 First edition | |
| Author | Roger McDonald |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Vintage, Australia |
Publication date | 2005 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 638 |
| ISBN | 1-74166-114-5 |
| OCLC | 225200464 |
| Preceded by | Mr Darwin's Shooter |
| Followed by | When Colts Ran |
The Ballad of Desmond Kale is a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel by Australian author Roger McDonald. [1]
For Lorna McDonald
with love and thanks
for gifts of conversation, friendship, and example
over a lifetime
Desmond Kale escapes from his detention at Botany Bay and heads into the bush to look after a flock of Merino sheep. Meanwhile the wardens at the prison seek his re-arrest.
Luise Toma on "MC Reviews" noted:
McDonald tells his epic with opulence and a humour so understated you may find yourself laughing pages after you have read a joke because a regular brain is unable to process the author's quick wit at appropriate speed. Capturing the lingo of the times and circumstances, in a way that makes me wonder whether the man might have a time machine stowed away in his estate's stable, McDonald evokes a rich cast of foul-mouthed convicts and stiff officials, bumbling beaurocrats [sic] and long-suffering mothers, missionaries, indigenous folk, idiots and bush-philosophers. All of them come to life so easily and in such a convincing manner, the novel reads almost like a giant story board for something of the likes of Nick Cave's The Proposition. [2]
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award. As of 2016, the award is valued at A$60,000.
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