Merlinda Bobis Livres

1987. The Philippine government fights a total war against insurgency. The village of Iraya is militarised. The days are violent and the nights heavy with fireflies in the river where the dead are dumped. With her twelve-metre hair, Estrella, the Fish-hair Woman, trawls corpses from the water that tastes of lemon-grass. She falls in love with the Australian Tony McIntyre who disappears in the conflict. Ten years later, his son travels to Manila to find his father. From the Philippines to Australia, Hawai'i, to evocations of colonial Spain, this transnational novel spins a dark, epic tale. Its storytelling is expansive, like the heart -- How much can the heart accommodate? ... Only four chambers but with infinite space like memory, where there is room even for those whom we do not love.

Set against the backdrop of the Philippines and Australia, the stories weave together themes of hope, loss, and transformation. The narrative follows a turtle that evolves from a small, blue-black creature into a large, bone-white symbol of dreams and memories. Merlinda Bobis presents twenty-three tales that blend mythic elements with whimsical and poignant moments, showcasing her unique storytelling style that captures the essence of both cultures. The collection invites readers to explore the interplay of life, death, and the enduring power of dreams.

Set against the backdrop of the old Philippines, this collection weaves together an epic narrative, poignant reflections on longing, and an engaging erotic dance drama. The work captures the rich cultural tapestry and emotional depth of its characters, offering readers a unique exploration of desire and heritage.

Amidst COVID-19, planetary and personal upheavals, fourteen stories pay homage to kindness. From Australia to the Philippines and other corners of the world, across cultures and species, we meet, connect, console. Always there are birds that inspire us to remember kindness and remember kindly. We are consoled, because there is unkindness too, that snag in the breath, that shadow of a wing. An oriole sings to a dying father. A bleeding heart dove saves the day. A quarrel over cockatoos attends the laying of the dead. A crow wakes a woman's resolve. Kindness cannot self-isolate. It moves both ways and all ways, like breath.

This novel is a fairytale, a political allegory, and a philosophical interrogation of the human heart. Most everything has dried up: water, the womb, even the love among lovers. The earth is now mostly desert, except the last green haven behind the border where the carers of the earth preserve the natural order. Carers manage the earth's last resources and keep the wasters out. But in the vast dry outside, hunger is the pernicious plague, and people feed on sand and locusts. So they walk the dry to cross the border. But once, terrible fires crossed it too and devastated the green haven. Since then, carers have been ever-more vigilant and afraid. One night, a village is bombed for seeking to walk to the border. Only two survive: nine-year old Amedea and a locust buried in her brow. This is the story of the Locust Girl. This is her lovesong -- for those walking to the border for dear life, and those guarding the border for dear life.

The eyes catch a black bird close to an eerie sun. Instantly, a poem: an accident of composition. Or a tree, rock, light from a story heard, dreamt, read or remembered returns as if it were the only tree, rock, light in the planet. The poet is caught, returned to her first heart: poetry. after four novels, Merlinda offers seventy-six poems from the stillness of contemplation to the spinning of tales, then to passage across different histories. Glass becomes eternal greens underwater, fish gossip about colonisation, a gumnut turns dissident, and the dreams of Captain Cook and Pigafetta circumnavigate the globe leaving a trail of blood, beads, and the scent of cloves. But between, the port hopes: 'there could be accidents of kindness here.' In her latest collection of poetry, award-winning author Merlina Bobis traces the accidents of art and life. Drawing on the journal of Pigafetta whose writings have become an accident of history, Merlinda Bobis composes with an attuned ear and her poems are rich with imagery; with breath and heart.