Back of Sunset
{{Short description|Book by Jon Cleary}}
{{infobox book |
| name = Back of Sunset
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:BackOfSunset.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = Jon Cleary
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = Australia
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| publisher = Collins
| release_date = 1959
| english_release_date =
| media_type =
| pages = 320
| isbn =
| preceded_by = The Green Helmet
| followed_by = Strike Me Lucky
}}
Back of Sunset is a 1959 Australian novel from Jon Cleary.{{cite web|title= Back of Sunset by Jon Cleary |publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2006448|access-date= 27 March 2024}}
The novel was serialised in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1959.
Premise
The novel follows Dr Stephen McCabe, a Sydney doctor who takes a working holiday with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Western Australia. When the doctor who runs the practice is injured, McCabe must step up in his absence as he deals with a variety of crises.
Reception
The book received good reviews abroad.Frank Slaughter, 'Flying Doctor: BACK OF SUNSET. By Jon Cleary.' New York Times 28 June 1959: BR22 The Canberra Times called it a "potboiler".{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114842105 |title=Cleary Writes A Potboiler |newspaper=The Canberra Times |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=23 May 1959 |access-date=18 April 2020 |page=11 |via=Trove }} The Age called it "a bad novel but it will make excellent film".{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=30 May 1959|page=20|title=This Novel will Make Good film|first=Ian|last=Mair}}
The Bulletin called it "a most adroitly dramatised story... Cleary has become pretty well faultless in the contrivances which push a novel on easily and smoothly", adding that it was, "a first-rate novel in the field of fictional journalism, in which characteristic types are photographed against a carefully-studied background which has value as news. When the job is done as successfully as this is, it is hard to say what more could be required — less of the feeling, perhaps, that the author is the manager of a modelling-agency. Nevertheless, for such novels to support an Australian author in the style to which Jon Cleary is becoming accustomed is a step towards a necessary sophistication for our writing."{{cite magazine|magazine=The Bulletin|page=2|date=1 July 1959|title=Flying Doctor Novel |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-697332895}}
Film adaptation
Jon Cleary also wrote a film script of the book for producer Lawrence Bachman but no movie resulted.[https://archive.today/20121130060212/http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=vagg%20cleary;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 Jon Cleary Interviewed by Stephen Vagg: Oral History] at National Film and Sound Archive
References
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