Kundu (West novel)

Kundu Author| Morris West

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Country| Australia
Language| English
Publisher| Dell

Publication date

| 1956
Media type| Print
Preceded by| Gallows on the Sand
Followed by| The Big Story

Kundu is a 1956 Australian novel by Morris West. It was one of West's first novels - the second published under his own name - and was reportedly written in only three weeks.[1] A 1993 review of West's career said the novel was a "potboiler" redeemed by his descriptions of New Guinea.[2]

It was reprinted paperback in 1978.[3]

## Premise[edit]

A story of people living in a village in the New Guinea highlands. They include the mysterious doctor Kurt Sonderfield, a former Nazi; a native girl N'Daria; a sorcerer called Kumo, an old French missionary Pere Louis; Sonderfield's wife Gerda; a coffee company agent, Theodore Nelson; Lee Curtis, the patrol officer; Oliver, the Assistant District Officer; and an anthropologist, Nelson.

## Reception[edit]

The Pacific Islands Monthly called it "a sexy piece."[4]

The Bulletin said "Well written and swift-moving, with touches of interesting characterisation and much lurid lore of the country, the novel passes away an hour or so pleasantly enough; but by the adoption of these dime-novel plots Mr. West really removes his work from serious consideration."[5]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "WRITERS' WORLD". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 August 1983. p. 12. Retrieved 7 April 2020 - via Trove.
2. ^ Missen, Mollie (February 20, 1993). "A master storyteller signs off". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 44.
3. ^ "The pick of Australian paperbacks in print". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 October 1978. p. 17. Retrieved 7 April 2020 - via Trove.
4. ^ "Two Novels of Note identifier". Pacific Islands Monthly. August 1963. p. 97.
5. ^ "New Guinea Novel". The Bulletin. June 5, 1957. p. 59.

## External links[edit]

* Kundu at AustLit

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Works by Morris West

Novels|

* Gallows on the Sand (1956)
* Kundu (1956)
* The Big Story (1957)
* The Second Victory (1958)
* The Devil's Advocate (1959)
* Daughter of Silence (1961)
* The Shoes of the Fisherman (1963)
* The Ambassador (1965)
* The Tower of Babel (1968)
* Summer of the Red Wolf (1971)
* The Salamander (1973)
* Harlequin  (1974)
* The Navigator (1976)
* Proteus (1979)
* The Clowns of God (1981)
* The World Is Made of Glass (1983)
* Cassidy (1986)
* Masterclass (1988)
* Lazarus (1990)
* The Ringmaster (1991)
* The Lovers (1993)
* Vanishing Point (1996)
* Eminence (1996)
* The Last Confession (2000)

Novels under pseudonyms|

* Moon in My Pocket (1945)
* McCreary Moves In (1958)
* The Naked Country (1960)

Non-fiction|

* Children of the Sun (1957)

Film/TV Adaptations|

* McCreary Moves In (1957) (TV)
* Children of the Sun (1961) (TV)
* The Crooked Road (1965)
* The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
* The Devil's Advocate (1977)
* The Salamander (1981)
* The Naked Country (1985)
* The Second Victory (1987)

Radio|

* The Curtain Rises (1946)
* The Mask of Marius Melville (1946)
* Burtons of Banner Street (1947)
* On the Danube (1948)
* Dick Barton - Secret Agent
* Experiment with Time
* Trumpets in the Dawn (1949)
* Paradise of Cheats (1949)
* The Prince of Peace (1950)
* The Apostle of Peace (1951)
* The Affairs of Harlequin (1951)
* White Marriage (1951)
* The Enchanted Island (1952)
* The Dreaming City (1952)
* Secret Mountain (1953)
* Mystery of Henriette (1953)
* Man of Two Tribes (1953)
* Special Assignment (1953)
* Fire of Etna (1953)
* The Golden Road (1954)
* The Dambusters (1954)
* The Great Escape (1954)
* There is a Santa Claus (1954)
* Reach for the Sky (1955)
* Genesis in Juddsville (1955)
* The Illusionists (1955)
* The White Tower (1955)
* The White Rabbit (1955)
* Gallows on the Sand (1956)
* The Big Story (1958)

Plays|

* The Illusionists (1955)
* The Devil's Advocate (1961)
* Daughter of Silence (1962)
* The Heretic (1970)
* The World Is Made of Glass (1984)

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