Banjawarn

By: Josh Kemp

Narrated by: Steve Shanahan

Winner of The 2021 Dorothy Hewett Award for an Unpublished Manuscript

Garreth Hoyle is a true crime writer whose destructive love affair with hallucinogenic drugs has sent him searching for ghosts in the unforgiving mallee desert of Western Australia. Heading north through Kalgoorlie, he attempts to score off old friends from his shearing days on Banjawarn Station. His journey takes an unexpected detour when he discovers an abandoned ten-year-old girl and decides to return her to her estranged father in Leonora, instead of alerting authorities. Together they begin the road trip from hell through the scorched heart of the state’s northern goldfields.

***

Love, friendship and hope are often found in the strangest places, but forgiveness is never simple, and the past lies buried just beneath the blood red topsoil. The only question is whether Hoyle should uncover it, or run as fast as his legs can take him.

Banjawarn is an unsettling debut from Josh Kemp. Echoing Cormac McCarthy’s haunting border trilogy and narrative vernacular that recalls the sparse lyricism of Randolph Stow and Tim Winton, this is a darkly funny novel that earns its place amongst the stable of Australian gothic literature.

The conflation of violence and justice here is very like a western, as the boundaries between good and evil shimmer and dissolve.

Kemp writes with a compelling voice, the kind you want to follow into dark places, no matter how gruesome things get.

—Jennifer Mills, Australian Book Review

©2023 Josh Kemp (P)2023 Spotify Audiobooks

Unforgettable, an incredible journey

I hesitated to read this because of the length and mention of drug use. Now, I'm so glad I listened to ta tale I will never forget.

When I started, it took a short while to get into it, but soon, I was fully in. The story moves with detail but also with great momentum. This story makes an exotic location feel real & allows us to see -- and identify with -- characters we would never meet. The humanity of flawed people making their way in horrible situations shines through.

This is a stunning novel. I give it the highest review.

The audio performance matches the mood perfectly at all times & never irritates.

Raw, Gritty, and Exceptional

An exceptional story of significant suffering and perseverance. It wasn't an easy story to listen to but was extremely satisfying. I realize it is not fair to compare writers and stories, but I appreciated this story much like I did Tim Winton's Shepard's Hut.