Holden’s Performance - Murray Bail

Title: Holden’s Performance
Author: Murray Bail
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Format: Paperback
Published: 1988
ISBN: 0-14-010883-1
Category: Australian Fiction / Literary Fiction

Condition: Good vintage condition with light shelf wear, edge wear, age toning to spine, and minor marks to covers. Binding is solid and pages appear clean. Please see photos for the exact copy available.

Holden’s Performance is a distinctly Australian literary novel following the life of Holden Shadbolt through shifting landscapes, social classes, and political circles. Detached yet observant, Holden moves through Adelaide, Sydney, and Canberra, becoming entangled with eccentric personalities, power brokers, hustlers, and idealists.

Known for his photographic memory and quiet reliability, Holden becomes useful to people who seek influence, protection, or advantage. Around him orbit a cast of sharply drawn Australian characters, while the novel itself explores identity, performance, authority, masculinity, and the strange geometry of Australian public life.