‘It's an exquisite collection, moving, at times funny and so readable.’
Mark Rubbo, Readings
‘For those of us who loved Blain’s writing, her loss was deeply felt. This posthumous collection is a reminder of her distinctive, clear-sighted voice.’
Penelope Debelle, SA Weekend
‘Remarkable … Blain demonstrates throughout her marvellous eye for the absurd, quiet wit, and a wry observance of bodily failures and questionable human behaviour.’
Anthony Lynch, Australian Book Review
‘[We All Lived in Bondi Then] never wallows in sentimentality; instead, its portraits of the ordinary toils of life are glassy-clear and smooth, making the scarce moments of optimism or humour almost euphoric … The collection offers readers a final gift of the lucid, observant, occasionally wry examination of modern life and the human condition for which Blain is celebrated.’
Anica Boulanger- Mashberg, Books+Publishing
‘Imbued with loss, love, and a yearning for something beyond our grasp, We All Lived in Bondi Then is written with acuity and nuance, expertly weaving stories of tragedy with the very human fear of the unknowableness of the future … Blain’s stories offer a lucid yet warm comfort to the pondering of these uncertain questions, and bring readers a sense of unity and intimacy with strangers, even fictional characters, who understand, struggle, and piece back together lives that are irreversibly transformed. Blain could see what we hold in our hearts, and still surprises us with her incredible insight and compassion.’
Aurelia Orr, Readings
‘There is nothing nostalgic here, and while death is certainly present, so too are the familiar family tensions, moral conflicts and sublte, masterful observations of everyday minutiae that always underpinned Blain's writing. It's an honour to read each story.
Mitchell Jordan, The Big Issue
‘What Georgia’s work offers the reader is a clear-eyed, calm compassion, a capacity to live with, and alongside, damage, trauma and unspeakable loss, and a way of staying human.
Camilla Nelson, The Conversation
‘I’ve never been one to seek out short stories, preferring full length novels, but Georgia writes with such grace and intrigue that I not only fell in love with Georgia’s writing, but also with the genre. We All Lived in Bondi Then perfect book to hold close to your heart, Georgia tackles complex, often heartbreaking topics with such sensitivity and warmth that it leaves you feeling uplifted and full of empathy for your fellow human.’
Freya Bennett, Ramona Magazine
Praise for Between a Wolf and a Dog:
‘Blain just gets better and better. The clarity, warmth and precision of Between a Wolf and a Dog brings to mind the formal beauty of an exquisitely cut gemstone. Blain looks at the big questions — mortality, grief, forgiveness — through the lens of one family’s everyday struggle to love each other. This portrait of marriage and work, of sisterhood, mothers, and daughters is resolute and clear-eyed; so commanding and beautifully written it made me cry.’
Charlotte Wood, author of The Natural Way of Things
Praise for Between a Wolf and a Dog:
‘Between a Wolf and a Dog is an elegantly told story describing the ambiguities within human relationships. Each evening, when my children slept, I would enter the world of this book — coming to know a flawed, courageous, and creative family of characters, as they struggled to be good, to be whole, and finally, to let go.’
Sofie Laguna, author of The Eye of the Sheep
Praise for Between a Wolf and a Dog:
‘Blain is a writer of such lucidity and strength that her characters speak, undeniably, for themselves … What make it possible to contain tragedy in words, so that the reader enters into the experience and passes through it, cleansed? The Greek playwrights had their own answers to this question; but the question, I suspect, is far older than their version of it. Each generation of authors must find the right words for writing about death. Part of the reason Between a Wolf and a Dog succeeds so well is that everything in the novel is heartfelt without being in the least sentimental.’
Dorothy Johnston, Sydney Morning Herald
Praise for Museum of Words:
‘Museum of Words is not a memoir of dying, although it is about illness and treatment, and the impossibility of saying goodbye. It moves between its subjects, using the writer’s illness reflexively, leading into description of the things most important to her … [A] fine book that looks chaos directly in the face and attempts to record it.’
Tegan Bennett Daylight, Sydney Morning Herald
Praise for Museum of Words:
‘A fine short memoir that looks both inward and outward to tell a patchwork story of four women and their shifting relationships with one another and with words, their medium for living … She does not try to make sense of what was happening and does not rail against fate’s cruelty. She does not argue for voluntary euthanasia and even notes that her mother, once an advocate, went quiet on the subject after she became ill. Blain simply continues to write, her voice faltering only occasionally, until her final sentence.’
Susan Wyndham, Weekend Australian
Praise for Museum of Words:
‘A powerful meditation on the power of language and writing … wise, tender, and heart-rending.’
Nicole Abadee, The Australian Financial Review Magazine
Praise for The Secret Lives of Men:
‘Told with subtlety, tenderness and skill, The Secret Lives of Mendisplays Georgia Blain’s superb ability to convey both the joys and struggles of daily life and its impact on each of us. Blain is a gifted writer: through her storytelling we come to know ourselves better.’
Tony Birch, author of Ghost River
Praise for The Secret Lives of Men:
‘There's a quiet, understated quality to her prose, an introspection in her narrative that makes her words glow dully with slow-burning intensity … Relationships in all their combinations and permutations are skilfully dissected by an author with a keen eye and a firm grasp.’
Thuy On, The Age
Praise for The Secret Lives of Men:
‘It is the mark of a superior book of short stories when each contribution is able to stand in its own bold outline, yet also go to make something more and whole. This is such a book … It is a mature work from an author with a special sensibility and a comprehending, humane outlook.’
Judges' comments, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2014
