7 1/2
- Downloads：5109
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-26 11:21:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Christos Tsiolkas
- ISBN：1038624630
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Denise Tannock
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Couldn't read this。 Couldn't read this。 。。。more
Kelly
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There’s no doubt that Christos Tsiolkas can sometimes write well but some of the content of this book was so cringey （I’m so glad I don’t need to read about a man appreciating the smell of his own armpits anymore now that I’m done with this book）， pretentious or downright wrong。 I originally gave this three stars because there were some touching moments at the end of the book but on reflection I’ve downgraded it to a two star rating because it honestly was too little too late。 Some of the descri There’s no doubt that Christos Tsiolkas can sometimes write well but some of the content of this book was so cringey （I’m so glad I don’t need to read about a man appreciating the smell of his own armpits anymore now that I’m done with this book）， pretentious or downright wrong。 I originally gave this three stars because there were some touching moments at the end of the book but on reflection I’ve downgraded it to a two star rating because it honestly was too little too late。 Some of the descriptions of nature were delectable in this book but it wasn’t enough to make up for the disgust I felt far too many times。 。。。more
Alison Petchell
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Just one detailed description of Tsiolkas’ sweaty armpits and acrid urine would have been too much - i really don’t understand why he felt compelled to incorporate these foul and disturbing narratives of bodily function in chapter after chapter。 Three stories in one， none of them particularly compelling。 Not my favourite of his books but nonetheless a talented writer
Amanda
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People have paraphrashed that Art （with a capital A， oh yeah。） should make you feel uncomfortable。 I've done it here。 This book is not for everyone。 At times， it wasn't for me。 When it was for me， when it got to me， I felt as if I was walking before the looming wave on the front cover。 That wave was， is， partly made of jealousy， an emotion I rarely permit myself to feel。 Oh， I know comparison is the thief of joy but I also know that if I wrote every hour of every day for the rest of my life on t People have paraphrashed that Art （with a capital A， oh yeah。） should make you feel uncomfortable。 I've done it here。 This book is not for everyone。 At times， it wasn't for me。 When it was for me， when it got to me， I felt as if I was walking before the looming wave on the front cover。 That wave was， is， partly made of jealousy， an emotion I rarely permit myself to feel。 Oh， I know comparison is the thief of joy but I also know that if I wrote every hour of every day for the rest of my life on this spinning rock， I would not be able to do what Tsiolkas has done here。 This is a book of great style， making three apparently disparate story strands complement each other in a way both poetic and confounding。 。。。more
Linda Barron
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I found this book really hard to get into and to keep going。 It was a story within a story which was confusing at times。 I felt there was so much unfinished within the book。 There were mentions of people and then no resolution about their part in the writers life。 The section of the book with the fictional character Paul and the man who pays for him to go the the US just abruptly ends。 Even more frustrating is mention of an event towards the end and no explanation about what it was and there was I found this book really hard to get into and to keep going。 It was a story within a story which was confusing at times。 I felt there was so much unfinished within the book。 There were mentions of people and then no resolution about their part in the writers life。 The section of the book with the fictional character Paul and the man who pays for him to go the the US just abruptly ends。 Even more frustrating is mention of an event towards the end and no explanation about what it was and there was a time I thought it was about his father dying which was confusing。 The book is supposedly about beauty but I’m not sure how？ The writing is wonderfully lyrical but I found myself skipping paragraphs in sections of the book as it got boring。 。。。more
Scott
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Felt like an over indulgent coming of age for the aging…yet I can’t fault the rawness and beauty of language wielded by Tsiolkas
Matt Hunt
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Parts of it are gorgeous but he keep whinging about how the modern novel is just people whinging about how hard their life is and that they should just suck it up and I just can't be arsed Parts of it are gorgeous but he keep whinging about how the modern novel is just people whinging about how hard their life is and that they should just suck it up and I just can't be arsed 。。。more
Bonnie
