The Near and the Far: new stories from the Asia-Pacific region by David Carlin

The Near and the Far: new stories from the Asia-Pacific region Reviews

• 
  Michael Livingston

  A lovely collection of short stories, poetry and essays from a brilliant program aimed at linking up writers across the Asia-Pacific region.
• 
  Scribe Publications

  The well-made story is back ... The Near and the Far compresses time and space in a way that forces new kinds of utterance. It creates a welcome revealing composite of our place and moment – an array of searching, sweaty, breath-stopping, boldly crafted exchange offerings.
  Nicholas Jose, Text
  
  These stories – by some of the region’s brightest stars – burn so compellingly, you can almost feel heat from the pages.
  Benjamin Law
  
  This meticulously curated mix of fiction, nonfiction, essays and poetry explore place, culture and identity in luminous and inventive ways ... The anthology attests to the important work that can result from writers immersing themselves in a place so unlike their home, where fresh collaborations are forged and new ways of thinking divulged.
  Books+Publishing
  
  A remarkable collection of 21 pieces ... As a bridge between literary spheres, we can only hope it is the first and not the last.
  The Australian
  
  What a great pleasure to read such a diverse group of strong writers, working across such a variety of styles. Setting down their truths, while learning others. Their reflections on creative process are an added bonus.
  Sophie Cunningham
  
  [An] impressive anthology of stories from Asia Pacific ... a substantial collection of writing [that] would make an excellent teaching text.
  The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald
  
  The anthology format presents a unique opportunity to represent diverse authors and literature in meaningful ways ... The Near and the Far travels a long way, literally and figuratively, in achieving this. An ... impressive anthology, sure to stir something powerful in many a reader.
  Australian Book Review
  
  The calibre is impressive ... some names will be familiar, others not so much, but all offer an insider's perspective on inhabiting a different world from perhaps one that we're used to ... [a] strong collection.
  Thuy On, The Big Issue
  
  All new pieces from both homegrown writers as well as those from the Asia-Pacific, this anthology was borne of reciprocal residencies and cultural events. Poems, vignettes, memoir and non-fiction encompass a wide ambit – from traffic chaos and post-war reflections in Vietnam to gender politics in Bangkok.
  Sunday Age, Best Summer Reads
  
  I see [the WrICE program] as a unique opportunity to explore a rich culture that is rapidly modernising, but has ancient roots, through poetry, music and art.
  Omar Musa
  
  [The program has] reaffirmed my belief that in order to flourish, Australian literature must be locally grounded, but globally minded ... The fostering of a strong Asia-Pacific writing community, and the exchange of ideas and experiences within that community, is vital to the growth and survival of Australian literature.
  Maxine Beneba Clarke
• 
  Christiane

  I always believed that a good short story was a well-rounded story that just happend to be short but that actually had interesting characters, a plot and a resolution in the vein of the works of Maugham, Maupassant, Bradbury, Du Maurier, Munro etc. etc.
  
  As far as I can see very few of the pieces in this collection meet the above criteria, maybe just the first one, “Dreamers”. There might have been a few more but I gave up before “Unmade in Bangkok”.
  
  Just to give one especially blatant example, how is “Floodlit” a story ?
  
  
  
  
• 
  Ashlee

  Shame there weren't any Pacific stories in the book - only Asia and Australia. The collection was pretty mixed in terms of style, themes and quality and I enjoyed some stories quite a bit, and others not so much....
• 
  Sinead Sukerta

  Insightful
• 
  Jaq

  Solid writing, with a few exceptions where I'm still a bit puzzled.....
• 
  Chelsea

  Some okay stories in there, and some that made very little sense.
• 
  EC

  A rich collection that follows in the tradition of stories told from neighbour to neighbour. More books like this will make Australia a stronger, more self-assured culture.
• 
  Sue

  Anthologies, almost by definition, have a unifying theme, something that explains their existence. There are the “best of” type, as in best of a year or of a genre; there are those drawn from a prize; and of course there are subject-oriented ones. David Carlin and Francesca Rendle-Short’s anthology, The near and the far, is another type. Its origin is a project called WrICE (Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange) which, the editors tell us, is “a program of reciprocal residences and cultural events focused on writers and writing from Australia and the Asia-Pacific”. The residencies and events occurred in such places as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia. The aim was to enable Asia-Pacific writers to immerse themselves in the face-to-face exchange of ideas and collaborative experiences, in order to build cultural understanding and find, as one participant says, “sustainable ways of speaking amongst ourselves and relating to one another as cultural practitioners”.
  
  The result is that the stories – and even the forms of the pieces – are varied. The book has been thoughtfully presented. There’s a foreword by Alice Pung and an introduction by the editors at the beginning, and some notes on WrICE and a list of contributors with mini-bios at the back. The stories themselves are organised into three groups – The Near, The Far, and The Near and The Far – though I’d probably have to think hard about why certain stories have been allocated their particular group. There are 21 stories, 15 of which, if I’ve counted correctly, are by women. There’s a lovely extra touch, which is that at the end of each story is an author’s reflection – on the writing process, the goals and/or the experience of WrICE. They were often illuminating. For my full review, please check my blog:
  https://whisperinggums.com/2017/03/05...
• 
  Meg

  I liked most of the 21 collected stories and poems (the works by Omar Musa, Melissa Lucashenka, David Carlin and Maxine Beneba Clarke to name a few) and appreciated the notes that accompanied each piece. However, I did feel by the end of it that this publication was more for a writer's benefit and not so much for a reader's. Still an interesting collection.
• 
  Beans

  A real mixture of styles, it felt like reading a collage. Many snippets of lives and experiences from the Asia Pacific region. Contains some haunting narratives, as well as more abstract pieces that are no less thought provoking. Each section has an author's note, which gives a fascinating insight into the creative processes and the intentions behind the stories and poems.