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Passenger
From within the womb, Sal and Brian's unborn child relates his experiences: multiple threats to his existence, including the apparent end of his parents' marriage and his father's desire to have him aborted. (Nancy Pearl)
241 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
47 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Keneally
116 books1,299 followersThomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction. He is best known for writing Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982, which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor. The book would later be adapted to Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Often published under the name Tom Keneally in Australia.
Life and Career:
Born in Sydney, Keneally was educated at St Patrick's College, Strathfield, where a writing prize was named after him. He entered St Patrick's Seminary, Manly to train as a Catholic priest but left before his ordination. He worked as a Sydney schoolteacher before his success as a novelist, and he was a lecturer at the University of New England (1968–70). He has also written screenplays, memoirs and non-fiction books.
Keneally was known as "Mick" until 1964 but began using the name Thomas when he started publishing, after advice from his publisher to use what was really his first name. He is most famous for his Schindler's Ark (1982) (later republished as Schindler's List), which won the Booker Prize and is the basis of the film Schindler's List (1993). Many of his novels are reworkings of historical material, although modern in their psychology and style.
Keneally has also acted in a handful of films. He had a small role in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (based on his novel) and played Father Marshall in the Fred Schepisi movie, The Devil's Playground (1976) (not to be confused with a similarly-titled documentary by Lucy Walker about the Amish rite of passage called rumspringa).
In 1983, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). He is an Australian Living Treasure.
He is a strong advocate of the Australian republic, meaning the severing of all ties with the British monarchy, and published a book on the subject in Our Republic (1993). Several of his Republican essays appear on the web site of the Australian Republican Movement.
Keneally is a keen supporter of rugby league football, in particular the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club of the NRL. He made an appearance in the rugby league drama film The Final Winter (2007).
In March 2009, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, gave an autographed copy of Keneally's Lincoln biography to President Barack Obama as a state gift.
Most recently Thomas Keneally featured as a writer in the critically acclaimed Australian drama, Our Sunburnt Country.
Thomas Keneally's nephew Ben is married to the former NSW Premier, Kristina Keneally.
Often published under the name Tom Keneally in Australia.
Life and Career:
Born in Sydney, Keneally was educated at St Patrick's College, Strathfield, where a writing prize was named after him. He entered St Patrick's Seminary, Manly to train as a Catholic priest but left before his ordination. He worked as a Sydney schoolteacher before his success as a novelist, and he was a lecturer at the University of New England (1968–70). He has also written screenplays, memoirs and non-fiction books.
Keneally was known as "Mick" until 1964 but began using the name Thomas when he started publishing, after advice from his publisher to use what was really his first name. He is most famous for his Schindler's Ark (1982) (later republished as Schindler's List), which won the Booker Prize and is the basis of the film Schindler's List (1993). Many of his novels are reworkings of historical material, although modern in their psychology and style.
Keneally has also acted in a handful of films. He had a small role in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (based on his novel) and played Father Marshall in the Fred Schepisi movie, The Devil's Playground (1976) (not to be confused with a similarly-titled documentary by Lucy Walker about the Amish rite of passage called rumspringa).
In 1983, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). He is an Australian Living Treasure.
He is a strong advocate of the Australian republic, meaning the severing of all ties with the British monarchy, and published a book on the subject in Our Republic (1993). Several of his Republican essays appear on the web site of the Australian Republican Movement.
Keneally is a keen supporter of rugby league football, in particular the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club of the NRL. He made an appearance in the rugby league drama film The Final Winter (2007).
In March 2009, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, gave an autographed copy of Keneally's Lincoln biography to President Barack Obama as a state gift.
Most recently Thomas Keneally featured as a writer in the critically acclaimed Australian drama, Our Sunburnt Country.
Thomas Keneally's nephew Ben is married to the former NSW Premier, Kristina Keneally.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 23, 2014
A tale of infidelity, transportation and sectioning narrated by an omniscient foetus (go with it, it's the '70s). Lasers at Sal's antenatal scan trip her baby into consciousness - not only his own, but Sal's, his Aussie-journalist-philandering father Brian's as well as assorted forebearers - including a convict great grandfather. Haunted by the words of a dead aunt who promised to watch over him, Brian becomes convinced that his son is reading his thoughts and leaves Sal for a bony feature writer.
Sal has been singled out by Warwick Jones, an orphan who, when very young: "suffered from the conviction that I'd given birth to myself, that I'd been a larger and more complicated me and had split into two and the lesser of the two was me and the greater had gone onto an appropriate destiny." Jones would spot this older brother figure in movies throughout his childhood, but when he goes to college his origin-myth shifts: "The truth was I was not yet even delivered. I had a future mother. I would stumble upon her." He fixates on Sal as his mother figure and confesses this to Brian in an attempt to defend Sal's integrity but it goes horribly wrong, in the middle of the novel leaving Sal sectioned.
The tone of the foetus-narrator is pompous and florid, with over-working of biological metaphor - he reminds us with every breath he's in the womb. I read it at school and it appealed to my teenage sense of melodrama. I even tried to copy Keneally's style so I was curious to re-read this book that had influenced my younger self! It must have flopped though ... I got hold of a copy from the library and the only other borrower of the 1979 1st edition was from 1994!
Sal has been singled out by Warwick Jones, an orphan who, when very young: "suffered from the conviction that I'd given birth to myself, that I'd been a larger and more complicated me and had split into two and the lesser of the two was me and the greater had gone onto an appropriate destiny." Jones would spot this older brother figure in movies throughout his childhood, but when he goes to college his origin-myth shifts: "The truth was I was not yet even delivered. I had a future mother. I would stumble upon her." He fixates on Sal as his mother figure and confesses this to Brian in an attempt to defend Sal's integrity but it goes horribly wrong, in the middle of the novel leaving Sal sectioned.
The tone of the foetus-narrator is pompous and florid, with over-working of biological metaphor - he reminds us with every breath he's in the womb. I read it at school and it appealed to my teenage sense of melodrama. I even tried to copy Keneally's style so I was curious to re-read this book that had influenced my younger self! It must have flopped though ... I got hold of a copy from the library and the only other borrower of the 1979 1st edition was from 1994!
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August 5, 2011Interesting viewpoint on life, I enjoyed it, particularly in my line of work. I often wonder what the little hot bundles of flesh are thinking...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews