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Reviews & Recommendations

6 Degrees of Separation: From The Road to The Salt Madonna

Melinda Tognini May 2, 2020 16 Comments

Welcome back to the bookish version of Six Degrees of Separation. Start with the book suggested by Kate over at booksaremyfavouriteandbest, and see where you end up by linking it to six other titles. It’s easy and it’s fun, and no two chains are the same.

This month’s starting point is Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic tale, The Road.

For a couple of reasons, I immediately thought of The Road to Winter by Mark Smith. The Road to Winter is the first in a YA trilogy about life following a deadly virus that’s wiped out much of the population, and the struggle for survival that ensues. There’s much more anarchy than what we’re currently facing, but the book is thankfully more hopeful than Cormac McCarthy’s view of the world.

Nathan Hobby’s The Fur isn’t set during a virus pandemic per se, but there are similarities. The ‘Western Third’ of Australia has been infested by ‘the fur’, an infectious and lethal fungus, and has been quarantined from the rest of the country by a twenty-metre-high razor wire fence and armed guards at each road crossing the border. In some ways the current situation is actually the reverse. Our state borders are closed but it’s to protect our health, rather than to keep us from ‘escaping’ interstate.

The Fur won the TAG Hungerford Award in 2003, and Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard won the same award in 2018. I’ve mentioned Sheppard’s debut novel about growing up gay in rural Australia before, but it’s worth mentioning again. It’s powerful, honest, at times confronting, and totally worth reading.

The TAG Hungerford Award (now known as the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award) is for an unpublished manuscript, with the winner receiving a publishing contract with Fremantle Press. So does the winner of the Fogarty Literary Award, recently established for a writer aged between 18 and 35.

The inaugural winner of the Fogarty Literary Award was Rebecca Higgie, and her novel The History of Mischief is due for release in September 2020. It’s the story of two sisters who discover an intriguing book beneath the floorboards of their grandmother’s house—and they discover that not everything is at it seems.

Since I’m on the theme of awards for unpublished manuscripts and authors from Western Australia, I’m thinking about Tim Winton, whose debut novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award (a national award for a manuscript by a writer under 35) in 1981.

A more recent debut novel is The Salt Madonna by Catherine Noske—about a woman returning to her island home to visit her dying mother—which is next on my to-read pile.

While I started on a post-apocalyptic trajectory, I’ve ended with a decidedly Western Australian feel. This seems apt with the recent launch of the Love to Read Local campaign here where I live (in the interests of disclosure, I should mention it’s been organised by Writing WA, who I work for part-time; however, I can claim no credit for the Love to Read Local initiative).

What was originally planned as a one week event in May is now being run over a longer period of time as a way of supporting authors and their books during a time when many events have been cancelled and launches postponed.

Over to You

Where will six degrees of separation take you?

And if you were to recommend a book by an author local to where you live, what would it be?

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Previous Creative Writing Prompts #9: Especially for Kids
Next Magnificent Mistakes and Fantastic Failures: In Conversation with Josh Langley
Melinda Tognini

story-gatherer & mentor

Related Posts
The Distance Between Dreams: In Conversation with Emily Paull March 31, 2025
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16 Comments

  1. Davida Chazan says:
    May 2, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    Some great sounding books in this chain. That History of Mischief sounds great. I do need to read more Australian authors. Thanks. Mine is here https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2020/05/02/6degrees-of-separation-for-may-2-2020/

    Reply
    1. Melinda Tognini says:
      May 2, 2020 at 1:32 pm

      Thanks for the link to your chain, too. I’ll head over and take a look.

      Reply
  2. Jan says:
    May 3, 2020 at 1:58 am

    The Fur sounds the perfect dystopian antidote to the present reality!

    Reply
    1. Melinda Tognini says:
      May 3, 2020 at 8:10 am

      Ha ha, yes! Unfortunately, it’s a very hard book to get hold of these days as it is out of print. I think it was actually ahead of its time, as it was published before the surge in dystopian fiction.

      Reply
      1. Lisa Hill says:
        May 6, 2020 at 11:14 am

        I have a copy of this… but I bought it a while ago. I’ve been following Nathan’s blog for a while because I’m interested in Katharine Susannah Prichard, (and am rapt that he’s just signed a contract for his bio of her!) and I bought The Fur when I realised he was already a published author. LOL Maybe it will become a collector’s item when he’s famous for the bio!!

        Reply
        1. Melinda Tognini says:
          May 9, 2020 at 11:42 am

          It must have been some time ago, as I’m pretty sure it’s out of print, now. When I wanted to re-read it, I had to read it in there in the library and wasn’t allowed to actually borrow it. Like you, I am so excited for Nathan. His biography has truly been a labour of love for him over many years, and I can’t wait to see it out in the world (and on my bookshelf).

          Reply
  3. Marg says:
    May 3, 2020 at 12:29 pm

    I love your WA links!

    Reply
    1. Melinda Tognini says:
      May 3, 2020 at 12:48 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out says:
    May 3, 2020 at 6:20 pm

    A wonderful chain, I miss WA
    My general regional area of NSW is the setting for a number of books, probably those by Karly Lane are the closest geographically.

    Reply
    1. Melinda Tognini says:
      May 3, 2020 at 7:06 pm

      I don’t think I’ve read any books by Karly Lane, although when I looked her up, her work is familiar to me.

      Reply
  5. Whispering Gums says:
    May 4, 2020 at 8:59 am

    I enjoyed your chain Melinda – and not just because of the chain but because you have added to today’s Monday Musings which I thought I had finished and scheduled, but now I’ll have to go edit it! Thanks!

    I haven’t read Hobby or Sheppard’s books, but I know I should.

    Reply
    1. Melinda Tognini says:
      May 4, 2020 at 9:29 am

      I’ll be very interested to see what you think of both The Fur (if you can manage to get your hands on a copy) and Invisible Boys – and I look forward to reading your Monday Musings!

      Reply
  6. Marina Sofia says:
    May 4, 2020 at 5:59 pm

    Always grateful to get some recommendations for Australian books and authors, although they are not that easy to find in the UK!

    Reply
    1. Melinda Tognini says:
      May 4, 2020 at 6:05 pm

      Yes, that can be tricky! I wonder if your local bookshop can order them in easily? I’ve starting doing that as my first port of call now, whether it’s an Australian book or one from overseas.

      Reply
  7. Literary Feline says:
    May 19, 2020 at 6:49 am

    I’m noticing many of us mentioned a deadly virus at some point in our chains! I love the cover of The History of Mischief. I will have to add that to my wish list and watch for when it comes out. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    1. Melinda Tognini says:
      May 28, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      It is a beautiful cover isn’t it!!

      Reply

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Latest Comments

Apologies for the late reply! I shall go check out your post - even the title is intriguing!
In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Orbital to Imperfect
I haven't read any of the books on your chain (though am reading Orbital currently) but love the clever links... And now adding Writer Laid Bare to my TBR.. my post is here - https://www.ladyinreadwrites.com/two-roads-diverged-in-the-words-with-trivia-twists-too/
In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Orbital to Imperfect
You're welcome! Thank you for being so generous with your time in answering my questions as well as all the incredible work encouraging creatives everywhere!
In Reflect. Simplify. Create: In Conversation with Amanda Viviers

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  • 6 Degrees of Separation: From Orbital to Imperfect
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