‘There’s nothing worldly or Gallic about Mackenzie’s beautiful — no other word will do — depiction of school life, loneliness and sexual yearning. It is the best novel I’ve read in a long, long time… one mystery remains about The Young Desire It: Why isn’t this stunning novel famous?’ Michael Dirda, Washington Post
‘A hymn to youth, to life, to sexual freedom and moral independence.’ David Malouf
‘The Young Desire It is a revelation: a coming-of-age novel from 1937 that deserves a place alongside the classics in this genre. It’s a feverish, fascinating, and surprising look into the mind of an adolescent discovering a sense of self in his quest for love. It’s also a remarkably nuanced and moving portrait of the struggles of those around him to come to terms with their own lives and longings.’
Will Schwalbe, author of The End of Your Life Book Club
‘The Young Desire It presents the adolescent boy’s view with power and poignancy.’ The Times
‘A beautifully written story of a sensitive boy’s movement towards adult love.’ Sydney Morning Herald
'Mackenzie’s prose is at its most sparkling and most sensuous in this novel, and he evokes the hot Western Australian landscape with rare force...[The Young Desire It] is a pastoral charged with the awakening of desire, like spring.' Douglas Stewart
‘A first novel of exceptional interest and originality.' Spectator
‘Sensitive, vital and erotic.' Veronica Brady, Australian Dictionary of Biography
‘Amazingly brilliant.' Liverpool Daily Post
'An extremely impressive work of fiction that well deserves this reissue by Text Publishing...A novel to be welcomed back to Australian literature's available past.' Age
'The Young Desire It reminds us there is more than a single line of descent in Australian literature...Mackenzie, who died, penniless and forgotten in his 50s, turns out to be a missing link in our literary tradition. The family tree burgeons at his return.' Weekend Australian
'The Young Desire It is an utterly remarkable work of art.' Australian Book Review
'A staggering piece of fiction, it belongs....to the permanent literature of the world. Here for once is a true classic, a work by which all others should be judged.' Australian Book Review
'The enterprising publishing house Text is doing much to rescue important aspects of our literary heritage, particularly novels from the first half of the 20th century...Kenneth Mackenzie's splendid first novel, The Young Desire It (originally published in 1937), makes a distinguished addition to the list.' SMH/Canberra Times
'The novel is distinguished by a rare sensitivity and an impressive ethical and psychological wisdom...its seamless narrative is able to probe the depths and ambiguities of its characters' personalities and lives.' SMH/Canberra Times
‘A unique Australian novel…a beautiful account of a young man’s move into adulthood, his sexual awakening and search for moral independence.’ Launceston Examiner
'The Young Desire It is suffused in such rich language and evocative allusions it is surprisingly hard to put aside.' NZ Weekend Herald
'This intensely personal work is a beautiful ode of colonial childhood.' Dominion Post/Weekend Press
'This beautifully realised novel, part of the Text classics series deserves a new audience...A fine introduction by David Malouf deepens one's appreciation of the novel, while the exquisite cover design makes this book a desirable object.' Herald Sun
‘The revelation of the year was the republication of Kenneth Mackenzie's 1937 novel, THE YOUNG DESIRE IT, an erotic Australian coming-of-age story masterfully told, with compelling lyricism in an idiosyncratic voice. How could it have faded from literary view in the intervening years?’ Miriam Cosic in ABR’s Best Books of the Year
‘There’s nothing worldly or Gallic about Mackenzie’s beautiful — no other word will do — depiction of school life, loneliness and sexual yearning. It is the best novel I’ve read in a long, long time… one mystery remains about The Young Desire It: Why isn’t this stunning novel famous?’ Michael Dirda, Washington Post
‘A hymn to youth, to life, to sexual freedom and moral independence.’ David Malouf
‘The Young Desire It is a revelation: a coming-of-age novel from 1937 that deserves a place alongside the classics in this genre. It’s a feverish, fascinating, and surprising look into the mind of an adolescent discovering a sense of self in his quest for love. It’s also a remarkably nuanced and moving portrait of the struggles of those around him to come to terms with their own lives and longings.’
Will Schwalbe, author of The End of Your Life Book Club
‘The Young Desire It presents the adolescent boy’s view with power and poignancy.’ The Times
‘A beautifully written story of a sensitive boy’s movement towards adult love.’ Sydney Morning Herald
'Mackenzie’s prose is at its most sparkling and most sensuous in this novel, and he evokes the hot Western Australian landscape with rare force...[The Young Desire It] is a pastoral charged with the awakening of desire, like spring.' Douglas Stewart
‘A first novel of exceptional interest and originality.' Spectator
‘Sensitive, vital and erotic.' Veronica Brady, Australian Dictionary of Biography
‘Amazingly brilliant.' Liverpool Daily Post
'An extremely impressive work of fiction that well deserves this reissue by Text Publishing...A novel to be welcomed back to Australian literature's available past.' Age
'The Young Desire It reminds us there is more than a single line of descent in Australian literature...Mackenzie, who died, penniless and forgotten in his 50s, turns out to be a missing link in our literary tradition. The family tree burgeons at his return.' Weekend Australian
'The Young Desire It is an utterly remarkable work of art.' Australian Book Review
'A staggering piece of fiction, it belongs....to the permanent literature of the world. Here for once is a true classic, a work by which all others should be judged.' Australian Book Review
'The enterprising publishing house Text is doing much to rescue important aspects of our literary heritage, particularly novels from the first half of the 20th century...Kenneth Mackenzie's splendid first novel, The Young Desire It (originally published in 1937), makes a distinguished addition to the list.' SMH/Canberra Times
'The novel is distinguished by a rare sensitivity and an impressive ethical and psychological wisdom...its seamless narrative is able to probe the depths and ambiguities of its characters' personalities and lives.' SMH/Canberra Times
‘A unique Australian novel…a beautiful account of a young man’s move into adulthood, his sexual awakening and search for moral independence.’ Launceston Examiner
'The Young Desire It is suffused in such rich language and evocative allusions it is surprisingly hard to put aside.' NZ Weekend Herald
'This intensely personal work is a beautiful ode of colonial childhood.' Dominion Post/Weekend Press
'This beautifully realised novel, part of the Text classics series deserves a new audience...A fine introduction by David Malouf deepens one's appreciation of the novel, while the exquisite cover design makes this book a desirable object.' Herald Sun
‘The revelation of the year was the republication of Kenneth Mackenzie's 1937 novel, THE YOUNG DESIRE IT, an erotic Australian coming-of-age story masterfully told, with compelling lyricism in an idiosyncratic voice. How could it have faded from literary view in the intervening years?’ Miriam Cosic in ABR’s Best Books of the Year
