brand m p publishing limited 1 jan 2006 (2 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Good. From Publishers Weekly Fourteen-year-old Allie Curran mourns the death of her mother, Mae, and longs to discover the identity of her father in this sparely written but emotionally tumid debut novel from Australian Armstrong. When Mae goes missing from her Sydney house, her clothes found piled neatly in her dinghy, drifting in the water for three nights, Allie's aunt Julia fetches her niece back to the smalltown dairy farm where Mae grew up. While they await the recovery of Mae's body-with Allie in denial-Allie summons the courage to speak to her mother's first love, the mysterious Saul Philips. Mae raised Allie on wistful tales of Saul, and Allie still wonders if he might be her father, despite her mother's version of events: that a hot-air balloonist at the country fair seduced and abandoned her. But as Allie settles in to life on the farm, she admits to herself the facts of Mae's death and discovers that the truth of her parentage is far darker than what she had imagined. The novel's setting, a rainy farming valley in northern Australia, makes for effective atmosphere, but the backward-looking narrative moves slowly, mired in Allie's memories of Mae. (Apr.) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description In this enchanting debut, a young girl faces the secrets buried in the mud-rich, rain-soaked landscape of her mothers childhood. When fourteen-year-old Allies mother, Mae, mysteriously disappears in the dark waters of the harbor, Allie is taken by Julia - an aunt she barely knows - to stay at the dilapidated dairy farm where her mother grew up. As the days pass and the heat of the wet season swells, Allie confidently waits for her mothers call, certain that Mae will reappear as she always has in the past. In the meantime, Allie watches her aunt, who is determined to replant the trees of the forest and undo the damage her family has inflicted upon the land. And Allie lurks around the cabin belonging to her mothers first love, a man who still lives deep within the valley.When the truth about Maes childhood and Allies mythical father, the Balloon Man, begins to surface, Allie must sort through the lies her mother has told her and come to grips with the many secrets held close in the valley. From Booklist When 14-year-old Allie's mother drowns herself in Sydney Harbor, Allie is taken to the family farm, located on the edge of a lush rain forest in northern Australia. Here Allie is possessed by the hunger to ferret out her mother's first boyfriend, whom Allie believes is her father. She peppers her eccentric Aunt Julia with questions about their upbringing but finds the answers to be far from satisfying; in fact, they frequently contradict the family stories her mother told her over and over again. Julia is replanting her farm with trees, intending to repair the damage her family has done to the land, much to the consternation of her relatives, who believe she is slightly mad. Meanwhile, floodwaters continue to rise, washing out bridges and making the roads impassable. The foreboding natural world mirrors the nature of the family secrets Allie uncovers, which help her to better understand her mother. In this slow-moving but carefully observed family story, Armstrong is at her best when evoking the outsized landscape and extravagant weather of her Australian setting. Joanne WilkinsonCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved Review Mood is everything in Armstrongs debut[she] is talented. - Kirkus Reviews[An] evocatively well-written debut novel.Worth sticking with for a clever twist in the tale. - Daily TelegraphSarah Armstrongs first novel is seamlessly structured and very readable -The Age (Australia) From the Publisher Shortlisted 2005: Miles Franklin Literary Award Shortlisted 2005: Dobbie Award for a female first-time author About the Author Sarah Armstrong worked at the Au.

Hardcover. Condition: New. From Publishers Weekly Fourteen-year-old Allie Curran mourns the death of her mother, Mae, and longs to discover the identity of her father in this sparely written but emotionally tumid debut novel from Australian Armstrong. When Mae goes missing from her Sydney house, her clothes found piled neatly in her dinghy, drifting in the water for three nights, Allie's aunt Julia fetches her niece back to the smalltown dairy farm where Mae grew up. While they await the recovery of Mae's body-with Allie in denial-Allie summons the courage to speak to her mother's first love, the mysterious Saul Philips. Mae raised Allie on wistful tales of Saul, and Allie still wonders if he might be her father, despite her mother's version of events: that a hot-air balloonist at the country fair seduced and abandoned her. But as Allie settles in to life on the farm, she admits to herself the facts of Mae's death and discovers that the truth of her parentage is far darker than what she had imagined. The novel's setting, a rainy farming valley in northern Australia, makes for effective atmosphere, but the backward-looking narrative moves slowly, mired in Allie's memories of Mae. (Apr.) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description In this enchanting debut, a young girl faces the secrets buried in the mud-rich, rain-soaked landscape of her mothers childhood. When fourteen-year-old Allies mother, Mae, mysteriously disappears in the dark waters of the harbor, Allie is taken by Julia - an aunt she barely knows - to stay at the dilapidated dairy farm where her mother grew up. As the days pass and the heat of the wet season swells, Allie confidently waits for her mothers call, certain that Mae will reappear as she always has in the past. In the meantime, Allie watches her aunt, who is determined to replant the trees of the forest and undo the damage her family has inflicted upon the land. And Allie lurks around the cabin belonging to her mothers first love, a man who still lives deep within the valley.When the truth about Maes childhood and Allies mythical father, the Balloon Man, begins to surface, Allie must sort through the lies her mother has told her and come to grips with the many secrets held close in the valley. From Booklist When 14-year-old Allie's mother drowns herself in Sydney Harbor, Allie is taken to the family farm, located on the edge of a lush rain forest in northern Australia. Here Allie is possessed by the hunger to ferret out her mother's first boyfriend, whom Allie believes is her father. She peppers her eccentric Aunt Julia with questions about their upbringing but finds the answers to be far from satisfying; in fact, they frequently contradict the family stories her mother told her over and over again. Julia is replanting her farm with trees, intending to repair the damage her family has done to the land, much to the consternation of her relatives, who believe she is slightly mad. Meanwhile, floodwaters continue to rise, washing out bridges and making the roads impassable. The foreboding natural world mirrors the nature of the family secrets Allie uncovers, which help her to better understand her mother. In this slow-moving but carefully observed family story, Armstrong is at her best when evoking the outsized landscape and extravagant weather of her Australian setting. Joanne WilkinsonCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved Review Mood is everything in Armstrongs debut[she] is talented. - Kirkus Reviews[An] evocatively well-written debut novel.Worth sticking with for a clever twist in the tale. - Daily TelegraphSarah Armstrongs first novel is seamlessly structured and very readable -The Age (Australia) From the Publisher Shortlisted 2005: Miles Franklin Literary Award Shortlisted 2005: Dobbie Award for a female first-time author About the Author Sarah Armstrong worked at the Au.