the land and himself. This was incredibly interesting and though I would have liked to know more about how Mark (main character I suppose) lived in the outback and relied on the country, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire biography of his life available. The story has just as much crescendo as any other story and could easily be fabricated. Mark led a very interesting life and yes, I would recommend this book.
Read
March 28, 2022Mark, the young man at the centre of Missing, embarks upon a hermetic existence in the remote country near his childhood home – for 35 years. Introducing his imaginative habitation of Mark’s story, debut author Tom Patterson quotes Eliot’s lines about not having ceased from exploration until, arriving at our departure point, we come to know it for the first time.
A religious small-town upbringing with a nice line in racism and other assorted pastimes, Mark’s youth is punctuated by regular bouts of sexual assault, beration (when Mark wants to purchase a pair of “hippie” flairs his father promptly disabuses him of the notion) and matrimonial competition (mother favours Mark, father their eldest son, John). He is adrift and not particularly enamoured of the grimly languorous career advice offered by elders (“Study law and then join the priesthood. The Church needs lawyers”: boy won’t they).
Mark’s desire for some sense of purpose recalls the disenchanted yearning of a Michel Houellebecq protagonist. There’s even a Brave New World reference as Mark’s alienation approaches its nadir. Call it a sign of the times, when countless young men, from Camus to David Ireland, pondered the fate of the free world and humanity’s degradations under the sign of capital – to say nothing of the rapidly changing compact between worker and a (soon to be) post-industrial state: “Even in the dark ages the average peasant,” Mark reflects via letter, “would have felt security and significance. He was part of a long tradition and the raison d’être of his life the object of much enquiry and elucidation. […] He had a little less pleasure and a bit more happiness.”
There is, too, some typically youthful self-regard in these letters, a bit of Osric amid the musings and laments: “I regret hating God and I’m too proud.” It’s glib but earnest, a lively combination of punk spirit, plaintive energy and undirected charisma.
Mark can be comically self-effacing and cognisant of caricature’s wit, aware of how exaggeration provokes and disarms and proves itself, in the end, the mother of humour’s invention: “I’m sick to death of living with plebs and proles who think I am a poofter because I won’t participate in gang bangs which they hold in the flat while I am trying to watch TV.” More Nietzschean than Marxist, really.
In its depiction of the ’70s and Mark’s university years, the book brims with winning details: a reference to seeing Margaret Whitlam at Ursula College giving a speech (“Someone asked her what Gough was like in bed. Put the whole college to shame”); Mark’s participation in ANU’s male “beauty quest”, a nominally feminist piece of agitprop and consciousness-raising at which Kate Jennings (“editor of the recently released poetry anthology Mother I’m Rooted”) is among the judges.
Read on:
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/...
A religious small-town upbringing with a nice line in racism and other assorted pastimes, Mark’s youth is punctuated by regular bouts of sexual assault, beration (when Mark wants to purchase a pair of “hippie” flairs his father promptly disabuses him of the notion) and matrimonial competition (mother favours Mark, father their eldest son, John). He is adrift and not particularly enamoured of the grimly languorous career advice offered by elders (“Study law and then join the priesthood. The Church needs lawyers”: boy won’t they).
Mark’s desire for some sense of purpose recalls the disenchanted yearning of a Michel Houellebecq protagonist. There’s even a Brave New World reference as Mark’s alienation approaches its nadir. Call it a sign of the times, when countless young men, from Camus to David Ireland, pondered the fate of the free world and humanity’s degradations under the sign of capital – to say nothing of the rapidly changing compact between worker and a (soon to be) post-industrial state: “Even in the dark ages the average peasant,” Mark reflects via letter, “would have felt security and significance. He was part of a long tradition and the raison d’être of his life the object of much enquiry and elucidation. […] He had a little less pleasure and a bit more happiness.”
There is, too, some typically youthful self-regard in these letters, a bit of Osric amid the musings and laments: “I regret hating God and I’m too proud.” It’s glib but earnest, a lively combination of punk spirit, plaintive energy and undirected charisma.
Mark can be comically self-effacing and cognisant of caricature’s wit, aware of how exaggeration provokes and disarms and proves itself, in the end, the mother of humour’s invention: “I’m sick to death of living with plebs and proles who think I am a poofter because I won’t participate in gang bangs which they hold in the flat while I am trying to watch TV.” More Nietzschean than Marxist, really.
In its depiction of the ’70s and Mark’s university years, the book brims with winning details: a reference to seeing Margaret Whitlam at Ursula College giving a speech (“Someone asked her what Gough was like in bed. Put the whole college to shame”); Mark’s participation in ANU’s male “beauty quest”, a nominally feminist piece of agitprop and consciousness-raising at which Kate Jennings (“editor of the recently released poetry anthology Mother I’m Rooted”) is among the judges.
