Locust Girl: A Lovesong

Locust Girl: A Lovesong
Author	Merlinda Bobis
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Spinifex Press
Publication date	August 2015
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print
Pages	179 pp.
Awards	2016 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, winner
ISBN	9781742199597

Last updated July 13, 2025

Locust Girl: A Lovesong is a 2015 fantasy novel by the Australian author Merlinda Bobis originally published by Spinifex Press.^[1]

Synopsis

In a post-apocalyptic world the stars have gone out. When her village in the desert is bombed Amadea is buried alive, only to be resurected some ten years later with a locust attached to her forehead.

Critical reception

Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald Lucy Sussex noted that Bobis is "one of those interesting and rare writers who mix the fantastical with the political." She also states that this is a fantasy novel, not of the Tolkein variety but one of Bobis's own making. "Bobis provides the reader with a quest, a coming-of-age story, but overwhelmingly a political allegory. It is our world presented here, curiously refracted to present something akin to the film Fantastic Planet."^[3]

Emily Yu Zong found the novel to be an interesting mix in her review for: "Combining elements of the uncanny, the fable, the post-apocalyptic, and popular fiction, this novel's genre is hybrid. As Bobis blurs the boundaries between a utopian and a dystopian society, she touches on the social malaise, cultural discomfort, and ecological concerns of our globalised times."^[4]

Notes

Dedication: For those walking to the border for dear life/And for those guarding the border for dear life.

Awards

2016 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, winner^[2]

References

↑ "Locust Girl: A Lovesong by Merlinda Bobis". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
1 2 ""Locust Girl by Merlinda Bobis wins Christina Stead prize for fiction"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 2016. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
↑ ""Locust Girl: A Lovesong - In fantasy, Merlinda Bobis exposes real-world truths"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 August 2015. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
↑ ""The Plague of Love "" (PDF). Australian Women's Book Review, Nos 1/2 2024, pp 26-31. Retrieved 27 May 2025.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[NLA-1] "Locust Girl: A Lovesong by Merlinda Bobis". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2025.

[NSWPLA-2] 1 2 ""Locust Girl by Merlinda Bobis wins Christina Stead prize for fiction"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 2016. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2024.

[3] ""Locust Girl: A Lovesong - In fantasy, Merlinda Bobis exposes real-world truths"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 August 2015. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2025.

[4] ""The Plague of Love "" (PDF). Australian Women's Book Review, Nos 1/2 2024, pp 26-31. Retrieved 27 May 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e New South Wales Premier's Prize for Fiction
1979-1989	An Imaginary Life by David Malouf (1979) War Crimes by Peter Carey (1980) The Impersonators by Jessica Anderson (1981) Bliss by Peter Carey (1982) The Cure by Peter Kocan (1983) Milk by Beverley Farmer (1984) Milk and Honey by Elizabeth Jolley (1985) Postcards from Surfers by Helen Garner (1986) Dancing on Coral by Glenda Adams (1987) Final Things by John Sligo (1988) Broken Words by Helen Hodgman (1989)
1990-1999	Reaching Tin River by Thea Astley (1990) JF Was Here by Nigel Krauth (1991) The Death of Napoleon by Simon Leys (1992) Remembering Babylon by David Malouf (1993) Seasonal Adjustments by Adib Khan (1994) Just Like That by Lily Brett (1995) Leaning Towards Infinity by Sue Woolfe (1996) The Drowner by Robert Drewe (1997) No award (1998) Mr. Darwin's Shooter by Roger McDonald (1999)
2000-2009	The Salt of Broken Tears by Michael Meehan (2000) Conditions of Faith by Alex Miller (2001) Dirt Music by Tim Winton (2002) Moral Hazard by Kate Jennings (2003) Shanghai Dancing by Brian Castro (2004) The Turning by Tim Winton (2005) The Secret River by Kate Grenville (2006) Theft: A Love Story by Peter Carey (2007) The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser (2008) The Good Parents by Joan London (2009)
2010-2019	Summertime by J. M. Coetzee (2010) Lovesong by Alex Miller (2011) That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (2012) Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany (2013) Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser (2014) The Snow Kimono by Mark Henshaw (2015) Locust Girl: A Lovesong by Merlinda Bobis (2016) The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose (2017) The Book of Dirt by Bram Presser (2018) The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser (2019)
2020–present	The Yield by Tara June Winch (2020) A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville (2021) Dark as Last Night by Tony Birch (2022) Women I Know by Katerina Gibson (2023) The Sitter by Angela O'Keeffe (2024) Highway 13 by Fiona McFarlane (2025)