Description
Book SynopsisIn Apollo and Thelma, broadcaster and lawyer Jon Faine shares a yarn that has enthralled him for forty years, taking him from Melbourne’s depression-era slums to the isolation of the outback.
Apollo and Thelma have been a constant in Jon Faine’s life for decades. As a young lawyer, he was captivated by his favourite client, the Mighty Apollo, a legendary strongman and circus star, famous for pulling trams with his teeth and having an elephant stand on him. Apollo’s sister, Thelma, on the other hand, ruthless and rugged, had survived decades running solo one of the most remote pubs in the outback until unexpectedly dying, leaving behind a complicated estate.
Befriending Apollo and immersing himself in Thelma’s estate, Jon is forced to untangle a long line of astonishing stories and episodes in our distant and recent history that keep intersecting with his own. Via the circuitous route of these two larger-than-life characters – alongside a supporting cast of characters from the world of politics, law, literature and media – Jon reflects on their stories and is inevitably forced to rethink his own.
Apollo and Thelma is a uniquely Australian story, beautifully told.
Trade Review'It’s intimate, yet deals with massive, very Australian issues. It made me weep…It made me question whether life is chaos or if indeed there are big swirling, beautiful patterns if only we cared to look. I’m so glad Faine looked.' –
Jaye Chin-Dusting, Mary Martin Bookshop 'The Australian book of the year. I was riveted.’ –
Peter Goers, ABC Radio Adelaide 'intriguing and entertaining mix of biography, memoir and social commentary' –
Steven Carroll, The AgeIt’s intimate, yet deals with massive, very Australian issues. It made me weep…It made me question whether life is chaos or if indeed there are big swirling, beautiful patterns if only we cared to look. I’m so glad Faine looked. -- Jaye Chin-Dusting * Mary Martin Bookshop *
The Australian book of the year. I was riveted. -- Peter Goers * ABC Radio Adelaide, Evenings *
