Holden's Performance is the sprawling tale of Holden Shadbolt, a guileless and matter-of-fact man, as he passes through the cities and landscapes of Australia. He follows the flamboyant people around him—ex-Corporal Frank 'Bloodnut' McBee who woos Holden's mother; his uncle Vern, a shortsighted proof-reader with a weakness for eating newspaper with his breakfast cereal; and the crippled artist Harriet, whose twists and curves intersect Holden's own unswervingly straight lines.
Praise for Holden's Performance:
'A splendidly pulsating mass of loony entrepreneurs, crackpot philosophers, Egyptian landladies, ex-Battle of Britain skywriters, the man who stole the statues from Centennial Park, all chugging around the nation from one bizarre household to the next demented institution.'
— Bulletin
'Superbly written; extraordinarily wide-ranging and inventive.'
— Times on Sunday
'A work of dazzling imagination.'
— Independent
