''Things We Didn't See Coming'' is a 2009 short story collection by the Australian author
Steven Amsterdam originally published by Sleepers Publishing.
It was the winner of the 2009
The Age Book of the Year Award – Fiction.
The collection comprises nine inter-connected stories which follow one man over a period of three decades.
Contents
* "What We Know Now"
* "The Theft That Got Me Here"
* "Dry Land"
* "Cakewalk"
* "Uses for Vinegar"
* "The Forest for the Trees"
* "Predisposed"
* "The Profit Motive"
* "Best Medicine"
Critical reception
Writing in ''Australian Book Review'' Rebecca Starford noted that "Amsterdam takes the well-worn premise of the post-millennial apocalypse and reworks it, creating a dystopia of catastrophic climate change, drug addiction, viral epidemics, alternative relationships and bureaucratic wrangling. It is a familiar world." She concluded that the collection is the "perfect combination of uncanny landscapes, existential anxiety and social critique."
Publishing history
After the collection's initial publication by Sleepers Publishing in Australia in 2009,
it was republished as follows:
* Pantheon Books, USA, 2009
*
Harvill Secker
Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press.
History
Secker & Warburg
Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
, UK, 2010
*
Hachette Livre
Hachette Livre S.A. (; simply known as Hachette) is a French publishing, publishing group that was based in Paris. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif which later became successively L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, ...
, Australia, 2016
It was also translated into Dutch in 2010, and French in 2012.
Awards
* 2009
The Age Book of the Year Award – Fiction, winner
* 2009
The Age Book of the Year Award
''The Age'' Book of the Year Awards were annual literary awards presented by Melbourne's ''The Age'' newspaper. The awards were first presented in 1974. After 1998, they were presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival
Melbourne Writer ...
, winner
See also
*
2009 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2009.
Events
*HarperCollins takes over ABC Books – the publishing arm of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
* Caro Llewellyn, resigns ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Things We Didn't See Coming
Australian short story collections