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3。5 stars。 Part memoir， part memory， part fiction， this was a reasonably enjoyable book， though I would have preferred to read more about Paul， the aging porn-star， rather than about the author's musings。 It felt （dare I say it） a little indulgent at times。 But as always， beautiful portrayals of the environment and the people in it。 3。5 stars。 Part memoir， part memory， part fiction， this was a reasonably enjoyable book， though I would have preferred to read more about Paul， the aging porn-star， rather than about the author's musings。 It felt （dare I say it） a little indulgent at times。 But as always， beautiful portrayals of the environment and the people in it。 。。。more
Elisabeth
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Was over all very disappointed with this book。 The secind half in particular was a trudge to get through。 On one level it was really interesting being a part of the writing process， and the story within a story was kind of interesting， but we were promised a book about beauty。 I guess I see beauty differently than the author。 I did like all the references to the smells。 A sense underused in books。
Fiona
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Not to my taste although undoubtedly a talented writer。 3 stories intertwined， a self discovery， some graphic sex， the author writes about himself writing this story。
Alison
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How fantastic is this book！ And what a mature work from a writer who has charted shifts in Australian culture for decades now。 Just stunning。 In wanting to shift away from ideological writing on sex gender class politics history， Tsolkias writes his process of writing on retreat， the impact of cinema and vhs on writing， while also writing a book/filmic script that draws from his memory and autobiog journaling。 The two become so interwoven we can barely tell the difference， and yet there is a tra How fantastic is this book！ And what a mature work from a writer who has charted shifts in Australian culture for decades now。 Just stunning。 In wanting to shift away from ideological writing on sex gender class politics history， Tsolkias writes his process of writing on retreat， the impact of cinema and vhs on writing， while also writing a book/filmic script that draws from his memory and autobiog journaling。 The two become so interwoven we can barely tell the difference， and yet there is a transition or translation going on， as there also is in what we read of the memoir excepts。 Wanting to concentrate on beauty and it’s connection to the erotic， and to childhood memories and experiences of both， the book does become also about sex gender class history politics and yet the move away from it， about writing’s fallibility and impotence in the face of global pandemic and climate change is so refreshing and timely。 I’m with tsolkias all the way。 。。。more
Penny
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Provocative， raw and undeniably beautiful。 Powerhouse writing。But writer’s writing about writing lost me a little。
Gayle
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The novel tells of the frustration of trying to find a story and simultaneously draws you into the stories he sees and writes。
Rob Donnelly
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This is writing at its most generous。 Christos Tsiolkas shares a powerfully intimate reflection on emerging identity from a working class background; sexual awakening and the way he sees beauty in men; the reality of middle-age and a growing weariness with the political noise and positioning of contemporary life。 Laced through this stream of reflection is an emerging new work。 Again， with generosity， Christos shares the experience of writing - the breakthrough moments in a story’s development， t This is writing at its most generous。 Christos Tsiolkas shares a powerfully intimate reflection on emerging identity from a working class background; sexual awakening and the way he sees beauty in men; the reality of middle-age and a growing weariness with the political noise and positioning of contemporary life。 Laced through this stream of reflection is an emerging new work。 Again， with generosity， Christos shares the experience of writing - the breakthrough moments in a story’s development， the interplay of personal experience and fictional realisation。 I loved this book。 。。。more
Tiff
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Christos is articulate。 I like the real and raw depictions of homosexuality， family life and his migrant upbringing in Melbourne which I can very much relate to。 However the storyline was all over the place and whilst I appreciate it was intentionally written to sound partly autobiographical， it was too much stream of consciousness for me to look forward to the ending and in the end I was wondering what the whole point of the book was。
The Honest Book Reviewer
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Let me start by saying I did not like this book。This book tries to ties together three different narratives。 An author recalling highly edited memories， the story of an author in seclusion to write a story， and the story itself。Let's look at the story the author is writing， the tale of a retired porn star propositioned to spend three nights with a stranger for a large sum。 Hardly original。 Had me thinking of Indecent Proposal。 And the way this is written is， well just not high quality。 It also h Let me start by saying I did not like this book。This book tries to ties together three different narratives。 An author recalling highly edited memories， the story of an author in seclusion to write a story， and the story itself。Let's look at the story the author is writing， the tale of a retired porn star propositioned to spend three nights with a stranger for a large sum。 