The Rules of Backyard Cricket
| Author | Jock Serong |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Text Publishing |
Publication date | 2016 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 291 pp. |
| ISBN | 9781925355215 |
The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a 2016 crime fiction novel by Australian author Jock Serong.[1]
It was described as a "bestseller" on the Publishers Weekly website in October 2016.[2]
Synopsis
[edit]This is the story of two Australian brothers who start off playing cricket against each other in their backyard: Wally Keefe who ends up a professional cricketer; and Darren who ends up shot in the knee, bound and gagged in the boot of a car.
Critical reception
[edit]Writing in Australian Book Review reviewer Craig Billingham noted: "Reminiscent of Malcolm Knox's A Private Man (2004), which also featured a professional cricketer, the subject under investigation in The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a recognisable variant of the Australian male: white, laconic, barrel-chested, hands shaped by long exposure to bats and balls and beer bottles."[3]
In the Sydney Morning Herald Sue Turnbull called the novel "Beautifully written and acutely observed, The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a noir tour de force."[4]
Awards
[edit]- 2017 shortlisted Ned Kelly Awards — Best Crime Novel[5]
- 2017 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Rules of Backyard Cricket by". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ Hoch, Francis (11 October 2016). "Behind the Australian Bestseller, 'The Rules of Backyard Cricket'". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Billingham, Craig (2016). "The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong". Australian Book Review. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Turnbull, Sue (24 August 2016). "Jock Serong and Zane Lovitt write Australian noir of the first order". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ ""Round-up of the 2017 Ned Kelly Awards shortlist for best fiction. By Jean Bedford"". The Newtown Review of Books, 15 August 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2023.