Malouf has gained international acclaim for his work, which includes several volumes of poetry, six novels and two novellas three short-story collections, including Dream Stuff, in which 'Great Day,' appeared several nonfiction works a series of libretti for opera, and a play. In 1978, he retired from teaching and devoted himself full-time to writing. In 1975, he turned to fiction with his well-received first novel, Johnno. Malouf gained recognition and several awards for his poetry written during his teaching years. That year he returned to Australia where he served as a lecturer at the University of Sydney until 1977. After he was awarded a degree with honors from the University of Queensland, he relocated to England, where he was employed asĪ teacher from 1959 to 1968. As the story ends, the family comes together to celebrate their sense of community at the close of their 'great day.' Author Biographyĭavid Malouf was born in Brisbane, Australia, on March 20, 1934, to George and Welcome (Mendoza) Malouf. The tensions are eventually resolved as all are able to renew or reestablish connections and come to an acceptance of their collective and personal experience.

Tensions immediately arise as individuals begin to express their separate longings and the obstacles to those longings as they gather together for the celebration. The story begins on the morning of the day, which is also a national holiday, as some members of the family wait for the arrival of the entire clan.

The story centers on one day in the life of the Tyler family as its members celebrate the seventy-second birthday of the family patriarch, Audley Tyler. This well-crafted tale explores the tensions that can arise in a close-knit family it traces each family member's need to find a harmonious balance between personal desires and external connection to the group. 'Great Day,' which appeared in David Malouf's 2000 collection, Dream Stuff, has been singled out as one of his best stories.

David malouf an imaginary life analysis