The Lost Man

The Lost Man takes place in the outback, an arid interior region occupying approximately 80% of Australia. The outback is environmentally significant due to its vast size and nearly untouched state. Rainfall in the region averages less than 11 inches per year, and the landscape is dominated by fine, red dust known as bulldust. Dust storms are lethal. Nathan recalls “the sky turning red as a towering wall of dust bore down” (318). The dust also poses a danger to drivers, causing loss of control, poor visibility, and engine damage.

Nathan Bright and his family live in western Queensland, Australia’s second-largest state. The area’s environment is hot and unforgiving—as Nathan tells it, “officially the hottest part of Australia” (57). Western Queensland is dominated by cattle stations that span thousands of kilometers. Its inhabitants are isolated by the vast distances. Ranchers often live several hours from their closest neighbors. The characters in the novel are shaped by this brutal environment. When Nathan drives past a stopped car without helping, he is exiled by his community for nearly 10 years. The rule to stop and help is fundamental to their community. Trust and support are necessary to survive.

The isolation also affects education. Children participate in a correspondence school known as School of the Air, which uses the radio equipment of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), a medical service for people in remote areas, to offer an hour of instruction daily. Students then work through the materials and submit assignments through the RFDS or post office. This system continued over the radio until 2009, when it moved to the internet.

The environment informs the novel in many ways. When Nathan inspects Cam’s car, he reports on the supply of food and water: “Enough to keep a man alive for a week or more” (18). He also notes that there is “extra fuel in a jerry can, two spare tires strapped down, a shovel, a first aid kit. […] A basic survival kit for life in the harshest climate in Australia” (18). The Bright family’s home has a logbook in which everyone notes when and where they are going, and everyone is equipped with a radio at all times. The environment even provides the means for Cam’s murder. Liz simply drives away, stranding him at the stockman’s grave, where the environment kills him.