Hardly original。 Had me thinking of Indecent Proposal。 And the way this is written is， well just not high quality。 It also has a huge gap in the middle of the story， then falls off into train wreck territory。 For a book where the author wanted to write about beauty， this part of the story does not provide something beautiful。Now for the part about the writer in seclusion。 Tedious and drawn out。 It's not engaging， it's not even really emotive。 It seems to be a vehicle solely for the other two threads of the novel。 I found it painful to get through these sections of the story。 We have many descriptions of a daily swim， a decision to check the phone or not， a greeting with a stranger。 It's banal everyday occurrences， and we have them on loop。Add to that the writer raging how he doesn't want to write about politics， gender， blah blah blah。 He wants to write about beauty。 Thing is， he doesn't。The recollections of growing up。 They seem highly edited or fanciful recollections touted as half truths。 There not a lot of beauty to be found in these sections either。 They are written to be provocative and to sometimes shock。 That seems to be the main purpose and， to be honest， they fail at both。 It felt like reading something a student writes in class as they experiment with boundaries。I'm struggling to see why this novel is added to the Miles Franklin long list。 Is it because the author has written better books in the past？ 。。。more
Kate Hancock
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This book weaves together three different narratives， it’s part memoir， part set in the present day along the shores of the Pacific Ocean， and then the novel itself is the story of an old porn star who returns to the US。 A genre-bending structure fusing memory， landscape， Greek myth， the magnificence of the sea， friendship， love， and consciousness woven into the three stories that sit side by side。 It’s an intimate portrait of art and beauty， eroticism and love， nature and history， politics and This book weaves together three different narratives， it’s part memoir， part set in the present day along the shores of the Pacific Ocean， and then the novel itself is the story of an old porn star who returns to the US。 A genre-bending structure fusing memory， landscape， Greek myth， the magnificence of the sea， friendship， love， and consciousness woven into the three stories that sit side by side。 It’s an intimate portrait of art and beauty， eroticism and love， nature and history， politics and race。 Visual and compelling。 Tsiolkas is a master of prose。 。。。more
Gail
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Tsiolkas writes beautifully。 He rightly describes himself， in the last pages of this book as a poet。 So it’s easy to be pulled into this。。。。two tales entwined。 One seemingly autobiographical and one fictional。 So， a warning， there is a lot of description of erotic awakenings， homosexual desire and sex。 I’m not entirely comfortable with that but let me emphasise that I don’t particularly enjoy any form of sex translated onto a page。 But that’s all counterbalanced by very beautiful and tender desc Tsiolkas writes beautifully。 He rightly describes himself， in the last pages of this book as a poet。 So it’s easy to be pulled into this。。。。two tales entwined。 One seemingly autobiographical and one fictional。 So， a warning， there is a lot of description of erotic awakenings， homosexual desire and sex。 I’m not entirely comfortable with that but let me emphasise that I don’t particularly enjoy any form of sex translated onto a page。 But that’s all counterbalanced by very beautiful and tender descriptions of love， being in love， being loved。This is a very interesting book。 I’m guessing the title refers to the number of days the writer is on his ‘retreat’。 。。。more
Gavan
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A brilliant combination of fiction， memoir & essay。 I know it sounds confusing， but Tsiolkas makes it work so well。 All aspects are treated equally & all are equally compelling。 Great commentary on Australia's attitude to migrants， sexuality （lots of sex references）， society， family， etc。 Very hard to put down。 A brilliant combination of fiction， memoir & essay。 I know it sounds confusing， but Tsiolkas makes it work so well。 All aspects are treated equally & all are equally compelling。 Great commentary on Australia's attitude to migrants， sexuality （lots of sex references）， society， family， etc。 Very hard to put down。 。。。more
Wendy
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Forced myself to finish。 Did not enjoy the writing style and the interwoven stories did not work for me
Suz Bennett
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Two stories woven together showing how a writer draws on his life experiences to create characters and invent stories。 Plus the actual present day writing of a new novel in a hideaway。 Christos reveals his own life in the story。 Great cameos by the beaches and bush and birds of australia！ And I have no idea where the title comes from？
Sue Hatton
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Raw as this author always is。 The parallel narratives of the author， his obsession and the story he’s constructing is an insight to the world of a writer。 Powerful， confronting at times- tedious but still a fan
Sharon Morgan
