My new book, Mountains & Valley, wonderfully embellished with the subtle illustrations of my old friend and collaborator, Tony Thorne, is out now. Jane Rawson has generously written of it:
Tasmania’s understanding of itself is enhanced by every new project Pete Hay and Tony Thorne undertake. Geographical, historical, political, Mountains & Valley takes us through the Central Highlands and down the Derwent, from the land’s geological formation, on through invasion – ‘the inexorable inward tide’ – and into a time of ‘twee cafes serving Devonshire tea’. We glance into the lives of Kikatapula, making ‘the best of a bad bargain’, an Ouse ambulance driver on the way to ‘a prang just out of Derwent Bridge’ and a spotted-tailed quoll ‘speaking grace / speaking a deceptive delicacy’.
Hay’s prose is inflected by grief, ‘for the passing of people / of place, for the passing of all the living that lodges within’ while Thorne’s stark, delicate black and white imagery captures the intricacies of this ‘net of stories upon the land’. ‘With insight, tenderness, keen self-awareness and a huge, heartbreaking love for this complex island, Tony Thorne and Pete Hay peel away sentimentality and uncover the true heart of Lutruwita.
Mountains & Valley is a worthy follow-up to the brilliant Last Days of the Mill and a testament to the enduring power of two of Tasmania’s great storytellers.
~ Jane Rawson, author of Human/Nature: On life in a wild world and editor of Island
Mountains & Valley can be obtained from Forty South, The Hobart Bookshop, and other booksellers, or come to the book’s launch and get one there.
The launch will be held at St Lukes Wellness Hub (cnr Liverpool and Elizabeth Streets, Hobart, on Thursday 30th July, at 5.30pm – book your ticket here.