‘Toxic’ author’s Bruny shack on the market
His book describes an idyllic spot blighted by intolerable noise and “bright green slime” — but the ad spruiks a place of “total calm and peace” with oysters at your doorstep. Step inside author Richard Flanagan’s Bruny Island shack for sale >>
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THE writer’s shack where Man-Booker award-winning author Richard Flanagan penned many of his works is on the market.
The North Bruny Island property — asking upwards of $595,000 — featured heavily in Mr Flanagan’s recent book Toxic, which was an expose of the state’s aquaculture industry.
He wrote that what had once been a peaceful and idyllic spot had been blighted by intolerable noise.
On Wednesday, Mr Flanagan said it was time to move on from a spot his family had cherished.
“Our Bruny shack has been a beautiful and inspiring place for our family for 24 years, but our three daughters have now all left Tassie for work and the place has got too big for us, and it’s time for us to move on and someone else’s turn to know the joy of Bruny.
“So many stories, so many memories, so many people — from Paul Kelly to Baz Luhrmann to Ian McEwan to all our other dear friends and family who have spent joyful times there with us — and all the books I wrote there. Majda and I will miss it greatly.”
The real estate’s agent’s blurb for the property paints a rosier picture than Toxic.
“Great factory ships with their huge diesel engines now beat up and down the Channel 24/7,” he wrote “like the sound of a semi-trailer reversing under your bedroom window,” the book said.
Selling agent Laureen Wood from First National at Kingston describes the property as “a place to “relish in the serenity and beauty.”
“This property, tucked away in a quaint seaside community minded village promotes a feeling of total calm and peace,” the ad says.
“Bright with lots of windows, wake to the first rays of sun and the sounds of the waves!”
In his book, Mr Flanagan describes the fish farms near the shack as having taken the appearance of a heavy industrial site.
Mr Flanagan wrote that abalone, crayfish, penguins, shellfish and seagrass disappeared from the area in recent years and the local waters now boast “bright green slime and “strange bubbly brown broth”, and are “now more dead than alive”.
But the sales pitch suggests not all is lost.
“Across the road you can literally dive into the water, fish or fetch fresh oysters!”
The agent notes it could “potentially become a successful visitor accommodation business”.
Mr Flanagan bought the 1.26 hectare property in 1997 for $75,000.
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