Their Brilliant Careers, by Ryan O’Neill

Subtitled The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers, this book purports to be a series of mini-biographies of 20th century Australian authors, editors and publishers. It is actually a satirical takedown of an incestuous publishing industry. Written straight, the line is often blurred between truth and fiction, with many real authors referenced among the 16 fictional profiles. It’s hard not to wonder how close to the truth some of the stories are, as some ring a bell and are very believable. Some are also horrific and many are very funny. Many of the writers profiled are one or more of self-serving, misogynist, racist, murderous, plagiarists. Those who aren’t are the victims of those who are. In the acknowledgements O’Neil proves himself worthy of his subjects. Considering this, it is surprising that Ryan O’Neill is not a pseudonym.