Pink Mountain on Locust Island
2018 novel by Jamie Marina Lau
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Pink Mountain on Locust Island is a 2018 novel by Jamie Marina Lau. The novel follows a 15-year-old girl named Monk living in Chinatown of an unnamed city with her father. Monk meets a 19-year-old art student named Santa Coy and is drawn into his world of art, crime and drugs.[1] The novel was shortlisted for several awards, including the 2019 Stella Prize and ALS Gold Medal.[2][3]
| |
| Author | Jamie Marina Lau |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Brow Books |
| Publication date | 3 April 2018 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Pages | 208 |
| ISBN | 9780994606884 |
Publication history
Pink Mountain on Locust Island was first published by Brow Books, the publishing arm of The Lifted Brow, in 2018 (ISBN 9780994606884).[4] After Brow Books entered hiatus in 2020, the novel was picked up by Hachette Australia, which published the novel on 28 April 2021 (ISBN 9780733647161).[1][5] The novel was published in the United States by Coffee House Press on 8 September 2020 (ISBN 9781566895941).[6]
Reception
Pink Mountain on Locust Island received generally positive reviews. In a review in The Australian, Thuy On wrote that the novel was "patchy", praising its experimental prose and structure but noting that parts of the novel lacked substance.[7] A review in Kirkus Reviews concurred, describing the novel as "hypnotizing and inscrutable" while noting that the prose was occasionally so dense that its meaning became obscured.[8] A review in Publishers Weekly praised the novel's "fragmented noir aesthetic" and described the work as a perceptive debut.[9]
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Stella Prize | — | Shortlisted | [2][10] |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing | Shortlisted | [11] | |
| ALS Gold Medal | — | Shortlisted | [3] | |
| 2018 | Readings Prize | New Australian Fiction Prize | Shortlisted | [12] |