1988

by Andrew McGahan

An urgent generational novel by a talented Australian writer. When two frustrated artists take jobs at a remote weather station in Australia's Northern Territory--in hopes of finding solitude and inspiration--their journey affords an unflinching, original, and at times, hilarious look at what it means to grow up in the world today.

Genres: Fiction, 20th Century, Australia, Contemporary, Novels, Literary Fiction, Literature

314 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 1995

About the author

Andrew McGahan (b. 1966) was an Australian novelist, best known for his first novel Praise, and for his Miles Franklin Award-winning novel The White Earth. His novel Praise is considered to be part of the Australian literary genre of grunge lit.

Reviews

[Xavier University Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think of it as a Gen X Heart of Darkness that takes place in a remote Australian mangrove instead of on the Congo. A young Aussie, wasting his life away in Brisbane, signs up with an acquaintance to write a novel while monitoring a weather station in an isolated corner on the Indian Ocean. Before long, the isolation, constant drinking, lack of sleep, and crushing boredom brings his emotional and physical well-being into question. The punchy and direct style of writing McGahan uses is often bleaky hilarious and also quite disturbing.

[🐴 🍖]

there's an important clue buried imo in the fact that gordon wants to write horror. he & wayne are pursued by bloodthirsty monsters throughout but their names are anhedonia & self-loathing; the toothy jack nicholson face that finally busts thru the door when gordon is left alone w/ his cigarettes & boils calls out "heeeeeere's depression!" achieved here is the almost-impossible goal that DFW was aiming @ with the pale king: a compelling story about boredom. (& lest you get too comfy, horror fans, here's sth really spooky for you: there's no catharsis!! 🙀)

[Malcolm Frawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

McGahan's 2 main characters in this novel head north-west from Expo year Brisbane after agreeing to spend 6 months in remote Northern Territory manning a weather station. One is an aspiring artist, the other an aspiring writer. Both are steeped in ennui & spend virtually the entire book soaked with alcohol & shrouded in nicotine & weed smoke. As a lifelong non-smoker & the most moderate of drinkers I don't fully understand why I became so caught up in their story, with echoes of another Aussie classic - Wake In Fright, but I did. Amazing. Couldn't put it down.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about a loser called Gordon, who wants to be a writer and another loser called Wayne, an artist. At the start of the book they’re living in Brisbane, they meet through an acquaintance who suggests to Gordon that he take a job with Wayne at a weather station at a remote lighthouse at Cape Don, northeast of Darwin. It’s 1988 and the bicentennial celebrations are about to start but they’re going to be isolated from it all for six months. I’m not really sure why I enjoyed this book. Nothing much happens really. (I was kinda hoping for somebody to be eaten by a crocodile just for a bit od action!) Both main characters are useless and spend most of their time getting drunk, high or both but I found it strangely amusing.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. So close to really liking it.

This novel reels you in. I can't quite fathom how the author has done it, because the two main characters are so thoroughly awful. They aren't bad or nasty, they're just hopeless in almost every way. The main man, Gordon, is 21 years old so possibly he has a reasonable excuse for being such having such a litany of disabilities - social, financial, sexual, work/career, life in general. He's just hopeless, no interests, no desires, no ambitions, no interesting thoughts, no intriguing personality characteristics. He's just taking up space. He's in a dead end job he doesn't despite but neither does he enjoy it nor is it going anyplace (no career prospects in it), he's living in an overcrowded share house, and in his spare time, he stares at the ceiling. And drinks.

Like the first McGahan book I read, Last Drinks, the drinking is a character of its own in the book. It is ceaseless, and for the characters engaged in this activity, usually joyless and pointless as well. It is this black cloud that covers every other piece of action. They drink, and drink, and drink.

So Gordon and Wayne, another hopeless lad with no interests, ambitions, desires, or competence in any social realm (such as conversing with others, getting or holding down a job, or looking after himself at the ripe old age of 27), head to a remote part of the Northern Territory to a weather station to become weather observers for the Department of Meteorology for 6 months. This all happens because the hapless Wayne's dad cooks up this deal. Yes, you read that right - a 27 year old man still living at home needs to have his father arrange this cockamamie job, for which he is so utterly unsuited it boggles the brain that anybody could imagine he would want to, or even be able to, do it. Located in the remotest part of the NT.

But not wanting to go alone, he hoodwinks the equally hapless Gordon into thinking it's a two-man job (it isn't) and on a bit of a whim, because Gordon's life is circling the drain and there is nothing to do or hope for in his miserable tiny life, Gordon packs up his meagre possessions and into the Kingswood they go. Driving from Brisbane to Darwin.

