Knockabout Girl: A Memoir
By (Author) Pip Newling
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
1st February 2007
Australia
General
Non Fiction
307.72
Paperback
270
Width 140mm, Height 210mm, Spine 15mm
351g
The Outback has its own rules. Some are made to be broken. Some you have to write yourself.
When 23-year-old Pip Newling arrived in the remote West Australian town of Halls Creek, the locals gave her 24 hours - tops - before she'd be back on the bus to Sydney. But Pip stayed - and as she served beers, shared jokes and swapped stories with the townspeople, she discovered a side of Australia most of us never get to see. From the tragic to the sublime to the downright ridiculous, KNOCKABOUt GIRL is a compelling, confronting journey into a heart of ribald darkness. Quick-witted and always ready with a grin, Pip takes us beyond the stereotypes with humour and compassion. We meet Sunny, Pip's exuberant partner in crime, and Jean-Paul, the fabulous French hairdresser whose dry sardonic wit matches the dfyness of the desert. there's Harry, the Shakespeare-quoting prospector, and Eric, the local playboy with a disturbing history. throw in a riot, a rodeo and a couple of road-tripping nuns and you're starting to get the picture...
KNOCKABOUT GIRL is Pip Newlings first non-fiction book to be published. Her short film, The Reunion, won awards both in Australia and overseas. In 1991, Les Murray crowned her the Bard of Bellingen. Pip lives in Melbourne.