Ok, I gave up on this one. I read a few stories, but didn't keep going.

Read the story "The only speaker of his tongue"

I have been waiting patiently for many years now for the news to break that David Malouf has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The wait continues.
I first read Malouf while at university in the early eighties, Fly Away Peter, Johnno and Harland’s Half Acre. I then went to a period of only reading non-fiction, however, I was always conscious of Malouf’s work. About a decade ago I went to a symposium he held at a local library. He such a dignified man. Prim, proper, with delicate hands and clear pale skin. I wanted to ask him if he ever considered the possibility of winning the Nobel prize. I didn’t.
I was putting an order for a delivery of books when I came across this book and quickly included it in my list. I am so glad I did.
Malouf is a master of the short story. He can say so much in a sentence, the world can spin countless times, lives can change drastically, and Malouf has just finished a two line sentence.
The book contains approximately thirty short stories of varying lengths. They in turn vary in length from a few pages to a virtual novella. Some I found enthralling others were meandering stories. I did try to read each short story in a sitting.

His lyrical style enchants as much as his twisting plots delight. Try "Lone Pine" and "Jacko's Reach." You'll get hooked.

David Malouf is a master of the short story. He simply writes some of the best I've read. This is a compilation of outstanding stories, a few I had already read from other books. Some of the stories that stood out most to me are:
"The Valley of Lagoons" about a young man who goes on a hunting trip with the family of a friend.
"War Baby" about a young man who has enlisted and was excited because he is about to be sent to Vietnam and then after his return.
"The Sun in Winter" a tourist has a very strange woman begin talking to him and convinces him to allow her to guide him through Burges.
"Bad Blood" a young boy tells us about his fathers Uncle Jake.
All of the stories in the book were great and written in Malouf magnificent prose.

This collection of stories introduces the reader to Australia and specifically Brisbane where the author grew up. David Malouf is interested in the inner lives of his characters and he seems to understand a great variety of people from all walks of life. It is a large collection (all the stories he wrote to the year of publishing) and had to be read over a period of time but no matter when I picked it up to read I found interesting people and a profoundly vivid description of the places.

I've been having a good run lately with short story collections, discovered some real gems in recent months. This continues that run.
I had previously read "Johnno" by David Malouf and thought it was very good so i thought i'd take a punt on his short stories.
There are some real diamonds here. Malouf has that knack for seeing the interior of a person, their quite moments, hopes, dreams and fears and turning that into a story that is compelling and readable. Two of these really stand out for me: "War Baby" a young man in a small town in 1968 gets the call up for the Army and Vietnam, he comes back changed. "Closer" about a Christian Fundamentalist family and their black sheep son told through the eyes of a ten year old girl.
Up there with some of the best short stories i've ever read.

Beautiful writing