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T
Shortlisted for the TAG Hungerford Manuscript Award 2018*
*Shortlisted for the International Chaffinch Press Manuscript Award (Ireland)*
Chilling to read, cut with powerful energy and strong feeling.
T or Timothy lives on the economic margins, both using and selling methamphetamine in Mandurah. When a friend, Gulp, tragically dies and T grows close to Lori-Bird his life promises to become more centred. But he moves between loving and leaving her.
This is a lyrical and arresting portrait of characters who crave love but struggle with addiction and the tenuous yet intimate community connections it gives them. The spirit of the Peel landscape informs both Tâs identity and the lives of the people he encounters and offers a way out.
Intimate with suffering and beauty, T is also at times transcendent. A contemporary novel with the urgency of what Daviesâ Candy, Kerouacâs On the Road, and Garnerâs Monkey Grip were to their own times.
*Shortlisted for the International Chaffinch Press Manuscript Award (Ireland)*
Chilling to read, cut with powerful energy and strong feeling.
T or Timothy lives on the economic margins, both using and selling methamphetamine in Mandurah. When a friend, Gulp, tragically dies and T grows close to Lori-Bird his life promises to become more centred. But he moves between loving and leaving her.
This is a lyrical and arresting portrait of characters who crave love but struggle with addiction and the tenuous yet intimate community connections it gives them. The spirit of the Peel landscape informs both Tâs identity and the lives of the people he encounters and offers a way out.
Intimate with suffering and beauty, T is also at times transcendent. A contemporary novel with the urgency of what Daviesâ Candy, Kerouacâs On the Road, and Garnerâs Monkey Grip were to their own times.
- GenresAustralia
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 31, 2022
Alan Fyfe’s debut novel T is an endearing, off-beat, and ultimately moving caper. Set in and around Mandurah, Western Australia, the narrative punctures numerous stereotypes associated with the ‘drug hijinx’ genre, presenting T for the selfish fuck-up he is. Fyfe offers us an eclectic grab-bag of humorous characters and situations such as the ghost of dead Gulp, crank-addled Cardo and his obeisance to a certain notorious West Australian football player (“Jim Levy”), dead men falling from the sky, and yes, a Shetland pony. In this regard T recalls that zany masterwork A Confederacy of Dunces.
But there’s more to T than this. It’s also a hard-nosed drug narrative that shows us again and again the nature of addiction and the way it warps people’s ability to make sensible decisions. Any thought of a romantic (and redemptive) ending for T and his some-time girlfriend Lori-Bird is thus flushed down the toilet. T manages to avoid romanticizing drug use while humanising drug addicts in a manner not dissimilar to Junky.
And more: weaved into T is the story of the Binjareb people, of Thomas Peel and the misdeeds (and massacre) perpetrated by the British invaders. Fyfe tells this story obliquely and in fragments that work as a counterpoint to the main narrative. There’s a character, Old Stone, who meets T for a drug deal but becomes uneasy at the choice of meeting place. He says to T: “Thought you were a local, you should know, you should own up.” T replies: “Own up to what?” (p164).
This is a powerful book and, just as importantly, an original one.
Published by Transit Lounge, T is available in bookstores and from worthy online retailers.
But there’s more to T than this. It’s also a hard-nosed drug narrative that shows us again and again the nature of addiction and the way it warps people’s ability to make sensible decisions. Any thought of a romantic (and redemptive) ending for T and his some-time girlfriend Lori-Bird is thus flushed down the toilet. T manages to avoid romanticizing drug use while humanising drug addicts in a manner not dissimilar to Junky.
And more: weaved into T is the story of the Binjareb people, of Thomas Peel and the misdeeds (and massacre) perpetrated by the British invaders. Fyfe tells this story obliquely and in fragments that work as a counterpoint to the main narrative. There’s a character, Old Stone, who meets T for a drug deal but becomes uneasy at the choice of meeting place. He says to T: “Thought you were a local, you should know, you should own up.” T replies: “Own up to what?” (p164).
This is a powerful book and, just as importantly, an original one.
Published by Transit Lounge, T is available in bookstores and from worthy online retailers.
September 9, 2022
The opening scene of Alan Fyfe’s debut novel, T is cinematic. The tragicomic corpse attack and a drive-by introduction to the protagonist T are just two of the deft literary skills that make this novel brilliantly rendered. In fact, there are no heroes just human beings who make choices, give up or keep trying. This is so refreshing. We don’t need another hero! And, personally refreshing is the representation of female characters who have whole lives, flaws, and desires. Despite dealing with heavy content, I never felt downtrodden by the novel due to the author’s skillful use of humour. The silo scene and commune with the corpse is my second favourite scene as it explores the way in which the dead are both our baggage and our liberator. This novel is place based and relevant. I believe this novel (and Scott-Patrick’s poetry collection, Clean), both set in the south-west and dealing with addiction would enhance the School English and Literature book lists.
December 1, 2022
Confronting at times but also so very warm, funny and tender.Very well written and often poetic as well. Addiction is a heinous and sad affliction and an addict’s life is certainly not glamorous or appealing as represented in this book but the central character is very human and one you empathise with. There are a host of wonderful sidekicks also and many tragic and hilarious moments, vividly described. Set in Mandurah, there is the bonus of fabulous depictions of place from this talented WA author.
