Axiomatic (Tumarkin book)
 | |
| Author | Maria Tumarkin |
|---|---|
| Genre | Creative non-fiction |
| Publisher | Brow Books |
Publication date | 2018 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Pages | 224 |
| Awards | Windham-Campbell Prize |
| ISBN | 9781925704051 |
Axiomatic is a 2018 book by Maria Tumarkin. It was published in Australia by Brow Books and in the United States by Transit Books.[1][2] The book is a work of creative non-fiction, structured as a collection of five essays that explore five different "axioms" or common sayings.[3] It was the winner of the 2020 Windham-Campbell Prize for Non-Fiction, and was named on the shortlists for the 2019 Stella Prize and Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction.[4][5][6]
Summary
[edit]Axiomatic is structured as a collection of five essays exploring five axioms: time heals all wounds, those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it, history repeats itself, give me a child before the age of seven and I will show you the woman, and you can’t enter the same river twice.[3]
Reception
[edit]Axiomatic was positively received by reviewers. The book was named one of the ten best books of 2019 by The New Yorker and received a starred review in Publishers Weekly.[7][8] A review in The Saturday Paper likened Tumarkin to Australian author Helen Garner and Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, writing that the work was a remarkable book filled with risks.[9] In Australian Book Review, Darius Sepehri wrote that the book was filled with a "freewheeling energy", but that its unconventional style sometimes jarred with its emotional affect.[10] In The Australian, Liam Pieper wrote that Tumarkin's "narrative pyrotechnics complement the unabashed power and beauty of the writing — intense, angry, empathetic, relentless", concluding that Tumarkin was "simply operating on a higher level to the rest of us".[3] A review in Kirkus Reviews wrote that Tumarkin's writing was reminiscent of that of Joan Didion, and concluded that the book "asks deep, difficult questions and refuses to settle for easy answers".[11]
Awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Windham-Campbell Prize | Non-Fiction | Won | [4] |
| 2019 | Stella Prize | — | Shortlisted | [5] |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction | Shortlisted | [6] | |
| National Book Critics Circle Award | Award for Criticism | Shortlisted | [12] | |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Non-Fiction | Shortlisted | [13] | |
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Non-Fiction | Shortlisted | [14] | |
| 2018 | Melbourne Prize for Literature | Best Writing Award | Won | [15] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Axiomatic – Maria Tumarkin". Stella Prize. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Axiomatic". Transit Books. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Pieper, Liam (2 June 2018). "Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin: simple premise, masterful delivery". The Australian. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b Alice, Jessica (19 March 2020). "Maria Tumarkin on winning the 2020 Windham Campbell: 'It feels like a complicated gift'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b Kembrey, Melanie (9 April 2019). "Vicki Laveau-Harvie wins $50,000 Stella Prize with debut book, The Erratics". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b Kembrey, Melanie (28 February 2019). "2019 NSW Premier's Literary Awards shortlist announced". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ Waldman, Katy (2 December 2019). "The Best Books of 2019". The New Yorker. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ AF (19 May 2018). "Axiomatic". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ Sepehri, Darius (September 2018). "Darius Sepehri reviews Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin". Australian Book Review. No. 404. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Axiomatic". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "National Book Critics Circle Awards winners announced". Books+Publishing. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ Convery, Stephanie (23 October 2019). "Gail Jones wins $80,000 fiction prize with Noah Glass in Prime Minister's Literary awards". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ Steger, Jason (14 November 2018). "Alison Lester wins the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2025.