From The Wreck
Published on 16. April 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-5290-0656-8 (ISBN)
Description
'This strange story of love and loneliness, which explores how we all long to belong, is simply wonderful.' Daily Mail
When, in 1859, George Hills is pulled from the wreck of the steamship Admella, he carries with him the uneasy memory of a fellow survivor. Someone else - or something else - kept him warm as he lay dying, half-submerged in the freezing Southern Ocean, kept him bound to life.
As George adapts to his life back on land, he can't quite escape the feeling that he wasn't alone when he emerged from the ocean that day, that a familiar presence has been watching him ever since. What the creature might want from him - his life? His first-born? Simply to return to its home? - will pursue him, and call him back to the water, where it all began.
'[A] singular novel . . . [From the Wreck] movingly explores themes of loss, loneliness and guilt.' Guardian
'An absorbing, disturbing read, full of deep currents and lurking fears.' Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of The Children of Time
When, in 1859, George Hills is pulled from the wreck of the steamship Admella, he carries with him the uneasy memory of a fellow survivor. Someone else - or something else - kept him warm as he lay dying, half-submerged in the freezing Southern Ocean, kept him bound to life.
As George adapts to his life back on land, he can't quite escape the feeling that he wasn't alone when he emerged from the ocean that day, that a familiar presence has been watching him ever since. What the creature might want from him - his life? His first-born? Simply to return to its home? - will pursue him, and call him back to the water, where it all began.
'[A] singular novel . . . [From the Wreck] movingly explores themes of loss, loneliness and guilt.' Guardian
'An absorbing, disturbing read, full of deep currents and lurking fears.' Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of The Children of Time
Reviews / Votes
The power of this singular novel lies in Rawson's ability to meld seemingly disparate narrative elements into a convincing whole that movingly explores themes of loss, loneliness and guilt. * Guardian * This strange story of love and loneliness, which explores how we all long to belong, is simply wonderful . . . Jane Rawson's writing is uncannily good - an original blend of speculative fiction, chilling horror and emotional empathy, fluidly carrying the reader along on a remarkable journey. * Daily Mail * [A] superb novel . . . Rawson uses [the novel's] set up to examine huge themes - the nature of existence and society, the symbiotic relationships between us all - but it's also deeply personal and ultimately very moving. Extraordinary work. * Big Issue * An absorbing, disturbing read, full of deep currents and lurking fears. -- Adrian Tchaikovsky Arthur C Clarke Award-winning author of <i>The Children of Time</i> From the Wreck is an utterly unique, fascinating story, richly and compellingly written. An impressive, absorbing reading experience that evokes empathy for Rawson's unforgettable characters. -- Kate Mayfield, author of <i>The Undertaker's Daughter</i> [Rawson] has the rare talent of stretching our capacity to believe, while at the same time making us feel genuinely for the characters. There's a beautiful quality of empathy here, light and aching . . . An intriguing tale whose humanity lingers warm long after the reading. * Australian * Rawson recreates a vanished historical world with utterly convincing characters . . . [Her] writing is mysterious, chilling and tender. The book is a sort of miracle. -- Lian Hearn This book had it all for me; originality, wonderful writing, a brilliant twisting plot, fantastic characters and some themes within it that you can really get your teeth into. -- Simon Savidge In this masterful novel, Jane Rawson combines the grim beauty of a dark fable with the gripping plot and breathtaking pace of a literary thriller. This captivating, otherworldly story will enchant you from start to finish. -- Jennie Melamed, author of <i>Gather the Daughters</i> Haunting and marvellous . . . From the Wreck takes real historical events and bends them to its own ends in a manner I've not seen before, an imaginative leap that truly exemplifies the nature of radical speculation. -- Nina Allan, author of <i>The Rift</i> Intensely researched historical fiction . . . [From the Wreck] also has a cephalopod shapeshifting alien, so. SO, it's remarkable . . . It's dark and beautiful, and puzzling. -- Maria Dahvana Headley, author of <i>The Mere Wife</i> Something approaching an old-fashioned historical yarn spliced with Cronenbergian body horror . . . The commonplace rubbing shoulders with the supernatural adds to the book's considerations of mourning and absence a vivid hue . . . a genuine tension and sense of dread. * Sydney Morning Herald * Beautifully written. * SFX *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
331 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5290-0656-8 (9781529006568)
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
Jane Rawson is the author of A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists; a novella, Formaldehyde; and a non-fiction book,The Handbook: Surviving and Living with Climate Change. From the Wreck was the first novel to be nominated for both Australia's Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, which it won.
Jane lives in Tasmania and works as a bureaucrat.
Jane lives in Tasmania and works as a bureaucrat.