Of Spies and Terrorists: Australian Fiction After 9/11

Abstract

This article notes the powerful international impact of the attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001 and their literary aftermath. Beginning with The 9/11 Commission Report, the article considers literary responses to the events of 9/11 five or six years later by five Australian novelists. Their work ranges from fantastic satire to espionage thriller and psychological problem novel. A critical spirit informs each of these works – Andrew McGahan’s Underground (2006), Richard Flanagan’s The Unknown Terrorist (2006), Janette Turner Hospital’s Orpheus Lost (2007), Adib Khan’s Spiral Road (2007) and Adrian d’Hage’s The Beijing Conspiracy (2007). Adib Khan’s novel Spiral Road is especially interesting for its examination of the dilemmas and difficulties faced by a Muslim Australian when he returns to his homeland Bangladesh. Like the other novels considered in this article, Spiral Road explores the clashes between political events and the realities of everyday living for individuals buffeted by the cross-winds of an American tragedy.