Anne Brisden

But then there is the other extreme, like the character of Elise that I put in there, the people who go there and even with the best efforts that they try, they just can't adapt to that sort of environment and to the, I guess, the type of people and the type of personality that can adapt there.

The sparseness of speech and mannerisms that

people in the Mallee generally portray, which they do.

No, that sounds a bit scary and I've certainly got a different approach.

I have to say, because I'm only a relatively new writer, I've always perceived and had the approach to reading that it's actually a pleasure, it's a pleasure.

Yeah, it's something that I do in my spare time for pleasure.

So I have to really work hard at going, no, this is what I do now and it is okay.

I don't have to feel guilty.

It is okay if I sit here and read this book.

It's what I'm supposed to do.

I've actually been reading quite an old book by today's standards.

I came across a Patrick White in a second-hand bookstore.

It was actually the first edition of Writers in the Chariot and I have absolutely loved it.

It's actually a very, very large book and given that it's a 1961 edition, it's a really small print and it's all packed in really tightly.

It's hard to read.

That's commitment, Anne.

Yeah.

It is, but I love it.

So I have to put it down sometimes because Patrick White's writing is very evocative and... Rich.

Yeah, very rich.