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Clever an insightful。This was an interesting commentary on the process and escape used by the author in order to write a book that has been swimming around in his head for many years。A fabulous glimpse into the life and mind of one of Australia's most raw， honest and confrontational authors。 As always， I was challenged and confronted in some parts and intrigued and bewildered in others。 I would expect nothing less from Tsiolkas。A raw and fierce look at the stark balance found in beauty and the f Clever an insightful。This was an interesting commentary on the process and escape used by the author in order to write a book that has been swimming around in his head for many years。A fabulous glimpse into the life and mind of one of Australia's most raw， honest and confrontational authors。 As always， I was challenged and confronted in some parts and intrigued and bewildered in others。 I would expect nothing less from Tsiolkas。A raw and fierce look at the stark balance found in beauty and the fear and darkness that may be simmering beneath it's surface。 Tsiolkas has been once of my favourite authors for nearly 20 years。 His books never fail to unnerve or frazzle me。 It is his raw approach to confrontational topics in the everyday that always leaves me in a state of contemplation and awe。As always， I eagerly await his next masterpiece。 。。。more
Michael
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I would go more 3 1/2 stars if it was an option。 It is a different kind of book， being part autobiography， part a novel about beauty and partially a description of the creative process。 And Mr Tsiolkas almost pulls it off。 There were parts of this book that were stunningly gorgeous。 There were other bits that were a bit sluggish for me。 The protagonist in the novel part is a former porn star， Paul， from the USA now living in Australia， married to another former porn star who have a teenage son。 I would go more 3 1/2 stars if it was an option。 It is a different kind of book， being part autobiography， part a novel about beauty and partially a description of the creative process。 And Mr Tsiolkas almost pulls it off。 There were parts of this book that were stunningly gorgeous。 There were other bits that were a bit sluggish for me。 The protagonist in the novel part is a former porn star， Paul， from the USA now living in Australia， married to another former porn star who have a teenage son。 This is the part that is a bit sluggish。 I found his descriptions of how he came to create the characters more interesting than the characters themselves and what they do as the story progresses。 。。。more
Anita Pal
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The novel below is beautiful， both in terms of storytelling and how it uses memory to fuse it with reality and the imaginative， creating an interesting story within a story。
Di
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I heard Christos speak about this book and I was intrigued。 A writer， 50 something Christos， retreats to a secluded unnamed town on the South coast of NSW to write a novel。 The story which has been germinating for over 10 years concerns a retired gay-porn star， now happily married， who is offered a 1st class flight to the USA to fulfill the desires of an old man。 The story of the porn star is interspersed with reminiscences of formative experiences in the life of young Christos， especially with I heard Christos speak about this book and I was intrigued。 A writer， 50 something Christos， retreats to a secluded unnamed town on the South coast of NSW to write a novel。 The story which has been germinating for over 10 years concerns a retired gay-porn star， now happily married， who is offered a 1st class flight to the USA to fulfill the desires of an old man。 The story of the porn star is interspersed with reminiscences of formative experiences in the life of young Christos， especially with some of the Greek uncles and family friends。 It is also concerned with beauty and nature。 Christos feasts his senses as he meanders through nature and luxuriates in the exhilaration of the ocean。 There is also plenty of graphic sex。I found it less engaging than his talk - actually a bit self-indulgent。 。。。more
Meg
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This meta fiction is about the writer Christos Tsiolkas escaping to a beach house to work on his latest novel。 7 1/2 is a pretentious， introspective， privileged novel。 But， the writing remains accessible， and the novel within the novel carries the story forward。 I'm somewhat surprised how much I enjoyed reading this。 This meta fiction is about the writer Christos Tsiolkas escaping to a beach house to work on his latest novel。 7 1/2 is a pretentious， introspective， privileged novel。 But， the writing remains accessible， and the novel within the novel carries the story forward。 I'm somewhat surprised how much I enjoyed reading this。 。。。more
Rc
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I’m sure it’s a great book， the self-indulgence is just not my cup of tea， so I stopped after a few chapters。
Monika Johnston
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I'm a big fan of Christos Tsiolkas' writing。 As this is primarily a meditation on writing and memory by Tsiolkas I wasn't as engaged in the story as I was with in previous work。 However， his wonderful writing made it a very worthwhile read。 I'm a big fan of Christos Tsiolkas' writing。 As this is primarily a meditation on writing and memory by Tsiolkas I wasn't as engaged in the story as I was with in previous work。 However， his wonderful writing made it a very worthwhile read。 。。。more
Sophie Paterson
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