Snowdome

Snowdome is a tale of two histories.

It is the present. Tinnitus is the spirit of the age. William comes home, flicks the radio on, turns it up. His head is full of noise.‘ William and his friends live in Sydney, a mumbling city. They think about the future, and thinking hurts.

It is the future. Sydney has been emptied out by economic forces and re-opened as a museum. The museum guide’s task is to describe the city’s history to tourists. He can no longer tell is that history is true or if he has made it up. He hears the firmness in his voice on the cassette tapes and he keeps his doubts to himself.

Snowdome is among the finest intelligent fiction this country has to offer. There has never been anything like it published in Australia. Bernard Cohen’s deadpan style is spiked with humour and wit. This novel blends a hip sensibility with a more enduring seriousness, a kind of compact Perec. Cohen has managed to build a mirror ball of contemporary living. TOM FLOOD.

Brilliant and importantly distinctive writing. BRENDA WALKER.