Nock Loose (Patrick Marlborough, Fremantle)

Patrick Marlborough’s Nock Loose is a wryly postmodern and cynically satirical novel that hits the ground running and never lets up. Marlborough scorns the ‘dire humourlessness’ of Australian literature in their author’s note and channels Monty Python, anime and Tarantino in a riotous, genre-bending tale. The story moves between protagonist Joy Robyn’s past and present while chronicling the eccentric history and ongoing mayhem of her hometown, Bodkins Point. The town has hosted a quasi-historical Agincourt battle re-enactment for over a century – an annual cider-fuelled, highly codified, cult-like spectacle marked by excessive violence. The festival is the town’s economic lifeline, bonding its people to their history and each other, for better or (often) worse. In a world ruled by intergenerational revenge, despotic greed and anachronistic cosplay – where character consistency trumps the law, and thieves’ guilds operate alongside bikie gangs – young Joy’s archery skills are near-mythical. Her talent funds her father’s hopeless banditry, launches dual careers – one Olympic, one as a stunt performer in a cult Japanese live-action anime – and ultimately brings her back home, ready to settle scores. Threaded movingly through the town’s absurdities and long-running feuds is the lasting pain of Joy’s abusive childhood and the quiet grief of losing nearly everyone she’s ever loved. While the frequent detours into Bodkinites’ origin stories and Agincourt lore are sometimes tiring, the novel’s pace, bold world-building and unforgettable characters keep it absorbing. Nock Loose is audacious, macabre and deeply felt.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Anica Boulanger-Mashberg is a freelance editor and writer, and a bookseller at the Hobart Bookshop. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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