Book Description

A dark and compelling work by a new voice in Australian – and world – literary fiction A nomad swallows poison and drowns himself. Resuscitated by a paramilitary bandit named Aslan, Figure is nursed back into a world of violence, sexuality and dementia. Together, Figure and Aslan traverse a coastline erupting in conflict. When the nearest city is ethnically cleansed, Figure escapes on the last ship evacuating to the other isle of the sea. Crossing village to village largely on foot, a slew of outcasts and ghosts guide him as he navigates states of cultural and metaphysical crisis. Scott McCulloch’s debut novel, Basin, explores the axis of landscape and consciousness. Echoing the modernist tradition, and written in an incendiary yet elliptical prose style, Basin maps the phenomenon of a civilisation being reborn – a hallucinatory elegy to the inter-zones of self and place. 'Scott McCulloch has stood and stared into the abyss. Basin is a terrifying dream of life, a fearless blast from the future.' -Miles Allinson, author of Fever of Animals 'Scott McCulloch gives us an entry into a world of intense life - at once entirely immanent and deeply radical. Through a narrative with and beyond times and places, he demonstrates that life only exists when anchored in the musicality of life - a great manifestation of which lies in his own writing.' -Donatien Grau, Chairman of The Association Pierre Guyotat 'Atavistic and hallucinatory, jarringly visceral and deeply cerebral, this is a stunning debut from Melbourne-born Scott McCulloch.' -Readings 'Passage after passage of great beauty ... Basin is simultaneously vivid and enigmatic: a compelling paradox.' -The Saturday Paper 'Basin is an uncompromising vision of war and death.' -Kill Your Darlings 'Passage after passage of great beauty … Basin is simultaneously vivid and enigmatic: a compelling paradox.' -Jack Cameron Stanton, The Saturday Paper 'McCulloch's earthy language is undeniably heady and compelling' -Sian Cain, The Guardian