Bøker av Paul Harman

The 25-acre property in central New South Wales is Johnny Dedman's private retreat - where he goes to spend time alone, thinking, reading, immersed in nature, before returning to family, friends and his job as a driving instructor. And it's where he once watched in awe as a giant bird flew overhead. But without a photo or any other evidence to substantiate his claim, no one believes him. So when Johnny is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he resolves to prove the bird exists, even if it's the last thing he does. Hiding his illness from his wife and two sons, he gets his old Triumph motorcycle fixed and stocks up with supplies, all under the guise of taking a long overdue holiday on the property - when really he will be chasing the bird he's called Ezra.

These fifteen short stories from Paul Harman are told with humour and observational insight. Thirteen are tales of modern Australia, highlighting situations from ordinary life from before, during and after Covid lockdowns. The pages are peopled with irksome neighbours, irritating bosses, hapless fathers, cheeky sons and even a would-be superhero. But with 'The Bellevue Delmonte' and 'The belonging mind', Harman enters the realms of speculative fiction. The beach and other stories is Harman's second collection of short stories, following on from the 2021 release of It's Clifford.

These fourteen short stories explore different facets of life in suburban and country Australia. They variously traverse the innocence of boyhood, the pangs of youth, and the petty disappointments and triumphs of adulthood and middle age. There is subtle humour throughout the collection, from the whimsy of dogs giving cricketing advice in 'Choke', and a boy feeding up a spider in 'The spider in the letterbox', to a jaded postman getting his revenge in 'Junk mail'. Several stories feature the irony of events not going to plan. In the 'The luck of the Irish', evicting two uninvited house guests leads to unexpected trouble, and a visit from an ex-con. In 'Four down, seven across', a man's belief that a new manager is out to get him interferes with his home life. An old friend poses a moral dilemma by revealing his new career in crime, in 'The Colonel'; three friends attempt to rob a drug dealer without thinking things through, in 'Room 11' . The focus is on the quiet joys of the bush in 'Footprints' and 'Shelton'; the exhilaration of fandom in 'Last of the Royboys'; youthful hopes and transgressions in 'Going for gold' and 'Kirra'; and the cruel teasing of bullies in 'Skin job' and 'It's Clifford'. Relationships are at the heart of each story: fathers and sons, footy mates and drinking buddies, work colleagues, partners in crime, neighbours, and man's best friend. Characters and settings are firmly grounded in everyday reality, even when the stories depict imaginations at work.

An ideal resource for anyone interested in the world of theatre for young audiences.