Read on:
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/...
October 5, 2022
I am not a fast reader but I finished this book in two sessions. It had me hooked by page 3. Some of it is difficult to read, but not because of any fault. It is just…sad. And familiar. It moved me and, like only one other book, made me cry.
Powerful and haunting. Loved it.
Powerful and haunting. Loved it.
April 10, 2022
4 ☆
Finished reading ... Missing / Tom Patterson ... 10 April 2022
ISBN: 9781761066764 … 274 pp.
Mark May is one of seven brothers (no sisters), the odd one out, something different about him. In one sense he had a not-easy upbringing – getting along with his brothers but his father not so much. He was introspective, almost other-worldly, but also very much in the present ... although from his teens onwards removed to a different presence by illegal drugs of various sorts. Mental health is addressed via depression. You wonder if there was more to it than that but no other condition is mentioned. After dropping out of university Mark spent almost the rest of his life living in make-shift camps in the bush, the 'almost' being about three years working in the public service, early on, before returning to the bush for good.
My overwhelming feeling is one of sadness for a lost soul although it seems Mark found a certain peace in the bush, a peace that wasn't available to him elsewhere. He remained loosely in touch with people, including some family members, but it says something that it was five months without sighting him before people began to worry about him. And so it was that his life had ended.
Well written in a not-quite staccato style … direct quotes from some of Mark's writings perhaps, although some other acknowledged quotes are more smooth flowing.
A thoughtful read about how life can be for someone who is clever and personable but somehow doesn't fit in. Not helped by the drugs one has to think.
Worth reading.
Borrowed from my local library
Finished reading ... Missing / Tom Patterson ... 10 April 2022
ISBN: 9781761066764 … 274 pp.
Mark May is one of seven brothers (no sisters), the odd one out, something different about him. In one sense he had a not-easy upbringing – getting along with his brothers but his father not so much. He was introspective, almost other-worldly, but also very much in the present ... although from his teens onwards removed to a different presence by illegal drugs of various sorts. Mental health is addressed via depression. You wonder if there was more to it than that but no other condition is mentioned. After dropping out of university Mark spent almost the rest of his life living in make-shift camps in the bush, the 'almost' being about three years working in the public service, early on, before returning to the bush for good.
My overwhelming feeling is one of sadness for a lost soul although it seems Mark found a certain peace in the bush, a peace that wasn't available to him elsewhere. He remained loosely in touch with people, including some family members, but it says something that it was five months without sighting him before people began to worry about him. And so it was that his life had ended.
Well written in a not-quite staccato style … direct quotes from some of Mark's writings perhaps, although some other acknowledged quotes are more smooth flowing.
A thoughtful read about how life can be for someone who is clever and personable but somehow doesn't fit in. Not helped by the drugs one has to think.
Worth reading.
Borrowed from my local library
June 22, 2022
Thoroughly engaging biography of Mark May, a vulnerable soul who struggled to find his place in society, choosing drugs to find knowledge and self awareness - and recreationally - and through them finding the answer to how he would live out his life. This in terms of inner peace, and economics of an unusual survival. There were a few times when I questioned the layout and the right of the author to take his subjects voice, writing it as it's own. In the Afterword however the author lists his sources some of which are Mark May's own autobiography, his letters and poems. The rest are from his long association with Mark's family. The layout, an unbroken series of short to long pieces not always following on from each other also initially came across as patchy but when I read how the information was gathered it made sense, in fact adding to the story something reflecting the sadness and confusion of the family who loved him. Well worth reading.
December 5, 2022
I first heard of Mark May's disappearance and discovery in a weekend newspaper magazine and wanted to know more, so ordered the book.
The story of Mark's very problematic childhood, his lifetime of drug addiction and his hermit existence for decades in the gorges below New England is worth telling and Patterson does it well. The tragic discovery of his decomposed body by his own brothers in 2017 is extremely sad and the reader feels for the men and their families.
The author has done extensive research, but I do wonder how he could write out conversations between the main character and others who are all dead, or how accurate Mark's thoughts and feelings during his abusive youth, his drug haze while at university and so on. The reader is left with a million questions, especially about Mark's parents; little empathy for Mark himself but incredible sympathy for three of the six brothers who cared alot for their wayward sibling. They deserve the story being told more than anyone else
The story of Mark's very problematic childhood, his lifetime of drug addiction and his hermit existence for decades in the gorges below New England is worth telling and Patterson does it well. The tragic discovery of his decomposed body by his own brothers in 2017 is extremely sad and the reader feels for the men and their families.
