THE VOICES: xiii - Softcover

Elderkin

3.67

57 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1841152021 ISBN 13: 9781841152028

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2009

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A novel of incantatory beauty set in the wilds of Australia from Susan Elderkin, one of Granta’s ‘Best of British’ writers and the sparklingly original 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.

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Review:

‘Dazzling...For sheer narrative invention she is without an equal.’ Stevie Davies, Independent

‘The writing style is energetic and zappy... original, cleverly imagined.’ Tamsin Dean, Sunday Telegraph

‘Outstanding novel, among the best I have read for years.’ Spectator

‘What is remarkable is Elderkin's ability to conjure up the Australian outback with such confidence... a book to be admired.' Guardian

‘Susan Elderkinos first novel “Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains”, won her a devoted following. “The Voices” doesn’t disappoint.’ Time Out

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

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