December 19, 2023
Wow - brilliant. one of those "real life" gritty books that completely sucks you in. Everyone is believable & no one is without fault. This could have been a really bleak look into the lives of Perth's meth addicts, but it somehow manages gentle humour in the most unlikely situations.
December 21, 2022
brilliant book. poetry shovelled in to a novel. a place where the literal and metaphorical pivot upon the fulcrum of mystical.
April 21, 2025
a disturbing, uplifting, lyrical, poignant, absurd & laconic dream-vision of a book ...
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October 19, 2022Great story that you can reach out and touch. Pretty gritty and very real so don't expect Mary Poppins but if you like reality and can handle the truth then this is very worth a read.
July 12, 2023
Great concept and some really provocative content, but just failed to hit the mark for me in that I just didn’t really enjoy the way it flowed.
June 28, 2023
What determines my five-star rating? Well, the story has to be great, but it also has to be fresh - not just a riff on an existing trope. It has to be well-written, that's a given. These factors combined could add to a four-star rating. The magic factor that tips any of my reviews to five stars is what I call the persistence factor. Not the persistence of the writer, though this is clear in this work, but persistence in the mind of the reader.
T is all of these things. Gritty, raw and honest without being unnecessarily graphic. It tells the story of the meth-epidemic that has made Perth (or its satellite city of Mandurah in this novel) be given the title 'Meth Capital of the World'. It leaves the reader thinking about things way beyond completing the novel with tremendous persistence.
Fyfe tells a story of grim reality without glorifying or demonizing the issue. The blurb compares this work with Helen Garner's Monkey Grip, but T is far superior in every way.
I look forward to Fyfe's future wors with relish. Highly recommended.
T is all of these things. Gritty, raw and honest without being unnecessarily graphic. It tells the story of the meth-epidemic that has made Perth (or its satellite city of Mandurah in this novel) be given the title 'Meth Capital of the World'. It leaves the reader thinking about things way beyond completing the novel with tremendous persistence.
Fyfe tells a story of grim reality without glorifying or demonizing the issue. The blurb compares this work with Helen Garner's Monkey Grip, but T is far superior in every way.
I look forward to Fyfe's future wors with relish. Highly recommended.
October 19, 2022
Phenomenal. Fyfe holds the characters with such empathy and humour. The historical volta mid-novel literally “peals” back the history to show the fate of the main character T - it’s so clever. The whole book is vivivd with description. Highly recommend if you want insight into the underworld of WA’s meth crisis, but written in a way where tenderness and empathy are paramount. Plus it’s a masterclass in wry humour. What else…. oh yeah: gritty!
February 15, 2023
It was so satisfying to read this novel! Our Southern suburbs described in elegant sentences and peopled by complex characters that are credible and at times hilarious. Humour and intelligent insight kept me reading about a side of town I've only glimpsed through the car window. I haven't felt like this about an Australian novel since The Slap. The prose just rolls off the page in a wave and the story is intriguing. I can't wait for more.
October 4, 2023
This novel was raw, gritty and entertaining, the author has used the Mandurah and Peel history in a very clever way intricating it with the story of addiction and poverty.
As someone who has lived in Mandurah most of my life it is enriching to read a book that you can picture every street and landmark as you read further into the story.
This is a book that I will read over and over I’m sure
As someone who has lived in Mandurah most of my life it is enriching to read a book that you can picture every street and landmark as you read further into the story.
This is a book that I will read over and over I’m sure
October 5, 2022
I knew from the start that this wasn't my cup of tea but I gave it a go anyway. I did finish as it was tolerable and I wanted to know the end; if there's a twist. Unfortunately for me, this was a rather weird and, I felt, stagnant plot. I'm afraid I've completely missed the point of the novel 😅
Thanks anyway publisher for gifting me a copy of this book. Thoughts are mine own.
Thanks anyway publisher for gifting me a copy of this book. Thoughts are mine own.
November 2, 2022
Quite a stunning debut. I enjoyed the first half more overall. It seemed to carry more whimsy and more daring narrative devices and experiments. Felt a bit flat in the end and perhaps a bit preachy too, but McCarthy-esque in the voice and attention to detail (think of the horse-breaking scene in All the Pretty Horses and compare it to the detail of the early meth-taking scenes).
September 23, 2022
This novel reads like poetry. I don’t know what that means exactly, or how it works, but that’s how it made me feel.
February 7, 2023
Confronting.
Off beat.
Realistic.
Impressive debut.
Await more from this talented author.
Off beat.
Realistic.
Impressive debut.
Await more from this talented author.
March 14, 2023
What a ride!
July 12, 2023
SHORTLISTED for the WA Premier's Book Awards, Emerging Author Category 2023
4.5 stars | Highly Recommended
Alan Fyfe is an exceptional writer of prose and poetry who has delivered an unsettling and non-judgemental insight into the underworld of methamphetamine addition in Perth's southern suburbs through the eyes of a 23 year old, and the community he moves in that ekes out life in the margins.
4.5 stars | Highly Recommended
Alan Fyfe is an exceptional writer of prose and poetry who has delivered an unsettling and non-judgemental insight into the underworld of methamphetamine addition in Perth's southern suburbs through the eyes of a 23 year old, and the community he moves in that ekes out life in the margins.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews