In this story by David_Malouf, an elderly woman’s visit to Uluru (Ayers Rock) as a guest of her aesthetic son highlights themes of memories, aging, disconnection, death, and commercialism vs. cultural understanding and respect. The woman, suffering early-stage dementia, fails to appreciate the spectacular grandeur of the Rock, which has attracted her son and fellow visitors from as far away as America and Japan. Instead, between hallucinations and behavioral quirks, she retreats into the past before wandering off into the desert and experiencing spiritual transcendence as she passes away in the care of Aboriginal children.

David Malouf’s Great Day takes place over the seventy-second birthday celebration for the patriarch of a large, close-knit Australian family. The story explores some of the differences and tensions between family members, as well as the state of mind of the patriarch. A powerful retired senior public servant with a commanding personality, he is consumed by thoughts of death. Two linked events, the destruction of a family museum and the subsequent moving words of a usually shy, tongue-tied family member bring a sense of peace to the old man and unification to the family. Themes: power, loss, dreams, connection, unification.