Aurelia Orr, one of our most prolific and insightful Readings staff reviewers, chats with Robbie Arnott about his tense and lyrical latest novel, Dusk, and the titular character’s surprising connection to Jaws.

Join us on October 8th to celebrate the launch of Dusk at Readings Carlton.

AO: What was the inspiration behind this story?

RA: I was spending a lot of time thinking about the recent history of the antipodes – not just how brutal and cruel it was, but also how strange. I began imagining other versions of it, ones that weren’t quite real but that still made sense. And then I was thinking about big cat sightings in Australia, and then I was walking a lot in the highlands of lutruwita and the fjords of Aotearoa, and then there the book was, kicking its way out of my head.

AO: Although Dusk is about the twins, Iris and Floyd, the majority of the novel is from the perspective of Iris. Why did you feel more drawn to tell Iris’s story over Floyd’s?

RA: Iris came to me first, so that’s where I largely stayed. And I liked the idea of having two key protagonists, but narratively only staying close to one. That helped with building tension within the story – we only ever know how things are from Iris’s point of view, even though Floyd is there, too. So when we do get to spend some brief time closer to him, it feels like a revelation that we weren’t expecting. At least, that’s what I hope it feels like.

AO: All of your books beautifully reflect both the whimsical and threatening sides of nature, and how humans interact with it. How do your protagonists use their physical and spiritual connection to the natural world around them to help understand more about themselves?

RA: I don’t think I conceive of it like that – as characters using the world around them. I just try to focus on writing about the environment as much as I do the characters, and paying as close attention to the world as the people in it. That includes the way they all influence each other. I certainly don’t try to have characters come to an understanding about themselves. I just put them through a lot, and see how they are on the other side of things.

AO: The titular character herself, Dusk, is definitely the most mysterious and alluring character in your newest novel, and her looming presence is almost scarier than her actual appearance, similar to the shark in Jaws. Did it feel different writing scenes when Dusk appears on the page in comparison to scenes she is not in? Or was the threat of Dusk more powerful than her emergence?

RA: Well that’s the coolest thing anyone’s said about my work, so thank you very much. It did feel a lot different. I wanted her to be an omnipresent threat that we also forget about, if that makes sense, due to the other elements of the novel. So when she appears, she feels both surprising and inevitable.

AO: Did you discover something new about yourself or about your writing during the process of making Dusk?

RA: Maybe? I don’t know? I try not to think about myself all that much. I don’t think it does me much good. As for my writing, I think I learned to lean even harder into the things that obsess me. It’s the only way for me to get the passion truly on the page.

AO: Do you have a favourite hiking location or a spot in nature you would recommend everyone visit one day?

RA: That’s a great question, and yes, I have many. I spend a lot of time walking around Knocklofty Reserve in Hobart, but I also love the trails on kunanyi, a little higher up. For a day walk, it’s hard to beat Tarn Shelf on Mount Field. And for the coast, I like Tasmania’s north coast and Flinders Island. You can’t beat a walk up Mount Strzelecki followed by a swim at Trousers Point.

AO: All of your books, including Dusk, have been set in Tasmania or at least heavily inspired by the Tasmanian setting and its environmental conflicts. How has being raised and living in Tasmania helped to define you as a writer and your own personal connection to the environment, in comparison to an author raised in another Australian state?

RA: I suppose Tasmanians live closer to nature than many other Australians – the forests and reefs and mountains are never far away, no matter where you are down here. So that’s leaked into me, I guess, and come out in my work. I think most Australians are concerned about our wild places, though. You’d be mad not to be.

Robbie Arnott is the author of Limberlost, The Rain Heron and Flames. He’s a two-time winner of The Age Book of the Year, and has also been awarded the Voss Literary Prize. He’s been named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist, and has twice been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, as well as the Dylan Thomas Prize. In 2018, his debut novel, Flames, was shortlisted for The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. He lives in Hobart with his wife and daughter.

Join us to celebrate the launch of Dusk at Readings Carlton on Tuesday 8th October, 6.30pm. The event is free, but bookings are essential. All the details can be found here.