'great Big Book' Takes Award

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday June 21, 1990

By WILLIAM FRASER Literary Editor

Writing is a notoriously solitary activity, but Tom Flood, winner of the 1990 Miles Franklin Award, acknowledges that his novel Oceana Fine owes something to his family.

His mother, Dorothy Hewett, is a playwright and poet, his stepfather, Merv Lily, is a writer, and his younger sister Kate has been writing poetry "since she could", and is an academic who shares his interest in modern literary theory.

"Coming from a family of writers I suppose I am very pragmatic about writing," Flood said. "I have both a healthy respect and disrespect for writing and words."

Oceana Fine, described by the Miles Franklin judges as a "great big book", began its life as a short story about a young man who goes to work in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, not unlike the 35-year-old author who has worked as a tuna fisherman, paperboy, ore sample pulveriser and university student.

The story was rejected by the literary journals as "good, but much too long".

"It was mum who said 'what happened?' She wants to know endings, mum. She's big on endings," Flood said.

"Mum said it would make a great novel, the setting is great."

He thought about it for about six months and began writing. It grew into what the judges called "big in its scope, big in its demands on the reader, big in its daring and inventiveness".

The judges might be seen by many as daring and inventive. Oceana Fine might not be what the reader of the latest Jessica Anderson or Peter Carey had in mind when they settle down with a $15,000 prize-winning novel, even one which has previously won the The Australian-Vogel award for an unpublished manuscript.

"I think that writing fiction is like waking up in the morning and telling someone what dreams you had," Flood said.

"They're bored in two seconds. You know they don't want to listen but you still tell it to them. For you it's amazing. To them it gibberish. You have to do it very, very well to get them keep going with you."

© 1990 Sydney Morning Herald

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