The State Library NSW National Biography Award was established in 1996 and is presented for excellence in Australian biographical writing and memoir. Awarded annually, it is one of Australia’s richest prizes for biographical writing and memoir.
The judges had only great things to say about Chameleon:
'Reflecting on life at 80, Robert Dessaix likens his head to ‘an ants’ nest, alive with tiny scurrying thoughts’. Memoir is his chosen medium to explore life’s complexities — ‘the perfect genre for playing in the gap between what everyone has taken you to be and who you in reality are’. In his intimate, chatty style, Dessaix addresses his naive young self as Thomas Robert Jones (his adoptive name) and argues by text with his acerbic friend Niall, who may well be his alter ego.
With apparent spontaneity, Dessaix treats his readers to a dazzling display of erudition, covering literature, art and the modern wonders of YouTube, all suffused with his sly wit as he ponders his life (‘this shadow play about being a man’). He describes the erotic awakening of the prudish Thomas among the steamy kasbahs of Morocco and links 1960s censorship with the over-policing of identity today, rejecting common terms to describe his sexuality and settling on being ‘a man who likes men’. Words are what incite his passion and he is a wordsmith nonpareil. This is vintage Dessaix. Savour it.'
Read more on the award's website.
Congratulations to Robert from the entire Text Publishing team!
