Peter Carey 30 Days in Sydney

By BARBARA HARRIS

The Sydney Olympics may be over but the publishers are still scoring heavily with tales of the city that for many is Australia.

Acclaimed literary heavyweight Peter Carey's slim volume is part of a series in which famous writers reveal secrets of the city they know best.

Carey was born in Bacchus Marsh, Melbourne, and for the past decade he's lived in New York. He was almost 40 when he went to Sydney and 27 years on it's that city which has a hold on him.

He went looking for stories of "Earth, Air, Fire and Water" and his mates obliged with their assured, rough-edged humour. These are confessions from middle-aged white men who talk about the city they love - corruption and all, thanks to pseudonyms.

It's about lives shaped by the forces of nature - bush fires and southerly busters - and the country's convict past.

Through a handful of people, Carey gets to the core of the humour and grit that underpin this city - from the businessmen searching through a squat to find a wayward mate who also end up rescuing a down-and-out chook, to tales of murderous seas and the terror of bush fires. For his efforts, Carey hit the bestseller list in Australia.

Bloomsbury

$34.95