This book is winner of the Excellence Award 2009 by the THESE-PAC jury (le prix THESE-PAC, Prix Jean-Pierre Piérard) in the South Pacific-Australasia category.
"Jean-Francois Vernay has written an interesting study of my work, informed by a particular set of theories concerning the nature of literature. This is natural; every critic, like every creative writer, works within the framework of his own beliefs. In doing so, Dr. Vernay pursues his themes with considerable thoroughness, relating them to the broader topic of Australian literature in the 20th century in a way which should be of interest to other scholars in the field––and to anyone who is concerned with Australian writing, both at home and abroad. His book should provoke thought and discussion; and for this, I welcome it." – Christopher Koch
"...has considerable merit...serves an important purpose in that readers will almost certainly have their comprehension of, and appreciation for, each of Koch’s novels enhanced." - Australian Literary Studies, 2008, vol.23 no.4
“Water from the Moon is a book all students of Australian literature will need to engage with. Its substantial, balanced and scholarly treatment of one of Australia’s great literary figures makes it compelling reading. It fills a real gap in the current critical panorama of contemporary Australian fiction, and it fills it with competence and authority. Here at last is the insightful response that Koch’s talent deserves.” – Professor Xavier Pons, University of Toulouse-Le Mirail
"This is an important book, and a valuable contribution to what Vernay correctly identifies as a neglected area in Australian literary studies ... it fills a wide gap in the gallery of Australian literary criticism. – Australian Book Review July / August 2007
"... fills an acknowledged gap in contemporary Australian literary criticism with competence." – Correspondances Océaniennes 6(2), 2007