Geoff Muirden

Melbournians may be enchanted to learn that Conway regards Melbourne as the intellectual centre of Australia, even though he himself shows a nostalgia for the quieter backwaters of Hobart. More skilled at attack than defence, the writer shows the same capacity to come up with broadsides against the materialism and lack of general tenderness which he feels characterises the Australian character, an ... (read more)

There’s a simple objection to the stories presented in this collection. They are all outdated. As a summary of Chinese culture prior to the death of Chou En-lai and Mao Tse-tung and the fall of the ‘Gang of Four’, they are acceptable, but they have not taken into account the transformation of Chinese society following the exposure of the ‘Gang’ and the repudiation of their ‘Line’. Th ... (read more)