The Conversations at Curlow Creek

Set in New South Wales in 1827, an Irish trooper has come to a desolate farm to oversee the hanging of an Irish escapee and bushranger. As he sits with the convict in his cell awaiting for sunrise, the two men begin to talk through the darkness, and whilst the convict searches for some forgiveness or absolution, the
trooper is transported back to the memories of his own past left behind in Ireland.

Although this took a little bit of time to grab my attention, once it got going it was a great read. I've not read anything by the Australian writer Malouf before, but will certainly look out for more from him in the future.

4 stars - beautifully written and enjoyable.

Conversations at Curlow Creek is the first novel by Malouf that I've been disappointed in, after three five-star reads--[b:Remembering Babylon|827326|Remembering Babylon|David Malouf|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429429945s/827326.jpg|995164], [b:An Imaginary Life|6240|An Imaginary Life|David Malouf|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389501088s/6240.jpg|1442072], and the masterfully understated [b:Ransom|6460814|Ransom|David Malouf|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1241983288s/6460814.jpg|6651239]. One consolation I find in the existence of Conversation at Curlow Creek, though, is that this novel, primarily a night-long conversation between two men with interstitial scenes told in flashback, most certainly prepared Malouf as an artist and show more writer for the task of writing Ransom, which is also story of a night-long conversation between two men, Priam and Achilles.

Here in this earlier novel, though, Malouf's elegant prose trends dangerously close to purplish, and the back story of love and rivalry doesn't hold the necessary dramatic weight to support the life-and-death conversation happening in the novel's present-day story line. show less

The story of a displaced Irishman, Adair, who is an Australian military man/bush ranger come to oversee the execution of a man named Garrety who was part of a band of bandits, but the only one captured alive when they were overrun by the bush rangers. Adair and Garrety talk throughout the night before the hanging at dawn, though the story is more about Adair reminiscing about his own life, particularly his closeness to a man named Fergus with whom he grew up and who, it is hinted, might have become a legendary bandit leader in Australia.

Through Adair's consideration of his life, Malouf explores well the convoluted thoughts, feeling, hopes, fears of individuals in themselves, and in their often tangled relationships with others.

Slow to start because I could find few points of engagement in the first chapter, the story then unfolded in a langourous nostalgic rumination on destiny and self-discovery as a soldier converses with his condemned prisoner through the night before the dawn execution. The convict is little more than a catalyst for the soldier's reminiscences of growing up in a Georgian Irish country house but there is an evocation of intimacy and human connection that raises this above the average.

In The Conversations at Curlow Creek, two strangers spend the night talking. One, an outlaw, is to be hanged at dawn. The other is the police officer who has been sent to supervise the hanging. As the night wears on, the two men share memories and uncover unlikely connections between their lives. The story takes place in 1827 in New South Wales, Australia, which gives the novel the feel of an American western. The troopers presence in the colony is to round up outlaws, and keep an eye on the aborigine population.

I was immediately caught up in Malouf's beautiful prose, and the situations that brought these men together. But ultimately, the story centers on the background of trooper Adair, and a love triangle from his past. He has show more traveled to Australia in the hopes of tracking down Fergus, a childhood friend, who may now be going by the alias Dolan. Adair is head-over-heels in love with Virgilia back home in Ireland, but she has always favored Fergus.

By spending the night with doomed convict Carnery, Adair hopes to find out what has truly become of Fergus, AKA Dolan. He could then travel back home to sweet Virgilia with news that his rival is buried under three feet of dusty ground, and that he, Adair, was the best suitor all along.

When the novel journeys into Adair's privileged past, and his unrequited love that he still pines for, I started to lose interest (i.e., eyelids getting heavy.) The beautiful prose, and interesting characters got lost in the background story for me. show less

This is the first book I've read by David Malouf, but it won't be the last. Beautifully crafted, characters that are unforgettable. And, at least with this book, the interesting history of Australia and the people who were brought over from the British Isles, one way or another. When I first read the reviews, I thought it would be similar to A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines. However, this book is much more the story of the soldier/captor, and what brings him to where he is, than the story of the captive. Read the reviews to get a sense of the story. Read the story to gain a sense of David Malouf.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot more toward the end. I thought the first half of the book just seemed to drag on with an overuse of adjectives in place of a storyline, and i was close to putting it away on numerous occasions. However, i persisted and am quite glad that i did, as it really redeemed itself toward the end.
A quaint story about a convict and his overseer during the last night before his execution at dawn. It tells of the conversations and thoughts of both the men in the wee small hours. Gripping in parts but lacking depth in others.