Pink Mountain on Locust Island

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Pink Mountain on Locust Island
Pink Mountain on Locust Island book cover.jpg
AuthorJamie Marina Lau
GenreFiction
Publisher Brow Books
Publication date
3 April 2018
Publication placeAustralia
Pages208
ISBN 9780994606884

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]

Contents

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

Awards for Pink Mountain on Locust Island
YearAwardCategoryResultRef.
2019 Stella Prize Shortlisted [2] [10]
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards UTS Glenda Adams Award for New WritingShortlisted [11]
ALS Gold Medal Shortlisted [3]
2018 Readings Prize New Australian Fiction PrizeShortlisted [12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Pink Mountain on Locust Island". Hachette Australia. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Pink Mountain on Locust Island – Jamie Marina Lau". Stella Prize. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  3. 1 2 "ALS Gold Medal". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  4. Carey, Patrick (8 March 2019). "Independent publishers blitz Australia's top prize for writing by women". ABC News. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  5. "New interim board at The Lifted Brow apologises, promises restructure". Books+Publishing. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  6. "Pink Mountain on Locust Island". Coffee House Press. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  7. On, Thuy (12 May 2018). "Pink Mountain on Locust Island by Jamie Marina Lau". The Australian. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  8. "Pink Mountain on Locust Island". Kirkus Reviews. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  9. "Pink Mountain on Locust Island by Jamie Marina Lau". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  10. Nelson, Camilla (7 April 2019). "Stella Prize 2019: your guide to the shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  11. Kembrey, Melanie (28 February 2019). "2019 NSW Premier's Literary Awards shortlist announced". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  12. "Meet the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction shortlist 2018". Readings. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2025.