So this all happens in the first four chapters. We're still early in the story. By the time they have driven to Dalby, the first leg of their four-day journey, I wasn't sure I could stick with it. These lads were just too silly for words. Can it be that 20-something year old men are so thoroughly stunted in growth of any kind? They can't converse, they can't think, they can't imagine consequences beyond the next 20 minutes. They are incompetent on almost every single level. Who raised boys so that they ended up so utterly ineffective, unattractive and unable to do anything?

I wasn't sure I could read the remaining 39 chapters about these blokes. They were too stupid to read about. Imagine Dumb & Dumber set in Queensland, in 1988.

But I stuck with it. Through the drive to Darwin, through the transporting over to the weather station, through the 6 months of their time at the weather station (many happenings there, despite the utter monotony of it, and their utter boredom at everything), through the interviewing and obtaining of another weather observer to take their place (the "weird" Stacy, whom at least Gordon had some insight into how "suitable" she was for the job, because she had the ability to actually converse with other people in a relatively normal fashion; it would have been hilarious if it weren't so sad that when Wayne and Gordon encounter a socially adjusted and reasonably competent person, they considered her "weird"), through to their four-day return drive to Brisbane and a return to life back in the big smoke.

I made it through. I finished the book. I wanted to know what happened to them. I continued to shake my head and breathe quickly and heavily through my nose at the ongoing stuff-ups these two ill-equipped young men continually made. They seemed incapable of learning, of thinking, of switching on their brains. They would have been infuriating if I'd really cared about them. As it was, I was a by-stander, happily distanced from the inept goings on perpetrated by these ungainly young men.

Oh and here's something amazing as a side note: in chapter two when Gordon is going through his litany of social ills, the man is honestly one step away from being permanently disabled in this arena, he tells us how terrible he is at sex. Yep. He just can't get the hang of it. Doesn't know what to do. Oh and, wait for this, he has a very small penis. Yes. It's there. In the book. Page 15: "My penis was very small and I always came quickly". I'm not sure how autobiographical or semi-autobiographical this book is, but whatever it is and wherever this came from, I found it stunning to read a male author giving his main character a tiny penis. Wowsers.

So as I say, the book reeled you in. McGahan can write. I really enjoyed Last Drinks and wanted to discover more of McGahan's writing. I've done them in reverse, 1988 being written first, and I can now see how McGahan's writing has improved. 1988 is a bit rough. But the raw material is solid.

An intriguing read. Definitely not for everyone, and I could imagine some people loathing this book. Whilst I found the characters contemptible, the writing was so very engaging.

[Mick · Rating 5 out of 5]

What really permeates through 1988 is the nihilism / purposelessness of being a white working class boy in the suburbs of Brisbane - something that McGahan clearly felt working as a bottle shop boy in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and completely overlapped with my experiences two decades later through the 2010s.

Any escape, any fantasy, seems better.

Spoilers from this point…

The main character, Gordon, quickly discovers that the lighthouse-keeper fantasy is even more desolate than his life in Brisbane. There’s no beautiful, harsh coastline. The lighthouse itself is drab, and the stairs inside are disappointingly not even spiral.

The aimless alcoholism that absorbed his whole life in Brisbane worsens. He wants to be a writer but can’t string a sentence together. He wants to write horror, but the only horror he finds is own malnourished body, quickly becoming fat and covered in boils, and the most horrific part of the book is when he catches himself in a mirror for the first time in months, drunk and stoned, naked, masturbating mid-psychotic-anxiety attack, dripping in blood and pus.

The complete lack of meaning in the white people’s lives is contrasted by the indigenous community that lives nearby within the same national park. They live seemingly healthy, happy lives. Near the end of the book, Allan Price, the elder, finding Gordon alone and clearly in mental decline, takes Gordon in to the Indigenous community to help him - but Gordon is so easily pushed around he ends up betraying Allan’s respect (almost killing himself in the process) and is sent back to the lighthouse.

The most dangerous parts aren’t the ominous crocodiles looming in the darkness but the men’s own sexualities. Even Gordon himself, admittedly confused, bisexual, with a penis so small he lacks the confidence for sex, finds himself jousting with the other men for the rare female-characters’ attention. The sex makes him irrationally angry, something primal, and while it never happens, the women seem at constant threat of being raped. The glares they cast the men seem to mean they know this, which, interestingly, makes them the strongest characters. The men are pathetic. Overweight. Lost. Broken. The women, despite being the most vulnerable, are practical and strategic. It’s interesting how Gordon, when confronted with these sexual scenes, is disgusted - having the self awareness to realise he gets off on the idea of having power and to make a woman submissive to him - and flees from the situation with distaste in himself and everything. It reflects something of the male need for domination, and in this case, colonisation; not just of sex but also of land, and the white men are totally ruled, tormented, punished by their own desires, made sick by them, no idea who they are, what they want, what they’re doing or where they are.

