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The Suburbs of Hell

The Suburbs of Hell: Text Classics

Text Classics

Randolph Stow

Afterword by Michelle de Kretser

His eyes are on the one eye of the rifle. His mouth splits open his brown beard. He throws up a hand, palm outward, in an unwilled, futile gesture to ward off death.

A killer is hounding the seaside town of Old Tornwich. Residents are gripped by fear and suspicion, and the finger of blame is pointed in all directions. But the bodies keep falling and the crimes remain unsolved, the culprit at large. No mere whodunnit, The Suburbs of Hell—its story inspired by a real-life serial killer—is a profoundly disturbing psychological drama with a devastating conclusion, the final work of one of Australia’s greatest writers.

Read a feature in the Australian on Stow’s legacy by Nicolas Rothwell.

Randolph Stow
About the Author

Julian Randolph ‘Mick’ Stow was born in Geraldton, Western Australia, in 1935. He attended local schools before boarding at Guildford Grammar in Perth, where the renowned author Kenneth Mackenzie had been a student.

While at university he sent his poems to a British publisher. The resulting collection, Act One, won the Australian Literature...

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Extent:
224pp
Format:
Paperback
Text publication date:
26 August 2015
First published:
1984
ISBN:
9781925240313
AU Price:
$12.95
NZ Price:
$15.99
Australian
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Praise for Randolph Stow
andThe Suburbs of Hell

‘[A] murder mystery and a meditation on the random depredations of death.’

‘Poetic accuracy is only one aspect of a rich talent…Mr Stow has a narrative gift as well…He is, in fact a real novelist.’

‘It is a rare pleasure for those of us who are already fans to have these works at our disposal…[Stow was] the most talented and celebrated Australian author of the post-White generation.’

‘It should be taken as no commentary on contemporary Oz Lit that I choose Text’s fistful of Randolph Stow reissues for my local favourite(s) during 2015. Their appearance reminds us that a gentle, wise, wounded, and immensely talented poet in prose once lived among us.‘

‘Fans of heady, noir-est of noir fiction, take note: Randolph Stow might be that “missing” writer you didn’t know you loved.’

‘A cleverly crafted whodunit…Stow is an example of the high calibre of Australian writers of yesterday…For fans of the psychological thriller and those readers who enjoy a foray into a metaphorical tale, Stow delivers the goods.’

Other editions ofThe Suburbs of Hell
  • The Suburbs of Hell
    ebook
    ISBN: 9781922253125
    26 August 2015
    Buy ebook