The Con

The Age

Saturday January 5, 2008

Cameron Woodhead

The Con

Jesse Pentecost

ABC Books, $24.95

JESSE PENTECOST'S The Con received a commendation in the ABC Fiction Award last year. It's an acutely observed coming-of-age novel from a smart, ambitious and talented Australian writer. Derek Gunderson is a pianist in his final year at the Con. He is an accomplished musician - but like most people with a prodigious gift, he exhibits commensurate deficiencies. He might have a highly developed intellectual and artistic side but his emotional life is desultory, a swirl of instant gratification and shallow, idle things. When the dissipation of Derek's social life begins to intrude on his music, he threatens to give away the piano, and is forced to reassess his priorities. Pentecost writes vigorously from life. The best writing comes in the form of scintillating and mordantly witty portraits of uni students, with all their pretensions, self-deceptions and indulgences. Set against this, there are occasional Joycean diversions, and probing philosophical digressions into the nature, history and purpose of music.

© 2008 The Age

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