Stories

This new edition of Helen Garner’s collected short fiction celebrates the seventy-fifth birthday of one of Australia’s most loved authors.These stories - that delve into the complexities of love and longing, of the pain, darkness and joy of life - are all told with her characteristic sharpness of observation, honesty and humour. Each one a perfect piece, together they showcase Garner’s mastery of the form.About the author Helen Garner's first novel, Monkey Grip, was published in 1977, an immediately established her as an original voice on the Australian literary scene. She is known for incorporating and adapting her personal experiences in her fiction, something that has brought her both praise and criticism, particularly with her novels, Monkey Grip and The Spare Room. Throughout her career, Garner has written both fiction and non-fiction. She attracted controversy with her book The First Stone about a sexual harassment scandal in a university college. She has also written for film and theatre, and has consistently won awards for her work.In subsequent books, she has continued to adapt her personal experiences. Her later novels include The Children's Bach and Cosmo Cosmolino. In 2008 she returned to fiction writing with the publication of The Spare Room, a fictional treatment of caring for a dying cancer patient, based on the illness and death of Garner's friend Jenua Osborne. She has also published several short story collections: Honour and Other People's Children: two stories, Postcards from Surfers and My Hard Heart: Selected Fictions.