• National Library of Australia, Canberra, Australia

Publisher of Nominated Edition
Vintage Australia ISBN 1740513282

It is two days since Dr John Brand's death and his eldest son, Davis, suspects a cover-up. 'Survived by two sons', the death notice said. 'Peacefully.' But someone has lied: there are three sons, and the circumstances of their father's death are murky.

Still, the Sydney Test Match is on and Davis's famous brother Chris is batting to save his career while their mother Margaret watches the broadcast from her armchair. Hammett, the unacknowledged third brother, lurks on the edges, banished but not forgotten. Scattered over Sydney, the Brand's lives - and John Brand's funeral - are put on hold for the duration of the game: five days of suspense, silences, revelations, recriminations and redemption. Filtered through two arenas of masculinity - cricket and pornography - A Private Man is at once a poignant story of a family's grief, an artfully constructed thriller and a provocative dissection of Australian men and their private passions.

Malcolm Knox was born in 1966. He grew up in Sydney and has worked for the Sydney Morning Herald since 1994 and his journalism has been published in Australia, Britain, India and the West Indies. His first novel Summerland was published to great acclaim in the UK, US, Australia and Europe in 2000. In 2001 Malcolm was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian novelists. He lives in Sydney with his wife and two children. A Private Man was shortlisted for the Commomwealth Prize and the Tasmanian Premier's Award.