Wanting

This wonderful book has been recognised with several awards/nominations. It won the 2009 Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Fiction, is one of the 2009 Books Alive 50 Books You Can't Put Down and was also one of the shortlisted fiction titles in the 2009 Prime Minister's Literary Awards. In spite of all that, you might want to give it a try - you won't find it wanting (sorry for the bad pun). To find out more about the book, go to Richard Flanagan's website which has reviews, book club notes etc. The story intertwines Charles Dickens and Sir John Franklin, a polar explorer, with the story of Tasmania's aboriginal peoples and their interaction with white settlers in colonial times through the experience of an orphan girl, Mathinna. Sensitive, evocative prose and a masterly weaving of the disparate stories make a fine and thoughtful experience for the reader.

Wendy