Balint, Christine 1975-

PERSONLA: Born August 5, 1975, in Melbourne, Australia. Education: Melbourne University, Australia, B.A. (with honors), 1997, doctoral study, 2000–03.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Bryson Agency Australia, P.O. Box 226, Flinders Lane PO, Melbourne 8009, Australia.

CAREER: School of Creative Arts, Melbourne University, Melbourne, Australia, instructor in creative writing, 1999–.

AWARDS, HONORS: Editorial fellowship and mentor-ship fellowship, Varuna Writers' Centre, 1998; Queen's Trust scholarship, 1999; cited as one of Australia's Best Young Novelists, Sydney Morning Herald, 1999.

WRITINGS:

The Salt Letters (fiction), Allen & Unwin (St. Le-onards, New South Wales, Australia), 1999, W.W. Norton (New York, NY), 2001.

Ophelia's Fan (fiction), W.W. Norton (New York, NY), 2004.

The Salt Letters has been translated into Italian and German.

ADAPTATIONS: The Salt Letters was adapted and produced by ABC Radio, Australia, 2000.

SIDELIGHTS: Christine Balint began writing at the age of six, publishing stories in her elementary school newsletter. While still a teenager, she published several poems, and won awards for her short stories. Full-fledged success came in her early twenties, when Balint's first novel, The Salt Letters, was put on the short list for the Australian Vogel Literary Award in 1998. After her success in Australia, a major American publisher, W.W. Norton, picked up The Salt Letters to be published in the United States. This was a notable achievement for a story that began as Balint's undergraduate honors thesis at the University of Melbourne. As Mark Rozzo wrote in the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Balint's book is "tempered by the kind of delicate observations you can't learn in school."

The Salt Letters tells the story of Sarah, a young Englishwoman in the nineteenth century forced to leave home for Australia. The book chronicles her sea voyage, including the horrific living conditions she endures as well as her memories of the life she leaves behind. In particular, Sarah thinks about her relationship with her cousin Richard, and the reader slowly learns that he is the reason for her flight. Balint's story focuses on the details of Sarah's existence aboard the ship: traveling in the quarters designated for unmarried women, she is under the control of the Matron who ensures their proper behavior. Filth, disease, extreme weather, and lice make their days unbearable, while the livestock on board roams freely through their cabins. The story shifts between dream, memory, and reality.

Nora Krug, reviewing The Salt Letters for the New York Times Book Review, described Balint's style as one that "relies heavily on allegory and magic realism." As Balint acknowledged in an interview on the Allen & Unwin Web site, Gabriel García Marquéz, the Colombian master of magic realism, has been an influence on her work. Commenting in Booklist on Balint's use of imagery, Carol Haggas called the novel "a work of haunting beauty," while Rozzo, writing in the Los Angeles Times, commented that her writing is "seductively impressionistic." Some reviewers, however, suggested that the style of The Salt Letters is overdone: Library Journal contributor Elizabeth C. Stewart called the writing "at times indulgently self-conscious." Krug also wrote, "while these devices allow her to showcase her elegant prose style, at times they feel forced and distracting," though she concluded that such moments "do not overshadow the power of Balint's brief but affecting novel."

In her second novel, Ophelia's Fan, Balint presents a fictionalized life of Harriet Smithson, a Shakespearean actress who lived in the nineteenth century. Smithson was born to a pair of traveling actors in Ireland, and she showed her talent for dramatics at an early age. She served as an inspiration to many of the French Romantics, particularly the composer Hector Berlioz, whom she eventually married. It is said that Smithson's portrayal of Ophelia in a performance of Hamlet spurred Berlioz to write his famous "Symphonie Fantastique." Reviewing Ophelia's Fan for the School Library Journal, Sallie Barringer called it "compelling reading" for those interested in Shakespeare, Jane Austen, or a career in acting. Library Journal reviewer Amy Ford praised Balint for her thorough research and "strong writing," and Booklist contributor Margaret Flanagan gave the author credit for capturing the "vibrantly intoxicating" milieu in which Smithson lived and worked.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2001, Carol Haggas, review of The Salt Letters, p. 1729; July, 2004, Margaret Flanagan, review of Ophelia's Fan, p. 1815.

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2004, review of Ophelia's Fan, p. 547.

Library Journal, May 15, 2001, Elizabeth C. Stewart, review of The Salt Letters, p. 160; June 15, 2004, Amy Ford, review of Ophelia's Fan, p. 56.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, July 15, 2001, Mark Rozzo, review of The Salt Letters, p. 10.

New York Times Book Review, August 26, 2001, Nora Krug, "Below Decks," p. 14.

Publishers Weekly, July 9, 2001, review of The Salt Letters, p. 45; August 2, 2004, review of Ophelia's Fan, p. 53.

School Library Journal, May, 2005, Sallie Barringer, review of Ophelia's Fan, p. 168.

ONLINE

Allen & Unwin Web site, http://www.allen-unwin.com/ (March 7, 2006), interview with author.

AussieReviews, http://www.aussiereviews.com/ (February 22, 2006), Sally Murphy, review of Ophelia's Fan.