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Tuvalu (novel)

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Tuvalu
First edition
AuthorAndrew O'Connor
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
PublisherAllen and Unwin, Australia
Publication date
2006
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint Paperback
Pages347 pp
ISBN1-74114-871-5
OCLC74946085
A823.4 22
LC ClassPR9619.4.O286 T88 2006

Tuvalu is a 2006 novel by Australian author Andrew O'Connor. It won The Australian/Vogel Literary Award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under 35.

Plot introduction

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The novel is set mostly in Tokyo and tells the story of a young Australian teacher of English, and his relationship with two women, Tilly, another Australian English teacher, and Mami, a Japanese hotel heiress. It is told in first-person.

Explanation of the novel's title

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Tuvalu is a small Pacific island nation. It doesn't appear in the novel except as an idea. Tilly describes it to Noah as follows:

I guess for me Tuvalu's always done the trick. I've never been anywhere near it. I've never even studied it. For all I know it might well have sunk. But that one word's taken on a meaning all of its own. [...] Haven't you ever once looked into the future and pictured a different life for yourself, made it a destination in some abstract way? A place in which you are content and from which you never look forward, except maybe to hope for more of the same?[1]

Awards

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Reviews

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References

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  1. ^ O'Connor, Andrew (2006) Tuvalu, p. 245