‘It was in the fifties. I was hired to write the script for a documentary film which was supposed to showcase the Australian outback to the world prior to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. There was a mixed group of us. Off we went on this crazy expedition making it up as we went along.’
‘And how did it come out?’
The older man looked wistful, then he straightened up. ‘Well, it was all a bit of a saga. Good and bad memories. But I’ve never seen anything as wild, beautiful or as mystical as the wilderness of the Northern Territory.’
Colin Peterson is living a fairly mundane existence working in a bank when he meets the eccentric Maxim Topov, a Russian film director who wants to ‘make movie’ about the outback. Soon Colin, Topov and an odd mix of crew are on the road, filming their adventures. But their journey is not well planned and is soon beset by problems, not the least of which is Topov’s eccentricity.
Fifty years later television producer Veronica Anderson meets Colin and is intrigued enough to retrace some of his steps in the Northern Territory. When she finds that other members of the expedition are not so willing to talk, she senses a mystery, which she must solve. As she explores Darwin and the Territory she finds herself falling in love with the land – and with the man who shows her around.
The Silent Country is an absorbing tale from one of Australia’s most successful writers. A blend of romance, self discovery, issues and mystery, set in Sydney, the Northern Territory and Italy, in both the 1950s and the present day, this is a mix which has much to offer the reader.
The Silent Country, by Di Morrisey
Macmillan, 2009
ISBN 9781405039390
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