The Age and Sydney Morning Herald (Review of Australian Love Stories)
'The passage of time sweeps through
‘These Bones’ by Allison Browning.
‘’Till death us do part’ was once integral
to the marriage vows, but what of the
living death of dementia or Alzheimer’s
disease? Enzo lives in the past, a shadowy existence. He escapes the nursing
home and tries to make his way back
to his beloved Nev. The affirmation of
loyalty and love unaltered by age and
infirmity is heart-rending. It is almost
incidental that the couple who stand
in the shower and ‘hold each other
still, firm as anchors, wet as fishes’ are
both men.'
Australian Book Review (Review of Australian Love Stories)
Australian Book Review (Review of Australian Love Stories)
'Allison Browning's Fuel tells a story where a young couple buys fuel at a stark service station. They are a bit like a couple that has strayed from a Raymond Carver story.'
Robert Adamson
Editor Best Australian Poems
'I would be erring not to note Allison Browning’s These Bones, which features Enzo, a gay man with Alzheimer’s, who makes a break from his care facility in order to go home to his partner, Nev. The helpful biography section informs me Browning is developing These Bones as a novel with the assistance of the annual Australian Society of Authors’ mentorship program. So look out for the longer version of this beautifully rendered love story soon-ish (hopefully!). It shows love at its most enduring and blind best, underscoring what it means to love someone come rain or shine. I defy anyone not to fall in love with Enzo, and feel for his and Nev’s loss, and Nev is an absolute stalwart. There is a description of a shower they have after Enzo has wet himself, the two of them standing in the shower ‘firm as anchors, wet as fishes’—a perfect combination of strength and fragility.'
John Boland
Musings of a Literary Dilettante (Review of Australian Love Stories)
'The writing has you weak at the knees.'
Toni Jordan
''This is How' shouldn't inspire prosaic thoughts. So: A shattered few years lived just moments ago. Years ago. Heartbeats ago. Picking up these fragments. Placed on a delicate palm. Showing the sharpest details of what has died ... A palm full of fragments closing tight. Opening. Closing tight. Opening.'
A.S Patric
'The writing is visceral, evocative. The restrained way in which she creates a sense of eroticism in the prose is admirable.'
Harvest Journal
'One of my favorites this year... I can't wait to read the book of poems that includes 'Fuel'. It's a much better poem than I first realised even, such clean lines and fine detail. It seems like a beautiful silent film with endless possibilities.'
Robert Adamson
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