Hall, Rodney

New York. 1988. January 1988. Farrar Straus Giroux. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket.Remainder Mark. 0374118892. 214 pages. hardcover. Jacket illustration by Frank Gargiulo. Jacket design by Carin Goldberg. keywords: Literature Australia . FROM THE PUBLISHER - CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE, an extraordinary combination of drama and ideas, is the second novel by Rodney Hall to appear in this country. It is built on a fragment of historical information: a triple murder, committed in Australia in 1898, was never solved. While using the real names of the victims, plus details from the rural scene of the crime, the author has allowed his imagination free rein. In Hall's rendition, a large, self-enclosed family turns in on itself, providing the grist for dark and utterly compelling events. Narrated by Patrick Murphy. the most bookish member of his varied household, the story is, on one level, a mystery. Meanwhile, Hall sees brilliantly to the development of underlying themes. The focus of the tale is widened to illuminate the origins and nature of the colonial system and, beyond that, the whole world gearing up for the great war of 1914. Another theme is developed through the use of language itself - the more barbaric the secrets this first-person narrator lays bare, the richer his language and the more he exploits the high cultural tone of a European inheritance. This verbal fluency both counter-balances the horror of Patrick Murphy's telling and adds to the resonance and fascination of this singular book. inventory #9286 ISBN: 0374118892.