Missing
He was brilliant and troubled and for thirty-five years he lived alone in the wild . . . then there was silence
Published on 1. February 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-76106-676-4 (ISBN)
Description
WINNER OF THE 2023 NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY AWARD'S MICHAEL CROUCH AWARD FOR A DEBUT WORK
Hey mate, Pete and Steve have been talking to some people who live around the national park where Mark lives . . . nobody has seen him for months . . . We're about to head into the gorge . . . I'll let you know what we find . . .
In 1972 Mark May is eighteen. He is bright, beautiful and has a scholarship to study law. Ten years later he descends alone into remote gorge country in north-western New South Wales. He lives in rough camps and stays for thirty-five years. Then, on a feeling, his brothers go looking for him.
Missing is a true story of immense emotional force. It tells of a broken life and a ruptured family but is also a spare and eloquent story of survival that carries a deep humanity. It announces a significant new talent in Australian writing.
'This compelling, moving tale is unlike anything I have ever read. Intimate and vivid, Tom Patterson has found beauty and meaning amid the sorrow.' - Malcolm Knox
'An inside look into an outsider's world, tenderly and beautifully told.' - Greg Bearup
'brims with winning details . . .lean, pacy prose' - Sydney Morning Herald
'This fiction-structured true-life story beautifully captures the love and sorrow of a family divided by well-intentioned aspirations.' - Canberra Times
Hey mate, Pete and Steve have been talking to some people who live around the national park where Mark lives . . . nobody has seen him for months . . . We're about to head into the gorge . . . I'll let you know what we find . . .
In 1972 Mark May is eighteen. He is bright, beautiful and has a scholarship to study law. Ten years later he descends alone into remote gorge country in north-western New South Wales. He lives in rough camps and stays for thirty-five years. Then, on a feeling, his brothers go looking for him.
Missing is a true story of immense emotional force. It tells of a broken life and a ruptured family but is also a spare and eloquent story of survival that carries a deep humanity. It announces a significant new talent in Australian writing.
'This compelling, moving tale is unlike anything I have ever read. Intimate and vivid, Tom Patterson has found beauty and meaning amid the sorrow.' - Malcolm Knox
'An inside look into an outsider's world, tenderly and beautifully told.' - Greg Bearup
'brims with winning details . . .lean, pacy prose' - Sydney Morning Herald
'This fiction-structured true-life story beautifully captures the love and sorrow of a family divided by well-intentioned aspirations.' - Canberra Times
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Sydney
Australia
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
381 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-76106-676-4 (9781761066764)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Tom Patterson grew up in the New England region of New South Wales. In all the time he spent hiking in the gorge country, he never saw Mark. Missing is his first book.