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Afternoon tea

by
March 2012, no. 339

The Penguin Book of Australian Bush Writing edited by edited by John Ross

Viking, $32.95 pb, 356 pp

Afternoon tea

by
March 2012, no. 339

Twinings has recently introduced a new tea flavour called ‘Australian Afternoon Tea’. On the box is an image of kangaroos silhouetted against a red rocky background, which is a sort of amalgam, or perhaps amalgum, of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. This book is like that tea – more Australian than Australia, in a packaged, labelled form that relies heavily on recognition, stereotype, and sentiment. I have to admit that when I started reading the Introduction I thought it might be a parody, but perhaps that just shows jaded sensibilities. Nevertheless, I am not convinced that as ‘Australians we carry a certain vague longing for the bush’. Perhaps I am not drinking the right tea.

Susan K. Martin reviews 'The Penguin Book of Australian Bush Writing' edited by John Ross

The Penguin Book of Australian Bush Writing edited by

edited by John Ross

Viking, $32.95 pb, 356 pp

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