Phil Brown

Nobody writes about surfing the way Tim Winton does. When I spoke to him just after Breath (which has just won the Miles Franklin Award) was published he did point out that it was not a surf novel, despite the subject matter. It’s about much more, of course, but it works as a surf novel too. In fact it’s pure filth! That’s a good thing. The only other novelist I have read who can do surfing in print  is the American Kem Nunn and if you haven’t read his book The Dogs of Winter, do yourself a favour. Those of us who surf appreciate it when a writer gets the surfing stuff right but few manage it. There are, of course, the surf mags but the mindless drivel most of them serve up nowadays is undigestible, not to mention offensive! But Winton is a surfer’s surfer and he writes about it in a masculine but poetic fashion. Breath may be for everyone but we surfers are the only ones who really get it - a la the old Tracks motto: only a surfer knows …

Being a vampire must be an awful drag, eternal life in an undead fashion. I have just seen the brilliant new Swedish vampire flick Let The Right One In and the 12 year old vampire in it (she’s not really twelve) reeks of world-weariness. If only she could get some rest - eternal rest, that is. See this film if you can because it is cool, the way everything Scandinavian seems to be. (Jazz, furniture etc) It’s a coming-of-age story as well as an exploration of existential angst and it is scary. This vampire does have two fangs and bites - which is as it should be. It’s not as funny as Mel Brooks’ classic Dracula: Dead and Loving It … in fact it’s not really funny at all. But it is good, looks great - a snow-bound 1982 Stockholm suburb its - and has a very atmospheric soundtrack. Now I have to read the book of the same name that the film was based on by author John Ajvide Lindqvist. It’s apparently equally creepy, equally brilliant.  Once that’s done I may have to leave my night light on for the rest of the year! Gulp.

Being in the presence of the man many are now calling Australia’s greatest living writer is always an honour. It’s also a pleasant experience since David Malouf is a humble, gracious person and a pleasure to be with. It’s a bit daunting being his designated driver, however. Twice I have had the honour of ferrying him across Brisbane after interviews for Brisbane News. The first time, a year or so ago, I was halfway across the Story Bridge when I began to panic. What if I had a car accident and he bumped his head and suffered concussion or even, god forbid, amnesia? Would I be held responsible for damaging a literary lion and Queensland icon? Luckily we got to our destination safely. Likewise, recently, I had the honour of driving David to his next appointment. I drove slowly as we chatted away, terrified that we might have a bingle and that the great man could be injured. Needless to say we arrived safely and the legend lives on. Our interview on that occasion was about his new book, Ransom, a brilliant and evocative tale of Troy, told in Malouf’s spare but poetic prose. It’s about King Priam in particular, seeking to get back his son, Hector’s, defiled body from Achilles, the Greek warrior. David Malouf has put flesh on the bones of these Homeric characters and this book is already being regarded as a classic. It’s brilliant stuff by a writer who is rightly regarded as a modern master. He’s also very good company and I’m looking forward to ferrying him across old Brisbane town again in the not too distant future.