The climax is a kind of wasteland. Gordon has given up completely trying to write. He destroys the few pages he did manage and even burns an entire Scrabble set, letter by letter. He paints ugly scenes on the walls of the house, as ugly as his whole experience has been. No wonder. He’s a writer who doesn’t belong in the land and doesn’t take the slightest interest in exploring or respecting it.

When Gordon returns to Brisbane, he at least seems to have learned something. He rents a room from an old black man that reminds him of Allan, and he thinks about respect. It’s a short moment, and whether it sticks with Gordon after the book ends, who knows. I’d say it certainly isn’t a lesson white Australian culture has learned 25 years on. The year 1988 ends. 1989 begins. “Australia was 201 [years old],” McGahan says, on the final page. We know very well it isn’t, and whether or not this line was meant to be satirical (god I hope it was), it hits like a sledgehammer.

Overall I feel it spoke to my emotions growing up in a land of lost people, largely vacuous of culture, desperate for meaning and with nothing interesting to say, which ironically is the truth the book is screaming.

[Beckie · Rating 3 out of 5]

you'd think reading about other people's incredibly pointless lives (6 months spent drinking at a remote weather station) would make me feel better about my own, but i just ended up feeling even more sluggish. it was somehow an enjoyable read though, despite the many incidents that were built up to be potential life-altering, character-building moments, which the protagonist then either messed up or just ignored. i'm not sure if the ending was meant to be hopeful or just another such non-event. it was vaguely similar to bright lights, big city in that regard, actually.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really torn between 3 and 4 stars.
4 stars because it's an entertaining read and touches on some interesting themes.
3 stars because such themes are never explored in enough depth. Also, despite some promising build-ups here and there, nothing much ever happens. I know it's the whole point of the book, but still left me wanting more.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

1988 is the prequel to Andrew McGahan’s award winning novel, Praise, detailing Gordon’s backstory.

Gordon is still the same sweet, struggling loser here as in Praise, though a little more motivated and a little more interested in life however, not by much.

Yeah, another good one by Andrew McGahan!

Not nearly enough sex, drugs and booze in here as McGahan’s novel Praise, nevertheless, it’s still a story worth reading 🤣

'A lighthouse. A weather station, thousands of miles away. For six months. I drank steadily. With alcohol it all made sense.’


Listened to the audiobook on BorrowBox
Published by ABC Audio
Read by David Tredinnick
Duration: 10 hrs, 29 min. 1.25x Speed

[Kris McCracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

1988 by Andrew McGahan

If you are in to viscerally, unrelentingly depressing fare, this tale of Gordon, a listless university dropout who finds his way into the remote wilds of a far-flung lighthouse in the Northern Territory. The premise is that the mundane job of recording weather observations will present the perfect opportunity to finish a long-dreamed-of novel.

Instead, he drinks, smokes dope and routinely screws up his simple job responsibilities. He also grows to loathe the mate who talked him into the job, and life on the tropical Cape pushes our narrator close to madness. McGahan’s risk is obvious: how does one go about recreating boredom without being boring? Consider this an anti-coming of age/on-the-road-type journey.

He doesn’t quite succeed here. Nonetheless, there is something to this tale as Gordon’s life becomes increasingly wretched, his writing stagnates, his body falls apart, and his mind degenerates. We’re given a small glimmer of hope in the form of a trip on-country led by the local Aboriginal elder, Alan, but the hapless Gordon manages to fuck this up too.

There is a subtlety to McGahan’s choosing 1988 – Australia’s crass celebration of its mythologised anniversary – to contrast Gordon’s self-destructive, aimless lifestyle, devoid of any purpose or spirituality, with the desire of Alan to preserve his people’s way of life.

Hard going, but worth the effort.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm curious how this would come across to a reader who didn't share that old pre-millennial malaise the novel is steeped in, but for me the characters' drifting lives of aspiration without much action were all too familiar (even if my own drifting around Australia came a couple years later than the novel is set). Still, if 1988 was only a portrait of a moment and generation it wouldn't be as strong a novel as it is: there are some pretty provocative questions raised about colonial history, eco-tourism, Aboriginal/white relations, the romantic allure of remoteness, etc. but without ever becoming overbearing or didactic.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read this book if you're at all squeamish about things like boils. The main character, in fact just about all the characters, are total f--- ups, but somehow I found myself liking Gordon and really wanting things to turn out all right for him. It's a very evocative story and it has stuck with me long after reading it. Also, it made me want to play some Scrabble.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gold! I inhaled this book. Super easy to read, the story pulls you through the pages at light-speed. A mean feat considering the story is about being stuck in the middle of nowhere doing fuck-all!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant memoir of time and place by Andrew McGahan. Set in 1988, the 200th year of European ‘settlement’ of Australia, this novel highlights ‘white’ misunderstanding and discomfort with this ancient continent. 1988 was also the year where The World Expo was held in Brisbane- one of the locations of this novel. McGahan uses this as a backdrop to the continuing schisms between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It is also a coming of age novel, about a young man uncertain about his place in the world.

