Nock Loose is a fascinating weird book written by a very gifted person. In their scathing and hilarious Author’s Note, ‘cretin by habitat’ Patrick Marlborough avers that Australia is ’a deeply humourless country with incredibly thin skin … stretched tight over an atavistic ever-thrumming nastiness’. The result? ‘Danoz Direct, JB Hi-Fi, highway tolls, Chris Lilley, Barnaby Joyce etc.’ And now, happily, this book is their wildly entertaining, go-for-broke response to the ‘inevitable curdling of our violent colonial origins, the barbarousness of which is ongoing’.
Like the novel itself, the title entwines several definitions. There is the obvious homophonic meaning. And there is the fact that, in archery, ‘nock, draw, loose’ are the steps of prepping and then firing an arrow: to nock it is to position the arrow on the bowstring; to loose it is to let it fly. And further, if a nock is too loose, it will affect the intended flight path of the arrow, causing it to miss its target.
That is not an issue for Marlborough, though, who has exploitation, expropriation, revenge and skullduggery, but also mateship and affection, in their sights. Here, they let fly with wisdom, humour and sparklingly playful language and hit their targets with fierce passion and insight.
Marlborough’s easy eloquence also makes for uniquely memorable descriptions, such as when one character reminisces about another: ‘She was quick to smile and quicker to laugh, flitting around a room like a kookaburra that had flown in through an open window, shaking up otherwise tedious dinner parties, functions, and exhibition openings.’
The main plot of Nock Loose, which focuses on Joy – a world champion archer who is well-managed in her career by her otherwise villainous father – is skilfully intertwined with several other narratives of adventure, tragedy and vengeance. Much of the action takes place in the village of Bodkins Point – a place stolen from Australia’s First People many years ago.
A black-and-white map at the start of the book depicts the village. It is here that the annual Agincourt Tournament takes place. The tournament has become a worldwide attraction. People dress in medieval clothes and armour. There are serious injuries and even deaths (which perhaps explains the tournament’s international allure). It is here that hooligans burn down part of the village, prompting Joy and others to seek retribution for the senseless act. And tension is rising between those who wish to keep the tournament historically accurate and those who wish to modernise it.
Running underneath it all is the theme of exploitation of ordinary people by the wealthy and privileged. Years ago. Captain Bodkin, whose descendants effectively became the rulers of Bodkin Point, acquired the land by ambushing ‘a tribe of Noongar people – mainly women, children, and elderly – who they viciously murdered, disfigured, and dumped in a mass grave’.
And on top of it all, you get a good dose of the ridiculous with a distinctive Australian flavour, from a past competitor whose hammer ‘was forged to resemble a lamington’ to a statue that was ‘made from burnt jarrah, rusty scrap iron, and local limestone. It wore a barbed wire cape, and a crown of glasswork bottlebrush. In one hand it held a giant sabre, made from the fender of an abandoned ute’. There is even an ‘unofficial Agincourt fan forum’ with entries such as this:
We like to go on about swordplay and bowcraft a lot on here, but I don’t think we give nearly enough credit to those who beat their opponents with nothing but their words and wits. The Bugger Bandit was famous for being able to talk his way into, and out of, any situation….
In the movie Amadeus, Emperor Joseph criticises Mozart’s work: ‘There are simply too many notes.’ He may well have levelled a similar critique about too many words at Marlborough, had he had the privilege of reading this outstanding book. The novel bursts with energy, words bouncing all over the place, and covers so much ground that it can be overwhelming.
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It arguably shouldn’t work – yet it works brilliantly. Its language, like good poetry, has a captivating rhythm. And what it has to say about serious matters is worthy of any thinking person’s attention.
It is an unusual, captivating novel. Read it for fun and take it seriously. It is a book not to be missed.
Nock Loose, Patrick Marlborough
Publisher: Fremantle Press
ISBN: 9781760995072
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288 pp
Publication date: July 2025
RRP: $34.99
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