The Voyage by Murray Bail
Shortlisted
JUDGES' COMMENTS
Frank Delage, a successful piano builder, travels from Sydney to Vienna to show the Austrians the concert grand he has built to a revolutionary new design. The business side of the trip is a debacle; but in Vienna, Delage makes the acquaintance of the Von Schalle family, members of the city’s haute bourgeoisie, and he voyages home by sea in the company of the attractive, young Elisabeth von Schalle.
Delage’s adventures in the music world of Vienna, and his idiosyncratic relations with Elisabeth, provide the framework for the New World to confront the old, which is as delightful as it is surprising. This is a novel of wit and intelligence by a writer in total control of his craft.