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Stories from the Warm Zone

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Short story collection by Jessica Anderson

Stories from the Warm Zone
AuthorJessica Anderson
LanguageEnglish
GenreShort story collection
PublisherPenguin
Publication date1987
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint
Pages245 pp
ISBN0140097082
Preceded byThe Impersonators 
Followed byTaking Shelter 

Stories from the Warm Zone (1987) is a collection of short stories by Australian writer Jessica Anderson. It was published by Penguin Books in 1987.

The collection includes 8 stories by the author, all bar one ("Under the House") were published in this collection for the first time.

The collection is also known by the title Stories from the Warm Zone and Sydney Stories.

Contents

  • "Under the House"
  • "The Appearance of Things"
  • "Against the Wall"
  • "The Way to Budjerra Heights"
  • "The Aviator"
  • "The Milk"
  • "The Late Sunshine"
  • "Outdoor Friends"

Synopsis

The book is divided into two sections: the first details a number of anecdotes from Anderson's childhood involving her family, to all of whom she gives false names, which has been described as "her most poignant evocation of her childhood home"; the second part, less obviously autobiographical, sketches various lives and relationships against the backdrop of urban Sydney.

Critical reception

Paul Salzmann, writing in Australian Book Review noted: "In keeping with Anderson's complex view of families, no easy division between the childhood 'warm zone' stories and the fracturing marriages of the Sydney stories should be made, despite the suggestion of the jacket blurb. The author explains that the sequence of stories set in Queensland, and seen through the eyes of a child, Bea, are what she calls 'autobiographical fiction'." He concluded: "This rewarding collection of stories will not disappoint readers who have come to expect the highest literary achievement from Jessica Anderson."

Publication history

After the book's initial publication in Australia in 1987 it was reprinted as follows:

  • Viking, USA, 1987
  • Untapped, Australia, 2021

Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ "Stories from the Warm Zone by Jessica Anderson". Austlit. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  2. The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English, p16
  3. ""Stories from the Warm Zone by Jessica Anderson"". Australian Book Review, July 1987. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  4. "Stories from the Warm Zone (Penguin)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  5. "Stories from the Warm Zone (Viking)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  6. "Stories from the Warm Zone (Untapped)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  7. "Austlit — Age Book of the Year — Imaginative Writing Prize 1987". Austlit. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
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