The author has done extensive research, but I do wonder how he could write out conversations between the main character and others who are all dead, or how accurate Mark's thoughts and feelings during his abusive youth, his drug haze while at university and so on. The reader is left with a million questions, especially about Mark's parents; little empathy for Mark himself but incredible sympathy for three of the six brothers who cared alot for their wayward sibling. They deserve the story being told more than anyone else
June 6, 2022
Thoroughly researched using diaries and documents, as well as talking to family and friends, Tom Patterson gives a wonderful picture of a troubled young man struggling with life, who takes himself to live in the wilderness. Mark was one of 7 brothers who were loyal and caring for him even when he distanced himself.
Beautifully written and affecting, this is the true story of a young man caught in a world he can't control and how he finds a way to survive Hey mate, Pete and Steve have been talking to some people who live around the national park where Mark lives . . . nobody has seen him for months . . . We're about to head into the gorge . . . I'll let you know what we find . . . In 1972 Mark May is eighteen. He is bright, beautiful and has a scholarship to study law. Ten years later he descends alone into remote gorge country in north-western New South Wales. He lives in rough camps and stays for thirty-five years. Then, on a feeling, his brothers go looking for him. Missing is a true story of immense emotional force. It tells of a broken life and a ruptured family but is also a spare and eloquent story of survival that carries a deep humanity. It announces a significant new talent in Australia writing.
Beautifully written and affecting, this is the true story of a young man caught in a world he can't control and how he finds a way to survive Hey mate, Pete and Steve have been talking to some people who live around the national park where Mark lives . . . nobody has seen him for months . . . We're about to head into the gorge . . . I'll let you know what we find . . . In 1972 Mark May is eighteen. He is bright, beautiful and has a scholarship to study law. Ten years later he descends alone into remote gorge country in north-western New South Wales. He lives in rough camps and stays for thirty-five years. Then, on a feeling, his brothers go looking for him. Missing is a true story of immense emotional force. It tells of a broken life and a ruptured family but is also a spare and eloquent story of survival that carries a deep humanity. It announces a significant new talent in Australia writing.
October 6, 2023
With a family member with behaviour similar to Mark's, reading this just made me very sad. But Mark did live to be 63 (going by the calculations given, 18+10+35). The back blurb implies he lived for 35 years in the bush (suggesting no contact), but Mark had very strong family support from his brothers and others who cared for him. They all did seem to look out for him in various ways, and he did have regular contact with them. What can I say - stay off the drugs, it's just not worth it.
The author was sensitive in telling Mark's story. But I found the writing style very choppy and there were lots of sentences that just didn't have enough context to make sense, and paragraphs that were not connected. Not enough on the long years actually living in the bush, but a lot on how he came to be doing that (childhood abuse, drugs, mental illness, courts/police).
The author was sensitive in telling Mark's story. But I found the writing style very choppy and there were lots of sentences that just didn't have enough context to make sense, and paragraphs that were not connected. Not enough on the long years actually living in the bush, but a lot on how he came to be doing that (childhood abuse, drugs, mental illness, courts/police).
February 24, 2024
I'm not sure what to say about this one. I didn't do it for me and I found it a struggle to read. Although a true story I just found it rather annoying and depressing. It had the theme of someone who was a bit of a no-hoper, someone who decided it was better to sell drugs and disappear into the bush.
I found the blurb on the book did not live up to what I would have expected. Not a book for me and not a book I enjoyed.
Missing
Tom Patterson
Allen & Unwin Australia Pty. Ltd.
I found the blurb on the book did not live up to what I would have expected. Not a book for me and not a book I enjoyed.
Missing
Tom Patterson
Allen & Unwin Australia Pty. Ltd.
February 17, 2022
Really a 4.5 star read.
Wow! Patterson has delivered a highly charged yet enriching history of Mark and his family and has done it in such a respectful manner. This is a wondrous tribute to not only Mark and his personal story but to all those who feel they don’t necessarily fit into society and the world at large.
Patterson has dealt with the issues of child sexual abuse, drug use and mental health very matter of a factly and has clearly shown how life choices and those made for us, can change the way our path in life can go and the way we see and interact with the world and our community.
Patterson has beautifully delivered a wonderful yet heart breaking tribute to Mark May.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for my review copy.
Wow! Patterson has delivered a highly charged yet enriching history of Mark and his family and has done it in such a respectful manner. This is a wondrous tribute to not only Mark and his personal story but to all those who feel they don’t necessarily fit into society and the world at large.
