The Voices - Hardcover

Elderkin, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1841152013 ISBN 13: 9781841152011

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2003

Synopsis

The new novel from Susan Elderkin, one of Granta’s ‘Best of British’ writers and the award-winning author of ‘Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains’.

In the remote, blood-red landscape of the Australian bush, thirteen-year-old Billy Saint hears the haunting song of an Aboriginal girl. The song tugs at something deep, something larger and more powerful than himself. She has sung Billy up – and he is destined to love her for ever.

In an Alice Springs hospital ten years later, recovering from gruesome wounds of mysterious origin, Billy attempts to explain the voices in his head. But only Cecily, the Aboriginal nurse, will listen. What unravels is a mesmerising account of the relationship between a man, the land he loves, and the spirits of the country, struggling to be heard before it is too late.

‘The Voices’ is as seductively beautiful as the timeless landscape in which it is set. A lament for a disappearing culture, told with great delicacy and power, it will continue to haunt its readers long after the final page has turned.

About this title

Review:

Praise for ‘Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains’:

‘Rich, strange, unclassifiable...like “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”. “Sunset over Chocolate Mountains” has an intricate structure, evoking a tenderness and charm that weave magically around its characters. Heartfelt and stylish.’ The Times

‘This is a bold, captivating debut from an intelligent new voice.’ Daily Mail

‘Richly imaginative, strange and compelling, this novel contains as many stinging surprises as the desert in which it is set.’ Guardian

‘It is likely that Susan Elderkin will continue entertaining and moving us. A first-rate writer of literature.’ Observer

‘Fresh and original.’ Company

From the Back Cover:

(Front cover)

A GRANTA BEST OF BRITISH NOVELIST

THE VOICES
Susan Elderkin

''Beautifully written and utterly absorbing... Brilliant.'
Cressida Connolly, Telegraph

(Back cover)

'Tender, sensual and genuinely original... Elderkin is a great talent.'
Maggie Gee, Sunday Times

Thirteen-year-old Billy is a dreamer. Introverted at home and ignored at school, he wanders alone in the remote, blood-red landscape of the Australian bush, dreaming of roos. But one day Billy hears the haunting song of an Aboriginal girl. Her beautiful voice tugs at something deep, something larger and more powerful than himself, and he is destined to love her forever.

In an Alice Springs hospital ten years later, recovering from gruesome wounds of mysterious origin, Billy tries to explain the voices in his head. But only Cecily, the Aboriginal nurse, will listen...

'Brilliant. The confused, uncommunicative Billy is a wonderful creation and the depiction of Aboriginal life at the beginning of the 21st century is heartbreaking and very funny.'
Cressida Connolly, Telegraph

'For sheer narrative invention, she is without an equal.'
Stevie Davies, Independent

'Delicate, powerful and strange.'
Eve

£7.99
1-84115-202-1

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1841152013
• ISBN 13: 9781841152011
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336