We Were On Fire

We Were On Fire is something of a departure from Monty's first three volumes of short stories, in that it represents his first attempt at a longer form novella. Like the short stories, it draws on many of the hilarious incidents of his somewhat chaotic formative years in the surf culture melting pot of Bondi. Through the character of Hiro san, a naive Japanese lad on a wide-eyed pilgrimage to one of Australian surfing's meccas, We Were On Fire is equal parts celebration and critique of Bondi's hedonistic '80s surfing milieu. The events that unfold take us on a wild but, ultimately, sobering ride into some of the darker corners of Australian surf culture, and shine an, at times, unflattering light on the four pillars of sun, surf, booze and mateship upon which it is founded.