Riders in the Chariot

Patrick White · 1912–1990 · Australia

Why it matters

Four outcasts (a Holocaust survivor, an Aboriginal painter, an eccentric spinster, and a washerwoman) share a mystical vision of Ezekiel's chariot in a hostile Sydney suburb. White's Miles Franklin-winning indictment of Australian conformity and cruelty.

At a glance

Four interwoven consciousnesses and dense visionary symbolism demand sustained attention.