After the success of his YA novels and numerous short stories, it’s a delight to read King of Dirt, Sheppard’s first novel written for grown-ups. The graphic descriptions of gay male sexual activities certainly assume the maturity of his readers.
Sheppard leaves little doubt that this gritty, warts-and-all tale is based on his own experience.
Giacomo (Jack) Brolo is the son of an immigrant Sicilian family and Sheppard pulls no punches in his depiction of all that implies – look no further than The Godfather. Jack’s early life in Geraldton (Gero) in WA as a closeted homosexual sets the scene for what eventuates. The affect his ‘outing’ had on his relationship with his strict Catholic family reverberates throughout.
As a FIFO worker in road-building in remote WA, he soon becomes a heavy smoker, an alcoholic and deeply troubled man. He has no desire to reconnect with his family until he receives an invitation to the wedding of the erstwhile friend who had outed him. He decides to go back and face his demons.
This is an absorbing story of how an ultra-masculine man’s man comes to terms with his own nature and learns to deal with his reactionary family. There is a dinner scene with them you won’t easily forget. When he reconnects with an Indigenous man he was secretly in love with as a teenager, his life becomes even more complicated.
This unforgettable story cries out to be adapted into a movie or TV series, as was his Invisible Boys, but remains a great read and gives an insight into what it’s like to be gay in a hostile environment.
Reviewed by Russell Thomson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHORHolden Sheppard is an award-winning Australian novelist once described as ‘the lovechild of Rambo and Rimbaud’.
A country boy, a weightlifter and a self-proclaimed ‘bromosexual’, Holden has won acclaim for the raw, blokey honesty of his emotional novels about the modern experiences of Aussie men.
Holden’s bestselling debut Invisible Boys – a confessional novel about young gay men growing up in rural Australia – picked up major accolades including the WA Premier’s Prize, the Kathleen Mitchell Award and the Hungerford Award. In 2025, Invisible Boys was adapted as a critically acclaimed ten-episode television series for Stan Australia, which was the #1 most watched series on that platform nationally upon release.
Holden has worked as a screenwriter, writing two episodes of the Invisible Boys series, has had numerous short stories published in books, and has had multiple articles published in the media. He has worked a wide range of day jobs – from storeman, labourer and excavator operator through to call-centre operator, banker and salesman. Holden is an outspoken advocate for artists’ rights, gay rights and mental health initiatives, especially for men. He served as Deputy Chair of Writing WA for four years from 2019-2023.
Born and bred in Geraldton, Western Australia, Holden now lives in Perth’s north with his husband and his V8 ute.
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