The Conversations at Curlow Creek

The Conversations at Curlow Creek is a historical novel written by the prominent Australian author David Malouf. It was first published in 1996 by the Random House publishing group.

The Conversations at Curlow Creek

First edition
Author	David Malouf
Language	English
Publisher	Chatto and Windus, London, England
Publication date	1996
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	214 pp
ISBN	0701165715
OCLC	35721093
Preceded by	Remembering Babylon

Plot summary

The story takes place in 1827 on an isolated farm at the fictional locality of Curlow Creek in the mountains of the colony of New South Wales. The two main characters are Michael Adair, an Irish-born officer in the colonial mounted troopers, and Daniel Carney, an Irish escapee and bushranger. Adair had been dispatched from Sydney to oversee Carney's hanging and he arrives at Carney's temporary prison—a stockman's hut—on the night before he is due to be executed.

The narrative details conversations held by Adair and Carney throughout the cold night as they explore their shared Irish heritage. The novel is also peppered with Adair's reminiscences of his aristocratic childhood in County Galway. As the plot progresses, Adair develops sympathy for Carney despite his criminal past and impoverished background. The novel ends with Adair presumed to have let Carney escape into the bush—though as with many of David Malouf's novels, the ending is ambiguous and the reader does not know for sure the fate of the hero.

Notes

• Dedication: "To Peter Straus."

Awards

• The Age Book of the Year Award, Fiction Prize, 1996: shortlisted
• Miles Franklin Award 1997: shortlisted