Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Dream Stuff

Dream Stuff is a collection of short stories by the Australian writer David Malouf, published in 2000.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
248 w
Citations
3
Source
Dream Stuff
First edition
AuthorDavid Malouf
LanguageEnglish
GenreShort stories
PublisherChatto and Windus
Publication date13 April 2000
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages224 pp. (first edition, hardcover)
ISBN0-7011-6942-7 (first edition, hardcover)

Dream Stuff is a collection of short stories by the Australian writer David Malouf, published in 2000.1

Contents

  • "At Schindler's"
  • "Closer"
  • "Blacksoil Country"
  • "Jacko's Reach"
  • "Lone Pine"
  • "Night Training"
  • "Sally's Story"
  • "Great Day"

Jacko's Reach Summary

A local council in Sydney, Australia, plans to develop a vacant area called Jacko's Reach. Valmay Mitchell, a thirteen-year-old girl, disappeared when she was in seventh grade — she had last been seen going into Jacko's Reach with a boy on a bike. Searchers cannot find her, but instead discover items they'd lost and spent years looking for. Valmay is later discovered to be pregnant and living in Sydney.

Reception

Peter Craven, in The Sydney Morning Herald, found that in its "finest moments" the author "moves cat-like, with the economy of the true poet to whom language is a musical, not an approximate, medium".2 Kate Kellaway, of The Observer, similarly felt the collection showed Malouf "at his absolute best".3

References

References

  1. Marchand, Philip (13 August 2000). "Perchance to dream". Sunday. The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario. p. F13. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Craven, Peter (1 April 2000). "Shock of Recognition". Spectrum. The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales. p. 10s. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Kellaway, Kate (9 April 2000). "Landscape artist". Review. The Observer. London. p. 12. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.