[Edgarr Alien Pooh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a messy novel about 2 losers who take a job at a remote weather station to try and get away from it all - and perhaps sober up and straighten out. Turns out not to be the case as trouble follows them - but all at their own doing.

Not overly well constructed book but probably intentional to suit the story line and it works. Funny in parts, shocking in others - a good debut by Mcgahan.

Two notes - If offended by language avoid this book at all costs.
All of you internationals I promise most of us Australians are nothing like these guys :)

[Mala · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved The White Earth and Underground, but this book was a dull slug to get through. Granted he is trying to create a mood of boredom, lethargy and nihilism - but it just felt affected. I get the feeling McGahan was following a style, a sort of grunge asthetic of writing which he has gotten over in his later works. This is a prequel to Praise which I seem to remember enjoying a lot more.

[Hylton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prequel to Praise doesn't dissapoint...

[Timothy Munro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured this in 24 hours. A simply-written, straightforward, compelling narrative about two drifting city-slickers caught for 6 months in a lonely, alien Aussie landscape.

[Mish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great boys road book and memories of the expo year

[Melissa Burtt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a hint - do not start reading this book in the morning when you plan to do a GST return that day.....sucked me right in - great read.

[Josh Guilar · Rating 3 out of 5]

drink, cigarettes, weed, travel, Australia in the 80s--not a bad story...although I'm not quite sure what compelled me to finish it...

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crazy to think Andrew McGahan isn't still with us. I read this after Praise and it seemed anticlimactic at the time (a lot of years ago), but I decided to give the audiobook a go. It is not narrated by McGahan and I think this is a pity as the narrator is REALLY bad. Using a drag queen like voice for the women is horrific and using stereotyped 'Asian' accents for Gordon's Chinese housemates (you know, mixing up the R and the L) makes the narrator sound racist. I've abandoned the audiobook for this reason one third in and although I remember the story well, I believe the older me will enjoy 1988 way more now compared to when I was 30 or so years younger. So I'm seeking out the text version to finish because the narration on the audiobook is just SO BAD.
Although a major theme is Australia's bicentenary, it's remarkably relevant to today's discussions on Australia Day/Invasion Day and the Change the Date push. A solid 3.5.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prequel to the award-winning Praise, this book is marginally better than that empty outing. The plot has all kinds of interesting possibilities: two 21ish guys (one painter, one writer) who just met decide to take a 6-month job as weather observers on a national park out in the middle of nowhere. But not much happens to the two losers since they don't make any effort to do anything except get drunk and stoned all the time. There's no great conflict, no insights gained, and perhaps that is the point Mcgahan is trying to make about that generation of Australian youth. Or at least a certain segment of them. Either way, there's got to be a more interesting way of making the point.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just didn't land for me. It just seemed to drag along without any real climax, just repeating the protagonists depressing lifestyle. The protagonist himself I just couldn't connect to, I get that the writer was going for a self loathing character, but this person was just awful.

I think that given the opportunity, the novel could have been much better if it had taken a different direction with the same set-up.

The author does a good job portraying Australia in the 80's with its culture.

[Dee Rush · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it it was very realistic. There was no amazing story lines, you learnt how you can waste and wile away opportunities through drinking and alcohol and healthy and 21 it’s not the best time of life to make the most of life around you. The writing is mechanical but storytelling still absorbing. Characters were sympathetic

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just read the bleak Praise, I thought I’d give the prequel 1988 a go. It is a different beast. Reminiscent of Kenneth Cook’s darkest hours. A road trip through regional Australia before six months of remote isolation, verging on madness. Then madness comes - a few times. Turns out Gordon got the horror story he was looking for after all. Incredible book.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have liked to give it 3.5 stars. Strangely held my attention despite pretty much nothing of significance happening. And, I didn't quite get the reason for the bicentennial setting, especially since the story escaped Brisbane. Despite those negatives, I did still enjoy the read.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently this novel is a prequel to a book called “Praise”.

Not sure its something i would have ever read had a friend not lent it to me.

I was waiting for the shutter island twist that never came but enjoyed reading it nonetheless.

[Maxine Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Dean Lombard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect prequel

Great story. Stands alone by itself, but if you’ve already read Praise it’s even better because it perfectly sets up Gordon’s backstory.