So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
Today I’m asking Madelaine Dickie 5 questions about her latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
Red Can Origami is the title of my latest book – the title grew with the story. ‘Red’ relates to the colour of the soil in the Kimberley, a pindan-red; ‘Red Can’ relates to the beer of choice in Western Australia, Emu Export, the bush chook, it’s a symbol for both partying and poverty; ‘Origami’ relates to Japan, to peace, to the origami cranes made after Hiroshima and Fukushima.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
I’m currently writing a biography of the Kimberley Aboriginal leader Wayne Bergmann. In the early chapters of the book, the leads are a series of very strong Nyikina women – from Wayne’s great great grandmother all the way to his mum. I’m writing about first contact with white settlers on Nyikina country and learning what a dangerous place the Kimberley was for Aboriginal children and young women. Imaginatively, I can’t think of any story I would rather be breathing and dreaming at the moment.
3. What five words best describe your story?
Thrilling, funny, lyrical, addictive, gorgeous
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple?
I love James Crumley’s C.W. Sughrue and Milo Milodragovich. They’re detectives: fast-talking, hard-drinking, extremely cool and crazily brave.
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
The Pigram Brothers ‘Going Back Home’ … this is a beautiful love song to Broome, just as Red Can‘s a love song to the Kimberley. Every time I listen to this song I tear up!
About Red Can Origami
Ava has just landed a job as a reporter in Gubinge, a tiny tropical town in Australia’s north.
Gubinge has a way of getting under the skin. Ava is hooked on the thrill of going hand-to-hand with barramundi, awed by country, and stunned by pindan sunsets. But a bitter collision between a native title group and a Japanese-owned uranium mining company is ripping the community in half.
From the rodeos and fishing holes of northern Australia, to the dazzling streets of night-time Tokyo, Ava is swept in pursuit of the story. Will Gerro Blue destroy Burrika country? Or will a uranium mine lift its people from poverty? And can Ava hold on to her principles if she gives in to her desire for Noah, the local Burrika boss?
Buy Red Can Origami
- Bookdepository
- Red Can Origami (Amazon US)
- Amazon Australia
About Madelaine Dickie
Madelaine Dickie’s first novel, Troppo, was published by Fremantle Press in 2016. It won the City of Fremantle T.A.G. Hungerford Award and was shortlisted for the Dobbie Literary Award and Barbara Jefferis Award.
Red Can Origami is her second novel. It was written on Balangarra country, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and at Youkobo Art Space in Tokyo, Japan. Madelaine loves to travel. A surf-obsession has led Madelaine from Spain’s Mundaka to Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, to little-known waves in the Dominican Republic. She is studying Spanish and speaks Indonesian. Madelaine currently lives in Exmouth, WA.
Social media links:
- Website: www.madelainedickie.com
- Instagram: @madelainetroppo