This second edition includes an updated bibliography."Astley's signature is a highly allusive, layered and self-conscious prose style, non-linear and open-ended" (Gillian Whitlock, JASAL: Journal of Association for the Study of Australian Literature, 6, 2007, p. 154.)"The essays offer insights into issues of language, art, gender and religion ... as well as Astley's evolving body of writing and the historical and literary context of her work" (Lyn Jacobs, Australian Literary Studies v.23, n.3, 2008, p.358).