Patterson has dealt with the issues of child sexual abuse, drug use and mental health very matter of a factly and has clearly shown how life choices and those made for us, can change the way our path in life can go and the way we see and interact with the world and our community.
Patterson has beautifully delivered a wonderful yet heart breaking tribute to Mark May.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for my review copy.
September 17, 2022
35 years ago Mark May descended into remote gorge country, determined to live an isolated life on the land. Over the years his family have become used to his sporadic attempts at contact, but his brother's soon realise it's been a little too long since anyone last heard from him. They head into the bush, searching for his camp and any sign of life.
This was fantastic! I sat down, hoping to read a chapter before cooking dinner, and before I knew it I was half way through the book and not wanting to put it down! It was such an easy read, despite some heavier content. One of the books that originally got me into reading was Into the Wild, and this one really felt like the Australian version of this story. If you're thinking of reading this one, it's definitely worth picking up!
This was fantastic! I sat down, hoping to read a chapter before cooking dinner, and before I knew it I was half way through the book and not wanting to put it down! It was such an easy read, despite some heavier content. One of the books that originally got me into reading was Into the Wild, and this one really felt like the Australian version of this story. If you're thinking of reading this one, it's definitely worth picking up!
May 18, 2022
An interesting book but I felt that it really only skimmed the surface. I would like it to have been
in more depth, was he ever diagnosed with any chronic mental illness or was this a temporay state brought on by bad family dynamics or as a result of the drug use? More information about his failed uni career and relationship with his family would have been good. His life in the bush sounded amazing. I guess no one knew enough about it to write more, but this would have been fascinating.
Very sad that this intelligent man ended up such a loner and sad for his family that had to find him in such a sad and traumatic way.....
in more depth, was he ever diagnosed with any chronic mental illness or was this a temporay state brought on by bad family dynamics or as a result of the drug use? More information about his failed uni career and relationship with his family would have been good. His life in the bush sounded amazing. I guess no one knew enough about it to write more, but this would have been fascinating.
Very sad that this intelligent man ended up such a loner and sad for his family that had to find him in such a sad and traumatic way.....
May 4, 2022
I expected the book to be more factual and predominately about Mark May living in remote bushland, however a large portion of the book is dedicated to his life prior to living in the gorge. A lot of conjecture is involved in relating Mark's life and although I liked the author's descriptive, creating writing I would prefer a biography to be more fact based. It was difficult to remember which brother was who, and there were paragraphs relating to the brothers which seemed irrelevant to progressing Mark's narrative.
May 26, 2022
Firstly this review is not about the story of Mark. The premise of the book comes from a heartfelt place and involves real people. We know what happens to Mark from the beginning. His journey there that is heartbreaking.
It was the storytelling. Choppy. Brief. The way it is told. Short chapters, with headings. It feels distant, at times matter of fact for things that happened to Mark. It meanders and is just bloody sad.
It was the storytelling. Choppy. Brief. The way it is told. Short chapters, with headings. It feels distant, at times matter of fact for things that happened to Mark. It meanders and is just bloody sad.
June 27, 2022
I really enjoyed parts of this and then didn’t enjoy some parts. There were many stories from his early years that I didn’t find relevant. And how I wished there was more detail and anecdotes from his time in the bush. But what is written about how he survived cut off from the world, is fascinating.
June 30, 2022
2.5 stars. I can completely understand the personal/family motivations for wanting to tell this story, but I felt that the way it was told was disjointed, hard to follow, and made it difficult for me to understand Mark as a person. Maybe that was purposeful, because I'm not sure anyone understood him...or at least that's the impression with which I am left.
March 14, 2025
I stumbled across this in the local library and was intrigued as it was set in the gorge country near my home. An interesting story in parts and a testament on Mark's ability to survive in some really harsh countryside, but also a great advertisement on why to avoid drugs as they sent a promising young man over the edge and out of society.
September 20, 2022
I didn’t enjoy this book at all. I found it hard to read (rarely if ever a problem for me), very choppy and hard to relate to any of the characters. For those of you who enjoyed it, good on you. For me, it was time wasted.
September 21, 2022
Fascinating story with so much heartache! I found the writing difficult to follow in some sections, but after reading the author's note it made more sense. I won't forget it... Not because I loved it, but because Mark's story is something I could not endure.
July 21, 2024
Very interesting structure, it’s beautifully written and almost like a biography written in prose poetry. The affection Tom has for Mark and both of their love of the bush come through strongly. Compelling reading.
March 9, 2022
3.75 stars
April 3, 2022
Interesting tale, poorly told. It reads more like a rough draft than a finished book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews